| IronBuck |
| (.300 member) |
| 04/12/03 12:28 AM |
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Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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I just got my pictures back from my bear hunt last week. The season is only 3 days long and baiting is illegal. Putting drives on is the only real productive ways to take bears here. We were hunting public land up North. The first day we took 2 bears. Mary shot the 200 pound sow with her 7mm Rem Ultra Mag and Jimmy shot the 100 pound cub with an 06 about 3 hours later. These were the first bears for both hunters:
The second day was tough huting. Lots of drives through nasty, steep country but no bears taken. We had snow that day and found tracks but we just could not get any up and running. The last day we were down to 6 hunters. On our last drive I kicked out this 400 pound beauty but had no shot. He ran into the driver above me who shot twice but missed. He was finally dropped for good when Dale busted him through the heart as the bear ran past. He used a Model 88 lever action Winchester in 308 winchester. The bear never even gave a sign of being hit! Dale found blood and we found teh bear about 90 yards away.......down a VERY steep hill of course. The drag out was a tough but happy problem to have
We took him to the check station to be registered and weighed and then to the garage and hung him next to Mary's 200 pound sow. We had a great hunt!
We had some HUGE black bears taken this year in PA. Several over 700 pounds, the largest weighed in at 739 pounds!
Many were over 600 pounds. I could not even imagine dragging those monsters out!
| AspenHill |
| (Sponsor) |
| 04/12/03 02:22 AM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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Very cool! What's the bear population in PA anyway?
| IronBuck |
| (.300 member) |
| 04/12/03 02:52 AM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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I have read that the population of black bears here in PA is anywhere from 12-14,000 bears and growing. I have seen bears in the woods only 10 miles North of downtown Pittsburgh. When they get that close to civilization they are usually trapped and relocatd back to the mountains.
Here is the breakdown from the Game Comission website after the first 2 days of a 3 day season. I have not seen any final tallies as of yet:
Release #113-03 NOVEMBER 26, 2003
BEAR HUNTERS HAVING A PHENOMENAL SEASON
Harvest approaches 2,300 after two days
HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported this morning that bear hunters - aided by the increased visibility provided by a light snow that fell in western and northern counties Monday - are having a great season. The statewide bear season will end today at sunset.
Agency employees processed 845 bears at check stations on Tuesday, the season's second day. This brings the total number of bear checked after two days to 2,299. In 2002, agency personnel processed 2,022 over the season's first two days. In 2001, when the state posted its second largest bear harvest, the two-day total was 2,640.
"We're about 300 bears above last year's harvest pace after two days, which puts our harvest up about 14 percent over 2002's," Mark Ternent, Game Commission bear biologist. "Hunters are getting the job done, they may end up posting the state's third best three-day bear harvest.
"Although the total bear harvest will be close to a 50-50 male-female ratio, males are slightly outnumbering females in the harvest, which supports some of our evidence that adult females started denning earlier. The impressive weights of the top-ten bears taken in the harvest this year, reflects that adult males, on the other hand, have been active, and are abundant."
Hunters have now taken at least 10 bears exceeding 600 pounds during the season's first two days. The largest was a 739-pound male (estimated live weight) taken at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Weatherly Township, Carbon County, by Brian J. Coxe of Weatherly.
Other top bears - all listed with estimated or actual live weights - are as follows:
725-pound male taken in Sweden Township, Potter County, on Monday at 7:45 a.m. by Benjamin A. Long of Coudersport.
661-pound male taken in Tell Township, Huntingdon County, on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. by Gregg E. Walls of Dry Run.
648-pound male taken in Cherry Ridge Township, Wayne County, on Monday at 2:45 p.m. by Andrew G. Box of Honesdale.
644-pound male taken in Knox Township, Clarion County, on Monday at 9:30 a.m. by Brandon S. Carson of Monongahela.
642-pound male taken in Beech Creek Township, Clinton County, on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. by James S. Hoover of Lititz.
642-pound male taken in Stroud Township, Monroe County, on Monday at 8 a.m. by Donald W. Labar of Saylorsburg.
634-pound male taken in Hazle Township, Luzerne County, on Monday at 11:30 a.m. by William E. Jefferson of Harleigh.
624-pound male taken in Spring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, on Monday at 7:30 a.m. by Daniel J. Gregorsky of Moscow.
616-pound male taken in Bedford Township, Bedford County, on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. by Jesse L. Ritchey of Claysburg.
| IronBuck |
| (.300 member) |
| 06/12/03 06:23 AM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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This news just came in. Three black bears taken this year in PA were OVER 800 Pounds!!!!!
The top black bear taken in Pennsylvania this year are 808, 837, 864 lbs.
TriState News
www.tristatenews.com
| AspenHill |
| (Sponsor) |
| 06/12/03 09:32 AM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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I just saw that today too! Can you tell me if they were all from a nearby area or did they occur randomly though the state?
Is there a golden triangle in Pensy for bears?
| IronBuck |
| (.300 member) |
| 06/12/03 01:28 PM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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The biggest bears.....those 800 pounders came from the North East and North central parts of the state. I am not sure why they get so big there. I assume it has something to do with very difficult terrain to hunt. The bears just live longer. When you get a bear here you have to take it to a check station. It is weighed and they take a tooth for aging. A month later you get a certificate from the PGC stating the stats plus the age of the bear. It is not uncommon for bears to be aged at 25-27+ years.
Getting a 400-500 pound bear can happen anywhere in the state. The 600+ bears are mostly from the North East but this year there were some 700 pound black bears taken in The North Central area.
NitroX
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| (.700 member) |
| 06/12/03 02:55 PM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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Nice!
| mikeh416Rigby |
| (.450 member) |
| 09/12/03 01:08 PM |
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Re: Pennsylvania Bears-Pics
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Some of the big bears taken in the N.E.come from the Pocono Mountains. That area has a lot of developements, and the bears have become garbage can and dump regulars. A lot of people feed them as well, despite the advise not to by the game commission officers. A few years ago, a hibernating bear was removed from under the front porch of a home up there. It weighed in at over 600 pounds.