Bear Hunting in Virginia

[TheMiz54]

Anyone have hunting experience in Virginia for Black Bears? I've seen that Augusta and Highland counties in the national forest have good harvest numbers. I'm planning a trip with a friend this year and he would like to hunt in Shenandoah but I wanted to know if the success rate would be significantly higher if we went to the Augusta and Highland and went further remote? We plan on doing some scouting trips this spring but I wanted to see if anyone has any experience and could provide some pointers. Thanks

 

[Wvroach]

The majority of Bath/Highland/Augusta bears are taken by hound hunters. The others are mostly incidentals. Spot and stalk would be incredibly difficult in the hardwoods, not impossible, just difficult. Baiting is illegal. Some areas do have high Populations and it is not uncommon to see bear.

 

[TheMiz54]

The majority of Bath/Highland/Augusta bears are taken by hound hunters. The others are mostly incidentals. Spot and stalk would be incredibly difficult in the hardwoods, not impossible, just difficult. Baiting is illegal. Some areas do have high Populations and it is not uncommon to see bear.

Thanks for the information, I know there is a lot of hound hunters in VA. I am hoping to go during either the early firearms or the bow season and hope to avoid the hounds.

 

[fatlander]

Thanks for the information, I know there is a lot of hound hunters in VA. I am hoping to go during either the early firearms or the bow season and hope to avoid the hounds.

Don’t forget there is a bear hound training season that last from August 1 to the last Saturday in September. Those bears will have been harassed for two months leading up to archery season. Not saying it’s impossible, but it’s a very very tough hunt to target bears without hounds in the commonwealth. There’s a reason outfitters don’t do it.


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[Billy Goat]

I'd advise you to scout the hunters over the bear. Lots of bear around, find the areas that the hounds don't run.

 

[Wvroach]

I'd advise you to scout the hunters over the bear. Lots of bear around, find the areas that the hounds don't run.

I hunted with a fella from highland as a kid, he was mid 60s at the time and I was around 13-16. He coon and bear hunted with hounds and was one of the few that actually hiked with his dogs, no gps on them and following to the closest road with his truck.

I don't think there was a foot of those mountains that man didn't see, he would run me ragged even as a teen.

But as you well know a lot of guys won't go over a mile or 2 off the road and will just wait for the dogs to come back out towards a road if it's any further.

 

[Billy Goat]

I hunted with a fella from highland as a kid, he was mid 60s at the time and I was around 13-16. He coon and bear hunted with hounds and was one of the few that actually hiked with his dogs, no gps on them and following to the closest road with his truck.

I don't think there was a foot of those mountains that man didn't see, he would run me ragged even as a teen.

But as you well know a lot of guys won't go over a mile or 2 off the road and will just wait for the dogs to come back out towards a road if it's any further.

It's a social thing anymore.

When I had livestock in highland County I'd frequently pop over the hill with a trailer loaded only to have a dozen trucks blocking everything.

Don't much seem to resemble hunting to me. I don't have a problem with it, but don't like the lobbying power the bear hunters association has either. Biologists were trying to increase the bear take, the bear hunters lobbied to remove the tag from the big game tags so it had to be purchased separately. Meaning the guys who deer hunted, and would occasionally shoot a bear didn't have a tag unless they purchased it separately. Its unfortunate that the game commission has paid biologists that the committee choose to ignore, listening to lobbying instead.


Plenty of bear around, hunting them is difficult since chase season opens so early, then the new early season. I think it's a passive way of population control, lots of cubs are getting killed with these early chase seasons.

 

[mgmicky]

It’s a very similar situation where I live in the E TN mountains, about a half hour south of the VA border. When the dogs are running, they not only put the bears on high alert, but also the deer. I don’t have anything against the guys that run dogs, but I do wish we had designated seasons and areas for them so those of us that don’t hunt with dogs can have some areas to ourselves without having to worry about dealing with them.

 

[Bueltcm]

To reiterate what some of the others said - look for more remote areas with no roads and enter with the wind in your favor. If you aren’t muzzleloader hunting then you will need to be between the remote cover and what the bears are eating at that time. I’d prioritize getting several (3+) miles away from roads and move slow and quiet unless you are going to try your luck still hunting.


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[burk313]

MIZ54 you are in the best state in the country to hunt bears.. I live in PA and have hunted in VA since the early 80s.. The GW nationa forest is full of bears.. Also the Rapidan WMA is a good area but you should have a high clearance 4X4 to access the areas in it. If you want some tips email me. [email protected]