"When you have enough food but the snow falls early the bears will enter their dens earlier," Renar explained. "If there is no food and the snow is late, they will stay out later, creating more opportunities for hunters."

Sows tend to enter their dens sooner than boars. In fact, seasons have been structured with later opening dates than deer season so that hunters will take fewer sows.

"It's more of a preservation thing. The bears know they should get into a den before the food is gone. And once they have eaten enough food for the winter, they know they might as well go in," Renar said. "Every year, females and their cubs do stay out later, and they're usually undernourished."

Although most bears taken by hunters do not weigh much more than a big deer, bears are tougher, with thicker hair, thicker hides and bigger bones. Some bears are considerably larger than deer, weighing in excess of 500 pounds. That is truly big game, so hunters should be properly armed. In the shotgun-hunting zone it is best to carry a 12-gauge slug gun. If you hunt with a muzzleloader, use jacketed bullets. The best choice in rifle zones is a cartridge of at least .30 caliber using premium bullets designed for deep penetration.

Each of New York's three bear hunting ranges (Adirondacks, Catskills and Alleganies) offers fine hunting opportunities on public lands. Here's a look at several places to try and some tips to help hunters find bears this season:

ADIRONDACK RANGE
For the best in a real New York bear-hunting adventure, hunters are advised to head for the Adirondacks. There are plenty of bears in the region and huge tracts of public land.

Plus, the seasons are long and varied. You can start hunting bears during mid-September and muzzleloader and archery hunters may hunt continually through early December. (Hunters must possess a 2004 license and tag to hunt before Oct. 1.)

An Adirondacks bear hunt can be as easy or as challenging as you want to make it. Accommodations run from luxury motels to remote, primitive campsites in true wilderness regions.

And because the season is so long, there is plenty of time to scout for and pattern bears. The odds for success improve as you acquire more bear-hunting skills and knowledge, and will improve with each season as you hunt there.

The key to hunting bears is determining their feeding patterns. Bears feed ravenously during fall in preparation for winter denning. The accumulated fat supply must sustain them through the winter. Food is relatively scarce in the Adirondack Mountains, so wise hunters turn this knowledge into an advantage. Less food means bears will likely be concentrated in areas where food is more abundant.

"Bears prefer beech over oak, but neither one of them is going to be in great supply," Renar noted.

If you find a ridge where beechnuts or acorns exist, you can be quite sure that there are bears nearby. There may even be a few apple trees in the Adirondacks, especially at lower elevations, and bears will take advantage of these as well.

The more adventurous bear hunter may want to try the Five Ponds Wilderness. Canoe up the Oswegatchie River to any of several established campsites that are marked by yellow discs. The river provides an easy way to get bears out of this remote area. Or the area may be hunted from the shore of Cranberry Lake. Camp along the lake or stay in more civilized accommodations and boat to the edge of the wilderness. Hiking trails provide access into the interior.