# Record Black bear in Pa.



## ngzcaz (Nov 26, 2010)

Estimated live weight a little under 900 lbs. Shot with a bow... The archer knew of this bear waddling between his den and a guy that was feeding him by hand for the last 17 years at his trailer. The trail the bear had leading to the trailer had to be 3 to 4 feet wide. Before he was killed, the old man that was feeding the bear had a couple of pics taken with his arms around the bear giving him a hug.

The archer knew of this bear and took him legally. For all anyone knows the bear might have been coming up to the archer for a handout. I hunted for many years but this made me a bit ill. The old man shouldn't have been feeding the bear thats a given but geez, where is the sport in shooting an animal thats lost its fear of humans ? I've seen guys at the weighing station with bears the size of a dog. Nothing to be proud of imo. 

:censored:


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## hanniedog (Nov 26, 2010)

That guy has to be really proud of getting that bear. A real challenge to a hunter.


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## mustangwagz (Nov 26, 2010)

ngzcaz said:


> Estimated live weight a little under 900 lbs. Shot with a bow... The archer knew of this bear waddling between his den and a guy that was feeding him by hand for the last 17 years at his trailer. The trail the bear had leading to the trailer had to be 3 to 4 feet wide. Before he was killed, the old man that was feeding the bear had a couple of pics taken with his arms around the bear giving him a hug.
> 
> The archer knew of this bear and took him legally. For all anyone knows the bear might have been coming up to the archer for a handout. I hunted for many years but this made me a bit ill. The old man shouldn't have been feeding the bear thats a given but geez, where is the sport in shooting an animal thats lost its fear of humans ? I've seen guys at the weighing station with bears the size of a dog. Nothing to be proud of imo.
> 
> :censored:



i received the picture of the bear, and "hunter" via a picture msg on my cellphone. Imma agree with you on numerous points of your post. Feeding a bear thats half the size of your trailer, is DANGEROUS!! like..whoa...lol..bear says YO..i'm comin ole man..and thats it..he's in! and your ass is toast!! Also, the idea of shooting a "semi-tame" bear is kinda un-fun..but...loading that thing on to a roll-off or a drop deck semi woulda been crazy! lol (i dunno how he got it to weight station but cmon..that thing was HUGE!!) More chances than none, i'd have shot it too, but to us who have only heard about it via msg or news or website forums..we can only imagine what exactly happend.. 

I'm sure it'll make a hell of a rug though.. lol. 

.."say...whats your living room carpet made out of??.." 

..."bear fur".....

...""...


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## fubar2 (Nov 26, 2010)

Why would the old man arrange to have him killed after seventeen years? After seventeen years I would probably have been standing between him and the archer.


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## leadarrows (Nov 27, 2010)

fubar2 said:


> Why would the old man arrange to have him killed after seventeen years? After seventeen years I would probably have been standing between him and the archer.



What makes you think he did? I don't get that from what was posted at all.

November 20, 2010

Leroy Lewis stood in the doorway of his tiny mobile home in Bushkill on Monday evening and wept as a Pennsylvania Game Commission officer told him his beloved bear, Bozo, had been shot by a hunter.

Seventeen years of memories filled Lewis' mind as he digested the news that Bozo was dead. In those years, Lewis watched this wild animal-turned-pet grow as he hand-fed it table scraps and store-bought pies and other sweets.

When Bozo was shot by a hunter Monday, he weighed nearly 900 pounds. That made Bozo the largest black bear ever killed in Pennsylvania.

A trophy for David Price, the hunter, the kill was a heartbreak for Lewis.

"I'm devastated. I'm just devastated," he said Friday. "I mean I feel like I lost a friend. He used to come knock on the door when he was hungry."

Price shot the bear with a crossbow on the opening day of Pennsylvania's new archery season for bear hunting. The game commission says Price followed the law when he bagged the giant bear.

Price killed the bear near Lewis' trailer, which sits between Fernwood Resort and the border of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Lewis said he started feeding the bear when it was maybe 2 years old.

"He was just so friendly that I felt like feeding him," he said. "I never felt like I did anything wrong."

The game commission, in fact, thought Lewis was doing wrong by feeding the bear. It cited him in October for feeding wildlife.

On Friday, Lewis flipped through stacks of photos, some featuring him posing with the bear and even draped over the bear.

"I fed him for 17 years and I raised him from a cub," Lewis recalled. "He loved doughnuts and anything sweet. I was never scared of him." 


The guy that shot that bear is one piss azz punk. I hope he tries to eat the bear and chokes on it and dies.


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## Rudedog (Nov 27, 2010)

While I understand the lack of sport aspect, that bow hunter may have done a big favor. That old man created a monster when that bear lost its fear of men. What happens when that bear comes across some unsuspecting person that has no food to offer or food in their pockets but doesn't realize what the bear is after. That man doomed that bear for his own selfish human satisfaction.


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## ShoerFast (Nov 27, 2010)

Fairly certain that a hand fed bear, with out the engagement of 'fair chase' will not be entered into the record books.


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## ShoerFast (Nov 27, 2010)

.


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## Burvol (Nov 27, 2010)

Not really cool to feed bears, but that was cool relationship. I agree, I frown on the kill, but I don't shoot black bears. If that was the biggest buck or bull ever, I can't say I wouldn't stick him if he waddled his fat ass back over on National forest ground lol. I don't care if others shoot blackies, I just like to watch them. I kill other stuff that I enjoy more on the table.


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## sbhooper (Nov 27, 2010)

I am sure that at some time or other, most hunters have an easy kill. That was not really a kill to be proud of, but it was done legally and the bear was getting old enough that he could have turned into a problem. That old man that was feeding him was a damn fool for doing it. It was his fault that the bear was put in a position to be easily killed. It is amazning that the bear was not shot sooner by a gun hunter.


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## ngzcaz (Nov 27, 2010)

Rudedog said:


> While I understand the lack of sport aspect, that bow hunter may have done a big favor. That old man created a monster when that bear lost its fear of men. What happens when that bear comes across some unsuspecting person that has no food to offer or food in their pockets but doesn't realize what the bear is after. That man doomed that bear for his own selfish human satisfaction.




Selfish satisfaction ? The act of human bonding knows no bounds. I would call it a lot of other things but not selfish. I would agree the bear should have been taken out of circulation and put in a preserve of some type. Many grizzlys/brown bears don't get that size. And the game commision citing this old guy accomplished nothing but taking money out of this guys social security check. 

** sometimes its ok to pass on a shot..

:monkey:


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## ShoerFast (Nov 27, 2010)

Burvol said:


> Not really cool to feed bears, but that was cool relationship. I agree, I frown on the kill, but I don't shoot black bears. If that was the biggest buck or bull ever, I can't say I wouldn't stick him if he waddled his fat ass back over on National forest ground lol. I don't care if others shoot blackies, I just like to watch them. I kill other stuff that I enjoy more on the table.



There sure is better eating running around the woods. 

I eat black bear if i shoot one, but sure not crazy about the fat. 

An 875# one, my guess would be you would have a hard time not catching it on fire when you cook it?



sbhooper said:


> I am sure that at some time or other, most hunters have an easy kill. That was not really a kill to be proud of, but it was done legally and the bear was getting old enough that he could have turned into a problem. That old man that was feeding him was a damn fool for doing it. It was his fault that the bear was put in a position to be easily killed. It is amazning that the bear was not shot sooner by a gun hunter.



I have gone hunting/guiding with elk in the yard, to see very few 'fair chase' elk in the field. 

Good friend of mine shoots elk every year that are in the high 300's class. This year he shot his bull while standing on his driveway,,,,,,, that's not hunting in my book.


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## sbhooper (Nov 28, 2010)

If he shot a 300+ elk in his driveway then I consider him a lucky dog. I would do that in a heartbeat. 

If you would not do that, then you are saying that you would not shoot an elk that was standing 100 yards from your tent in the mountains-no difference. 

As long as it is legal, then it is up to the person with the license whether his conscience would let him do it. I have busted my ass for many years hunting deer and elk and I will be the first to say that I would take an easy hunt right now.


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## leadarrows (Nov 28, 2010)

sbhooper said:


> If he shot a 300+ elk in his driveway then I consider him a lucky dog. I would do that in a heartbeat.
> 
> If you would not do that, then you are saying that you would not shoot an elk that was standing 100 yards from your tent in the mountains-no difference.
> 
> As long as it is legal, then it is up to the person with the license whether his conscience would let him do it. I have busted my ass for many years hunting deer and elk and I will be the first to say that I would take an easy hunt right now.



You miss the point entirely. He knew that old greaser had made a friend of the bear. He might as well have shot his dog. Would you be still say this if you loved the bear?


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## ngzcaz (Nov 28, 2010)

Glad that this was discussed. This is my last post and no, I'm not a tree hugger. This came from a hunter of many years and continues to hunt. You can read it in this months Field and Stream. How he continues to hunt I don't know. After writing this I'd have to be a target shooter.

One of the things that hunting does is it develops a sense of how precarious life is, and how hard everything wild fights to keep it. When you put the sights on a creature and squeeze the trigger, you are saying : You will never see another morning. You will never eat or drink again nor appreciate the sun's warmth again. Take a last look around you, for this is your last moment on earth. 

That was his words. In regards to this thread, I think the old man took the " wildness " out of the bear. Had the hunter not known this, I wouldn't have a problem. Knowing it and still taking the bear is a far cry from the " hunter " that I hoped I was.


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## karlthev (Nov 28, 2010)

leadarrows said:


> You miss the point entirely. He knew that old greaser had made a friend of the bear. He might as well have shot his dog. Would you be still say this if you loved the bear?




"He might as well have shot his dog". Couldn't have said it better. This jerk is no hunter, he's a target shooter at best and a damned lousy one at that considering the size of the bear. 


Karl


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## fubar2 (Nov 28, 2010)

leadarrows said:


> What makes you think he did? I don't get that from what was posted at all.
> 
> November 20, 2010
> 
> ...



You found all that in the first post of this thread? Amazing I missed it.


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## ZeroJunk (Nov 28, 2010)

I love to hunt and have hunted all over North America and Canada.

IMO the kid that shot the bear is no hunter by anybody's standards and in fact needs the #### beat out of him.


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## yooper (Nov 28, 2010)

ZeroJunk said:


> I love to hunt and have hunted all over North America and Canada.
> 
> IMO the kid that shot the bear is no hunter by anybody's standards and in fact needs the #### beat out of him.



I agree. And I would gladly kick his ass if I had the chance. 
It not only takes food but a very special person to befriend most any wild animal. 
I had an old friend whose dog became friends with a local bear every morning the bear would be waiting at his door step for the dog to come out and play. a local kid shot the bear one morning as he was going to see his "friend" It was a ritual that lasted for almost 5 years. The dog looked for his friend every morning for several months after. kinda sad.


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## leadarrows (Nov 28, 2010)

fubar2 said:


> You found all that in the first post of this thread? Amazing I missed it.


I focused on this part so.... 



> ... The archer knew of this bear waddling between his den and a guy that was feeding him by hand for the last 17 years at his trailer. The trail the bear had leading to the trailer had to be 3 to 4 feet wide.



.....when I read this part it didn't sound right so I Goggled it to find the facts before I commented. 


> Before he was killed, the old man that was feeding the bear had a couple of pics taken with his arms around the bear giving him a hug.




After rereading it I see how it sounds like the guy had his picture taken on purpose before it was shot ....I just didn't see how that could be...so I researched it. If my response stated the way it was offended you I am sorry. Did not mean for it too...I just saw in the op something didn't add up right away.


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## fubar2 (Nov 28, 2010)

leadarrows said:


> I focused on this part so....
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No I'm not offended in fact I'm glad you got me straight on it. I assumed he took to pics to "remember him by" after the homicide. I couldn't figure out why but it didn't strike me any other way.


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## Burvol (Nov 28, 2010)

*Not everyone has the same gift*



yooper said:


> I agree. And I would gladly kick his ass if I had the chance.
> It not only takes food but a very special person to befriend most any wild animal.
> I had an old friend whose dog became friends with a local bear every morning the bear would be waiting at his door step for the dog to come out and play. a local kid shot the bear one morning as he was going to see his "friend" It was a ritual that lasted for almost 5 years. The dog looked for his friend every morning for several months after. kinda sad.



Indeed it takes a very special person. I might be crazy but I really believe animals are wild and can be patterned, but not predicted. However, there are certain individuals who possess a certain gift. I believe what the bible says about Adam having dominion over the animals. Tim Treadwell just didn't read the book :greenchainsaw:


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## GoRving (Nov 29, 2010)

East Coast black bears are fairly docile creatures, and they don't always have to be "tamed". There are 5 different bears(at least) that frequent my farm. I have pics of them on a trail-cam. I kinda like having them around, and wouldn't want anybody killing them, as they don't bother anybody around here. Now, if you go out into the western states, black bears are known to be aggressive. I feel bad for the old guy who lost a long-time friend. If that bear had been around for 17 years with no problem, he wouldn't have become dangerous now.


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## Windwalker7 (Dec 1, 2010)

Pics of Bozo. I've been on several other forums putting down the clown that shot this tame bear.

Many congratulate him but I can't see he deserves that,. It was tame!


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## Burvol (Dec 1, 2010)

That was a nice looking bear. Too bad. I like black bears. I use to go to a local dump at night in Alaska. Loved watching a huge mama blackie and two cubs. One night we went down there with some beers, our trash and a jug. we got settled in and had knocked a few back wondering when they would show. About then we looked over and there was the whole family with out any coats on. umpkin2:


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## scag52 (Dec 12, 2010)

First it was cubby and now bozo . Whats next ? Maybe a panda ? 


Remember cubby ? Montgomery/gentry guy who shot cubby


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