NY Bear Hunting 2020

[dels322]

Bummer, been hearing that quite a bit, headed up next Wednesday... maybe I should bring the .22 do some squirrel hunting

 

[tomengineer]

Bummer, been hearing that quite a bit, headed up next Wednesday... maybe I should bring the .22 do some squirrel hunting

I saw a whole lot of deer sign and jumped a couple of does. Might be worth stashing a trail camera or something if you live close enough as there were very establish game trails. The undergrowth was substantial which limited visibility to 50 yards at most. We heard 7 shots but they were pretty distant (miles). I was not able to find any bear sign where I was but I hadn't done any scouting so I was really playing the lottery. I will mention the trails were really heavily used by hikers. We had already planned to hunt far away from trails but we did use a trail to walk to our main camp and back out. We were getting looks from the NYC/NJ crowd and one guy told us he was going to call the DEC to report us hunting in a state owned wilderness area....I asked him to let me know what they said .

 

[pwrwgn57]

I saw very little sign last weekend, hunted Sat, Sun and Mon. Heard 4 shots on Saturday morning but nothing close to where I was hunting, and I didn't see anyone else in the woods. Did see a cub Friday night when driving into the campground, that was the highlight of the weekend.

 

[EastCoast94]

I’m headed up to 4W next weekend to see if I can shoot a bear. Do you guys have more success in the mornings or evenings during early season?

 

[Catskill.Joe]

Went out last Tuesday. Jumped a deer and saw a bear track. Then back at the truck, a bear crossed the road. Figures!

 

[Bigamstalker]

Wondering if anyone has had experience or tips on hunting black bear in either the Adirondacks or the Catskills in NY.

Last year my buddy and I had a back packing trip planned for the Adirondacks ended up attempting a bear hunt while we are up there, with very little prep for the early season. Needless to say we got our butts handed to us. Looking to do the same this coming year just with a shade more prep. If anyone has some tips for either the Catskills or the Adirondacks let me know. Would be greatly appreciated.

The 2017 2018 and 2019 Bear numbers have me looking at units 3A, 3C, or 3K for the Catskills for early season. Though I have a bone to pick with the Adirondacks now, am looking at 5G, 5H 6C or 6F. Significantly greater numbers in the southern zone.

There is a lot of good hunting land the DEP allows hunting on, but you need the access permit and parking permit. Go to DEP website and you can apply there.