Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Pennsylvania bear pics

after going to the hunt pa forum. seems like I do not understand actually how thick it is and how close the bears are to the hunter. if they are good and lucky. maybe a super Blackhawk .44?

My late FIL had a saying about PA bears. He would say "Bears are shot at 30 yards not 300". I shot mine at 20 yards and passed another one up at 25 yards.

Pervious post pic proves they are not always in the thick. However in places it can get nasty laurel thick. Twice I've had them closer than I would like, but most of the times there is a fairly big air cushion.

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This one was around 75 yards away and it wasn't all that thick between he/she and I. A Super Blackhawk would be way down on my list.

It's been 20+ years since I hunted bears but the guys I used to hunt with pretty much all carried a handgun of some sort when they were drivers and switched to a rifle when they were standers. That was back before the short/lite/compact rifles (other than the 94 and 336) became readily available.

For those on Facebook, the Falls Creek Fire Company is a check station, they have a bunch of photos on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Falls-Creek-Volunteer-Fire-Department-108068245910488/



Dale

A couple of sayings that I remember about hunting black bears in PENN,
"Bears arent hard to kill, just hard to find"
"A bear is a pig in a fur coat"

No. Normally im thinking about taking a schiet or Obama.

Why no love for the super blackhawk?

None other reason than the chance of having an ugly Bear encounter in Pa is very slim. Now if I was wondering around the wood without a shotgun or rifle then one would be nice to have.

Then again a Bud had a Bear climb up the tree he was archery hunting in. He smacked him over the head with a metal climbing step on the end of a rope. The Bear climbed down, but then laid at the base of the tree for sometime before eventually moving off. He mentioned he wished he had more than bow gear when he made his way to the vehicle in the evening.

Then there is the admission that I shoot more than poorly with a pistol.

Preferences.
Appreciate the reply.

Glad I read this. I tracked one that carried my buck off. Recovered buck and close to bear. If I would have gotten up the mountain at first light as planned I’d have shot him. I spooked him midday and Neighbors Nephew dropped him st few hundred yards above us. I nearly died packing out the buck. If I would have had to pack out while bear solo at 1500’ I’d still be there pulling. I didn’t see whole Bear Reg so very glad it wasn’t me shooting. I thought I was finally good on all PA regs but guess I need to review again. Realistically I’d much rather and more like to shoot one by the house as they have become desensitized to the point they will eat in my front yard after taking trash or even Thanksgiving corn decorations. I’ve got video of them stealing corn off my front entrance in daylight and they where there eating it with dogs and kids screaming when I got home. Neighbor lost an older dog to a mauling so I’d prefer these locals get thinned a bit. It’s a bit unnerving hearing them in the bush waiting when your rolling garbage to curb. Company Borough contracts comes all different hours and wants very small portable cans. Makes it too easy for bears and nothing I can do about it. Thought about the bear fence for cans but pretty sure they won’t take trash if cans are in one.

Bear weighed 566#s and was just off Tourist trail at 10am. Seeing how he carried a full size buck without dragging gives me new respect for them. He was a pain to track and only reason I could was extreme angle of rocks so he would kick one loose or knock a few leaves giving me some sign. I agree with Battue that I’ve never felt threatened. This bear was a brute and ran from me rather than guard his food. A Neighbor gut shot one a week or so back and it ran up the mountain I hunt on. Coming out in dark was a bit dicey already and adding in the bear didn’t help. Between that and the Neighbors feeding them near where my dogs get walked I’m seriously considering at least a Redhawk backpack type pistol. Tourists on trail will talk about seeing sow and cubs and how “cute” they are. The problem is trails are sometimes a foot width wide and you and bear have no where to go. My Som has a cub that keeps getting into the restaurant garbagevarea fence. It’s now a local celebrity because DCNR has trapped two there and both times they missed cub and mistaken identity or maybe turned him loose somewhere and he found his way back. With bears that bold it’s morevself comfort. I have no delusions if a bear wanted to make a meal out of me in the choker trails of laurels Id be able to stop it. Probably wouldn’t even see it coming until it was too late.

Bears can take some punishment and keep on ticking and they can indeed be hard to find. Tracking can be quite an experience, especially in mountain laurel. They have some pretty good tricks.

We used to have a very successful group in past years, but many have passed and the rest are long in the tooth. It could get real exciting at times. If seeing bears in season doesn't get your blood up, better check your pulse.

Ya, like coming out the same hole you crawled through, theyll run right over ya...lol. Damn laurel can get tall and thick!

Are bears good to eat??

No, they do not have to be brought out whole. They can be quartered, and the meat brought out along with the head, hide, and proof of sex attached. It’s a common misconception that they have to be brought out whole, and I head it all the time when I worked at the bear check station at SB Elliot park.

I stand corrected. I was told that for years at check stations and never checked out the info. Man I miss going to check stations. Havent gone in a few yrs.

I like bear meat better than venison, but I'm sure it depends on what they've been eating.

Can be. As mentioned, depends somewhat on what they've been eating and also the cut of meat and cooking method. Very definitely needs to be thoroughly cooked as, under cooked bear meat can cause Trichinosis.

Dale