Brit Stoudenmire of Pearisburg with a Giles County bear that he killed last fall during the deer muzzleloading season. A significant minority of the bears killed in Virginia are taken by deer hunters, because deer and bear seasons overlap. Photo courtesy of Britt Stoudenmire.

Infrequently have I seen anything in the hunting and fishing world to match the increasing interest that many Virginia outdoorsmen are showing about black bears. Perhaps, that is because for many decades, bears were seldom seen. Now bruins appear everywhere from the backcountry of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest to suburban back yards.

The top 10 counties (with harvest in parentheses) were Rockingham (159), Page (82), Albemarle (78), Rockbridge (78), Augusta (77), Madison (76), Shenandoah (72), Botetourt (66), Highland (66) and Nelson (59).

Consider this account from fishing guide Britt Stoudenmire, who operates Canoe the New Outfitters in Pearisburg.

"After a snowstorm, I was deer hunting during the late muzzleloading season in 2007 when I first noticed this bear's tracks," he recalled. "The bear was utilizing a densely overgrown power line in the Jefferson National Forest and was moving both up and down the power line. I also noticed a number of deer tracks in the area, so the next time in the woods, I set up my climbing stand adjacent to the power line on a semi-open oak knob.

"Deer began frequenting the area almost immediately, but it was antlered-deer-only season, and I was hunting a particular buck whose sign I had followed most of the season. Late in the evening, I noticed movement coming directly downwind from the power line behind me. As I turned, I realized it was the bear whose sign I had seen.

"As I gradually repositioned the gun, the bear either smelled or saw me and wheeled immediately. The bear was moving away from me at about 75 degrees and 30 yards out when I pinned the shot just in front of its hindquarter, which exited the animal just behind its front quarter, a lethal shot. The bear fell in its steps."

This was Britt's first bear, so he phoned some hunting friends, and they informed him that he would need to field dress the animal immediately, because if he did not, the thick outer fat layer of the bear would cause the meat to spoil. He field dressed the bear and exited the woods so he could find assistance in dragging the almost 200-pound live weight creature back to the vehicle. After checking in the bear and taking some pictures, Stoudenmire finished cleaning the animal. Britt and his wife, Leigh, prepared the meat for the freezer, taking about 10 cuts from the hindquarter. The couple also used a recipe they found on the Internet at www. hunttheoutdoors.com/features/recipes /bear/2.php. (Continued)

"I marinated and cooked the bear strips that evening," concluded Stoudenmire. "I do not believe in killing an animal if I am not going to eat it. Contrary to many stories I have heard on bear meat, this dish was excellent."

During the 2007-08 season, hunters checked in 1,517 bruins -- 1,035 west of the Blue Ridge (WBR) and 482 east of the Blue Ridge (EBR). Of that total, the harvest breaks down this way: archery (393), muzzleloader (92) and firearms (1,032). The firearms tally was a decrease of some 10 percent from the 2006-07 total of 1,118. Hunters afield with dogs accounted for 52 percent of the firearms kill and 35 percent of the total.