Bear hunting season gets underway
Clear skies and crisp temperatures were expected to help hunters on the opening of the four-day firearm bear season Saturday. Coupled with a good acorn crop, the statewide hunt, including Sunday, could begin under “optimal conditions,” said Emily Carrollo, the Game Commission’s bear black bear specialist.
“Mast this year has been good in a lot of areas in Pennsylvania, which is great for bears to pack on plenty of pounds,” she said. “Hunters should focus on good mast production spots during this time of year as they will attract bears that are looking to go into denning with as much fat as possible.”
In the 2022 seasons, about 205,000 bear licenses were sold and hunters dropped about 3,100 bears, a 2.8% success rate. This year, general hunting license sales ($20.97) were trending slightly higher, and Carrollo expects hunters to purchase about as many resident bear licenses ($16.97) as were sold last year.
The early 2023 seasons started in bad weather, particularly the joint archery-muzzleloader opener, and a lot of bear hunters stayed home. Preliminary harvest counts were slightly low (archery 659, muzzleloader 420, special firearm 114).
In wildlife management units that surround metropolitan Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (2B, 5C, 5D), the Game Commission continued attempts to control bear-human conflicts with expanded hunting seasons.
A long archery season began Sept. 16 and continues through Nov. 24, including two Sundays. The extended firearm season in those units extends bear hunting opportunities to Nov. 25, Nov. 26 and Nov. 27-Dec. 9. One bear may be taken in a license year.
“The population estimate statewide is around 15,000 bears, with the densest parts of the population being in the northcentral and northeast parts of the state,” Carrollo said. “The northeast regions will also have several WMUs open for the extended bear season, which runs concurrently with the statewide deer firearms season.”
Last year’s harvest included several brutes topping 700 pounds. Carrollo said more big bears could be found anywhere in Pennsylvania.