POWNAL — A Vermont man has shot a black bear weighing a little over 500 pounds, one of the largest recorded in the state in years.

Michael Davenport, of Pownal, said he came home from work Sept. 17 and looked out over the field behind his house, where he had set up a number of game cameras. He saw the bear through his binoculars.

Davenport said he grabbed his rifle and went down into the field about 150 yards, using a stone wall for cover. He shot the bear and watched it move into the woods. He heard it moan.

Davenport later found the bear. He needed his stepson and a tractor to help move it. At weigh-in, it was 501.5 pounds. The body is at a taxidermist.