Any Pennsylvania bear hunters? Heading up to potter county for first bear hunt, any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I've killed one and passed one up. My FIL was an avid PA bear hunter and he once told me "Bears are killed at 30 yards not 300". I always try to setup with that in mind. If you're hunting a park woods you won't see many bear. Find a trail in the midst of the thick, ugly stuff. Swamps and laurel tend to up the ante for success too. But with that said if you have access to private you can often find them in the cornfields.

Find the acorns and beech.

Don’t shoot a cub

Swamps, or the edges of them. And, what they ^ said. Oh yeah, and heart or double lung them or be ready for a tracking job.

Totally agree with the heart or double lung them statement. Our camp has lost so many through the years because the hunters insist on shoulder shooting them. And that's with 270's, 308's, 30-06's, and 7mm mags too. One year long ago a guy from my Camp had an adult Bear cross the very log he was sitting on and he shot it in the shoulder with his 30-30. We had blood for a long ways but never recovered that Bear.

You picked a good year as all indications point to a very healthy bear population, with lots of bigger bears. Back in the spring, the NYSDEC trapped a PA tagged problem bear near the state line that weighed 630 pounds, and another that was a hair over 400, both healthy males.
There have been no shortage of sightings over the summer. I don't remember a year when I've heard about so many people taking down their bird feeders due to bear issues. Looking like a great year for acorns.
All you need is a little co-operation from the weather and a bit of luck.
Good hunting.

I'm excited, hopefully season will bring good weather. Going to pack the wife and son for a couple long weekends of scouting in October. I fly fish up there and have seen a few along kettle creek. Was thinking of trying the hammersly wild area as its close to where I am staying in crossfork. The way it sounds with hunter numbers it will be like opening day in most other places I have deer hunted with bucks running for the thick cover. Have never hunted bear was curious if they react the same way to pressure. Ended up buying 3 new rifles for it now time to flip a coin as to which 1 goes north. Picked up a 300wby, a marlin 44, and a 6.5 creedmoor.

I'll be in Clinton county at least the first day.

Unfortunately work schedule doesn't allow as much time as I'd like to put in

Be an easy choice for me. Marlin 44 mag...

I have killed 5 in Pa over the years the last 2 with a bow all in Potter County. Trick to getting a bear is food find yourself a corn field and stake it out. Bears eat most anything but I've seen them leave acorns, beech nuts, etc. for corn every time."if" you would run across a freshly killed deer carcass that is where you should stand , it is not considered baiting if the carcass was not placed there. It is considered baiting if someone dumped a hide and bones there and you hunt over it even though you did not put it there, same goes for spilt corn or grain from normal harvesting of the crop.
My biggest Pa bear was right at 500# with a bow he was frequenting an old apple orchard eating dropped apples. His trail into and out of the orchard was easy to find I placed a treestand near the orchard in a big maple and got him the first morning.

I hunted Pike County for years (Shohola), we had 1000 acres bordered by 4300 acres of State Game Lands and other large tracts of private. It always seemed the bears liked getting into the nastiest swamps or rhododendron. I've seen them killed with everything from 30-30's to 300 Weatherby's, I would start at a minimum of 30-06 myself. Good luck.

Killed a decent 8 pt at 2k feet on a steep climb and went back to pack out the next day. Planned an early am bear hunt but was run down and sick as a dog. Got up the mountain at 9:30 and no buck. Tracked around cliffs for a few hundred yards and heard a shot. Found deer but never a drag. Best had picked him up by haunches 200 yards off a wildly popular tourist hike and carried him round the mountain. Neighbors nephew dropped the bear I spooked and it’s was 580#s. Had heard they grow big there but coming from NC hard to believe with ENC bears being monsters that likely don’t hibernate. Anyway, kicking myself for being sick and not getting there earlier. Then heard in PA it’s required to remove intact to biologist. It took 3 hours to pack a quartered buck. Can’t imagine the bear. The lucky guy got it 8 miles back but right on a gravel access road so 8-10 guys got it out. I was clinging on the cliffs with the deer. Only option would have been just roll him off the cliffs. Saw a few 3-400 in my yard a few nights. Prefer to kill one there. NE PA

I really get a kick out of hearing the stories from back in Pa. Our camp's in Clearfield County, and sadly, I won't be making the 17 hour drive from Minnesota this year. Good luck to you guys lucky enough to hunt out there. I'll be thinking about you boys this fall.

We used to hunt Tobyhanna and Thornhurst in Monroe County. Birch Swale, Underwood and City of Rome swamps.

I saw a big one on the ride up the night before the opener last year. We always hunt the food source.

Lots of bears running around now. Almost every neighborhood watch is posting pictures of bears in their area. This is in Luzerne County, 3D.

I'm excited already for Bear season this year. I hunt the Loyalsock State forest.

Don't know where you are at, but swamps are fairly rare here.


Here, it's rocks and Mountain laurel.
If they meet corn, that's the spot.

Good luck guys. 'Wish I was back in Penn's Woods joining you in the hunt.