{"id":43584,"date":"2025-11-24T23:01:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T23:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/43584\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T23:01:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T23:01:16","slug":"pennsylvania-rifle-hunters-get-1000-bears-including-a-717-pounder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/43584\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania rifle hunters get 1,000 bears including a 717 pounder"},"content":{"rendered":"

With about 1,000 black bears harvested so far during the rifle season, a hunter who got a 717-pound bruin and five other hunters share their success stories.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s four-day rifle bear season<\/a> opened Nov. 22 and since then, 1,008 bears have been registered with the Game Commission as of Monday afternoon. For this fall, also including the archery, muzzleloader and special firearms seasons, hunters have harvested at least 2,181 bears in the Keystone State.<\/p>\n

Nate Miller of Beaver County had no idea he would be getting the largest bear so far when he went hunting Saturday in Moraine State Park in Butler County. \u201cThe big man upstairs sent me a gift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old from Rochester Township was hunting by himself when he downed a bear that has an estimated live weight of 717 pounds. That\u2019s roughly the equivalent of four large whitetail bucks combined in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\"Nate<\/p>\n

Nate Miller sits with his 717-pound bear he harvested Nov. 22, 2025, in Butler County.<\/p>\n

Bear season preview: With rifle season soon getting underway, here’s how many bears were taken so far in Pa.<\/a><\/p>\n

As of Monday afternoon, it was the heaviest bear of the year registered by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The second heaviest weighs in at 649 pounds from Potter County.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know if I would be seeing anything,\u201d he said. A friend shared some locations that might be good places for him to watch for bears.<\/p>\n

When he walked up a ridge shortly after 9 a.m. where there were plenty of acorns, he saw something dark about 60 to 80 yards away and he raised his binoculars to get a closer look. \u201cSure enough, I could see black hair,\u201d he said. He picked up his .30-06 rifle and walked over to a tree to get a steady rest. \u201cI identified my target, made sure it was a bear, and there was a good back stop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He fired his rifle three times. \u201cIn the excitement, the bear disappeared. So, I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, I didn\u2019t see it running anywhere,\u201d Miller said. He called his wife, Ashley, and told her what happened as he started going through his backpack to find more bullets. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to go after a bear with an empty gun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As he eased his way toward where he shot, he soon found the bear near several logs lying dead. \u201cI just kind of stood there for about 20 minutes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Miller didn\u2019t realize how large the bear really was until he walked up on it. Even then, he didn\u2019t expect it to be the heaviest bear of the year so far. When he was making the initial phone calls his friends wanted him to guess the weight and he said he estimated from his experience that it may weigh 300 pounds.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure, I don\u2019t know if I was in shock or what,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After making calls to several people and taking photos, he marked the location on his phone and headed back to his truck to wait for help to arrive.<\/p>\n

With the help of his family and friends and four people from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources who work at the park and provided a Gator ATV, they were able to retrieve the massive beast. \u201cThey helped us the last 100 to 150 yards to get it to a trail and then we hooked the rope around the bear\u2019s neck to the buggy and they took it to a parking lot,\u201d Miller explained.<\/p>\n

Then it was time to celebrate. \u201cFriends and family and their families came and young kids and newborns, everybody wanted to come see the bear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

2025 bear season: Pennsylvania hunters get more than 1,100 black bears, one hunter gets fourth with recurve<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Nate<\/p>\n

Nate Miller harvested this 717-pound bear while hunting Nov. 22, 2025, in Moraine State Park in Butler County.<\/p>\n

At the Game Commission\u2019s weigh station, he finally realized the significance of his animal. \u201cOnce I saw it go up on the scale and my brother pulled the truck out from underneath of it, and it went from 200, to 300 to 400, it was like playing a slot machine as the numbers kept getting higher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The bear had a field dressed weight of 608 pounds and estimated live weight of 717. \u201cThey said it\u2019s the biggest one we\u2019ve had in the state today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During a telephone interview Sunday evening, he said, \u201cIt really hasn\u2019t sunk in yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday evening, Miller worked with his taxidermist, Tyler Marker of Marker\u2019s Taxidermy in Harmony, until 3 a.m. Sunday removing the hide from the heavy bear. \u201cIt\u2019s 7-foot-5 from nose to tail,\u201d he said. He\u2019s planning to have a full mount of the bear made with it stepping over some rocks and a piece of wood. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be as natural as possible,\u201d \u00a0Miller said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime bear. I would have been just as happy it was a 200-pound bear or an 80-pound bear,\u201d he said. Less than 3% of Pennsylvania bear hunters each year get a bear.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s his first Pennsylvania bear, it\u2019s not his first successful bear hunt. He and his wife each harvested black bears in Maine in 2019 as part of their honeymoon trip.<\/p>\n

Here are the insights of five other successful hunters.<\/p>\n

\"Conrad<\/p>\n

Conrad Bevan of Greensburg holds his 487-pound bear Nov. 22, 2025. He was able to get the bear in Fayette County during a morning hunt.<\/p>\n

A 487-pounder in Fayette County<\/p>\n

Conrad Bevan, 27, of Greensburg shot a 487-pound bear Nov. 22 in Springfield Township, Fayette County. \u201cI walked through some pines and a laurel thicket,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it was a deer coming, he was 15 yards away coming around a tree and that\u2019s when I shot him the first time. He got up on his hind legs and ran a bit and then he turned back around and started walking at me like nothing happened,\u201d he said. Bevan shot four times to make sure the large animal expired. \u201cIt was a roller coaster. I didn\u2019t know if I wanted to cry or laugh. Getting it out of there was fun, too. I ran into some good guys who helped get it out. We were falling down the mountain trying to drag him out. It was a good time,\u201d he said about the more than 4-hour recovery.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s planning to have a full mount made of the bear. \u201cHe\u2019s my first, the rest will be rugs if there are any.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dylan<\/p>\n

Dylan Teets of Meyersdale sits Nov. 22, 2025, with his 304-pound bear at the bear check station in New Centerville.<\/p>\n

Somerset County bear<\/p>\n

Dylan Teets, 18, of Meyersdale harvested a 304-pound bear Nov. 22 in Summit Township, Somerset County.\u00a0\u201cWe were on drive No. 3. I walked the last two drives and so I sat on this one,\u201d he said. \u201cI was sitting there a little bit and the drivers got about 50 yards into the woods and I heard something heavy coming. I looked to my left and right there he was like 20 yards away and I got my gun,\u201d he said. He fired four times and the bear fell by a creek. \u201cI was really happy, proud. It was my first one,\u201d he said. He\u2019s planning to have a half-mount made of the bear as it has a white blaze area on its chest.<\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/p>\n

Scott Leister of Glencoe holds is 262-pound bear at the Pennsylvania Game Commission check station Nov. 22, 2025, in the New Centerville Fire Hall.<\/p>\n

New Baltimore bear<\/p>\n

Scott Leister, 35, of Glencoe, harvested a 262-pound boar while hunting in New Baltimore, Somerset County. It was his first bear. \u201cI hiked up a very steep hill and had seen some deer. We were actually watching the deer,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bear came sneaking through, slowly. We got a shot at him and missed. He came out through and ran towards us and then at 50 yards I shot and that\u2019s where he laid,\u201d Leister said. \u201cIt was a good, successful, quick hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thinking about the encounter, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s an adrenaline rush. I know my leg was shaking when we were done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Devin<\/p>\n

Devin Walls of Brownsville holds his 229-pound bear Nov. 22, 2025, at the Pennsylvania Game Commission check station in the New Centerville Fire Hall.<\/p>\n

Bear in Dunbar<\/p>\n

Devin Walls, 29, of Brownsville, bagged a 229-pound sow in Dunbar, Fayette County. It was the third year he hunted this section of state Game Lands property. He was walking with his friend Lars Kisner, who told him there was a bear. \u201cHe didn\u2019t want to shoot it because I took him there for the first time. He let me shoot it. I couldn\u2019t believe it. He\u2019s one hell of a friend for that,\u201d Walls said. The bear was grazing about 70 yards away when he made the shot.<\/p>\n

They had an uphill drag to the road and they called friends to help. \u201cIt took us five hours to get him out of there,\u201d he said. Walls is having a rug made from the bear to remember the hunt. \u201cIt couldn\u2019t have happened faster, it was 7 o\u2019clock,\u201d he said about the morning hunt.<\/p>\n

\"Cody<\/p>\n

Cody Brown of Somerset stands near his 155-pound bear Nov. 22, 2025, at the bear check station in New Centerville.<\/p>\n

Brown gets black bear<\/p>\n

Cody Brown, 28, of Somerset was hunting Nov. 22 in Jefferson Township, Somerset County, when he harvested a 155-pound boar. \u201cWe were doing a bear drive, and another bear came through before this one and another guy shot at it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one came through about 15 minutes later and I was able to get a shot at this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He made the shot from about 60 yards away. \u201cI was shocked to even see one,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019ve been buying my bear tag since I was 12 and I never saw one until today,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first successful bear hunt I was ever part of.\u201d He\u2019s planning to have a rug made from the bruin.<\/p>\n

\"Mollie<\/p>\n

Mollie Bryne, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife disease technician, stands to a bear being weighed Nov. 22, 2025, at the bear check station in the New Centerville Fire Hall.<\/p>\n

Game Commission bear checks<\/p>\n

Successful hunters are required to have their bears inspected by the Game Commission.<\/p>\n

Mollie Byrne, wildlife disease technician for the Game Commission, worked the check station at the New Centerville Fire Hall in Somerset County.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a few reasons we do bear checks every year. One of the main reasons is we get population information from these harvested bears and that helps us make informed management decisions on their behalf,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The agency places a tag on its ear, weighs the animal and pulls a tooth to properly age the bear. \u201cIt has rings just like tree does,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The top 10 bears in Pennsylvania as of Monday range from 717 pounds in Butler County to 583 pounds in Clinton County. Tioga County so far has the most bears with 139, followed by Clinton County with 124.<\/p>\n

Rifle bear season continues through Nov. 25 and extended bear seasons continue in several parts of the state on Nov. 29.<\/p>\n

\"Alexis<\/p>\n

Alexis Batista, Pennsylvania Game Commission intern, weighs a black bear Nov. 22, 2025, at the check station in the New Centerville Fire Hall.<\/p>\n

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com<\/a> and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors\u00a0PA newsletter email on this website’s homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pennsylvania rifle bear hunters get 1,000 including a 717 pound bruin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With about 1,000 black bears harvested so far during the rifle season, a hunter who got a 717-pound…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[25954,25953,25951,25952,28,9183,30,29,11266],"class_list":{"0":"post-43584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-bear-season","9":"tag-black-bears","10":"tag-game-commission","11":"tag-nate-miller","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-pennsylvania-game-commission","14":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","15":"tag-pennsylvania-news","16":"tag-somerset-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}