Some may find it hard to believe, but Pennsylvania is one of the best states in the country for bear hunting, and we account for some of the biggest black bears taken. As I write this piece, the final count is not yet in, but five bears were taken in the early archery season in WMU’s 2B and 5C, both well below Interstate 80, and another 1,345 have been taken throughout the state leading up to the regular firearms season. The regular firearms season runs from Nov. 23-26 and just ended, so those results are not yet available, but traditionally, that’s when about half our total bear take is accounted for. Last year, 2,920 bears were taken, and 1,086 of those were taken in the four-day regular firearms season.
Not only does there seem to be more bear in Pennsylvania, but there are definitely a lot more opportunities to hunt them than in years past. In addition to a statewide archery season that runs from Oct. 19-Nov. 9, we also have a muzzleloader season from Oct. 24-26, a Special Firearms season for Junior and Senior license holders, active-duty military, and certain disabled persons. Add to that a statewide regular firearms season from Nov.23-26 and additional hunting opportunities in certain WMUs extending into December. Not only have the opportunities increased, but when you add today’s high-tech crossbows to the archery season, many more hunters are likely pursuing bears with crossbows. In 2003, when bear hunting days were more limited and crossbows were not what they are today, we had 130,000 licensed bear hunters; last year, we had 206,124 licensed bear hunters.
As I already mentioned, Pennsylvania has some of the biggest bears in the country and North America. Thus far this year, there have been eight bears, each estimated to weigh over 600 pounds. The two heaviest bears were estimated to weigh over 700 pounds each. One of those bears came from Potter County, and the other from Somerset County. By comparison, the top-weight bear in 2023 had an estimated weight of 691 pounds.
Thus far in the season, the top three counties statewide are Clinton with 97, Lycoming with 71, and Tioga with 69. I’m sure those numbers will change considerably by the time the final count is reached. Just to give you some idea, last year’s final bear take had Tioga County at the top with 176, Lycoming County with 170, and Potter County with 155.
It’s not over yet, at least for parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The extended season is coming up in WMU’s 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 5A, and 4E, which is my backyard. That season runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7, partially overlapping some of the regular firearms deer season. There is also an extended season in several units in the southern part of the state.
It will be interesting to see how the numbers come in this year, but if it’s not a new record, I suspect the bear take will be quite high, with the top three counties again coming from the northern portion of the state.
