PA Bear regulation changes..

[std7mag]

While this is more a State Specific Issue, there is no option for anything on the east coast. (discrimination! lol)

PA Game Commission estimates there are 20,000 black bears in the state.
Due to "inclimate weather" the harvest for 2018 was 3,100, compared to 3,400 (figures rounded) in 2017.
The state is looking at making the seasons longer, and earlier, when the bears aren't in their dens.

Most of PA bear hunting is done with drives. Fine, I can accept that.
My issue is that if a sow with cubs is seen, one hunter will kill the sow. leaving his buddies to kill the cubs.
(this can be seen by checking at the bear check stations, 300lb sow, followed by one or two 50lb bears, also hunters will flat out tell you, and post pics of their taxidermy cubs online)

Black bears are a natural part of PA. I would like for my grandchildren to be able to enjoy them also, but PA seems to take more of an eradication point of view.

Any advise for proposed rule changes would be greatly appreciated!

Std7mag

 

[MJE2083]

I don't think it's an eradication point of view at all. Bear numbers are higher in our state than they have ever been, they're simply trying to keep that growth in check. I agree with you that I don't particularly care for the hunting methods that are used in this State, but it is what it is.

 

[Gary]

Black bears in heavily populated states (human populations) pose a couple of problems for game managers. PA has had a very successful recent history of managing bears. Bears require a fairly large territory (compared to other big game found in eastern states (deer). As such, when bear populations are at their peak (which I believe may be the case in PA), young bears roam far & wide, searching for territory; exposing themselves to increased interaction with traffic (accidents), farm predations (animals and crops) and a greater chance for human/bear incident.
Because bears are often cited in human attacks (NOT in PA) and the world is such a much smaller place (these days) a non-hunter who sees something on the internet about a bear attack in Canada, Alaska, Montana, Russia or wherever, will have an automatic fear factor, should they see a blackie (or 2) during a trip across Rt 80 and contact their state rep regarding their safety (or lack of) due to the increased bear population. Its a vicious circle and a difficult balancing act for game managers in densely populated states.

 

[pabearhunter]

Well for one thing bears in Pa. do not den up for the winter. They may den up for a couple days in bitter cold or a storm. So the current season would not have any thing to do with them being denied up. I would like to know where you got the stats to show all the cubs that have been killed.

 

[JdGoodhart]

I think if they wanted to eradicate they would allow baiting. Much easier to shoot a bear over bait then it is driving them off the mountains. As a PA hunter, it is always exciting to see bears on the landscape even if it is an increase in sign or actally bear sightings.

 

[NYyotekiller]

I remember hearing that the game commission was planning on extending both the archery and gun seasons an extra week because the harvest numbers were way down and the population of bears is way up.

 

[std7mag]

Longer archery/ muzzle loader season.
Rifle season to 6 days from 4 days.

PAbear,
I don't have stats on cub kills. Next year go into a bear check station (i was at the old elk station in Moshannon Forest) and actually read the check in board.
Kinda eye opening the number of under 100lb bears checked in.

 

[MJE2083]

Here is the 2017 data

You can see that many of those sub-100 lb bears are actually 1yr 10 months old. Weight isn't really the only factor in age. Some might call that a cub I guess, but the PGC seems to define cubs as 10months old. it's really no different than our deer harvest pre-antler restrictions. If you really look at the data, you will see that there is some bears that are 3-4-5-6+ years old that weight just as much or less than those 1 1/2 year olds.

 

[88man]

We gotta keep the numbers in check. I hunt mostly in carbon county and the past 10 years it seems like almost daily "I'm exaggerating" in archery season we see bears. I wish the mentor youth hunters could have killed bears in years past my daughter would have a few by now.

 

[dwm4375]

There's nothing "eradication" about any part of bear management in PA. I shot a 100# bear in a situation similar to the OP describes (250# sow and 2 other 100# bears), and while that group was harvested (along with 3000 other bears that year) the population was fine. I did this in 2001 and we've since had many years of 3000+ bear harvests in PA. Disappointed a thread with such a good potential based on the title is instead a criticism on legal hunting.

Anyways, I'm excited about the new regs. It's definitely going to bias me in favor of being in the woods as much as possible during the early muzzleloader season and bear portion of archery season (and possibly effect my stand selection). I'm interested to see how it effects the statewide harvest this fall and what proportion of bear are shot during the early seasons.

 

[icebreaker12]

I killed a 92lb bear that was on its own in Wisconsin.

Honestly, the suggestion that a game agency would drive any animal to eradication belongs next to any claims made by PETA.

I am surprised PA doesn't allow baiting. Seems like it would increase the ability to discern age and size.