I may get an opportunity to hunt Bear in PA near Scranton. I only know the property is 75 acres of typical hills and trees. Of course I will get more info if it develops. With all the restrictions on baiting and lack of opportunity to scout, I am assuming I should hang a stand blind for first morning based on some GE scouting then adapt for day 2 and 3. I think the property is too small to be stomping around on so doing all day sits over any sign I find seems prudent. What do the seasoned bear hunters recommend? Would use .44 Mag SBHH (240 or 300 gr) or maybe .35-30/30 Contender (180 grain). I appreciate any advice.

Is having fresh donuts in the stand with you considered baiting

Despite what many may say, I'll say go big in your gun choice. Sure people have taken them with .30-30s, even .357s. But how much of that was a lucky shot in the exact killing spot.
Some bears drop instantly, but a lot of those will get up and run. They don't bleed a lot with many handgun rounds.
Many PA bears are very big. Some are very tough to bring down.
I've been fortunate enough to take 8 black bears and 2 brown bears. Only 3 did not move- one brownie with a .375 JDJ Contender at 30 yds. coming at me with a shot just under the chin; one black with a .375/.284 XP-100 and a 260 gr. Nosler AB on a double shoulder shot at 160 yds. ; one brownie with a .500 Mag. and 375 gr. X at 129 yds with a double shoulder shot.
Others shot with .44s, .325 WSM, and one with a double lung shot with the .375/.284 and 260 AB ran a bunch ,but were recovered. Blood trails were spoty. All were decent hits.
For that reason my bear gun this year is my .416 Taylor Encore with Horn. 400 gr. DGX. Laugh?? I hate chasing bears. I'm getting too old for that.
For your .44 I'd go with 250 Keiths. For your .35, Nos. PTs or Xs.
Bears are wonderers. Very hard to pattern unless they have natural "baits", i.e. corn, apples, cherries.
Good luck.

I would plan on sitting in the most promising spot you locate all day. I would opt for the SBHH in .44 mag. as a fast follow up shot may be needed. For the load I would choose a 240 grain jacketed softpoint or a hardcast. You did not mention if your SBHH was scoped or not but a low powered scope would be my choice in that type cover.

Go with the 44 Magnum. I suggest a 300 grain JHP or a heavy hard cast. I carry 300 XTPs in my 44. When I hunt bear this year I will likely carry the 460XVR. I hunt PA bear but have never had an opportunity at one. Going with the advice of wvhitman I would carry the biggest gun you own. I suggest a stand on the best trail near the thickest cover on your land. If there are hunters on the nearby properties your best chance may come when a bear is spooked by another hunter. If the cover is thick the bears tend to use existing trails or logging roads for escape routes. Good luck!

I hunt upstate NY, the bears are similar in size I think and the average here has been around 150 lbs. For me I would take my FA 454, but if I were to take my 44 I would go with 260 -300 gr hard cast with a large meplat, ie. WFN to get your best shot at 2 holes. Bears don't don't tend to bleed much even when hit with rifle, so if your track of land is small you'll need to anchor him quickly. Just my 2 cents worth...Good luck!

I used to hunt black bear in PA in the 90s close to Coudersport

in Potter County. l hunted with an Army buddy and his family..

Didn't kill or see anything the years l hunted with them. We

hunted from their cabin in the area. The 'Old Man' or POP had

killed several over the years with his Savage99 lever in 300Sav.

l think he shot 180gr CoreLok Rem RNSPs.. lt was always a HOOT

watching the 2 boys telling POP how to hunt!! Esp when it came

time for POP to sight in his old Savage99 with its 2 1/2 Pwr Lyman scope..

They would nail a paper plate on a tree around 40 paces off. Then

tell him to Fire Away... He'd put 2 shots in the middle firing offhand.

Never more than two tho.. POP simply refused to ''waste'' ammo!!

I might sit at my favorite deer/bear spot for the opening hour or so, but then I slow checking out other spots for deer.

I live south of Scranton and there are a lot of good areas for bear. I've seen quite a few, but only managed to get a small one with a handgun several years ago. I was using a Super Blackhawk loaded with 240 grain XTP.

In my scoped Super Redhawk, I shoot either 240 or 300 grain XTP. My SBH seemed to like the 240's a little, so I stuck with them.

I also hunt with a scoped T/C Contender in .44 Magnum (and 7-30 Waters). I've been shooting the 240's out of the .44 Mag T/C. The longer 14" barrel gives the load a little more velocity over the 7.5" SBH or 9.5" SRH.

In my 7-30 Waters, I've had great success with the 139 grain bullets.

As you can see, I'm a die-hard handgun hunter. My goal this year is to get a respectable bear with one of my handguns.

I appreciate all the advice. Also after reading the rules, I would say having a donut with you at a stand might get you in trouble <smile>.

I beleive I will opt for the .44 Mag SBHH and it is scoped with newly acquired Leupold variable. I am getting good groups with the 300 gr XTP but I have bought some 240's to try. I also have some 180's but I think I will leave them for the GP-100 .44 Special. Thanks again to all.

Hello:

I know that the rules for black bear hunting in Pennsylvania can be quite restrictive. No bait or dogs. I do believe scents are a no no as well.

I was wondering if the possibility of using a call would be the way to go?

Here in Massachusetts you cannot use bait or dogs. But there is no restriction on using an electronic call for black bear. I have some bear calls on my Fox pro.

I am not sure if e callers are legal in PA but I suspect if not you could try some kind of handcall.

I know that here in Massachusetts most hunters who are successful find signs in a cornfield that is being raided by bears. They will set up a treestand in a spot which shows evidence of bears coming in to eat up the corn.

Anyways I do wish you the best of luck.

The bulk of the Bears killed in PA come off drives.

I will have to review the rules. I have a caller so worth investigating. Someone above also said maybe drives or pressure from neighboring land may help push one to me. Sounds like a blast even if nothing harvested. Thanks again

I don't think electronic callers are legal here in PA.

I hunt with a nearly identical setup here in PA (SBHH, Red Dot) and although I have not shot a bear with it I have had some inconsistent behavior from the 300gr XTPs I have shot. The last 2 deer I took, neither XTP expanded properly, neither exited and both shed quite a bit of weight.
Both deer were recovered but my faith in the 300gr XTP is shaken.

I think if I were you I would stick with a nice wide meplat hard cast bullet in the 280-320gr range over a stiff dose of H110 or 2400.

The bears can get pretty big up there. Two years ago I helped a hunter drag out a 400ish' pound bear less than 50 miles from Scranton. The hunter who took it said it was just working its way through the woods, not on any particular trail.

Don't underestimate the 44 magnum. Why not look at a load for the 265 grain Hornady SP and the 270 grain Speer Gold Dot?

For me, I'd load up the Ruger SBHH with the scope taken off and then use the TC with your wild cat 35 for the main gun. You may look at hunting like you hunt deer.

Just walk around. See what you see