So I decided to jump into the lottery for the MD black bear hunt. 2 firsts for me, never enter hunting lottery and never hunted or ever seen a black Bear.

So I'm looking for tips and ideas should I get lucky on 9/5/11

The season is 10/24 - 10/29 in the 2 westernmost counties.

Good Luck, i look forward to hearing more about your adventures.

Good Luck, I applied the past 5yrs and never hit....no longer in MD so not an issue now.

Would definitely be luck, but hey I could get lucky once and black bear isn't high enough on my bucket list to do a guided trip yet. Have others I'm saving for first.

I would spend lots of time scouting for bear sign out in western MD. Then it's going to be a matter of luck if a bear crosses your path during the season.

I have entered the lottery since the forst year they have had it, and I have yet to be picked. I recently found out that I have better than 50/50 odds to be picked this year because each year you are not picked, you get an additional entry the following year.
I have been told by a friend that if you are selected you are given a contact info sheet whoich contains Western Maryland homeowners that have complained about nuisance bears and are more than willing to let you hunt.
So few bears are allowed to be taken (50 max) that it's really not hard to find someone who is happy to have you there.