Not saying they don't get taken every year, but what is the average for the state? The point is, the average bear is probably around 300 lbs or even less. The bigger ones get in the paper and get publicized. Saying there are "several" doesn't mean much. Define "several" and then tell us what the overall harvest is. PA kills a lot of bear and it kills some very big bear but the average bear a hunter runs into isn't anywhere near 500-700 lbs. Those are the exception and not the rule.

I've hunted whitetails in Galeton, PA on a club a buddy is a member of. They take some good bear off the club property every year and they have a bulletin board with photos of most the bear they have taken. For every 500 lb or better bear they have pics of, there are a few dozen between 250-300 and I'm willing to bet that holds true for most the state.

I liken it to trout fishing. The average trout taken in most the country runs less than 2 lbs. But when someone gets one 10-15 lbs it makes the paper. That doesn't mean everyone is realistically going to catch a 10 lb trout on their next outing.

I wouldn't let the unlikely possibility of having to worry about getting a huge bear out of the woods deter me. I would understand that the chances of getting one like that is somewhat remote and if I did get lucky, I'd be making a call to some friends to get some help if I didn't have horses arranged.