SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The overall number of black bears killed in West Virginia during the 2014 hunting season was down 11 percent, but the Division of Natural Resources believes that was to be expected with the given amount of oak mast statewide.
“Mast conditions in 2014 helped some hunters and hurt others,” said West Virginia’s Bear Project Leader Colin Carpenter. “Historically, abundant oak mast has led to a decreased archery harvest and an increased December firearms harvest, and that scenario held true in 2014.”
Typically strong oak mast will make it difficult for archery hunters to pattern bears in the early part of the hunting season. However, that abundant mast is often an aid to hunters in December since the abundant food will keep bears from going to den early.
Bear hunters killed 2,385 bears during the archery and firearms seasons combined. It’s the third highest kill on record and is the fifth straight year the harvest has topped 2,000. However, it was a decline from the 2013 harvest.
Carpenter attributed the decrease in harvest during the September/October firearms seasons to a decrease in the number of hunting days from six in 2013 to three in 2014 in the 16 counties that were open.
Hunters took 516 bears during the 2014 archery season. The top five counties were Webster (53), Preston (45), Fayette (42), Nicholas (39), and Randolph (39).
Firearms hunters harvested 1,869 bears during 2014. Hunters took 457 bears in September and October, 397 during the concurrent buck-gun/bear season, and 1,015 during the traditional December season. The top five counties were Pocahontas (182), Randolph (172), Greenbrier (167), Pendleton (167) and Webster (160).