Anyone going for Bear?

[JKchick]

I go bear hunting every year all 3 days in Johnstown near the power plant with all my male family members. I see bear there when its not season, and then when it is time there are none to be found. We all set up in different places and by the last day 3 of us will push. Still the last 2 years have been uneventful... NONE of us will shoot cubs.
Is it just me? My Dad says its cuz I'm a girl and they smell me... hes an ass
Anyone else go up here, anywhere on the power line? I think i want to go somewhere new, any suggestions?

[Super Scout]

The only bear I have ever seen was in my back yard in down town Latrobe.

[JKchick]

The only bear I have ever seen was in my back yard in down town Latrobe.

well I'm sure your neighbors would frown upon me siting in your yard with a 30-06

[jackb1]

My buddy got a call from a friend who is a game commish the other day. Someone had killed bear with their car and he was looking for someone to take it.

I guess that guy was bear hunting. Does that count?

Actually, does anybody eat bear? I heard it doesn't taste very good. Then again I'd have taken it to make a rug!

[JKchick]

I eat bear, its very tough but its good. i don't kill anything i don't eat..

[sethman15210]

well I'm sure your neighbors would frown upon me siting in your yard with a 30-06

only a 30/06 man i wont go with anything less than a .308 and sidearm. ive had a few run ins with mamas with cubs. wet pants moment.
i go bear every other year or so up north. my family has a dairy farm in jefferson county. we hunt the bears that try to get into our fields. as per the taste, its good but very greasy. i like it if you crock pot it and make a roast.

[mangotango]

My paper has done several stories about the growing bear population in the state. One thing the game wardens we've interviewed have always stressed: don't look at bear kill numbers to decide where you're going to hunt. Harvest numbers only show where the HUNTERS are. The Westmoreland County game warden practically begs people to hunt gamelands No. 42, which runs roughly down the eastern border of the county. High bear population density and fewer hunters. Maps are readily available. Do a lot of scouting now.

The reason your Johnstown area goes quiet is likely a lack of denning sites. This month of the year, the bears are moving toward areas that provide ample food and close proximity to available dens. Most bears, especially the big ones, like to be hunkered down before Christmas.

Another tip: find out who has the contract to pick up road kill deer in an area and then find out where they dump them. Often, in very rural areas, it's a spot out in the middle of nowhere since you can't put them in landfills. Like garbage dumps, these spots are magnets for hungry bears.

[EddyB]

We get one in our yard up at camp all the time. He loves the bird feeders. I haven't been out for bear for many years though.

The problem that I find with bear season in Pa is that all that all the hunters treat it like deer season. Meaning that they go into the woods long before it is light out. When you kick up a deer, it goes a short distance and stops and maybe circles back. When a bear is kicked up it goes to the next county.

[justin'sbig7]

only a 30/06 man i wont go with anything less than a .308 and sidearm. ive had a few run ins with mamas with cubs. wet pants moment.
i go bear every other year or so up north. my family has a dairy farm in jefferson county. we hunt the bears that try to get into our fields. as per the taste, its good but very greasy. i like it if you crock pot it and make a roast.

30/06 is the same size bullet and has a bit more of a charge than .308. i kinda chuckle at this because back in the day, when 30-06 was THE biggest thing around, that was the bear gun... the cartridge hasnt gotten any smaller and the bears havent gotten bigger lol!

ill be hunting them up in clarion... probably using my 30-06. or .444 timber carbine

[JKchick]

only a 30/06 man i wont go with anything less than a .308 and sidearm. ive had a few run ins with mamas with cubs. wet pants moment.

cousin has .308 i prefer mine any day..
30-06 is good for bear, moose, elk, deer whatever except the recoil kicks my ass everytime..... a 30-06 and a .308 are similar in soooo many ways
this is pa the bears are scared of you.. My Dad stays with me tho and he always carrys his single shot. He doesn't need to tho cuz I have a great shot

the 30-06 is wayyy more power then I even need with the 180 gr

haha this isn't Alaska

[hyperbuzzin]

The shop supervisor at work just got a pic with his trail camera of what he thinks is about a 600lb+ bear.
Not exactly sure where he lives, but it was just about in his back yard.

I've never been bear huntin'. Actually, never even seen a bear in the wild, even on my many camping trips.
I guess in a way, that's a good thing, but I'd still like to atleast see one.

[ridgerunner97]

cousin has .308 i prefer mine any day..
30-06 is good for bear, moose, elk, deer whatever except the recoil kicks my ass everytime..... a 30-06 and a .308 are similar in soooo many ways
this is pa the bears are scared of you.. My Dad stays with me tho and he always carrys his single shot. He doesn't need to tho cuz I have a great shot

the 30-06 is wayyy more power then I even need with the 180 gr

haha this isn't Alaska

Agreed 110%
180gr Nosler Partition will put down most anything in North America, hell you want to hunt moose, up it to a 200 or 220gr partition, anything bigger than a .30-06 is overkill imho.

[JKchick]

anything bigger than a .30-06 is overkill imho.

amen

[JKchick]

ok lets not derail this one.....
anyone recommend anywhere?

[wozz]

Where around Johnstown?

There's a lot of state game lands there that are hunted in that area. I've never gone for bear but ive seen bear there.

Also a lot of good wheeling around there. Your pretty much in my back yard.

[ridgerunner97]

Dunbar Mtns. in Fayette Co. also up above Confluence near Draketown both good spots to scout/go. I've bounced bear out in the summer time.

[projeeper]

jkchick if you go to tionesta area there seems to be a good population
for those that want to see a bear in the wild/dumpster rt 36n north of tionesta bridge at the hills restaraunt is a good place and they got good food
i,ll be up next week for archery bear and staying for rifle if need be

[BUZZINHALFDOZZEN]

Just did some bear scouting/bow hunting saturday in Jennerstown. Got about a half inch of snow up there

[YZEATER]

a bunch of us are going this year. i treat it as just scouting for rifle deer season. but there havve been alot more sightings this year were we are going.

i just got my .458 win mag sighted in on sunday, not sure if i'll be carrying that or something else yet.

[condortaco01]

I'll be hunting the steep hills along the Kiskiminetas River between Salina and Apollo. I've got the same problem though, see lots of bear except when they're in season. Every year I find scat and tracks all over the place but no bears. I grew up in Salina and know this spot is good but luck has a lot to do with it! Oh and 30.06 FTW. There isn't an animal in the US I wouldn't shoot with my trusty ole '.06.

[IBJEEPN]

A-lot are taken in Forest County for the size of it. I've been lucky to see quite a few bear out in the wild. Had one shot near me. Their death cry is something you won't forget. We have them on the family property.(near six Pts) My brother was pushing a thicket last deer season and a Momma & youngin almost ran me over. That was a trip ! It's either Camp (Marienville) or the Eau Claire area for me. Gonna take my 7mm rem mag. It covers the valley rather well, with a punch!
Where ever you decide to go. The first day should be good this year. I think there will be
a-lot of saturday hunters out there to push them around. But, be careful. There will be a-lot of first timers out there as well .

[mxg342]

We'll be hunting our usual. Around the Power plant property between elderton and rural valley.

I expect about 20-25 people in our group again this year. It's really not bear hunting, more like taking your rifle for a walk.

[mangotango]

Last year on the first day of deer in Forest County I had a huge bear walk right past me just before daylight out of a swampy area along the Allegheny River. I've seen quite a few bear over the years and that one went 400 conservatively. It crossed the road behind me and went straight up the mountain. A guy I was hunting with about 100 yards away saw it also and he confirmed it was a pretty big bear. Camps in that area have had some run-ins with mommas and cubs that last couple of falls. Two years ago, bears visited the camp just down the road and ate three pies the camp owner's wife had cooling on her porch and one of the cubs actually starting eating the string of Christmas lights they had out. In the last couple of years, tracks along the dirt road leading to the camps have become common. Bears have always been in that area (there's almost always at least one shot just up the hill from my buddy's camp) but they're starting to hang around the immediate area of the camps a lot more recently. A night-time visit to the outhouse these days requires a gun for safety.

[JKchick]

It's really not bear hunting, more like taking your rifle for a walk.

hahaha.. isn't this the truth

[village_idiot]