[WARNING: Barf-inducing photos below…]
Pennsylvania Outdoors Columnist
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A 7-year-old Pennsylvania girl is celebrating getting a black bear, a buck and a gobbler in less than two weeks to complete her goal of earning the triple trophy of hunting in one license year.
Josephine “Jojo” Roberts started her season by harvesting a 185-pound bear while hunting with her father Danny Roberts, 37, of Titusville, Crawford County.
They were hunting on Oct. 25 during the special firearms season. “I like spending time with dad and granddad,” she said about being in the woods hunting.
The duo hunted with a group that ended up with a total of three bears that day on State Game Lands property near Warren.
“We walked in and got on our spot,” she said about setting up for the other hunters to move bears their way. “We heard a bunch of shots at bears,” she said. Soon one of the bears turned and ran toward her and her dad. “It stopped at about 70 yards and she shot it,” her father said.
The mentored-youth hunter made a good shot with her .243 rifle and the bruin fell a short distance away down over a hill. “She was a little excited,” he said.
Jojo slowly approached because she wasn’t sure what to think.
“I thought it was going to jump back up. I was excited,” she said when she realized what she had done.
“I think I was shaking more than she was,” the proud father said. “You don’t understand what you just did. I said you’re 7 years old,” he remembers telling her in the woods. When she hunts with a gun or crossbow, her dad places the gun in a tripod that helps hold it in place for her to aim.
“It made me feel good,” she said.
More:Pa. hunter gets a buck with his crossbow the day after his 101st birthday
The group of hunters used a long limb to carry the 185-pound boar out of the woods instead of dragging the bear on the ground, which could have damaged the bear’s fur.
“She cheered us on the whole way,” her dad said.
She added, “It took us four hours to get the bear out.”
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Jojo said she’s looking forward to eating bear steaks and they are having a full mount made of the bear with it standing on its hind legs.
“We got a good group of people we hunt with,” he said about them working together to move bears toward each other. “We saw 10 that day. Five of them came out of one drive,” he said.
Buck hunting
On Saturday, Nov. 2, Jojo got a 4-point buck with her crossbow in Crawford County. She was hunting with her dad in an elevated hunting blind they call “the cabin” when the buck appeared in the woods. She watched as it walked to 20 yards and she made the shot. “It ran around in two circles and started tipping side to side and then it fell,” she said about being excited and her feet started shaking.
Finding a turkey
On Monday, the duo returned to the woods in search of wild turkeys. When they hunt turkeys, she sits in front of her dad between his legs and he helps her hold the .410 shotgun on the tripod. “It works perfect,” he said.
The father and daughter were in the woods before daylight waiting for the turkeys to respond and fly off the roost. “We waited a long time, the three turkeys came out and Dad says they were like 22 to 24 yards maybe and I shot at the first one that came out,” she said.
The mature gobbler has a 10.5-inch beard and 1 3/8-inch long spurs.
She looked forward to the hunt despite the early morning.
“I woke her up at 5 o’clock and she was a little groggy. I asked her if she wanted to go hunting and she jumped right up,” he said.
Roberts plans to cape out the turkey for her to remember the day.
“I’m really proud of the kid. She put in a lot of time this year,” he said.
Having the successful season has left her speechless about what she’s accomplished at a young age.
When asked which hunt she liked the best she said, “The bear. Because we’re not sitting down. We moved around a bit to get the shot at the bear.”
It’s her first year hunting bears, but she did get a 6-point buck last year with a crossbow at age 6 and she got a spring gobbler this year with her .410 shotgun.
Game Commission offers congratulations
Getting a bear is a rare accomplishment for any hunter as the Pennsylvania Game Commission estimates less than 3% of black bear hunters are successful. Travis Lau, communications director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, congratulated Jojo on her success.
“I know plenty of bear hunters who are still awaiting their first opportunity at a Pennsylvania black bear so that, in and of itself, is an accomplishment. A triple trophy is rarer still. And to put that kind of hunting season together, at such a young age, truly is remarkable,” he said through an email. “Many consider a triple trophy season the accomplishment of a lifetime, and this young hunter has already checked it off the list, while smiling from ear to ear, no doubt.”
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A true hunting family
Thinking about Jojo’s accomplishments, her father said, “She impresses me. I’m really impressed with my kids. I can’t believe the time they put into it. It makes me feel good.”
Jojo isn’t the first person in her family to get all three big game animals in one license year. Her 12-year-old sister Millicent “Milli” did it two years ago. She got a 222-pound bear, a nine-point buck and a gobbler.
They are a hunting family. Roberts and his wife Amy’s third daughter, Amelia, 10, got an eight-point already this year with a crossbow.
Milli is learning taxidermy from a friend of the family and plans to do a shoulder mount of Jojo’s buck.
Roberts is glad his three daughters enjoy hunting as he likes to spend as much time in the woods as possible. He personally has harvested six bears himself over the years and completed the triple trophy five times since 2017.
“I missed the buck one year,” he said.
Now he’s more focused on helping his daughters find game.
“I could care less if I kill anything anymore. It’s just so much fun. I get more enjoyment watching them shoot,” he said.
Exposing the Big Game 