Pennsylvania bear harvest numbers are in with several weighing over 700 pounds

It's a known fact among sportsmen that Pennsylvania has some large bears. Photo by author

The 2024-25 bear harvest numbers are in and Pennsylvania remains as the state of giant bears. To wit, three bears exceeded 700 pounds and nine topped 600 pounds. Of those figures, Heath Bromley of Titusville, PA, used a crossbow to take a 597-pound bear in Venango County. Topping that, Scott Price of Madison Township, Lackawanna County, tagged a 774-pound bruin in Monroe County during the November statewide bear season. 

All total, hunters took 2,642 bears during the 2024 season, placing the 2024 harvest in the top 25 on record. 

In the past, the overall bear harvest was spread across the state. Fifty-six of 67 counties gave up at least one bear, as did 21 of 22 WMUs. Hunters, says the PGC, got bears in all of the seasons. The traditional statewide firearms bear season contributed the most to the harvest with 823 bears. The archery season added 756, the extended season 425, the muzzleloader and special firearms season 634, and there were four harvests in the early archery season. 

The PGC explains that the overall bear harvest was spread across the state as 56 of 67 counties gave up at least one bear, as did 21 of 22 Wildlife Management Units. And hunters took bears in all seasons as well. 

Aside from Bromley’s bear and Price’s bear, the others in the top 10 by weight included a 714-pounder taken in the rifle season in Perry Township Clarion County, by Matthew Conto of Slippery Rock; a 700-pounder taken in archery season in Harrison Township, Potter County, by Henry Mast of Harrison Valley; a 689-pouner taken in rifle season in Chapman Township, Clinton County, by Michael Greg of Kersey; a 681-pounder taken in archery season in Sharon Township, Potter County, by Tyler Birdsall of Milton; a 681-pounder taken in rifle season in White Haven Borough, Luzerne County, by Stanley Boc of Huntingdon Valley; a 678-pounder taken in muzzleloader season in Lightfield Township, Bradford County, by Scott Tiffany of Athens; a 673-pounder taken in archer season in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, by Jeff Prinkey of Connelsville; a 615-pounder taken in archery season in Jefferson County, Dauphin County, by Dennis Morgan of Halifax. 

Among the top counties, Tioga produced the most, giving up 163 bears last season. It was followed in the top 10 by Clinton with 157, Lycoming with 148, Bradford with 133, Potter with 109, Luzerne with 95, Monroe with 93, Pike with 85, McKean with 78 and Sullivan with 75. 

Here in the Southeast the final harvest numbers (2023 numbers in parenthesis) were 167 (159) total for all WMUs with Schuylkill reporting 64 (65); Dauphin, 45 (42); Northampton, 28 (21); Berks, 18 (16); Lebanon, 9 (10); and Lehigh, 3 (5). 

According to the PGC, last year, 201,280 hunters bought bear license for the 2024 season. It was the sixth-straight year bear license sales topped 200,000. 

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