#100-09 GAME COMMISSION OFFERS ADVICE ON AVOIDING BEAR CONFLICTS

[CoyoteJeff]

GAME COMMISSION OFFERS ADVICE ON AVOIDING BEAR CONFLICTS
With tomorrow being the first day of autumn, many Pennsylvanians will be spending increasing amounts of time outdoors.  This also is when black bears become more active, setting the stage for an increase in bear sightings and possibly encounters.

Mark Ternent, Pennsylvania Game Commission black bear biologist, noted that, as fall progresses, bears will begin to increase their food intake to prepare for the upcoming denning season, which begins in mid- to late-November.  For some bears, the search for food may lead them closer to people or homes.

Ternent offered suggestions on how to reduce the likelihood that your property will attract bruins and how to best react when a bear is encountered.

For more information, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177152

[uncle buck]

Coyotejeff thanks for sharing this with us...


Bears will come to a predator call.....I had one come to a rabbit in distress in Dauphin Cunty in the June time frame.

Dreamcatcher called one in (Wyoming/Luzerne) (Multiple sounds) and it was coming to his calling in the summer too. I happened to be the one that heard it as it came to his call...during both instances the bear and or bears were growling.....I wonder why in both instances my hat fell off my head? Maybe it was because my hair on my head went straight up into the air?

Anyone else call one in and what sound did you use to attract it?


IMO I carry pepper spray with me and sometimes even a Dan Wesson 357 Mag snubnose.  Since I just might be hunting coyotes with a single shot...

[scott]

I called one in this spring, when i first saw the flashes of black i thought it could have been a black yote.  He acted like a PA yote.  I was on a powerline 100 yards downwind of the caller and he was 80 to 100 yards downwind of me.  he walked across the powerline with this nose in the air.   i  started with JS rodent in distress and was about 3 minutes into the first wait.   i carry both the rifle and the shotgun on stands anymore so bears aren't much of a concern. 

[Lifes2fun]

I posted pics of a couple I called in last year late summer while calling for coyotes...even had one attack my quiver critter rabbit decoy.....

[uncle buck]

Nowwhat if you run into one of those mutant type bears that was in that movie "Proficey???  I think that was the name of it???  Now because of that I never hunt at night time by Three Mile Island.


On the serious side... Best to carry some mace with you.  Just spray it in their eyes and run....
Um it does make me think when I do hunt along the Carbon Luzerne County area of Pa.....There is bear in them there hills for sure....

[22hornet]

I had a bear come to a deer distress. Small bear but never the less a bear.

[Buckwheat]

I have called bears in the day time and at night. In the day time it is neat, but in the dark it does keep you on edge. I would never trust a bear with out a gun. Think about it, they are a wild animal and very strong and fast if they decided to attack. I use to not give much thought about bears when calling. But there are more and more bears out there ever year.
Ernie

[bootmud]

Nitecaller and myself called in a pair of em to 12 yds using the Male Cardinal dist. on the Foxpro.  They stood on their back legs to get a better look.  Definatley made for an iteresting calling stand.