Man Kills 679lb. Black Bear at 5yds with .357 Handgun

Pennsylvania man kills 679-pound male black bear at 5 yards with .357 handgun: report

More than 1,200 black bears were taken in the first day of Pennsylvania's four-day black bear season on Saturday, including a 679 pound bear in Warren County.

That bear was taken at 5 yards with a .357 handgun by Jordan M. Tutmaher, of Warren. It was the second largest bear of the day. Tutmaher said he shot and killed the bear at 8 a.m. when the bear appeared in a drive of a Christmas tree patch.

1,241 black bears were taken Saturday, according to preliminary totals released Monday by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Last fall, the harvest only took at 659 bears.

Pennsylvania’s best opening day harvest was in 2011 when 1,936 bears were taken. The state record bear harvest was also the same year when 4,350 bears were taken.

The largest bear taken Saturday – a male estimated at 704 pounds – was taken in Goshen Township, Clearfield County, by Mickey L. Moore, of Clearfield. He took it with a rifle at about 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 17, the season’s opening day.

Other large bears taken in the season’s opening day – all taken with a rifle – include:

• a 623-pound male taken in Newport Township, Luzerne County, by Corrina M. Kishbaugh, of Nanticoke;
• a 614-pound male taken in Toby Township, Clarion County, by Thomas C. Wilson, of Rimersburg;
• a 607-pound male taken in Hazle Township, Luzerne County, by Brian P. Bonner, of McAdoo;
• a 604-pound male taken in Young Township, Jefferson County, by Matthew J. Smith, of Punxsutawney;
• a 601-pound male taken in Greene Township, Pike County, by Thomas B. Hallowell, Lebanon;
• a 585-pound male taken in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County, by Daniel T. Fetzer, of New Ringgold;
• a 581-pound male taken in Fannett Township, Franklin County, by Jared E. Hevner, of Red Lion;
• a 578-pound male taken in Pocono Township, Monroe County, by Nathan S. Fryer, of Tannersville.

Opening days harvests by county

• Venango - 52
• Jefferson - 46
• Warren - 32
• Forest - 30
• Crawford - 29
• Clarion - 24
• Mercer - 11
• Erie - 11
• Butler - 10

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I'm on the fence regarding hunting. But, damn! That was one big black bear!

I think our Canadian Black Bear is still on the endangered species list.

They are notorious for their boldness. They will just walk right up to you and start chewing. They are also relentless when they start stalking you.

A Warning To Hikers

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.
Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

If it's black, fight back! If it's brown, lie down!

Hell of a shot!

wwkirk said:

I'm on the fence regarding hunting. But, damn! That was one big black bear!

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Gave it up years ago. If you aren't going to eat it leave it alone. I am assured of bringing home meat every time I go to the supermarket and I don't have to freeze my ass off or herniate myself f int he process

nivek said:

That bear was taken at 5 yards with a .357 handgun

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Uhhhh .... 5 yards? Sounds like someone got surprised and might've still been hitching their belt after coming out of a bush or something. And a .357? I don't know anything about bear hunting but know that cartridge and it's only just adequate for deer. This guy was very lucky

I'd be impressed if it was done with a bow and arrow.

I would have been impressed if it had been done with a 25ACP or a knife

Pennsylvania should concentrate on culling the deer population......leave the bears alone

I remember one Halloween, when I was 10 years old. We lived in Pine Point, NWT, at the time.

I was out trick or treating and there were lots of kids with me at the time. We got to this one house and the RCMP were there. They ushered us indoors rather swiftly telling us there was a bear nearby. Then I heard six shots. Apparently, that's how many bullets it took to the bears head from his hand gun to bring it down as it charged at him.

I don't know what kind of hand gun was issued for RCMP in that time period. It was 1969.

spacecase0 said:

I would have been impressed if it had been done with a 25ACP or a knife

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Why not? James Bond carried a Beretta .25 ACP originally, and no doubt he could've done it. In a tuxedo.

Castle-Yankee54 said:

Pennsylvania should concentrate on culling the deer population......leave the bears alone

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They issue the tags based on an estimate of what needs to be culled of whatever species is in the syllabus to avoid starvation and disease.

pigfarmer said:

They issue the tags based on an estimate of what needs to be culled of whatever species is in the syllabus to avoid starvation and disease.

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They need to up the quota......the highways there are dangerous because of deer.

Here's a perfect example of just how bold bears can be.

had a brown following me around at yellowstone park. didn't know it 'til i saw people pointing with worried looks on their faces. bear was just picking through garbage cans. black bears would visit us up north at the cottage. come right up the deck and look through the patio windows. pots banging sent them running. probably fingernails scratching on a black board would get the same result. on my canoe trips up in algonquin park we came across bears munching on wild blue and strawberries. hung our food packs high every night. cleaned out pots too. still, kept an eye out for moms with cubs. they don't scare easy. never carried a gun nor have i killed an animal. big cats up in the mountains are worse, imho. never walk alone and certainly not without dogs. dangerous are moose. paddling along the tim river (a narrow winding thing way in the interior) up in algonquin. hadn't seen another human being for a couple of weeks. heard a bunch of water noise. thought it might be canoeists. not so. was a bull, cow and calf. bull in the marshy water, cow and calf not too far away. it was tense and he was big. mouthful of water succulents. mustn't of thought we were dangerous. river's quite narrow. he let us pass under the shadow of his rack. 6' or more.

one bullet to kill the black bear. good shot indeed.

cosmic joke said:

big cats up in the mountains are worse, imho

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I found a picture on one of my game cameras of me getting into my car while a mountain lion watched me from about 50 foot away.
I did not see it at all when it happened.
they worry me quite a bit,
now I just try to not go outside when they are usually hunting.

pigfarmer said:

Uhhhh .... 5 yards? Sounds like someone got surprised and might've still been hitching their belt after coming out of a bush or something. And a .357? I don't know anything about bear hunting but know that cartridge and it's only just adequate for deer. This guy was very lucky

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Totally depends on the ammo. A heavy for caliber lead bullet at decent velocity will penetrate really well. You place it in the right spot and it's gonna die. If this guy was hunting bear with a .357 I would imagine he is a very knowledgeable and not just using flimsy store bought hollowpoints. A .357 wouldnt be my first choice, but it sure wouldn't be my last either.

pigfarmer said:

Gave it up years ago. If you aren't going to eat it leave it alone. I am assured of bringing home meat every time I go to the supermarket and I don't have to freeze my ass off or herniate myself f int he process

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Geez, you're no fun!

Rick Hunter said:

Totally depends on the ammo. A heavy for caliber lead bullet at decent velocity will penetrate really well. You place it in the right spot and it's gonna die. If this guy was hunting bear with a .357 I would imagine he is a very knowledgeable and not just using flimsy store bought hollowpoints. A .357 wouldnt be my first choice, but it sure wouldn't be my last either.

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I've been working up some 'Fist of God' loads for that Coonan. Chey Bullets hard cast are excellent - you can jack them up as much as you want with minimal leading. Chrono says about 1400 fps for a 158gr bullet, been stoking it with H110 or W296. No expansion so not really a hunting cartridge. I got similar results with Speer semi - jacketed bullets though. I haven't done any of the 125 grainers yet but they should prove interesting.

180gr bullets - usually a semi-jacketed lead nose - would work for dangerous game but I'd choose a nice, heavy Ruger revolver for that. I think those were usually for .357 Maximum in Contenders or XP100s.

Yeah, that guy must've known what he was doing and it doesn't matter what firearm you're using short of a grenade if you can't hit the spot you need to.