First time bear

[agardner00]

Howdy, folks. My brother and I are planning our first black bear hunt this year so I figured I’d join y’all and try to get some NY/bear pointers. I’ve been a small game hunter most of my life, been hunting whitetails out here in KS for the past four years, and went to CO for an elk hunt in 2018, so not a complete newbie but certainly not an expert. Any pointers are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Alex

 

 

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[corydd7]

What part of NY?

[agardner00]

What part of NY?

We don’t have anything picked out yet but have been looking at the Dix Mountain area.


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[The_Real_TCIII]

You’re
Coming to NY specifically
For bear? That’s a tall order my friend. We get bears by accident in this state


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[nyslowhand]

Glad to see you have an interest in hunting in NY! No offense, but seems anti-climatic to want to hunt bear in NYS after KS bucks and CO elk??? Like above member mentioned, most bears in NYS are harvested by deer hunters when the opportunity arises that a bear happens to walk by! Nothing like any of the TV shows about bear hunting in Canada or some other western states. Have you looked at our NYS DEC bear hunting regulations & season dates?

[agardner00]

Yeah, I’m hunting NY bears and Oregon elk this year—might need to talk to someone about decision-making . Fact is, my brother can’t swing any big western hunts this year and we want to get together. NY has good non-resident prices for the deer/bear combo. He’s in Ohio so will not have to take as much time off work and can pull his camper up there. And, I happen to think the Adirondacks are gorgeous but haven’t been up in that country in a long time.


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[suburbanfarmer]

On 12/25/2019 at 11:16 PM, agardner00 said:

Yeah, I’m hunting NY bears and Oregon elk this year—might need to talk to someone about decision-making . Fact is, my brother can’t swing any big western hunts this year and we want to get together. NY has good non-resident prices for the deer/bear combo. He’s in Ohio so will not have to take as much time off work and can pull his camper up there. And, I happen to think the Adirondacks are gorgeous but haven’t been up in that country in a long time.


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You are better off looking at catskills region for bear rather than going to ADK. GL with whatever you decide.

[Lawdwaz]

On 12/25/2019 at 11:16 PM, agardner00 said:

Yeah, I’m hunting NY bears and Oregon elk this year—might need to talk to someone about decision-making . Fact is, my brother can’t swing any big western hunts this year and we want to get together. NY has good non-resident prices for the deer/bear combo. He’s in Ohio so will not have to take as much time off work and can pull his camper up there. And, I happen to think the Adirondacks are gorgeous but haven’t been up in that country in a long time.


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Go to Tioga County, Pennsylvania for bear. Don’t waste your time in NYS. 

[Rattler]

See if you can find a private landowner with a bear problem in Northwestern NJ.  The moron of a Governor in NJ has banned bear hunting in the state on all but private land.  The black bear numbers are climbing fast there and many landowners have issues with them.  I wouldn't be surprised if they offered to pay you to hunt bear on their land.  NJ has some huge black bear.  It probably has the highest success rate per permit too.

[rob-c]

You would be way better off going to Pennsylvania, they had a record bear take this year. PA expanded their special firearms muzzleloader and archery bear season .

[wolc123]

You are not "wasting your time" hunting NY's Adirondacks, because they really are gorgeous.  I have been to most of the lower 48, hunting in some of them and Canada, and have never witnessed any scenery that rivaled that of NY's Adirondack mountains.  It is not all about the kill. The biggest issue with hunting there, is that it takes much of the luster out of hunting other places.  I can no longer get real excited about hunting the flatlands around home, after having had some success up there, and I know I am not alone on this forum in that respect.  Check out Robin's videos in the "Big Woods" section, if you want to get a feel for what it is like up there.   

My recommendation would be to plan for a deer/bear combo hunt during the ML week, which precedes the opening of gun season.   On colder years, many bears will be denned up, by the time regular gun season opens.   Getting up there earlier gives you a better chance of catching them out feeding.  It also gives you a better chance of catching the "peak fall foliage", which is the most gorgeous time of the year to be there.  

Some of the Adirondack DMU's, on the edge of the 6.5 million acre Adirondack park, allow antlerless deer to be taken with a ML, while those closer to the center do not.   I would aim for those "edge" DMUS for that reason, in addition to having better odds of a bear harvest, since they generally have more food available.         

Edited December 29, 2019 by wolc123

[mmkay]

Try the port Jarvis area (NJ, ny, pa) border..highest concentration of bear in nys I believe.  There is a large tract of state land in the area as well

[wolc123]

Personally, if coming from Ohio with a camper, I would aim for the Harrisville area.  It is less than (2) hours from the I-90 / I-81 intersection (exit 48 from I-81).   There are many state forests, has DMU's where antlerless deer are legal during early ML, available camping, and good dining (try the Harrisville lanes).   Deer and bear numbers are pretty good (any Adirondack DMU with legal antlerless deer harvest during the early ML season has decent deer numbers).       

[Stein13]

The other option is to look into fall deer bear hunt in Canada not real expensive and way better success rates just my opinion live in ny and bear hunt in Canada every year 

[Lawdwaz]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

You are not "wasting your time" hunting NY's Adirondacks, because they really are gorgeous. 

It's a "bear hunt", not a camping trip.

AND, Tioga County PA is no slouch on the beauty either.

Copy/Paste from DEC website:

" Hunters in New York killed 1,295 black bears during the 2018 hunting season, about 9 percent less than in 2017, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Hunters killed 804 black bears last year in the state's Southern Zone, which includes the Hudson Valley and Catskills, the department said.Mar 12, 2019 "

Per the December 27, 2019 issue of New York Outdoor News, the Pennsylvania bear kill was 4,577 on December 9. 

A link to an article published November 24, 2019........

https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-bear-harvest-nears-3000-for-2019-after-firearms-opener-on-saturday/

Another link, this one on the 2018 bear take in NYS.  Note less than 500 bear killed in the 'Daks during the 2017 season.

Ya pay your money, ya take your chances.....

[wolc123]

2 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

It's a "bear hunt", not a camping trip.

AND, Tioga County PA is no slouch on the beauty either.

 

.

I have been thru there many times (never hunting) and I agree with your "no slouch" description.   Certainly it is not in the same "world-class" league on scenery as the Adirondacks though, and I doubt Teddy Roosevelt would have felt as "at home" there.     Also, maybe these guys are looking for a challenge, and it sounds like the Adirondacks would provide a greater one, based on the numbers that you quoted. 

Like I said though, there is a danger.  After you get a few kills under your belt in the Adirondacks, the rest of the world's hunting adventures loose much of their appeal:         

p.s: first snow is nice up there but peak fall foliage is even nicer.

[agardner00]

Thanks for all the tips, they are quite helpful and much appreciated! Keep ‘me coming!


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[agardner00]

I have been thru there many times (never hunting) and I agree with your "no slouch" description.   Certainly it is not in the same "world-class" league on scenery as the Adirondacks though, and I doubt Teddy Roosevelt would have felt as "at home" there.     Also, maybe these guys are looking for a challenge, and it sounds like the Adirondacks would provide a greater one, based on the numbers that you quoted. 
Like I said though, there is a danger.  After you get a few kills under your belt in the Adirondacks, the rest of the world's hunting adventures loose much of their appeal:         

p.s: first snow is nice up there but peak fall foliage is even nicer.

Yes, I much prefer to hunt the Flint Hills and Great Plains here in KS, even though all the KS monster bucks are on farmland.


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