Saturday Bear season opener

[shotgunner]

I see the PGC is making changes to the bear season. I like the idea of a Saturday opener because I can never get the time off during the week to bear hunt. Will this put a lot more hunters in the woods? Will they take a lot more bears? Shotgunner

[nessmuk101]

Part of the Saturday opener is that the bear archery season goes to 5 days, turkey season is closed for 3 days, (after all you should not be allowed to hunt bear and turkye on the same day),  and then reopens for 4 days.
It is a package deal.

[Graybeard]

I'd like to be there for the opening day this year but don't see a chance for a trip this year. My friend Barry up there has bears running around all over his farm this year. We're fairly sure he has five different bears caught on camera with his game cam at the bone pile they use to dump the offal from the steer, two hogs and whatever deer he kills each year. The last steer offal is about gone now but the bears have sure paid a bunch of visits.

A nearby neighbor claims to have seen six different bears but that is unsubstantiated really. We have the photos of those at the bone pile and while it's possible the same mom and cub might have been counted twice by us the difference in size of them seems to indicate they weren't the same two.

Both momma bears are quite large, one with cub that was almost as large as her and one with cub a good deal smaller and one additional cub smaller than either of the other two. A neighbor lady reported a HUGE bear at her house the same night he got the photos of the mom and cub on the 15th so it might have been a male in search of her or might have been her or of course still another not yet caught on camera.

His place seems over run with bears this year and I'd sure like to help put a bit of fear of man into them but just don't see me able to make a trip this year.

[dougell]

I think allowing more people to participate is a good thing.You have to remember that they did away with the concurrent,deer/bear season in the northeatern part of the state because of the saturday opener so I doubt the kill will be substantially larger.

[shotgunner]

There are a lot of bears in the state, and many of then quite big. I notice that when people are critical of the game commission that do not mention the bears, or the geese. I have never taken a bear and have not been able to participate very much up until now. The NY deer season is always on then, so if I have the last day of bear season off I end up deer hunting. This year will be different. I am not even sure why I want one, but have always had a need to collect a bear. Shotgunner

[trkyman1]

Well if you should ever get a bear and cut it up yourself{not at a processor}you wold likely give your deer meat away. Shoot it,dress it,get the hide off asap, and enjoy some of the best tasting wild game. Remember everyone likes chicken and look what they eat!! Bear eat everything also,including chickens.

[Bigeasy]

The PA bear season is short in duration, and traditional methods such as running dogs, or baiting is not allowed.  The take is dependent on a large number of hunters in the woods for a short period of time equals X number of bears killed.  Throw a Sat. opener in there, and you increase the number of hunters in the woods, and number of bears killed.  I live on the edge of the Susquehanna valley, right at the beginning of the north central mountains in PA, and see more bear then deer sometimes during the summer when I am in the woods.  I hear the Pocono's has an even higher density.

Larry

[trkyman1]

Hi Larry I too sometimes see more bear than deer but during the archery season. I'm in the Noxen area.

[84Jim]

enjoy some of the best tasting wild game.

+1 on the bear meat   Definately way more tender than deer, and good flavor too.  I'd be wary if it had access to garbage, but mine was a mountain bear and very tasty.

I'm anxious to try the Saturday opener.  Should be more hunters and the bears running.  I wonder if anyone will stay and hunt on Monday and Tuesday?

Jim

[manofthe45]

I'd like to be there for the opening day this year but don't see a chance for a trip this year. My friend Barry up there has bears running around all over his farm this year. We're fairly sure he has five different bears caught on camera with his game cam at the bone pile they use to dump the offal from the steer, two hogs and whatever deer he kills each year. The last steer offal is about gone now but the bears have sure paid a bunch of visits.

A nearby neighbor claims to have seen six different bears but that is unsubstantiated really. We have the photos of those at the bone pile and while it's possible the same mom and cub might have been counted twice by us the difference in size of them seems to indicate they weren't the same two.

Both momma bears are quite large, one with cub that was almost as large as her and one with cub a good deal smaller and one additional cub smaller than either of the other two. A neighbor lady reported a HUGE bear at her house the same night he got the photos of the mom and cub on the 15th so it might have been a male in search of her or might have been her or of course still another not yet caught on camera.

His place seems over run with bears this year and I'd sure like to help put a bit of fear of man into them but just don't see me able to make a trip this year.

GB just shoot me his contact info and I will gladly help thin the herd

This will be my first year back in the game in years.  Once you get old enough to need a real job its hard to quit your job mid oct and find a new one in Dec.    Most in adult blue collar jobs that don't have annual winter layoff have a hard to impossible time getting off prime hunting weeks or off a holiday week.  I get three days I can use whenever no matter who has off.  I will hunt sat and use at least one for bear.  forgoing opening of deer to take a long weekend to sling steel for cats

[irold]

Not sure about the bear meat thing........never had a good experience.  Always been very greasy , and real strong flavor.  Really smelled the kitchen up too.........maybe just the bears I tried .

[trkyman1]

All fat needs to be cleaned off and I mean all fat. If you had a processor do it I'll bet the meat was half spoiled before it was even skinned out. That hide has to come off the bear asap.

[375supermag]

I am pretty happy about the Saturday opener for bear season. It is always difficult for me to schedule time off, even with 3 weeks vacation.  I don't work on Saturday, so my teenage son and I will be on stand in Elk County before first light. Saturday opener should mean more hunters wandering around moving the bears and that can't hurt.

Now, if we could just get the antlered deer season opener moved to Saturday, I would be a happy hunter.

[melsdad]

I also like the idea of Bear opening on a Saturday. I was fortunate enough to have off work the last 2 seasons, but I'm not sure about this year. Being able to hunt on Saturday will get me atleast one day to hunt. We will have to wait , and see how this change effects the harvest numbers.

[nessmuk101]

Now that they have closed all the local town dumps and covered them over, the bear meat has been better than ever.  When they used to be "dump" bears and fed on garbage instead of natural feed they tasted like the stuff they ate.  Much better for the bears and the environment.