Pennsylvania’s statewide archery bear season ran from October 18-25, and the muzzleloader season statewide was from October 23-25. Of course, the regular statewide firearms season opened this past Saturday, the 22nd, and ends on the 25th. There is also extended firearms hunting from November 29-December 13 in WMUS 2B, 5B, 5C, and 5D, and extended firearms hunting in WMUS 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E, and 5A from November 29-December 6. Clearly, the opportunities to hunt bears in Pennsylvania have greatly increased over the years since bear hunting season was only one day long in 1982 and ended up going to three days long in 1986.

I recently delved into some of our bear-hunting history and was surprised by how much it has changed. If you go back to 1925, there were only 470 bears tagged, and it wasn’t until 1989 that those numbers hit 2,000. When you look at Pennsylvania’s top 25 bear harvests, which range from over 2,362 to 4,657, they have all occurred since 1998. As I already mentioned, the opportunities to hunt bears in our state have obviously greatly increased, no doubt contributing to the increased numbers in the harvest rate. It’s also true that bears have increased their territory and bears have become much more adaptable, and that’s obvious by how much they are seen roaming around even in suburban areas. While the northern half of the state no doubt has the greatest number of bears, it’s also true that a good number inhabit the southern portion of the state.

If you look at bear harvest numbers last year by county, as expected, Lycoming County is right up there with 148, but Clinton County came in with 163. Other counties with good numbers were Bradford County (133), Potter (109), Luzerne (95), Monroe (93), Pike (85), McKean (78), and Sullivan (75). These counties offer some heavily wooded bear cover, significant public hunting land, and, no doubt, a good number of serious bear hunters, helping to drive up their harvest rates.

Not only does Pennsylvania offer a good number of bears, but we also have some of the biggest bears in the country. Our average male black bear will go around 200 pounds, while a female will usually come in a bit over the 150-pound mark during the first three years. By the time our bears reach the four-year mark, a male will weigh over 400 pounds, and a female will weigh a bit over 200 pounds. In 2024, Pennsylvania’s largest bear weighed 774 pounds, and six others weighed over 600 pounds. A couple of weeks ago, someone showed me a video of a bear I would have estimated at around 400 pounds roaming not far from his treestand. How much do you want to bet that that bear won’t be at that same spot come the regular firearms season?

So, what are your chances of success? According to the Game Commission, less than 2 percent of the licensed bear hunters will end up with a bear. Who knows, maybe you will be part of that 2 percent this year.