HARRISBURG -- In many situations when you ask how things are going, the answer is “same old, same old” – not bad perhaps, but not overly exciting either.
When it comes to bear hunting in Pennsylvania, however, the “same old, same old” is something special.
Pennsylvania’s earliest 2025 bear hunting seasons got underway in late September. Additional seasons are still to follow. These offerings are the latest in a long line dating back more than a century to the state’s first bear season in 1905.
Yet, the 25 largest bear harvests in Pennsylvania history all have come since 1998. Last year’s take was 2,642. The traditional statewide firearms season contributed 823 bears to that, while the archery season added 756, the extended season 425, and the muzzleloader and special firearms season 634 combined. Hunters got another four bears in the early archery season in select Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).
As in past years, too, the overall bear harvest was spread across the state. Fifty-six of 67 counties gave up at least one bear, as did 21 of 22 WMUs.
So if the 2025 bear seasons approach that in terms of harvest and distribution – and there’s no reason to think they won’t – it will be pretty good.
More of the “same old, same old?” Yes, please.
“The sustainability of bears and bear hunting in Pennsylvania is tied to the early breeding success and large litter sizes of bears in this state,” said Game Commission bear biologist Brandon Snavely. “Plus, even with 13 million people living in the state, we’ve still got lots of great bear habitat. Bears make great use of it, too.
“So with a healthy bear population, spread out from our wildest places to the suburbs, and a wide array of bear seasons coming up, I would expect another good season this fall,” Snavely said.
The archery bear season in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D – the units closest to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia – runs from Sept. 20-Nov. 28. It goes from Oct. 4-Nov. 21 in WMU 5B, and from Oct. 18-25 in the rest of the state – WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 5A.
Hunters should note the statewide archery bear season (Oct. 18-25) is now one week long, which is a week shorter compared to last year. That season overlaps portions of the statewide muzzleloader bear season and statewide special firearms bear season, both of which run from Oct. 23-25.
Then, the statewide regular firearms bear season runs Nov. 22-25, while the extended bear season goes from Nov. 29-Dec. 6 in WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E and 5A and from Nov. 29-Dec. 13 in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D.
Sundays from Sept. 14-Dec. 7 that fall within the established opening and closing dates of any bear season are open to bear hunting in 2025. That’s every Sunday from Sept. 21-Nov. 23 in the archery bear season in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D; every Sunday from Oct. 5-Nov. 16 in the archery season in WMU 5B; Oct. 19 in the statewide archery season; Nov. 23 in the statewide regular firearms season; Nov. 30 in the extended season in WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E and 5A; and Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 in the extended season in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D.
Hunters should also note that, in state parks, Sunday hunting is open only on Nov. 16, Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 in 2025.
Only one bear may be taken during the license year.
But some of the bears harvested will almost assuredly be among the largest anywhere in the world. That, too, is the norm.
The average bear harvested in Pennsylvania is about 3 years old. Males that age typically weigh about 200 pounds, while females generally go 160. But bears, especially males, can get significantly larger.
Last season, Scott Price, of Madison Township, Lackawanna County, took a bear in Monroe County that weighed 774 pounds. That was the largest of 2024. The next nine heaviest hunter-harvested bears included two others exceeding 700 pounds, six exceeding 600 and one that hit 597.
“You could travel to any place in North America that has black bears and it would be hard to find bears that top those like we have here in Pennsylvania,” said Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith. “Our bear hunting tradition here is like none other, too, with more than 200,000 hunters buying their bear licenses and hunting bears annually. It’s a special opportunity you won’t find just anywhere.”
Pennsylvania bear hunters take to the woods knowing they face long odds in taking a bear.
Fewer than 2% of bear hunters harvest a bear in any given year. Those looking to join that small group would be wise to hunt where food is plentiful, Snavely said. Bears eat ravenously in fall to pack on weight before going into their winter dens. So, finding them means finding where they want to be based on the potential to maximize their caloric intake.
“Getting near rich fall food resources for bears like acorns, beechnuts, and the like is the best strategy for hunters,” Snavely said. “Bears are searching for food, so if you can locate that, you up the odds that you’ll encounter a bear or two.”
Looking back
Some WMUs consistently produce more bears than others. Seven – WMUs 2F, 2G, 3A, 3B, 3D, 4C, 4D and 4E, stretching across Pennsylvania’s northern tier for the most part – ranked in the top 10 WMUs for bear harvest per 10 square miles in each of the last five years. A few others – WMUs 2D, 3C and 4A – made the list three times in that span.
Among counties, Tioga produced the most bears last season, giving up 163. Clinton with 157, Lycoming with 148, Bradford with 133, Potter with 109, Luzerne with 95, Monroe with 93, Pike with 85, McKean with 78 and Sullivan with 75 rounded out the top 10.
Final 2024 county harvests by region (with 2023 figures in parentheses) are:
Northwest – 385 (357): Venango, 74 (64); Warren, 67 (65); Jefferson, 60 (50); Clarion, 57 (44); Forest, 48 (68); Butler, 38 (29); Crawford, 20 (24); Mercer, 11 (5); and Erie, 10 (8).
Southwest – 174 (141): Armstrong, 40 (41); Somerset, 34 (32); Indiana, 32 (24); Fayette, 30 (23); Westmoreland, 18 (13); Cambria, 18 (5); Greene, 2 (1); Beaver, 0 (1); and Allegheny, 0 (1).
Northcentral – 918 (1,034): Tioga, 163 (176); Clinton, 157 (108); Lycoming, 148 (170); Potter, 109 (155); McKean, 78 (90); Clearfield, 67 (72); Centre, 64 (71); Cameron, 56 (85); Elk, 44 (90); and Union, 32 (17).
Southcentral – 193 (162): Huntingdon, 49 (25); Bedford, 40 (34); Blair, 18 (11); Fulton, 16 (4); Mifflin, 14 (28); Juniata, 13 (19); Perry, 12 (14); Cumberland 11 (6); Franklin, 9 (9); Adams, 7 (10); and Snyder, 4 (2).
Northeast – 805 (1067): Bradford, 133 (138); Luzerne, 95 (135); Monroe, 93 (127); Pike, 85 (142); Sullivan, 75 (75); Wayne, 63 (124); Carbon, 62 (101); Wyoming, 62 (62); Susquehanna, 47 (67); Columbia, 45 (27); Lackawanna, 31 (57); Northumberland, 13 (10); and Montour, 1 (2).
Southeast – 167 (159): Schuylkill, 64 (65); Dauphin, 45 (42); Northampton, 28 (21); Berks, 18 (16); Lebanon, 9 (10); and Lehigh, 3 (5).
The final bear harvests by Wildlife Management Unit (with final 2023 figures in parentheses) were:
WMU 1A, 26 (19); WMU 1B, 67 (53); WMU 2A, 6 (3); WMU 2B, 2 (3); WMU 2C, 102 (87); WMU 2D, 173 (146); WMU 2E, 53 (41); WMU 2F, 213 (247); WMU 2G, 476 (565); WMU 3A, 203 (203); WMU 3B, 303 (343); WMU 3C, 145 (221); WMU 3D, 287 (451); WMU 4A, 71 (42); WMU 4B, 50 (47); WMU 4C, 197 (220); WMU 4D, 143 (124); WMU 4E, 96 (72); WMU 5A, 10 (18); WMU 5B, 2 (0); WMU 5C, 17 (15); and WMU 5D, 0 (0).
Bear check stations
Hunters who harvest bears must have them checked by the Game Commission within 24 hours. How to do that varies, depending on when the bear is taken.
Check stations are open on select dates within the October bear seasons, the regular firearms bear season and the extended season. A list of check station locations and their dates and hours of operation is available in the 2024-25 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest; see pages 40-42.
Hunters who need to check a bear on any date when check stations aren’t open, must contact the Game Commission’s Centralized Dispatch Center at 1-833-PGC-HUNT or 1-833-PGC-WILD for details on how to have their bear checked.
Bears should be field-dressed before being brought to a check station, with the fully completed harvest tag attached to the bear’s ear, as required by law. It’s also acceptable to bring only the tagged head and hide to the check station.
Hunters are encouraged to use a stick to prop open their bear’s mouth soon after harvest and before the jaw stiffens. That allows agency staff to remove a tooth, used to determine the bear’s age.
License and orange requirements
Hunters who want to pursue bears in Pennsylvania need a general hunting license or mentored hunting permit. Bear hunters ages 7 and older also need a bear license in addition to their general license or mentored permit. Mentored hunters younger than 7 must receive a valid bear harvest tag from their adult mentor.
Licenses and permits can be purchased online at https://huntfish.pa.gov or from issuing agents located in every county. A map showing issuing agent locations also is available is available on HuntFishPA under the “Hunting” tab.
Bear licenses purchased online cannot be used until they are received through the mail because they contain harvest tags that must be attached to the bear’s ear after harvest and before the bear is moved. For that reason, it’s recommended hunters go to an issuing agent if they’ll need their licenses soon after buying them. When buying licenses from an issuing agent, hunters leave with their licenses in hand.
Bear hunters must wear a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and back combined at all times during the four-day general firearms season, or when participating in the muzzleloader, special firearms or extended bear seasons. The orange must be visible from 360 degrees. No fluorescent orange is required when hunting in the archery bear season.
All seasons offer opportunity to make memories that last a lifetime, Executive Director Smith said.
“Ask any bear hunter who has so much as seen a bear in the woods during bear season, and they’ll tell you few things in the outdoors are more exciting,” Smith said. “Countless hunters this year will experience their first in-season bear encounters, and many will make good on the opportunities they’re presented. Maybe your turn is coming in the seasons ahead; your chance to share in the ‘same old, same old.’ But if not, bear hunting in Pennsylvania will probably be just as good next year, too.”