Why did you burn 8 points in Zone C?Kelly49 wrote:Hope you guys have better luck with him than I did last year. Burned 8 points to get a tag there(am 75) and he couldn’t show me an active Bear bait, not a single one.
Statistics: Posted by Ol Split ( ) Toes — Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:12 am
Statistics: Posted by Mike Foss — Fri Mar 15, 2024 2:47 am
Where are you thinking on the DIY hunt?Dewey wrote:Looks like a good one and saved to my watch list. Next year if I draw in WI I'll be going the DIY route instead of guided for my last two bears. Figured it's time to take the plunge since I have so much free time now. Videos like this will be a huge help.
Statistics: Posted by Dewey — Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:51 am
Statistics: Posted by Mike Foss — Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:41 am
Statistics: Posted by Dewey — Sun Mar 10, 2024 9:10 am
Statistics: Posted by Freelance Bowhunter — Thu Mar 07, 2024 2:17 am
Statistics: Posted by Horizontal Hunter — Tue Feb 27, 2024 5:14 am
Freelance Bowhunter wrote:
Not very many bears are killed in PA with a bow. Most bears in the state are shot in large drives with big groups of people. A few are killed each year hunting over food sources, such as abandoned apple orchards, etc. A few tags are filled by people who are hunting deer when a bear happens by.
Lots of people buy bear tags because they are cheap and you never know when the opportunity might come along. It's a tough gig but it can be done if you want it bad enough.
Statistics: Posted by greg728 — Tue Feb 27, 2024 4:11 am
dan wrote:greg728 wrote:I’ve been deer hunting for a couple years but I recently moved to a part of PA that has a lot of black bears. I thought the knowledge on this forum would be a good place to ask for general guidelines of how to start. Do I scout them similar to whitetails? Is there a particular pattern I should focus on to set up on? I know we talk a lot about bedding for whitetails but I was just curious if you guys are setting up near dens, transition or feeding areas? I’m mostly interested in bow hunting I use a compound primarily but I have a crossbow I use for turkeys. Any feedback would be appreciated thanks guys.
Im assuming in PA you can't bait? right? With bears I would focus on food near thick cover where you find bear sign.
Statistics: Posted by greg728 — Tue Feb 27, 2024 4:10 am
Statistics: Posted by Freelance Bowhunter — Tue Feb 27, 2024 12:40 am
Statistics: Posted by dan — Mon Feb 26, 2024 9:45 pm
dan wrote:Nquast wrote:dan wrote:Try Jeff Johnson 608-304-2535 He is in "E" but he is on the "C" border and I know he has run baits in "C" as well... Me and Ricky will be there this year so you can hang out with us at the camp ground if your there.
I just booked with him, see you there
Cool... Should be a great group of hunters.
Statistics: Posted by dan — Thu Feb 22, 2024 12:03 pm
Nquast wrote:dan wrote:Try Jeff Johnson 608-304-2535 He is in "E" but he is on the "C" border and I know he has run baits in "C" as well... Me and Ricky will be there this year so you can hang out with us at the camp ground if your there.
I just booked with him, see you there
Statistics: Posted by Mike Foss — Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:14 am
Statistics: Posted by Marshhunter007 — Thu Feb 22, 2024 3:42 am
Statistics: Posted by Freelance Bowhunter — Thu Feb 22, 2024 12:44 am
dan wrote:Try Jeff Johnson 608-304-2535 He is in "E" but he is on the "C" border and I know he has run baits in "C" as well... Me and Ricky will be there this year so you can hang out with us at the camp ground if your there.
Statistics: Posted by dan — Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:30 pm
Statistics: Posted by Nquast — Wed Feb 21, 2024 10:43 am
Statistics: Posted by Nolte — Fri Feb 16, 2024 2:32 pm
Statistics: Posted by Bigwaterducker — Wed Feb 14, 2024 2:39 pm
Statistics: Posted by Mike Foss — Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:49 am
Statistics: Posted by Freelance Bowhunter — Thu Feb 08, 2024 7:01 am
Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
Statistics: Posted by Mike Foss — Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:26 am
Mountain Man wrote:According to the DNR website, the total bear harvest has been trending down over the last 13 years.That along with the lower deer population in the northern 1/3 of the state makes me think wolves have something to do with it.
Statistics: Posted by KRONIIK — Thu Feb 08, 2024 4:01 am
Statistics: Posted by Mike Foss — Thu Feb 08, 2024 3:49 am
Tim H wrote:Freelance Bowhunter wrote:Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
My experience in communicating with a LOT of bear hunters would lead me to believe the opposite. Most people are thinking it took so long to get this tag that they aren't going to take a chance on not getting a bear. They may wait for a mature bear, but not for long, and at some point they are going to shoot that yearling rather than not shoot a bear at all. Hunters who wait many years to draw a tag are more likely to shoot a smaller bear not less likely.
That's interesting and kind of strange to me. That's kinda like waiting 5 years for an Iowa tag to shoot an 80 inch buck. Obviously financially it's not the same, but waiting for the experience is similar. When I get my tag in a few years, I'll be looking for something decent or just eating my tag.
Statistics: Posted by Tim H — Wed Feb 07, 2024 5:11 am
Freelance Bowhunter wrote:Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
My experience in communicating with a LOT of bear hunters would lead me to believe the opposite. Most people are thinking it took so long to get this tag that they aren't going to take a chance on not getting a bear. They may wait for a mature bear, but not for long, and at some point they are going to shoot that yearling rather than not shoot a bear at all. Hunters who wait many years to draw a tag are more likely to shoot a smaller bear not less likely.
Statistics: Posted by Dewey — Wed Feb 07, 2024 4:20 am
Freelance Bowhunter wrote:Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
My experience in communicating with a LOT of bear hunters would lead me to believe the opposite. Most people are thinking it took so long to get this tag that they aren't going to take a chance on not getting a bear. They may wait for a mature bear, but not for long, and at some point they are going to shoot that yearling rather than not shoot a bear at all. Hunters who wait many years to draw a tag are more likely to shoot a smaller bear not less likely.
Statistics: Posted by Freelance Bowhunter — Wed Feb 07, 2024 12:28 am
Statistics: Posted by dan — Tue Feb 06, 2024 3:08 am
Tim H wrote:Freelance Bowhunter wrote:Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
My experience in communicating with a LOT of bear hunters would lead me to believe the opposite. Most people are thinking it took so long to get this tag that they aren't going to take a chance on not getting a bear. They may wait for a mature bear, but not for long, and at some point they are going to shoot that yearling rather than not shoot a bear at all. Hunters who wait many years to draw a tag are more likely to shoot a smaller bear not less likely.
That's interesting and kind of strange to me. That's kinda like waiting 5 years for an Iowa tag to shoot an 80 inch buck. Obviously financially it's not the same, but waiting for the experience is similar. When I get my tag in a few years, I'll be looking for something decent or just eating my tag.
Statistics: Posted by Findian — Tue Feb 06, 2024 3:02 am
Freelance Bowhunter wrote:Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
My experience in communicating with a LOT of bear hunters would lead me to believe the opposite. Most people are thinking it took so long to get this tag that they aren't going to take a chance on not getting a bear. They may wait for a mature bear, but not for long, and at some point they are going to shoot that yearling rather than not shoot a bear at all. Hunters who wait many years to draw a tag are more likely to shoot a smaller bear not less likely.
Statistics: Posted by Ol Split ( ) Toes — Tue Feb 06, 2024 2:43 am
Tim H wrote:Low harvest numbers could be looked at several ways. If it takes 10 years to get a kill tag, a hunter probably isn't going to shoot the first 100 pounder that comes through. In my eyes they'd probably wait for something bigger. Just because they aren't filling their tags, it doesn't mean the bear numbers aren't there.
Statistics: Posted by Tim H — Tue Feb 06, 2024 2:20 am
Statistics: Posted by Freelance Bowhunter — Tue Feb 06, 2024 2:10 am