Western MontCo Hunter Harvests 705-lb. Black Bear

HARRISBURG PA – A western Montgomery County resident has earned the distinction of having harvested the third-largest black bear of the 2022 seasons, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced Monday (Feb. 13, 2023).

Hunter Timothy Moffet of East Greenville took a 705-pound black bear with a muzzleloader Oct. 15 in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, the commission said.

Only two other bears were larger this year: one of 755 pounds harvested by a Toms River NJ man, also with a muzzleloader Oct. 15 in Middle Smithfield Township; and one of 746 pounds taken by a Canadensis man with a rifle Nov. 22 in Barrett Township, Monroe County. Eleven other bears taken weighed in a more than 600 pounds each.

For comparison, the commission said, the heaviest bear ever taken in Pennsylvania was an 875-pounder harvested during 2010 in Pike County.

A total of 3,170 bears were taken overall during 2022, according to the commission. That was down from 3,621 in 2021, “but still enough to rank the harvest as the 14th largest all time,” it added.

Hunters last year took bears in 58 of the state’s 67 counties, and 22 of its 23 wildlife management units. In Berks County, 11 bears were taken in 2022, down from 12 in the previous year; none were harvested in Montgomery or Chester counties.

Photo by Danika Perkinson on Unsplash, used under license