Dec 5, 2015 4 min read

As a regular reader of this paper knows by now, I have not been a very good bear hunter. I always say all I am doing is taking my rifle for a walk.

It doesn’t really embarrass me that I have hunted so long without success, as many others fall into that same category. With a success rate of 3 percent, the chances of anyone downing a bear are slim to none. After all, if you remove those bears bagged by residents who see them regularly and those fortunate souls who spend months at camp and fall into that same category, the chances of actually getting a bear become more like 2 percent.

With that in mind, it explains why I jumped at the chance to hunt out of one of the state’s most successful bear camps.

Mike Weber of Scenery Hill is a member of the R.L. Luce Camp which has been regularly downing what could well be Pennsylvania’ toughest trophy for some time now.

When Weber asked me to accompany him for the Saturday hunt, I thought just maybe I’d learn what I have been doing wrong.

Needless to say, I was the old man of the group. When introduced to one of the camp leaders, Jeff Bushnic of Stahlstown, I was coached a bit on how to respond. As he held his hand out to shake, I said, “I have heard of you, you’re the loud mouth of the camp.”

The group broke up in laughter and I then knew I was in a group with a good sense of humor. But the real question and answer would come later: Are they that good?

The location of the Luce Club is on the most northern bay of the large Allegheny Reservoir, Willow Bay. I had never been at Willow Bay but had fished nearby Sugar Run and Sugar Bay. Some hunters might say they have a secret hot spot but I found it more of how they hunt than where they hunt.

I don’t believe it’s a secret that they do nothing but put on 25-person drives. These drives are well-organized with safety a prime concern.

A secret weapon they utilize is a resident and captain of the hunt, Bob Ament, who spends hour upon hour in the woods locating bears. Ament has downed his share of bears using nothing but a bow and arrow and knows the area like the back of his hand. After explaining when to shoot and what direction to shoot, he said he had spotted nine bears in the past week and now it was up to us to get them.

All of the drives would be done on nothing but clear cuts and even that could be better defined by saying certain clear cuts. The bears are seldom located in open timber but instead stay in the thickest cover available.

Shots would be close, so long-range rifles were a handicap and some of the hunters carried nothing but a handgun.

Weber even told me to leave my binoculars at camp since shots average about 25 yards. Ament and Bushnic seemed to be the leaders and I found Ament quite interesting as I spent time with him at his deer farm.

I was fascinated with the difference in antler growth between 1 ¼- and 2 ¼-year-old bucks. He could show me the buck’s first antler and then the one from the following year. The difference was dramatic and gave me some ideas for a later article.

The drives were like a well-oiled machine, with little time wasted. When one drive was done, it was off to another clear cut. No quibbling or complaining. Everyone was gung ho and the work continued from daylight until dark.

In fact, Weber tracked a wounded bear until 5:45 p.m., never catching up with it.

The camp ended that day with five bears taken and two of them were taken by teenagers.

With 25 hunters taking part in the drives that is a success ratio of 20 percent. That’s not bad in a state with a 3 percent success ratio.

Incidentally, there were three more bears taken by the group on Monday. The two teens taking bears were Mason Hainer of Scenery Hill and Sam Crumrine of Washington.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.