MAINE MONSTER
LINDA HARLOW BAGS MAINE RECORD BEAR
On September 3, 1998, Linda Harlow was patiently setting out the fourth day of a five-day black bear hunt in Aroostook County Maine. The hunt had been put together by some friends, and two hunters were needed to fill the party. " I already had a Maine license, so I charged the hunt on my credit card and went along" she says.
Having seen only one small bear the first day, you could say this hunt was going a little slow. The bait, a mixture of oats, pastries, and molasses, was showing evidence of bears, most likely coming by at night, long after Linda had headed back to camp. At around 7 PM Linda saw movement. A large bear coming down the very trail she had used hours earlier to sneak in to her stand set 14 feet above the ground. The bear stopped for what seemed an eternity to sniff the bottom of the ladder used to access the stand. Setting in that stand, motionless, while a huge bear (apparently curious about the scent left by your boots) sniffs at the ladder less than 10 feet away, is an experience that could have made even the most seasoned hunter come unglued! At that point, she really only had one choice, sit still and hope the bear was more interested in the bait than the hunter.
Waiting for just the right shot, Linda watched the bear amble over, stand upright and rip the bag containing the bait. The bear then dropped back down on all fours, presenting Linda with the shot opportunity she had been waiting for all week. When the time was right, she released an arrow that resulted in the taking of the largest Black Bear she had ever seen.
The bear Linda arrowed that day, estimated to have been in it's late teens, weighed 405 lbs. and was an impressive 6.5 feet tall. The official Pope & Young score of 21 2/16 places the entry well into the top 100 in "the book"!
According to Al Wentworth, the Dover-Foxcroft, Maine measurer who officially scored the skull," Linda's trophy is the pending Maine Antler and Skull Trophy Club (MASTC), all-time archery record and is the only black bear taken with a bow entered in the Boone and Crocket Record book from Maine. Also the bear ranks as the fourth largest overall Boone & Crocket entry from Maine".
A quick look at the Fifth Edition of the Bowhunting Records of North American Big Game, published by The Pope and Young Club, reveals that this black bear is the largest ever entered by a woman.
A serious bowhunter from Middleboro, Massachusetts, Linda has been involved in hunting for most of her life. As a child growing up in a poor family, she remembers the importance of harvesting deer for the winter's supply of venison, supplied by her hunting parents with the children helping. She now enjoys spending time away from her job as a state engineer, hunting and fishing with her boyfriend, Wayne Sumner. Wayne, a self employed electrical contractor, who works part time in a local archery pro shop, can probably be credited with giving Linda the archery bug. The two travel regularly to Canada, Maine, Virginia, Ohio, and numerous other states, in pursuit of hunting opportunities that include whitetail deer, bear, and turkey.
The taking of this bear should provide Linda and Wayne with another great memory of the time they share afield.