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First week of Nov archery bear

8K views 51 replies 29 participants last post by  Coureur De Bois 
#1 ·
Why so early? why not the last week to help guys with vac.
 
#3 ·
Disproportionate allocation of the resource? Bowhunters hammer the bear population? Lol.

Bowhunters are organized and follow the protocol they should, for more opportunity. I'm not sure how much they demand what they want.

At the determent of all other hunters? Who? Those who choose not to participate or unable/unwilling to organize for their interests and make a serious effort to get the opportunities you desire.

So much easier to whine on the web.
 
#6 ·
Watch the presentation from the bear biologist on the PGC website. PGC wants a higher harvest statewide and feels this is the best way to do it. They avoided the last week because they want to be cautious. Archery bear harvest could go from 250 to 800 or more and by using the week they picked it can help limit overharvest since the highest participation rate during archery is the last week. IMO people will now take off the 5th week instead of the last week so they can hunt both deer and bear, at least that's my plan!:)
 
#7 ·
A disproportional allocation of the resource to a group already afforded more than ample opportunity.

Archers continue to demand more first chance and longer opportunity at the determent of all other hunters.
Archery seasons are longer because they are lower impact. Anyone is welcome to buy an archery stamp and get out early. If we made rifle season 6 weeks long, there would be no more deer left.
 
#16 ·
its good for the economy. go buy a crossbow, archery tag and bear tag. find a farm with standing corn and bear damage.

i hunt a farm and just about every year there are bears on the property. once the corn and soybeans are harvested, they disappear. maybe this year, i get a chance at one.

the owners son got one this year during rifle season. heres a photo of the paw print we found last year.
 

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#20 ·
I do not really care when the season is but it`s not hard to see we have plenty of bear and more need killed.I don`t think the kill numbers will change much because that time of year guys are mostly going to set up for buck not bear.I do think they will sell more bear stamps just because the guys hunting deer know a bear might come by.So in the end they will make more money.
 
#22 ·
I don't think the population is as good as people say it is. I think the early season should be a quota hunt just in case. I'm all for more opportunities for bear but we don't need to get greedy with the harvest and put a hurting on the population. They don't breed like deer and guys cry about that. I still highly doubt the early season tops 500 so I'm not that concerned yet.
 
#31 ·
A bear has to have 30 days after being tranquillized for the drug to be completely out of its system and can be eaten.

There is nothing that says a bear can’t be tranquillized inside of that 30 day window but if you do have to tranquillize one within 30 days of a bear season it needs to be marked with a do not eat tag. Then if a hunter harvests one he can’t eat you have to give them a permit that would allow them to hunt for and perhaps kill a second bear they could eat.

Dick Bodenhorn
 
#32 ·
I'm not for it at all and I archery hunt. We have 4 or 5 large crews of locals that drive with crossbows during that whole week of archery bear and from what I hear, do fairly well. I have noticed a decline in bear sightings over the last 5 years or so since they started doing this. Some of the #'s im hearing, there is now way they are making all these harvests legal. Now with it being during archery deer season, they will just slaughter what's left of the deer heard up there. This isn't about population control, it's about the almighty dollar plain and simple.
 
#35 ·
Let's say double digits for most in not all the crews. I heard 1 crew of 12 had 10 bears by Wednesday of that week. I find it hard to believe that they were all killed legally. I don't care how dedicated you are. You put a crew of 12 out there in rifle season and they would be hard pressed to do that. Now I was speaking with a DCNR ranger the last day of deer season about this and he said they know they are baiting but haven't been able to catch them.
 
#36 ·
So are they baiting or driving, which is it? Either way how does a change in the season affect things?

Like I said, they already push for deer with xbows, so what's it going to change? I watched a big crew put on a push the last day of archery deer this year while I was turkey hunting. The way the roads/terrain in that country are laid out influences how they drive it, and once you know how they do it, it's pretty easy to avoid/use to your advantage.
 
#40 ·
Some of these crews are doing well, but don't believe everything you hear, especially on kill numbers. The crew I'm somewhat familiar with know what they are doing. Most, if not all, are from the area, have hunted bear from the time they were kids, were taught by their dad's, uncles's, and grandfathers, know the areas like the back of there hands, know where the bears escape routes are, and a lot of them work and live in the woods year round.They also cover a lot, and I mean a lot of territory when hunting, the better part of 2G to be specific, the kills are not in one small area. I don't care what a DCNR ranger said, as for them baiting, I doubt it, at lease with this crew, for reasons I'm not going in to. They are just very good at what they do, and that is hunting bear.
 
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