Pennsylvania bear info for Sumtacks

[doverdog]

You are entitled to your opinion about the size of the bears in Pennsylvania, but here is the official release about the 2003 bear kill in PA. The largest was a monster of 864 lbs and the # 2 one was 837 lbs. I think the state had 11 killed over 600 lbs. The release will give the details. The success rate for killing a bear in PA is only about 3-4% so Canada is still a good bet if you want to score. They seem to eat well here even though the acorn crop has been dismal the last two years and this year not looking a lot better, at least locally.
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?A=11&Q=160828
:thumbsup:

 

[Huntinfool]

By Golly I believe ya set that straight period! LOL! :RO:

Chuck

 

[roundball]

Nice job...facts do have a way of abruptly shutting off the flow...I like facts...they're unemotional, they're not anecdotal, they're not opinions, they're simply actual knowledge and real truth...oh well, maybe sumday

 

[Huntinfool]

Maybe Minn. will grow em big sumday, maybe sumhow, sumway! :huh:

Chuck :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

 

[sse]

Well whar is sumtacks. He must be sumplace. ::

sse

 

[RussB]

Excellent Superflint!
I guess I was most surprised by the number of bear taken by the age group of 12-16 year olds. Also, the 864 pounder must have been a monster!
Casual reading of the page suggested many of the weights were "estimated" live weights, don't know how they came up with such exactness using the 30% rule...I have to re-read it again.
AAR, It was VERY informative, and very thoughtful of you to post it.
Russ

 

[doverdog]

The weights are almost 100% estimates, based on charts the Game Commission has compiled over the years. PA has one of the better black bear programs in the country and they use the "If it weighs this much dressed, it weighed this much on the paw". They also do acutal live and dressed weight comparisons with road killed bears. The guesstimates aren't dead on but they are pretty close. Some of the prime bear country in the state is not very user friendly and getting one out is a chore. I have often said I would pay good money to watch a few guys get a 700-800 lb bear out of the woods. Sounds like a job for a log skidder. :haha:

 

[Huntinfool]

It still beats the tar out them scrawny little old bears up in Minn.! :crackup: :haha: :crackup: :haha: :crackup:

Chuck

 

Ouch! OK fellers I seen it, 800+ bear,, And I R wrong And I R humbled,I take it back,,everybody in Penn can go to the local weighing station and see big bear!!(hope they keep the thumb off the scale!)

Ouch!ekks! ouch, DANG!! that hurt!! Ouch, 800+ Black bear??

 

[Huntinfool]

Sumtimes it's good to be humbled Tacks. Heck I had no idea they got that big up there either! LOL!

I was just careful not to say any words I might have to eat!

Ok, I guess you've paid enough from my end, you're alright!
Even if'n you are full of :bull: most of us are ya know!LOL!

Chuck :thumbsup:

 

[RussB]

Sumtimes it's good to be humbled Tacks. Heck I had no idea they got that big up there either! LOL!
I was just careful not to say any words I might have to eat!
Ok, I guess you've paid enough from my end, you're alright!
Even if'n you are full of :bull: most of us are ya know!LOL!
Chuck :thumbsup:

Sumtacks, don't beat yerself up too bad. I am right there with you.
Since the advent of the so called "information age", I've had to eat quite a bit of crow. It seems I am developing a preference for "warm" crow, as opposed to the old cold crow I was so used to. This one was served just right, and I learned something...and that's the best way to eat crow. Ifin ya gotta eat it, belly up, and enjoy.

As I've stated in previous posts, I've taken a few bear in my life time. I've seen a lot of bear taken by other hunters, and I've helped pack out a bunch.
When you're the one doing the packin, all bear weigh "nearly a ton"! However, when he is put back together at the check station, and everything packed up in a tarp for weigh-in, he seems to loose a lot of that weight.
The Fish & Wild Life boys have their ducks in order when it comes to doing this, their word is taken as final, and that's how it should be.
As a rule, to the best of my knowledge, 30% is the factor used in adding to "cleaned" weight (removal of the intestines) to establish "live" weight.
Using this rule, the bear that weighed in at 800# +, would have had a live weight of something better than 1,040#. That is an enormous black bear!
A 350# "cleaned" bear would be in the neighborhood of 450# live weight, and that too is a nice bear.
Many thanks to those posting for the kind way they have pointed out the error of my ways. I certainly don't mind eating crow, when it's presented so nicely. :sorry:
Respectfully, Russ

 

[bob1961]

i was there in pike co. station and saw two 700+ pounders....and some sweaty guys let me tell ya them thar guys was pooped :snore: ...............................bob

 

[RussB]

i was there in pike co. station and saw two 700+ pounders....and some sweaty guys let me tell ya them thar guys was pooped :snore: ...............................bob

Bob....I noticed that Pike Co.was where that big fellow was taken too.
I would appear, from what I've seen here, that Penn. has probably got the biggest blacks, in the lower 48. This has been a most informative string!
It seems everytime I think I may have the answer the question changes. But that is good too, I guess.
How about spring hunts? Do you guys hunt them in the spring? Or, like most places, does the hunt take place during deer season?
Russ

After searching the page Superflint provided, I see the Non-Resident license only cost $21, and a Bear tag appears to be $36........Unless there is something I'm not seeing here, that is the most reasonable fee for a non-resident that I'm aware of.
Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have gotten to the point where I may never be able to hunt there again. My own home state of Washington is just as stupid.
I just may have to pay you boys a visit!
Russ

 

[musketman]

i was there in pike co. station and saw two 700+ pounders....and some sweaty guys let me tell ya them thar guys was pooped :snore: ...............................bob

Bob....I noticed that Pike Co.was where that big fellow was taken too.

Just how far IS Pike County from Three Mile Island, Bob? :winking: :crackup:

 

Back in the late 60s a friend of mine did a thesis at Penn State on the black bear population, I believe restricted to Centre County. He darted and weighed them on a scale by hoisting them up with block and tackle to trees. His scales only went to 600 lbs, but he said he weighed three bear that were too heavy for his scales. At that time, he said the AVERAGE adult male bear in the area was over 500 lbs. I went on the first legal bear hunt PA in modern times when I was a grad student at Penn State in about 1967/8. It was a one day hunt and if my memory serves about 600-700 bears were killed. I hunted with a pal in the rugged Allegheny Plateau country west of PSU. A light snow had fallen just that morning and we saw hundreds of bear tracks, including one trail that was several yards wide where numerous bears had walked within the hour or two before we came....I was impressed! P.S. we caught up with one huge bear after nearly 10 miles of tracking, and deciding we couldn't get it back to our VW bug, we let it go...I've wondered if we could've gotten it on the VW, if we did make it back!!! :shake:

The weights are almost 100% estimates, based on charts the Game Commission has compiled over the years. PA has one of the better black bear programs in the country and they use the "If it weighs this much dressed, it weighed this much on the paw". They also do acutal live and dressed weight comparisons with road killed bears. The guesstimates aren't dead on but they are pretty close. Some of the prime bear country in the state is not very user friendly and getting one out is a chore. I have often said I would pay good money to watch a few guys get a 700-800 lb bear out of the woods. Sounds like a job for a log skidder. :haha:

 

[doverdog]

Some further info on PA's bear season. Sorry, Russ B, but the cost of a Non-resident PA general hunting license is $101 and $36 for the bear license. There is no spring hunting, or hunting over bait or with dogs. The season is traditionally Mon, Tues, and Wed of the week of Thanksgiving. The regular antlered and antlerless deer season starts the Monday after Thanksgiving. Starting last year, some of the prime area of the state was also open during deer season for a limited time. I'm not familar with the details since it is too far from be to hunt.

 

[RussB]

Some further info on PA's bear season. Sorry, Russ B, but the cost of a Non-resident PA general hunting license is $101 and $36 for the bear license. There is no spring hunting, or hunting over bait or with dogs. The season is traditionally Mon, Tues, and Wed of the week of Thanksgiving. The regular antlered and antlerless deer season starts the Monday after Thanksgiving. Starting last year, some of the prime area of the state was also open during deer season for a limited time. I'm not familar with the details since it is too far from be to hunt.

Superflint... "The season is traditionally Mon, Tues, and Wed of the week of Thanksgiving. The regular antlered and antlerless deer season starts the Monday after Thanksgiving."....I think I'm seeing here that the season is a few days before regular deer season starts, and that sounds even better. To me it would mean the guys out hunting at that time would all be bear hunters, and the taking of a bear would not just incidental to the deer hunt.

As far as that cost on license....$101, I think you said. That's still one heck of a deal! Two years back I payed $720 for my oldest son's non-resident license so he could hunt with me. He is a resident of California.
The license included tags for Deer, Elk, Cougar, and Bear. (There was not an option to get just Elk and Bear, had to take it all. A deer tag..or, an elk tag, NOT BOTH, is about $400.00 I think. (Like $396 or $398)
Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico ain't no better for the non-resident...possibly worse in Idaho and New Mexico this year.
Thanks for the reply, and double thanks for all the information.
Respectfully, Russ

 

[doverdog]

Russ, to expand on the $101 non-resident license, it is not just a permission slip to buy other tags needed to hunt game animals. The general license entitles you to all small game, an antlered deer, and any fall turkey and a spring gobbler. Archery, muzzleloader, bear, and furtaker license are extra. A resident general license is only $20 and gets you the same stuff as a non-resident general. A pretty good deal but a lot of guys still gripe. Antlerless tags are on a drawing for specific Wildlife Management Units and cost $6. ::

 

[musketman]

Superflint, think you could locate a picture of that 800+ pound bear?

You would think that should have made some air time somewhere...

 

[doverdog]

No luck on the picture. I thought the Game Commission would have stacks of 8"x10" glossies and hand them out like baseball cards. I stand corrected. I called the Division office in Frankln, HQ for the NW Division. Nothing there. Moving up the chain of command I called Commission HQ in Harrisburg. They had nothing either. Next was the Division HQ for the NE Division, the locale of Pike Co. where the two 800+ lb bears were killed. Nothing. I called the daily newspaper in Allentown and they couldn't help without a bunch of details I didn't have. I looked up a sporting goods store in Milford on[url] Swithcboard.com[/url], close to the bear kills, and the guy I talked to had pictures of the bear after it was killed, and some on the hoof before it was shot. He didn't act like he wanted to part with any. The guy that shot the 864 pounder lives near there but he has an unlisted number. I have a request in to a friend that is a Deputy WCO to see if he can unearth anything. If something turns up I will post it. As a point of interest, both of the 800+ lb bears were killed in the same township of the same county. Must be one hell of a gene pool around there. :sorry: