Pennsylvania has three bear seasons, a 3 day regular rifle season, a longer archery season and a concurrent (with archery) 3 day muzzleloader season.
I have been hunting with my flintlock for many years but have never shot a bear, in fact I’ve never seen a bear in season, out of season I’ve almost shook hands with a couple but never when I could have shot one. This has been a lifelong goal to take a flintlock bear.
This season I hunted all three days of the muzzleloader hunt and the woods were very inactive, low animal movement all three days. Yesterday the wind began to blow and blow hard making it almost dangerous with potential limbs falling, I was careful where I chose to sit.
About 2:30 I moved off the ridge into the creek bottom to get some new scenery and try to escape the wind. I sat for 2 hours and a black squirrel passed by, and I thought well at least it was something black!
About 5:00 I caught movement to my right and can you believe it, it was a bear! Gun pointed left, bear to the right made it impossible to get a shot. It didn’t take long and it moved forward to where I could see the head from behind a tree, then it stopped started smelling the air and I knew I was about to get busted. I leaned forward and canted the gun on an angle to get around the tree and when the front sight settled behind the shoulder, the gun barked instantly. The bear bit at its back, turned and ran about 20yds on top of a small burm and toppled over.
It was an amazing few moments and I could not believe that I actually shot a bear with my trusty flinter, goal complete.
Estimated 176#
.50 cal prb, 90g FFF Goex
I have been hunting with my flintlock for many years but have never shot a bear, in fact I’ve never seen a bear in season, out of season I’ve almost shook hands with a couple but never when I could have shot one. This has been a lifelong goal to take a flintlock bear.
This season I hunted all three days of the muzzleloader hunt and the woods were very inactive, low animal movement all three days. Yesterday the wind began to blow and blow hard making it almost dangerous with potential limbs falling, I was careful where I chose to sit.
About 2:30 I moved off the ridge into the creek bottom to get some new scenery and try to escape the wind. I sat for 2 hours and a black squirrel passed by, and I thought well at least it was something black!
About 5:00 I caught movement to my right and can you believe it, it was a bear! Gun pointed left, bear to the right made it impossible to get a shot. It didn’t take long and it moved forward to where I could see the head from behind a tree, then it stopped started smelling the air and I knew I was about to get busted. I leaned forward and canted the gun on an angle to get around the tree and when the front sight settled behind the shoulder, the gun barked instantly. The bear bit at its back, turned and ran about 20yds on top of a small burm and toppled over.
It was an amazing few moments and I could not believe that I actually shot a bear with my trusty flinter, goal complete.
Estimated 176#
.50 cal prb, 90g FFF Goex
Attachments
Last edited:
