NC hunter kills potential world record archery bear

780-pound bear is largest taken by bow

Brad Jones of Greenville, NC killed a 780-pound black bear in Chocowinity. And it could be the world record for a black bear killed with archery gear.

Jones was hunting at a friend’s property in the Beaufort County area on Dec. 16, 2023 when the big bruin showed up. He had the bear weighed on official scales, according to NCWRC officials. They said it’s the largest black bear killed in North Carolina. And according to Pope & Young, the archery conservation group that tracks archery-killed animals, it beats the current world record by a solid 80 pounds.

North Carolina is known for having some of the largest black bears in the world. And while Jones’ 780-pound animal is the biggest ever taken with a bow, it’s not the heaviest bear ever killed in the Carolinas. The overall world record black bear, an 880-pounder taken with a shotgun, was also killed in North Carolina, in neighboring Craven County.

A 60-day drying period is required before having the skull officially scored, which Jones said he will have done by Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett. The measurement of a bear’s skull is the official way to score and rank these animals.