740-Pound Archery Bear Could Set a New State Record

I first saw this tremendous bear when a friend in Pennsylvania posted this photo to my Facebook timeline, with only this caption: “740 pound Bear taken in Pennsylvania on the last day of Bear Archery.”

Later, he posted a link to an article containing more info about the bear, which was taken on November 18, 2016, and the following photo.

Dustin Learn… was hunting with five companions at about 10 a.m. on the final day of the state’s archery bear season when he spotted the bruin napping in a thicket. Thinking he was approaching what might be a 250-pound bear, Learn crept closer through the thick cover — to only 7 yards — before he launched an arrow from his 60-pound compound bow.

Another hunter also shot the bear, but Learn’s arrow caused the fatal wound, he said.

That’s a new one on me. Archery hunting with a crowd–while walking? Hmmm. But whatever, It looks like it worked!

A tape measure placed around the dead bear’s chest read 68 inches.

Learn used his small tractor with a front-end loader to move the carcass out of the woods, and at a scale the bear — before it was field dressed — weighed 740 pounds.

Wow! What a beast.

Learn said his trophy bear skin is now at a taxidermist’s shop, but he’s not sure if he’ll have it mounted or made into a rug.

The article says this behemoth was listed as the heaviest one taken in the state this fall. It’s still unknown whether the bear will set a new state record because those records are based on skull size rather than the size or weight of the body… and the skull has to be dry before it’s officially measured.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.