The Full Story of Brian Melvin’s New Jersey Record Black Bear

Brian Melvin’s New Jersey state archery record black bear weighed 770.5 pounds field-dressed. (Photo provided by Brian Melvin)

Brian Melvin can’t tell you how many hours he spent pursuing the New Jersey state archery record black bear that he took on October 15, because they were too many to count. He began hunting the massive bruin after first spotting it three years ago during a late-season deer hunt, and it quickly became an obsession.

“I spent hundreds of hours just running bait. I also spent a ton of time setting up and checking cameras and going door to door asking people for permission to hunt their land,” Melvin says.

The endless hours of effort paid off when he finally managed to tag the giant bear, which had a field-dressed weight of 770.5 pounds and a live weight estimated at around 900 pounds.

The 39-year-old Melvin says he knew the bear was huge, but he didn’t have a true gauge of just how massive the bear was until he shot him and got him officially weighed at the check station.

“Gutted, my bear weighed 770 pounds, more than any other bear taken with a bow. With a live weight estimated at around 900 pounds, it weighed more than the biggest bear taken by any weapon, which was 825 pounds,” he says.

Melvin, an avid hunter and owner of Timber Life Outdoors, says he’s chased quite a few animals, including some really nice deer, but he’s never pursued an animal as smart as this record-sized bear.

Melvin spent endless hours setting up and checking game cameras while in pursuit of the record bear. (Photo provided by Brian Melvin)

“When I first found him three years ago, he was on state land, but he kept jumping from private to public land. This year, he was staying strictly on private land. I did a lot of door-knocking asking for permission to hunt private land,” he says.

He says the majority of people were happy to let him hunt the bear on their property because the huge animal had become quite a problem. It had torn up yards, lawn furniture, and jacuzzi covers and had even chased some dogs and people into their houses.

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“Other hunters in the area were after him too, so that created an additional challenge. I chased him for three seasons. I was running cameras in 25 to 30 different areas in a 5-square mile zone. He was super smart. He did not make mistakes. He never stayed in the same area for long. He’d jump from a ½ mile to a mile at a time. Last year, I had him dialed in before season. We got to the opening morning and he vanished for six months. Then, he showed back up in the same area in May and disappeared again. This time, I found him two miles away and stayed on him. I ran a bunch of different baits and zeroed in on him in a core area between two swamps. I figured out his patterns,” Melvin says.

Patterning the giant bear was tough enough, but trying to take him during New Jersey’s short bear season only increased the difficulty. Segment A of the season spanned October 14-19, with the first three days open for bowhunters only. The final three days were open for bowhunters and muzzleloader hunters. Segment B of bear season lasts from December 9-14 and is for shotguns and muzzleloaders.

Melvin became obsessed with hunting the massive bear after spotting him during a deer hunt three years ago. (Photo provided by Brian Melvin)

This year marks the state’s third opening of bear hunting season since 2022, when the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife’s (NJFW) Fish and Game Council voted unanimously to reinstate the controversial annual bear hunt after a significant increase in bear sightings and incidents throughout the state. The New Jersey governor had enforced a ban on bear hunting after taking office in 2018.

The state’s bear hunters have to follow a number of new regulations that went into effect this year. Hunters are prohibited from attempting to kill black bears that weigh less than 75 pounds live or 50 pounds dressed. Hunters also cannot attempt to kill adult bears that are accompanied by cubs, which the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) defines as bears weighing less than 75 pounds.

Additionally, hunters cannot attempt to take or kill a black bear – or have a loaded weapon – within 100 yards of a baited area. So, Melvin had to be strategic with his bait pile placement during his hunt for the big bear.

He said some bear hunters will simply set up bait in the timber, but big, wise, old bears don’t want to feel exposed, so he put bait in areas that were hard to access and where he didn’t really want to be himself, but the strategy worked.

“I started with 10 bait sites and whittled it down to six. The bear mostly only wanted to eat sweets. Bears in this part of the country actually prefer sugar over meat,” he says.

Melvin knew the bear was big, but he didn’t have a true grasp on its size until he took it. (Photo provided by Brian Melvin)

Melvin figured out that the bear was hitting the bait at around 4 am. So, on the morning of October 15, in accordance with the new regulation, he slipped in on the corridor about 200 yards away from the bait station, set up his stand, and waited for the bear to backtrack from the bait to its bedding location. Melvin was using a Hoyt Vector Turbo compound bow, with 535-grain Victory Xtorsion arrows and Sevr 2.0 broadheads. He was set up, hoping for a 20-yard shot, but the bear didn’t quite follow the script. It came through at 45 yards. Melvin took a quartering-away shot, and hit the bear a touch forward, taking out one lung but only clipping the other.

Melvin immediately called a friend to help track the bear. They followed blood up a cliff and found the big bruin bedded, but still alive. “I put a second arrow in him, which he just soaked up and walked another 70 yards to where he expired,” Melvin says.

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When Melvin and his buddy finally got an up-close look at the bear, they were both taken aback by its immense size.

“I know there are hunters who would have immediately taken the bear to get it officially measured and weighed, but I didn’t want to risk losing the meat. It can take a long time at the check station to check in a bear. But it was hot, and I knew I only had an hour or two before the meat would go bad, so I went ahead and gutted him. It was an easy decision – one I’d make again in a heartbeat,” Melvin says.

He says once they got the bear to the check-in station that it did indeed take a long time, as the big bear garnered a lot of attention due to its immense size.

“It turned into a circus, which made me glad that I’d already harvested the meat. The officials pulled a tooth to get an age. It’ll be a while before I hear back from that, but I know that he’s at least 10 years old,” he says.

Melvin says the gigantic bruin was the smartest animal he’s ever pursued. (Photo provided by Brian Melvin)

In the meantime, Melvin plans to enjoy the abundance of fresh bear meat and is looking forward to a full-body mount that he plans to show off in his downstairs game room.

“Fortunately, my fiancé said she understands that this is a once-in-a-lifetime bear, and she encouraged me to get a full mount. She’s been very understanding throughout this process,” Melvin says.

But not everyone has been. As his story has gained traction on social media and other outlets, Melvin has received quite a bit of negative feedback from anti hunters, and some of the comments have been concerning.

“I’m all for freedom of speech. I have no issue with people voicing different opinions. We don’t all have to agree. But it’s gotten a little crazy. I’ve even gotten death threats. But I do want people to understand that absolutely nothing on this animal is going to waste. We are using the all of the meat, the fat — the entire animal,” Melvin says.

Even though he’s taken what is likely a once-in-a-lifetime bear, Melvin said his excitement for future hunts has not waned.

“In some ways it’s an end to a long journey, but there are more giants to hunt out there. New Jersey has a lot of big bears and some of them are close to the same size as the bear I took,” Melvin says.