Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not allow baiting or the use of hounds for hunting black bears.  With the extreme diversity in habitat across this state, harvesting one with a bow can be a difficult task.  However, with the season expansion and increase in bear population, archers taking the field in pursuit of these bruins have slightly better odds then they may have historically.  Regardless, scouting and developing a hunting strategy is still not a walk in the park!

This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman, we chat with Todd Bromley.  Todd is the editor of Crossbow Magazine and lifelong Pennsylvania hunter.  For the past 11 seasons, Todd has transitioned from compound to using solely his crossbow each fall.  We begin by diving into a bowhunting philosophy and ethics conversation, regardless of the weapon being vertical or horizontal.  Next we chat about Todd's recent fascination - black bears.  In 2015, Todd killed the 15th largest bear in the state at the time, and has since found himself scouting and hunting hard each fall.  He shares some tips for finding food in the types of habitat he typically hunts, and also finding sign in some out of the ordinary ways.  We also discuss a little bit of whitetail deer hunting strategy, specifically how he uses trail cameras to be successful.  We close by discussing some of the testing he has done with heavy crossbow bolts weighing in over 600 grains with 200 grain fixed blade broadheads.  Bear season begins October 15th, and this episode should fire you up!

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more awesome outdoor content!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.