Anyone here chase pa bears during the archery season? Anyone ever have any luck? I know with our regs its not the easiest thing to accomplish! So lets hear some bear stories please!
That is a challenge! I have had many great shot opportunities on bears while in a tree stand hunting deer. Particularly in the early deer season. Never had one get near while it was bear season!
I know most hunters that kill bears in the 1 week bear archery season are usually at a corn field, near a cabin or residential area where bears might be coming for food. Hunting in big woods country is difficult! I'll keep trying. A big woods bear or buck for that matter with traditional archery equipment in Pennsylvania is tough to do. It is illegal to use any lure or bait for bears.
A few years ago I stopped using a certain deer lure in deer season because it would draw bears so easily. I actually had a young bear come to lure that I put on a tree branch when I got to my stand. I applied the lure then walked 15 yards to my tree and started climbing. I kept hearing something in the dark while I was climbing. I was 1/2 up the tree and shined my light at the noise. There was a young bear licking the deer lure 15 yards away just minutes after I applied the lure! Another time I dropped a blunt arrow down on a bear that wanted to climb my tree while the lure was in my pack. Another time when the leaves were off I watched a huge bear several hundred yards away on another mountain side, he picked up the scent of my deer lure and came on a straight line to me. I had left my bag of deer lure at the base of my tree stand that day. The big bear kept looking up at me. I flapped my arms and threw what I could. He kept woofing at me and looked mean as hell. He finally walked off. That was the end of my use of that particular deer lure.
Tedd
Ha ha. Ted. I don't blame you!
Idk man. It would be damn tough to get a bear with a bow under normal conditions the way they make you have to do it. Like mentioned above. Usually there is something else going on when most guys get one. Not just sitting on bear travel route.....
Lot's of chasing. No killing yet
I keep trying. I see plenty up to the day before, and the day after, but none during the season. One day it'll happen.
Had a PA friend call with a great story about a deer sit and a bear while he was on the ground.
He was hunting behind his house, bears freaquently raid bird feeders and garbage cans down among the houses...he was well above on the ridge.
He saw the bear and it stood UP erect and scratched its back on an angled limb at 34 steps...then proceeded to come straight to him but angled off slightly so he felt it would pass behind at 12 yards as it's head went behind a tree, it locked up for a full minute as my friend felt the breeze shift and come from him to the bear...that bear had enough and lit out with it's back paws slapping it's ears!
We'd disturbed a few in the "After Christmas" MZ deer season, dened in thickets in just piled up leaves...never tried to hunt them...seemed sparse sighting to warrant a frontal assault!