Don’t wait, scout now for success later on black bears

Posted on: October 10, 2017 | Bob Frye | Comments

The key to finding black bears is scouting and research.

Black bears are abundant, but not necessarily easy to come by in Pennsylvania and the Northeast.
Photo: Pixabay

It’s not as easy hunting black bears in the Northeast as it is in other places. The rules are the reason why.

In Canada, for example, baiting bears is popular. Across the south, hunters chase them with hounds.

In places like Pennsylvania and New York, though, neither of those tactics are legal.

Some of the most successful hunters in those places work in groups. They put on old-school, deer-style drives to flush bears to standers.

What’s the solo hunter, or one in a small party, to do?

Work hard now — before the season — to find likely looking spots, say Steve Schicker and Gerry Rightmyer of Forever Wild Outdoors, a Brockport, N.Y., outdoor show.

Schicker recommends scouring bear harvest figures from the wildlife agency in charge of the state you plan to hunt. They reveal where bear harvests are occurring.

He recommended seeking out “clusters,” then talking to biologists or staff in regional offices to get information on where to start looking. That, he said, can key you in on whether the better hunting is on public ground or private, in the latter case in time to knock on a few doors seeking permission to access it.

Such talks can at times reveal areas with nuisance bear problems, Schicker said, where there are more bears than enough and landowners willing to let someone come in and take them.

From there, it comes down to old-fashioned scouting, said Rightmyer. Of course, these days, that can mean using a relatively modern tool.

“What’s one thing all deer hunters use any more? Trail cameras. You can use those to look for bears, too,” Rightmyer said.

“You can see if there are any bears around, maybe get a look at what they’re eating, maybe get some other clues.”

Schicker next recommended walking the ground you might hunt. Look for sign of black bears, from scats to claw marks on trees, as well as potential food sources.

That doesn’t gaurentee seeing a bear, but it should get hunters on the right track, Schicker said.

“It’s no different that turkey hunting or deer hunting or anything else,” he said.

Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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