Regarding the NC bear mentioned, I believe it was 878 lbs. I also heard it was shot by a hunter perched atop a 5 gallon bucket with a 12 gauge.
It's difficult to imagine how good the forage for blackies is in eastern NC. Lots of commercial hog operations. Square miles of soybeans and corn. Lots of Wildlife sanctuary where they can't be hunted. Acorns and black gum berries. Impenetrable brush and swamp, with plenty of Eastern Diamondbacks to keeps wimps intimidated! No baiting allowed. But they're dang hard to hunt without dogs or access to private land.
PDS: I would love to call in a trophy for anyone, especially my boys! What a memory. Wouldn't mind shooting one myself. You might want to up the bullet weight for your .220 swift when pursuing 800-lb blackies!
