Pennsylvania Hunters Shot 3,748 Bears in 2015

By Robert Farago

Harrisburg, PA -(AmmoLand.com)- It was a large harvest, and a heavy one. Pennsylvania hunters harvested a total of 3,748 bears in 2015, the third-highest tally in state history, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported today. And a whopping 68 of those bears topped the 500-pound mark. The harvest total represents an increase compared to 2014, when . . .

3,371 bears were taken.

With 2015 total now official, the eight largest bear harvests all have occurred in the past decade. The all-time high was recorded in 2011, when 4,350 bears were harvested. Hunters harvested 4,164 in 2005 and 3,510 bears in 2013.

Hunters in 2015 harvested bears in 57 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, an increase compared to 2014, when bears were taken in 56 counties. Bears were taken in 20 of the state’s 23 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), and each of the Game Commission’s six regions saw a larger harvest in 2015 compared to the previous year.

The 68 bears harvested weighing 500 pounds or more represents a sharp increase from 2014, when 41 bears taken by hunters reached or exceeded the 500-pound mark.

And 18 bears in the 2015 harvest topped 600 pounds.

Two bears tied for heaviest in the harvest, each weighing …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns