NJ Bowhunter’s 700-Pound Black Bear is New World Record
Russ Chastain 02.18.20
Black bears can get to be mighty big and tough, and most of us prefer to hunt them with firearms rather than archery equipment (we will politely ignore those who insist on tossing spears at bruins). But one fortunate bowhunter has just become a world record holder by arrowing a New Jersey black bear that weighed a whopping 700 pounds.
Pope & Young is the record-keeping organization for big game taken via archery equipment; essentially the Boone & Crockett of the bowhunting world, and a few days ago they announced the new world record.
The bear was slain by Jeff Melillo last October in Morris County, New Jersey, and his bear only bested the previous record by 1/8 of an inch. Bear trophies are rated in terms of skull size, and are measured in a particular way to determine a “score.” The new record is 23 5/16 “and is now the largest bow-harvested black bear in North America.”
The previous record-holder was Robert J. Shuttleworth Jr. who killed his bear in Mendocino County, California back in 1993; that one scored 23 3/16.
Not only did Jeff’s NJ bear out-measure all others, it contains so much mass (or heavy bone) that Eli Randall, Records Director for Pope and Young, had this to say:
I was not prepared for the amount of mass the skull possessed, not only was the skull huge, but the bone structure was the heaviest I had ever seen. Congratulations to Jeff Melillo on harvesting this outstanding black bear. This is a true testament to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and a shining beacon of what can be accomplished with efforts and funds being dedicated to wildlife.
A life-size mount of the tremendous bear is scheduled to be displayed at the P&Y Annual Convention in Virgina next month.
I have only had one bear hunt in my life, and on that fateful day I was blessed with a 263-pound black bear sow… and it was all I could do to get that beast out of the woods and loaded onto a hitch-haul platform on the back of a Jeep. 700 pounds is truly tremendous, and I for one am glad that huge bear is no longer roaming freely, and that I’m not the one who had to haul it out of the woods.
Congratulations to Jeff Melillo, who prepared the following statement:
It has been an inspiring journey, to say the least. New Jersey, my home state, has its First-Ever World Record Animal!
Many years ago, I read an article in Outdoor Life Magazine stating that the New World Record Black Bear will most likely come from New Jersey. They were spot on, and I never doubted it for one second. I’m very grateful that I get to be a part of all this. Pursuing bears with bow and arrow is a passion of mine.
I’d also like to recognize the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife for the outstanding effort they put into the management of New Jersey Black Bears. The dedication from our biologists, technicians, and Conservation Officers, make this all possible. I’d also like to give a big thanks to United Bow Hunters of New Jersey. Their organization had a lot to do with getting a bowhunting season for New Jersey black bears. Without their efforts, I would not be writing this.
Happy hunting!
