Pennsylvania Game News - October 2018 - 22

2018 Records Book

With a 22 9/16-inch skull, the bear
Jason Strohl harvested in 2017 is among
the largest on record in Pennsylvania, and
a new state record for archery harvests.
Jason's bear tops the bear archery
category in the 2018 edition of the Pennsylvania Big Game Records book, which
is now available for purchase.
The 2018 records book contains 26
new bear entries, 174 new whitetail
entries, including a new No. 1 archery
buck, and 11 new elk entries.
The records book is chock-full of
harvest photos, and is a bargain at $10.
Pick one up at any Game Commission
office, or order one.
Buyers must pay sales tax, as well as
shipping on mail orders. Purchase online
at The Outdoor Shop at www.pgc.pa.gov
or call 1-888-888-3459 to order.

double stand in a large tree near the trails.
The stand would allow Ande to hunt sideby-side with her father Bob Novatnack,
from whom she'd learned to hunt. The
cover was so thick, though, that all shot
opportunities would be within 25 yards.
On Thursday, Nov. 2, Ande and her
dad climbed into the stand to see what the
morning would hold.
At 8:15, they heard something coming
through the laurel and spotted two black
forms.
It was a pair of bears that had crossed
the stream, and when the first one hit an
opening on the trail at 15 yards, Ande
leveled her Parker Tornado crossbow,
found the bear's shoulder with the scope's
crosshairs and pulled the trigger.
The bear didn't run more than 60
yards before piling up in the thicket. The
Rage Chisel Tip expandable broadhead
did its job.
Jason, who had been in a hang-on
stand 75 yards away, heard the commo22

tion and came over to what he found was
a celebration.
"The two most important men in my
life were by my side," Ande said. "It was a
pinnacle moment for them to share in my
success and to experience all the emotions
together. Jason was responsible for me
getting my bear. He picked the spot and
set up the stand."
She thanked him immediately, and they
worked together to get Ande's 99-pound
female bear out of the woods and to the
check station.

Jason returned to hunt the remainder of
that Thursday, and hunted the following
day, as well, with no luck.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, the last day of the
season, he climbed into the double stand,
figuring a few more hunters would be in
the woods and they might push a bear
into the thicket.
All was quiet at the start, but around
8 o'clock, Jason caught movement in the
laurel. He was surprised to see a bear - a
big one - on the trail, only 20 yards away.
"I don't know how that bear got so
close without making a sound," Jason
said.
Jason had to turn hard to his right
without spooking the bear to get a shot.
When the bear's head moved behind a
tree, he got his new Raven R9 crossbow
into position. When the bear stopped
broadside at 12 yards, he lined up the
scope's crosshairs just behind the shoulder
and sent away his bolt tipped with a Rage
Hypodermic expandable broadhead.
The 20-inch bolt pierced through the
lungs, but didn't exit the body - the bear
was too big.
The bruin took off like a freight train,
crashing through the laurel and splashing
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Pennsylvania Game News - October 2018

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