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bear hunting in virginia

Like some feedback on hunting black bear in Virginia and if there are any outfitters

Black bears are plentiful , but not a gimme . Concentrate on Western counties near the WV line. Another good spot would be Rapidan WMA, though I cannot say that thru personal experience. I've had good luck in Augusta Co near the Highland Co line. You can look up which counties have the highest harvest numbers on the VDGIF website. Without dogs it's kind of a crap shoot. Not many outfitters in Va.

Without dogs, bears are largely a pick up species while hunting deer. If you can find a lease with apple trees, you are in good shape. Look to the George Washing and Jefferson National Forests. Bear numbers are rising in VA. Good time to be trying. I've seen bear on a couple of occasions in Augusta. Rockingham County always turns in high numbers of kills. Look at the VDGIF kill data.

Lots of bear in VA but totally by chance without dogs. I've had several opportunities but was caught off guard and couldn't pull it off. Lots of trail cam pics but half of them are at night and very few sightings in person while hunting. While deer hunting I've seen them in Allegheny (2), Bedford (4), Botetourt (2), Prince Edward (1)....that's over a 25 year period deer hunting maybe 15-20 days a year without dogs.

Illegal to bait in VA. VA isn't a huge agri state but if someone has crops in the mountain areas they are likely getting crop damage from bears. Hunting a crop area that shows bear damage is legal and is about like baiting. Farmers in Botetourt kill a lot of them. Lots of National Forest areas in counties where the most bears are. Farm areas may be a hike from access areas but if you can get along the borders you will like get into bear, deer, and turkey which all run at the same time if you pick the right week. You get tags for all of them.

The farms around the Great Dismal Swamp get hammered by bears. And they have the largest body weights of VA bears. Again, spend your money on a club lease that provides you the access. Believe it or not, Craigslist is a good source for clubs accepting new members.

There is a very strong population of bears in Northern Fauquier cnty. Especially in the Markham, Hume, and Orlean area. If you can get access to property w/ corn on it, you'll have bears! My friend has a video of 14 ''yes'' 14 bears in one frame in a cornfield by his house. 2 seasons ago I killed a 21 1/2 boar on the property.

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