Nov 18, 2017 4 min read

In the past, I could have said I looked for the bear and it has won. Things have gotten better as I aged and now I can change that statement to I have met the bear and it has won.

Unfortunately, I have learned a simple lesson in the art of bear hunting, but at my age I have probably learned it too late.

For many years, I headed north to hunt these black-furred elusive critters, and while I have come close a few times I never saw a legal bear during the season. I blamed where I hunted and just plain bad luck. Now, I know differently. It was just plain fact that I was hunting the wrong way, using the wrong method and in the wrong habitat.

Years ago, I would travel to the Grunder Run area of Warren County to a place where I could see and wait and watch. A spot where the trees were mature made for my perfect spot, or so I once thought. Hunkered up against a large tree, I would watch through the cover for at least 100 yards.

Things changed a bit when I was invited to hunt with a group that worked an area of McKean County. In reality, the area looked no different than some of the areas I had hunted. The difference being that most of the 24 people in this group had shot at bears or bagged one.

It was at this camp that I met Spanky, Jeff Hainer, Harvey, Ten Bears, Rick and, of course, Mike. Mike Weber was a friend and was the outdoorsman who did the inviting. One of the highlights of the trip was meeting a local, Jeremiah Johnson, who resided in the mountains there. Johnson and Bob Ament succeeded in bagging a triple trophy four times, and even more remarkable was Ament has done it twice with a bow. One of his bears even came while he was driving bear through heavy cover, and this was done with a bow and arrow. Quite a hunter Bob. The reader should also note among this group was the fellow I mentioned from Ligonier, Ten Bears. Well, you can figure out how he got his nickname.

When I mentioned the fact that the group had taken eight bears that year – their second-highest total ever – the invariable question people ask me is where do these guys hunt? My answer is always the same: it’s not where they hunt but how they hunt.

Like a well-oiled machine, they move from one spot to another, ignoring most of the open forest. Instead, they the heavy cover of certain clear cuts and then stage drives. I was told more than once that a 30-30 carbine made for a more appropriate tool than my scoped .270 but who listens? I was carrying the wrong tool for the job and last year I missed a bear. Was I disappointed? Of course, but it was sure an improvement over the last 50 or so years of seeing nothing. At least I saw a bear, had a shot and met a new friend, Danny Hunter, who downed it with his slug gun.

The camp is the R.C. Luse camp, founded in 1982, and its members have taken 126 bears since then. Mike Weber of Scenery Hill has been a member for nine years and 34 bears have been downed by camp members during that period. In a state that shows a success ratio of around 3 percent that is a fantastic rate.

If there is a secret it’s that only heavy cover is hunted. Mike told me the average shot is around 25 yards, so that scoped bolt-action rifle is not needed, and I found that out the hard way. For my part, what makes it even worse is I own a nice light model 7 Remington in 7-08, and for that matter a model 94 Winchester in .30-30. Either would have been perfect for that shot I took. Oh, well, who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick. This year, I won’t make this mistake again if I am lucky enough to go.