Hunter bags huge 772lb black bear in annual hunt - PHOTO

It was only the second day of rifle season, but for one hunter in Pennsylvania, it was one he won't forget.About one hour into his hunt in Lackawanna County, Daniel Beavers fired two shots to take down the largest bear recorded in the state so far this season.The Pennsylvania Game Commission said the bear weighed 772 pounds.Beavers said he will find out in two months the skull's size is a world record.The 49-year-old said the kill was a tribute to his late father, who taught him to hunt at the age of 12.The Covington Twp. resident just happened to take his father's .30-60 rife with him that day instead of his usual 12-gauge shotgun.'I don't know why I decided to take his gun,' Beavers told The Times-Tribune.'I guess I was thinking about him.'Adding to the excitement, Beavers said he has been hunting the same bear for four to five years.He recognized the animal because of an unusual white 'V' on his chest.'I finally caught up with him,' he said.'I wasn’t even going to go hunting.'First drive of the morning he just came right out to me and I shot him.'It only the second bear Beavers has takenThe last was a 355-pound bear in 2007.'I don't know if I'll beat (this) one,' he said.'It's big.'According to the state Game Commission, the first two days of the four-day statewide bear season produced a harvest of 2,044 black bears, down slightly from 2,086 during the same period in 2012.Last year, hunters killed 3,632 bears over four days - the third-largest total in state history. The most kills came in 2011 when hunters took 4,350 bears.Other Northeast Pennsylvania residents who bagged sizeable bears included Jenna L. Schoenagel of Greentown in Pike County, who killed a 597-pounder; Ernest W. Lucrezi of Beach Lake in Wayne County took a 560-pound bear; and Randy L. Klem of Mountaintop killed a 556-pound bear.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az