COURTLAND—A 592-pound black bear taken on Nov. 20 in Rockingham County set a new record for Virginia’s largest-ever harvested bear.

The news was announced Sunday during the 72nd Annual Eastern Regional and State Championship Big Game Contest at the Southampton County Fairgrounds.

The skull from Clealan Dove’s bear scored a 31 9/16 inch. The former state record belonged to a bear taken during the 1994-95 season by Roger Wyant, also in Rockingham County. Wyant’s bear scored 31 2/16 inches.

Dove was rifle hunting with his son, Cory, and 7-year-old grandson, Justin, when he took the bear with a single shot to the neck using a .308 rifle. Dove hunted bear for more than 20 years without harvesting one.

He had a life-size mount of the bear at the big game contest.

See more stories about the show on the Outdoor page in The Tidewater News on Sunday.