I use to live in lycoming county Pa but i moved to milwaukee 2 years ago. Bear hunting up here sucks it takes ten years to get a tag. I miss bear hunting so much. Would you all do me a favor and keep me posted on how your seasons going. I dont care weather or not you get or even see anything. I would really appreciate it. you can post your stories here or pm me. Thanks so much. I will be back next year to do some bear hunting. Again thanks for letting me hunt vicariously through you all.

chris

im kinda kicking myself...didnt plan on going, never have, always wanted to, but highschool got in the way, and now college does...this year i coulda left here at 11am and been in the woods by 2pm with my buddies in Jefferson county...

they killed their first bear out of the camp ever today around 4pm...dont know where or much specifics...said it was probably around 200lbs...they are spending the next 2 days up there...i should go up, but i dont even have a rifle suited in(took my buck in bow season so im not rifle hunting)

dad was out in forest county...didnt see anything but deer...hes home already has to work..

maybe i will make it next year....

We hunt in Sullivan County. I haven’t been up for the traditional bear camp in a few years but get a bear tag for the extended bear season during buck. I heard from a buddy that a neighboring camp got one on Monday morning.

We’ve been seeing bear every time we go to camp. I’ve seen 5 different ones that range from about 150-200 to about 300lbs. A neighbor up there has seen 13 different bear over the summer. I didn’t get any size estimates from them, though.

Here are a couple of pictures taken in October.

Here's the results of day 1. 30% slower than last year. This is from the PGC website:

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?Q=172980&A=11

I guess I aint missing all that much. The group i bear hunt with didnt even go out this year. I guess that when I aint there to do all the scouting "they cant get off work"

78 bears were killed here in clinton county,pa.
most were small bears ,30 pds to 150 pds.
1 was 318 pds.

hunters are bringing in cubs with guts in them so they weight more,1 was 47 pds and PGC was mad that hunters are not cleaning bears, that bear went 30 pds.

that 78 bear, i would say that 10,000 or more hunters were out in clinton county.

An albino bear was shot in CentreCounty. It weighed 47 pounds.

i hunted all day monday and tuesday afternoon from 1 till dark didn't see any bears. Saw some tracks and droppings only one fresh set though. Simply amazed no one even sawa bear with the numbers we saw all summer long with 14 guys driving bears you woulda figured we woulda atleast seen one.

I heard that the albino bear was actually only partly covered in white.

Bear Hunting In Pennsylvania
SUCKS unless you know where the bears are.

Lot's of hunters used bait to kill their bears - hence it gave bear hunting in my neck of the woods a black eye.

If you wanted to hunt bears, you should have came down and hunted bears.

The PGC traps lot's of bears and transports them across the state line and keeps them in the traps until bear season is over.

Next time I go to the holding area, I will take pictures.

You would be better off in my opinion to just apply for a ELK permit.

$10 a year x 20 years is still only $200
+ $100 and some for a license and $500 - $1000 for a guide to take you out and pack the elk back to the hard road.

It's still not a bad deal!

with food bears had this year,they did not stay in area you may have seen them before,they kept moving.
bear we saw in clinton county on sat,was shot in lycoming county on monday, that was 40 miles away.
it had tag in its ear which matched number we saw on sat.

someone mentioned baiting,yes, it happens.
this is why if you see a lot of bears killed in 1 area, they were most likely there for reason.

the illegal baiters will shoot a bear in that area and tell the PGC they shot it elsewhere....

i hunted last year 3 days in a area for bear.

i heard NO SHOTS .

yet at bear check station,it showed 2 bear killed there.

thats a FIB,not true.

most hunters, including me will not tell you where we got bear.so, i dont believe those maps at PGC check stations too much.

reason most of big bears were not shot is because they got that way being smart.
guys, they are just smarter,is all.
dont believe the hibernation thing you hear,those big bears are still out.
i had a 500 and 350 pd bear in my yard on thanksgiving 2 years ago after season was closed..

where did those big bears hide?
in my yard where no one but my dog barked at them.
1 was even sleeping in pipe or culvert under railroad tracks,he was there for years and only me and game warden for years knew it.

so, older bears are just smarter,thats all....