Western New York bear and deer...i bagged a boat

[Falcon75]

I grew up in western New York and have a lifetime license. Watching Randy's bear videos got me wanting a bear and haven eaten over 30 tags I decided to go on a hunt with dad. Our area at the south end of Canandaigua Lake has changed dramatically since we hunted it with bows 25 years ago. The land our friends owned is now in a land trust that gives a few permits to deer hunt. We visited in the second week of deer season two years ago and saw three does run when we parked the car and that was it. So wanting to find a new area and a shot at a bear we decided to hunt around Allegheny.

Dad and I were going to crossbow/bow hunt while poking around to see where we wanted to set up in a new area for the opening of gun season. Well as usual we left 6 hours later than we were suppose to so we got to Erie Pa with my sister at 5:10am the last day of bow season. We slept for 2 hours got up ate breakfast and I send a text to a guy that has a boat for sale on craigslist that I had contacted a few days before that said boat sale was in process. I say I am in town with cash what is status of boat sale. He says give me 30 min. Calls back come get it. So the morning was spent getting title and all stuff he gave to guy that was buying but didnt pay. He also threw in a double barrel stove that his neighbor who was storing boat that wanted help selling and a back tag holder cause I couldnt find mine. Well that killed the morning. Took boat to my lifelong friend to park and had lunch in findlay lake. I was fine on getting boat cause earlier my wife was a no then sent a text to me you can get boat or cruise that we talked about for my birthday weekend in month. Instant text back boat. The stove was what was going to get me in trouble so called a few buddies that are ready to go up to lake erie and catch some walleye and a place was found to stash the stove.

We drove to 1st area and decided that with so little time let's just drive around. We checked out the west side of Allegheny and found a area that they had put logging road in but didnt log yet. Though might be easy for dad to walk. He is 70 and after seeing Corey hunt elk with an electric bike that might be our future cause stamina is not like it was even few years ago.Went to another area that timber company owns on the PA border. My scout leader took us there 30 years ago and it was perfect well now it has been logged. We were encouraged that there weren't deer crossing signs but bear crossing signs. We then checked out state forest north of there and walk a gated road and saw a bunch of deer tracks. On the way out in a field that was part of the state land saw a few does in it and a 8 point buck following them right before shooting time ended. We got a hotel and I started feeling sick so stopped at Walmart. The line for tags was deep and had a fun dad with kid in line. Got dinner at broken chicken in Olean. Big pizza and some wings and local brews. Would go back!

Fun to have an opening day on horizon cause dont know how many more hunts will have with dad and for the first time in awhile excited cause actually trying for something different a bear. The day wasnt what was planned but hope to make some memories with family and friends fishing for walleye on Erie. They say it is better now than it was back in the heyday years ago.

 

[duckhunt]

Good luck

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Good luck guys! MMM",PIZZA and BEER!!

 

[Crossbowguy]

Good Luck from a fellow NY lifetime licensed hunter!

 

[TheBenHoyle]

That's quite the boat. Good luck on the hunt.

 

[Falcon75]

Day 2
I wake up to the most annoying rooster I have ever heard. It crows at a very fast cadence of one crow every second. I thought i went on this hunt to get away. It is dad's new alarm sound on phone. He says that it is so loud and annoying that he cant sleep through it...agreed. We have a normal hotel breakfast with a pancake printer instead of waffles yogert cereal and muffin. I ask dad if he wants split muffin and I play the top of the muffin trick and give him the stump.
We get it sorted out and recut it to have a top and bottom. Just thankful for times as kid and even in college when he drove 5 hours to pick me up to drive 4 hours back to our spot. Then after hunting hard all weekend driving me back going home and doing it again the next weekend. Meet some guys from Vermont who went to Wisconsin to hunt deer and have homemade rack on top of cap. Never thought about it but they say works great and gives me ideas for future to carry tires and gear rack.

We decide to go where there were bear crossing the road signs right next to pa. We get there and I wanted to walk the mile or so block so dad was going to drop me off on top and then go to close to bottom of valley and walk a little trail that could see on onyx. Well he cant find his back tag in his stuff so leaves me and goes back to town to get replacement
It is cold 19deg and still sothe snow is crunchy. Also it turned out that it was too thick for rabbits and was more like Vietnam. I couldn't hardly move. I did find deer tracks going through this mess so I made it to a little logging trail 100 yards from road where I could see across a draw and just stood there. Heard shots down in valley. Thought hope got deer but what if that was a bear and up over hill but never saw or heard anything except a hawk looking for rabbits that didn't exist. I froze cause I was more dressed to walk that stand hunt. Sent dad a text to stop and get a sausage sandwich at McDonald's. I have Verizon and I almost always have service dad does not and didnt know if he would get message even being back in town. Well I never heard him pull up cause he went to bottom 1st to see if I came out yet. It was 10:00 and we use to do radio checks on the hour with big portable cb radios. It was nice to hear Falcon this is Tenderloin are you there? I had him come up hill and the smell of a warm sausage sandwich warmed me up before I opened it and ate it. Wished i had not said let's split a 2 for 2 deal and each gotten our own. We then drive back to town and looked for some southern tier beer to gift my wife back home with 4 kids
We then drove to nine mile state forest. Saw a few deer at deer processing place only one would get look here in Ohio. Started walking trail and 1st time onyx was really wrong on where it was. I wanted to still hunt over to above that meadow to finish evening at. Well I cut some bear tracks and all deer hunting was off at that point. I figured track it and learn something.
I tracked bear tracks to a spot where tracks went every which way from a bear bed.
It is right in shadow. Those are tracks all around. So I decide to sit and see what happens. I get 50 yards away downwind at edge of drop off that goes down to creek. I sit motionless for hours. 1/2 hour before sunset I hear a deer blowing up top of ridge maybe 150-200 yards away. I am down wind so I am puzzled. 10 min later a hunter starts coming down. He comes over to me with 15 min left of hunting. Nice to learn a little more about area and hear about another bear up top in a overgrown clear cut go figure. You can only hunt till sun set in New York. I could see the parking lot 200 250 yards away so I don't know why he didnt wait till the end of shooting to move. I went back to the truck and almost ran dad over going around parking loop. I was surprised to see him cause the plan became he was going to sit on field till end of shooting. I dont write dark because I am use to 1/2 hour before and after sunset and it is a lot different. Well we drive down and with plenty of light in Ohio we see a nice 8 point buck in meadow 14 min after shooting in New York. Dad was cold so he bailed early. Oh well. I didnt want to mess with a deer anyway when I can shoot a way bigger one in Ohio. Went and had dinner with sister and brother in law at Vinnies in Findlay Lake. Dont have picture but my childhood/college roommate friend who we then stayed with said get the thai food. General tso did not disappoint. Egg roll was only a $1 also hit spot with a local brew.

HOW OFTEN WILL A BEAR USE A BED?
It looked like a few times in the last 5 days since it snowed because of all the tracks. Wonder if should have gone back in morning to see if in it. But bear could see parking lot and go up hill over into private.

 

[Falcon75]

Day 3
Well alarm went off again and was worried I would lose a 38 year friendship. We got breakfast and dad some coffee. While driving we started calculating when we would need to leave to get back for my daughter's cross country banquet. Basically we would drive a little over an hour to hunt and hour and half to drive back a little over an hour to get boat and then home. I really wanted to check out the bear bed but it didn't seem worth it. So already having areas closer loaded on onyx we decide to try a state forest. I called my wife who wasn't up yet but normally is and she says we don't need to be back for banquet. So we head back the other way but decide to go to west side of Allegheny in the state forest to the logging road so dad could walk easy. I would go other way and then go to a mile plus section away from road. Before we get there exactly we see a 8 point side road driving I turn around. It's standing when come back 3rd time gone.
A little bit of a climb but nothing to get in way. Well it is only 23 degrees this day but same thing calm and super crunchy. I got off on a spur road/trail and it was worse. The gravel got shot up in the air on 1 to 1.5 inch icicle supports that would break when walked on. So much for going for a walk about. So I moved super slow and came across another guy who came over to me. We talked for a little while and he gave away a bit of info that a big bear neighbor of 400lbs had bedded the night in the pines and had gone north and onto some private. Well I followed his tracks till I came across a whole bunch of active scrapes one after another. Lots of tracks. Though good spot to hang stand and bow hunt. A deer had gotten shot opening day 60 yards just over top of ridge. Walked a little farther with his tracks and came across these.

I tracked all the way west to over east to where dad was. By where the deer sign was the bear had come thru 3 times almost the same trail but not quite since monday. At 11 I did a radio check cause dad cell phone wasn't even close to working. Falcon this is tenderloin. Dad was on track farther east. So I decided to just keep going and come down road dad came up. We met at truck at noon and headed home. When we get home wife says we could have stayed another day. Well played. Dad thinks it was looking for a den cause it was checking rock formations out so hopefully it was and we get him next year.
Dad bagged some sumac for our bee smokers to combat varoa mites and I got a boat.