Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Mountain Rig complete...Kimber Montana and Leupold VX6

Sounds like a normal winter day in the Northeast.

More importantly those conditions are pretty normal here or out west during fall hunting season. So,it's worthwhile to practice under those conditions and let the groups fall where they may.

I dont mind shooting in the wind and cold but hate sighting in a new rifle in them. This new rig gave me a reason to go to the range and get out of the house. Any day at the range with a new gun is going to be a good day. Our big game season is over in January with a late muzzleloader and bow season. I started predator hunting a few years back for somthing to do this time of year.

At first I was excited to go shooting on Saturday with a freak warm up we are getting the next few days but after the last few big snows this past week, it isnt going to be a stessless few days. Our big concern today through Saturday is unseasonably warm and rain on a 18-28" snow pack in the valley and more in the mountains and up north.
I have a few buddies as well as family that are in flood terain and last time this happend was not good. I have a feeling I will be moving furnature and appliances all weekend. I live on top of a mountain with no danger of flooding but the valley might get hammered.
We had a big one of these a few years ago and many are still recovering.

I don't miss those North East winters, especially the ones like youre having this years! Just thought id through a little salt in wounds Sorry couldn't resist.

That's alright. I have been to Nashvile on many buisness trips. Beautiful country.
I live on a mountain at the end of this stretch of canyons actually called the Pa.Grand Canyon. It empties into the Susquehanna Valley. You can see why when the snow melts in the canyon to the valley, it can be serious. This also why we have such record size Black Bears.

It's pretty mystro, PA was high on my "places to retire" list. The wife wanted milder winters. So we picked TN, about 90 miles east of Nashville.
Pretty liberal hunting season too!

What is the temp in Nashville today??
We truly have four seasons of the year in Pa. Many do retire here from like NY, Baltimore, Philly, etc.... Then our locals either are the snow birds when they retire that go to Florida in the winter or move their permantly. It certainly keeps you hearty. I have a neighbor that owns the next hill over from mine and she is 96 and still going strong. I care take her property with mine and she still planets her own garden, plays with her flowers every day. She is also full of spit and vinegar. We are the folks that Obama commented on years back when in Pa that "are clinging to our Bible and guns and don't trust the government."
Most of that thought that was high praise.

65 today, 74 tomorrow

Oh, man.......that's perfect. That's my kind of weather. I am at least 2 moths away from that tempature. Today was 43 and it felt like a heat wave.

Wait, what? You have large black bears because the what?

Geographic isolation, good genetics, and ample food source.

400-600lbs black bear are not uncommon and are fairly normal. 600-800 lbs are getting more common and are regularly taken each year. Then there is the big hogs that are always shot every other year. One was killed illegally last year and I think it was just under 900lbs.

I live on the border of the Clinton and Lycoming county border. Both counties are always the #1 and #2 highest harvests in the state each year. Are local bear weigh stations are always packed like a music festival to see the bears come in to be weighed.

This was a 800lbs + Pa Black Bear taken last year.



Outdoor life did a story of my area a few years back. Our deer camps turned into bear camps because of the bear hunting being so good.

That's a biggun. I guess NC has to be #2 for heavy black bears.

I have seen some pics of some big bears from NC. I am not sure where NC ranks in Black Bears in the country??? You have a big bear research with your fish and game there don't you??

Spring and early summer on my 270 acre property is bear central. We have to take in all bird feeders and get very creative with our garbage cans. My dogs keep most at a safe distance but one year I had a big 500lbs male that would wait just in the wood line and watch me take my trash cans out to the end of the road. He would pick up my very large can and drag it 200 yards down in the woods to get into it. One time he bluff charged me and poped his jaws several time as I was dragging the can out . I could hear him bouncing up and down on trees and having a fit. The smaller bears in the 150-250 lbs don't bother me at all but when they are in the 500lbs range, the hair on your neck stands up and even a 44mag on the hip feels under gunned.

Agree that Clinton and Lycoming counties historically have large numbers of bear shot, but the largest black bears in the world are found in the Pocono Mts. and their foothills. The bears shown in your pictures were taken in Lackawanna, Pike and Monroe counties over the last few seasons. Wayne and Luzerne counties are also known to produce world class bears.

I wouldn't say always. Heck, Clinton didn't even make it into the top five this year and Tioga was number one. Not that Clinton and Lycoming haven't been historically godd; they absolutely have been. A northwestern county made the top five this year which is kinda neat to see.

On the big bear note, 58 bears topped 500 this year.

Oh and nice Kimber by the way. That rig should serve you well.

#800...damn that's touching Grizzly size! The largest Black Bear I've seen was in a dumpster in PA a town called Shihola Falls(might have spelled that wrong)I was told it was #400. It filled up that dumpster!! I think it was a 3 yd. dumpster.

Why do PA bears get so big?

There was a bear that weighed more than 750lbs taken a few miles from my father in laws, in Lackawanna county. I thought it was the biggest bear taken this year.

http://wnep.com/2013/11/26/hunter-bags-772-pound-black-bear-in-lackawanna-county/

How much did the heaviest bear ever taken in Pa weigh?

Climate, genetics, geographic isolation and food sources. I think genetics being the main reason. When Outdoorlife did a story on this years back, they had all kinds of contributing factors why the bears get so big in Pa. I still have that magazine somewhere. I always knew we had big bears but it wasn't until t.v hunting shows started to show other black bears being hunted around the country that I was surprised what they thought a big black bear trophy was.
They were calling 300-400 bear "massive". There is a big difference between a 300lbs bear and a 600lbs bear. You see a 600lbs bear in the woods and it will disturb you if your not bear hunting. A 800lbs is epic. You have the "Hog" bears with the round heads and the "dog" bears with the elongated head. The hog bears are what you want.
Our bear season is only 4 days long and no baiting or dogs, allowed.

This is one of the pics from the story.

Genetics and grub....