By Tom Tatum

Welcome to November, the month when deer, bear and turkey hunting peaks in Pennsylvania with the added bonus of hunting chances on select Sundays.

For archers, white-tailed deer breeding season (aka the rut) is ramping up and increasing bowhunters’ chances of bagging the trophy of their dreams. Fall turkey seasons also come into play while small game seasons continue and waterfowl seasons return later in the month. It’s a busy month for outdoor travel, but for many big game hunters, the bear becomes the main focus.

Somehow it goes unnoticed, but black bear hunting seasons in Pennsylvania are now open – at least for bowhunters, with a season that began statewide on October 19 and will continue until November 9. For Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) archers. ) 5C and 5D here in our neck of Penn’s Woods (and 2B to the west), the season is even more generous and reopened September 21 and ends November 29. In WMU 5B, the season runs from October 5 to November 29. 22.

For gun hunters, a special statewide gun season was held Oct. 24-26, along with a statewide muzzleloader season. ‘state, but the main event is just ahead when the regular statewide firearms season begins Nov. 23 through Nov. 26, followed by extended season on WMU 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D (from Nov. 30 November to December 14) and WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E and 5A (from November 30 to December 7). Yes, it’s complicated!

So it’s no surprise that the November issue of PENNSYLVANIA GAME NEWS, the monthly magazine of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, features on the cover a black bear being chased by a trio of bear hunters, a painting by Dana Twigg. But whatever your sporting weapon of choice – bow and arrow, crossbow, muzzleloader, shotgun or rifle, no other hunting season in Pennsylvania offers as potentially a big payoff as this one.

Last year, hunters took 2,920 black bears across Pennsylvania, or at least one in 58 of the state’s 67 counties and 20 of its 22 wildlife management units (WMUs). They took seven at the start of the season, 695 in the archery season, 541 in the muzzleloading and special firearms seasons, 1,086 in the regular firearms season and 591 during the extended seasons. Some were also massive.

The average female bear recorded by hunters weighed 152 pounds; the average male had 198. But bigger bears – much bigger – showed up during the harvest. Last year’s biggest was a 691-pounder caught in Pike County by Mitchell Jonathan, of Quakertown. But five other hunters caught bears exceeding 600 pounds, and each of the 10 heaviest bears weighed at least 576 pounds.

This is hardly surprising. Pennsylvania typically produces bears weighing more than 600 pounds each year, and often at least one or two exceeding 700. Pennsylvania has even seen seven bears exceeding 800 pounds captured since 1992, with the largest of them weighing 875 pounds captured in 2010 in Pike County.

“These are some of the biggest bears you’ll find in North America,” said Steve Smith, executive director of the Game Commission. “But that’s only part of what makes bear hunting in Pennsylvania so exciting. We have lots of bears in lots of places, and a series of seasons offering all sorts of opportunities throughout the fall as well.

Archery bear hunting began in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D on September 21 and will continue until November 29, including two Sundays, November 17 and 24. In UGF 5B, the season extends from October 5 to November 22. , with a Sunday, November 17. Elsewhere in the state, bear archery season began October 19 and continues through November 9.

The regular statewide gun bear season begins November 23, continues Sunday, November 24, and ends November 26. Finally, the extended bear season – which runs concurrently with parts of the gun bear season – runs from November 1 to November 23. From November 30 to December 7, including December 1, in WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E and 5A, and from November 30 to December 14, including December 1, in WMUs 2B, 5B , 5C and 5D.

It’s the same as last year, with one exception: Muzzleloader bear season used to last a week, instead of three days. It was shortened to address concerns about the number of female bears captured in early seasons.

That doesn’t mean Pennsylvania’s bears are in trouble, though. Melanie Weaver, supervisor of the Game Commission’s wild mammal section, estimated the current population at about 18,000 individuals. It has been increasing in recent years and is once again approaching a record level.

Still, the chances of a particular hunter obtaining a black bear are certainly high. More than 200,000 people hunt Pennsylvania bears each year — no other species except deer draws as many hunters to the woods — but fewer than three percent complete their tags.

Hunters who wish to join this select group should focus on two things: food and cover. Weaver said that in the fall, bears consume as many calories as possible before giving birth for the winter, preferably near thick, gnarly hiding places.

“The best thing you can do is position yourself in an area where a bear is likely to go when you plan your hunt,” Weaver said. “Since gaining weight is important in the fall, look for food sources. But also consider places where they might be resting, such as swamps, mountain laurels, hemlock stands, regenerating clearcuts, riparian groves, and areas with downed trees.

Hunters should also go into the woods with a plan for how to get a bear out if they capture one. Even smaller bears can be difficult for one person to handle. But it’s a good problem to have.

“Regardless of size, any bear captured in Pennsylvania is something to get excited about,” Smith said.

**** FALL TURKEY SEASON STARTS. Pennsylvania’s fall turkey season began Nov. 2 in 20 of Pennsylvania’s 22 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). The fall season is over here in our neck of the woods in WMU 5C and 5D. For other WMUs, the season lengths are as follows: WMU 1B, 3D, 4C and 4E – Nov. 2 to Nov. 9; WMU 1A, 2G, 3A, 4A, 4B and 4D – Nov. 2-Nov. 16; WMU 2A, 2F, 3B and 3C – Nov. 2-Nov. Nov. 16 and Nov. 27-Nov. 29; WMU 2B, 2C, 2D and 2E – November 2-Nov. November 22 and November 27-Nov. 29; and WMU 5A and 5B – Nov. 2 through Nov. 5. Hunters are advised that the three-day Thanksgiving season will again run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only at applicable WMUs.

As a reminder, no single projectile firearms may be used during the fall turkey season. Hunters may use only fine-shooting shotguns and archery equipment. Although fall turkey hunters are no longer required to wear fluorescent orange, the Game Commission strongly recommends the use of orange, especially when traveling. More on turkey season here in this column next week.

****HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES ON SUNDAYS. “A month of Sundays” was a phrase my grandmother liked to repeat. But for hunters, a month of Sunday now applies to the months of November and December. That’s because the Pennsylvania Game Commission legalized hunting on three different Sundays. These dates include Sunday November 17, Sunday November 24 and Sunday December 1. The most important of these is the December date immediately following the Saturday opening for firearms deer season, November 30.

**** Tom Tatum is MediaNews Group’s outdoor columnist. You can reach him at [email protected].