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Post by Dutch on Dec 12, 2023 15:00:22 GMT -5
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Post by moosemike on Dec 12, 2023 17:01:39 GMT -5
Too many Sows being killed in October. Population is down. But that's what they wanted
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Post by Dutch on Dec 12, 2023 17:16:19 GMT -5
Yes, Terrnent was worried about the sow issue. Time to rein it in?
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Post by blackbruin on Dec 12, 2023 18:25:40 GMT -5
We could have harvested 3 in rifle season. 2 second week. No sows with cubs at least none were seem..
4d. Right where clinton, union, lycoming, centre counties meet.
We took one on opening day a 154lb male
And we missed one 2nd day in rifle.
Wasnt that long ago this would be a normal harvest no?
We have seen more guys devote early season over rifle season for them. Plus 99% of the guys out here ride around and road hunt anymore than put their boots on and hit the laurel.
So i see it both ways.
Its what they wanted to do.
And if you ask me its still really good hunting and always has been near there. I mean guys used to travel here for bear since the 70's and still do.
They will adapt what needs to and they will not fail. I mean some thought the alt kill em all and antler restrictions were the wrong thing to do. Look at how much success that has had now what 22 years later?
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Post by stroupy on Dec 12, 2023 19:34:56 GMT -5
We put the effort in and zero bear came out of the drives we did. They got them out in rifle season. Not much food where I go the last 3 years so a lot are concentrated where there is food or just in bed early.
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Post by CoureurDeBois on Dec 12, 2023 21:05:34 GMT -5
I don’t know if we’re on the wrong track or not. This year’s harvest was down less than one percent from last year, but it is a downward trend that is probably showing a decline in population.
We killed one bear, a 535 estimate live weight male, and my 16 year old grandson hit another one. Crew lost the sparse blood trail at dark, and after a 3 hour search on Monday by his dad, mother and dog, they gave up.
My one friend’s camp, killed one, hit one that they also lost the blood trail on and had shooting at 2 others.
I do believe the early combined muzzleloader/archery season should be cut back to two days, a Saturday and Sunday and the Archery season cut back to one week to take some pressure off pregnant female. Time to take some pressure off and see what happens for a couple of years.
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Post by ridgecommander on Dec 13, 2023 16:10:11 GMT -5
It sounds like a lot of bears are bing taken incidentally in archery and rifle seasons. They should do what they did in fall turkey season when they said that many hens were being taken as incidental kills. Eliminate rifles....... :-)
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Post by Dutch on Dec 13, 2023 20:19:23 GMT -5
It sounds like a lot of bears are bing taken incidentally in archery and rifle seasons. They should do what they did in fall turkey season when they said that many hens were being taken as incidental kills. Eliminate rifles....... :-) 😂😂😂 |
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Post by dougl on Jan 16, 2024 10:19:11 GMT -5
They took one area out of the extended season so those bears being saved(275),attributed to the lower havest this year compared to last year.
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Post by CoureurDeBois on Jan 16, 2024 15:26:27 GMT -5
They took one area out of the extended season so those bears being saved(275),attributed to the lower havest this year compared to last year. Hopefully they know what they're doing and the 275 that were saved needed saving. |
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Post by dougl on Jan 16, 2024 17:17:13 GMT -5
I have no clue what the statewide bear population is like.Some years I see more than others and it's always heavily dependent on available food.This year I didn't see a single bear and only one track in the mud but my kid killed one.We saw zero sign where he killed it.
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Post by CoureurDeBois on Jan 16, 2024 19:32:33 GMT -5
I have no clue what the statewide bear population is like.Some years I see more than others and it's always heavily dependent on available food.This year I didn't see a single bear and only one track in the mud but my kid killed one.We saw zero sign where he killed it. I usually have a crew of 14 bear hunters at camp each rifle season, plus or minus one or two. We have killed 10 bear in the last 29 years, usually only one in the years we have connected, except for one year we killed two. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to pre season signs and sighting during rife season. Last year, 2022, we found no pre season signs of bear, and didn't find any in bear season. Then the one trail cam, that I still had up showed a sow and two cubs early first day of rifle deer season, at my tree stand, no I wasn't there. This past season, 2023, once again no pre season signs, tho the drivers did find find signs on the first drive. We harvested one bear on the last drive Saturday, which as far as we know along with the two wardens, that stop at camp late Monday morning told us, was the largest bear harvested in Clinton County, a 535 pound male. The Sunday hunt produced nothing around camp. The younger. guys took off after lunch to hunt a very steep and hard mountain near my son's place, he wouldn't allow those of us long in the teeth to go. He just said you can't make it to where we are going, and I have no place for you to watch where you can get to, so we stayed at camp, the afternoon nap was much welcomed. He had seen bear signs in this area, and my 16 year old grandson did cripple one, that they couldn't find when it turned dark. Was seen in deer season, and all that saw it said it would make it, was just limping bad on right front leg. My one friend and myself spent 3 days at camp during the second week of rifle deer season. I found one fresh bear track in the snow, in the area where we made the first drive in bear season. I no longer get to excited about pre season bear signs. They sometimes work out, but so do the lack of signs, as I said "no rhyme or reason." |
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Post by fleroo on Jan 17, 2024 8:32:25 GMT -5
That made me laugh.  Thinking back to the days when I would have to sneak out of the house to do some hunts that my son was just way too small to go along. Usually with friends. I was wondering Coureur, if you old guys looked at your sons with the same pouty face and sad eyes, that my son did when he couldn't go ?  |
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Post by moosemike on Jan 17, 2024 9:54:02 GMT -5
That made me laugh. Thinking back to the days when I would have to sneak out of the house to do some hunts that my son was just way too small to go along. Usually with friends. I was wondering Coureur, if you old guys looked at your sons with the same pouty face and sad eyes, that my son did when he couldn't go ? No. I guarantee the response was "phew, thank God!" |
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Post by CoureurDeBois on Jan 17, 2024 10:07:23 GMT -5
I knew where he was going, and I wanted no part of it.
When they got back to camp, even some of the young guys were remarking that the side of the mountain was so steep they had to hold onto trees to keep from falling.
But there were bear there.
We actually have one place, near camp, where we found good bear sign this year. It was on the top of a point, and the mountain side below is more like a cliff. Son & his wife brought the top of of the side off one year, he hasn't said anything about doing it again.🤣 Bear sign or no bear sign.
Guess once was enough.
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Post by dougl on Jan 17, 2024 16:26:04 GMT -5
I always hunted with a decent sized group and I always volunteered to drive every drive.I liked pushing my physical limits.I never cared to kill one but always liked the anticipation of hearing the shots ring out.I no longer care to push my phyisical limits so I just stay closer to home and hunt them like I hunt deer.
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Thinking back to the days when I would have to sneak out of the house to do some hunts that my son was just way too small to go along. Usually with friends. I was wondering Coureur, if you old guys looked at your sons with the same pouty face and sad eyes, that my son did when he couldn't go ? 