Judgin Bear size???

[String Cutter]

Any tricks you guys got for judgin bear size???? Say a 200# shooter from a 150# walker??? Never even seen a bear in the wild before???

[Tim Fishell]

I was always told you look at his ears and his legs.  The smaller his ears look and the shorter his legs look the bigger he is.

I am sure somebody with more experience will fill you in more soon.

[Lost Arra]

I saw my first bear (other than long distance) last year during elk season. He didn't see me even though I was sitting 40 yards from him. He looked 350# when I looked down at the bow in my hands. When he got wind of me and scurried up a tree he looked around 100#.  

[centaur]

If the ears look small, it is probably a good bear. Also, if it has a lanky look and a 'narrow' looking face, it's a little guy. Big bears look stocky, and if you can look at pictures, you can get an idea of the difference.

[Lechwe]

Are you hunting over bait? If your outfitter uses barrels you can compare them to the height of the barrel. Don't always rely on big bears having bellies that hang close to the ground. I shot a boar that was 6-8" taller than a 45 gallon drum sitting 8" off the ground. The bear weighed close to 400 alive but had long legs and his belly was over a foot from the ground. Cut a stick the appropriate length and lay it in front of the bait to estimate his size when he comes in.

And by the way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a 150lb bear especially with trad gear.

Enjoy and good luck.

[Marty]

Do not use binoc's at a bear bait, Makes 'em look really big, I know! Twice!

[The Ursus]

Looking for small ears is a good idea but also look for small ears that are far apart and sit off the sides of the bear's head rather than on top.

[Mike Orton]

All good advice posted above.

The thing about really big bears is that they have a swagger to their walk, a side to side motion coupled with attitude.  A really big bear just exudes confidence like he owns the woods.  They cover more ground than they look to be covering too.  Mere photos of bears can show you ear size and belly close to the ground but actually seeing an animal's movement, when coupled with ears/head size, belly drag, ect., you get a fuller picture of the size of the animal.  Another way of judging bear (at least who's in the neighborhood) is to see the racking of soft tree bark as the animal marks territory.  Obviously larger bears will be able to reach higher up the tree.  A large black bear will reach almost as tall as a man can reach.

If you're asking for advice on how to judge size I'll assume your just beginning to hunt bears.  Keep your emotions in check and try to think rationally when in the presence of a bear.  Sit back and enjoy the experience.  Sometimes easier said than done, particularly in the beginning.   Blacks in particular are not aggressive by nature, really timid under normal events.  Not to say they are not dangerous, just usually prefer to avoid rather than confront. Ears on a large bear will appear rather small in relation to head size and situated toward the side, (say at a 45 degree angle) as apposed to right on top of the head like Mickey Mouse ears.  

FYI I've found the heart to be located lower in the animal than most folks think it to be.  On a broadside shot really try to hug that upper leg, lower shoulder joint.  They are not as a rule difficult to penetrate, not extraordinary rib size but in fall when bulked up on fat reserves the fat has a tendency to close up around the shaft impeding blood trail.  Blood trails can suffer if you don't get a full pass through. A bear will live quite nicely on one lung. (One of my past "awe-sheets").

Someone above mentioned "Lanky looking".  Good choice of words...sometimes smaller bears will remind me of teenaged boys who have not yet really grown into their feet size.  They have a comical gait to their movement too.  They'll have that "punky" look to them, like maybe someday they will make something of themselves but so far they're just a terror to be around.  I always hope a large mature bear will give those lanky looking youngsters a good butt whippin to remove some of that youthfull cockiness.

 

[centaur]

Mike is right about big bears and attitude. When they walk, they swagger. They seem to know that they are the studs of the woods, and they act like it. Little bears act 'hinky', probably with good reason if there is a bigger bear around.

[owlbait]

If they are puffing up and woofing at you they are probably big enough but will end up dressing about 170#  :D

[tippit]

If you're over bait with a 5 gallon bucket around and it looks like his head won't fit inside then he's good size...Doc

[String Cutter]

What,s a good length on a black bear? Someone told me once that I could lay a marked stick on the ground near the bait to see what length they are??? from tip to tail how long is a average size shooter??? Anyone got some good videos I could borrow???

[Kingwouldbe]

I use the "O" Shi!! factor, if you say it, it's BIG, if you don't, it's probable 150-200lb-er

[vermonster13]

A 6' blackie is a real good one.

[Gordon martiniuk]

If they look like they will fit in a 45gal barrel they are too small if they look like they wont fit in barrel shoot also if the ears look big that is a young bear if his ears are short and stubby that is likely a big bear      

[TheArc]

Look at the ears, if they are little and the body is obviously big you can be pretty sure it's a taker. That's what I did last season and mine went 275 on the scale. Yep, just about 90 lbs of meat. They are pretty tough to skin out and have about 3 inches of fat in the late fall. At least my Cal black bear did.

[String Cutter]

Anyone have pics of a small one versus a big one?? any pics showin where to shoot?? Heard their kill zone is lower then one might think... All I have as a ref. is whitetails???

[centaur]

http://gf.state.wy.us/bearid/bear.aspx
This link is a test to see if you can tell the difference between black and grizzlies, but it shows some pretty good black bears. You probably don't have too many grizzlies in Va., but we would be happy to send you some.  

[String Cutter]

Centaur, Nots hunting in Va. Going on my first hunt for bear in Quebec Canada @ the end of the month... Never even thought about it??? Do they have Grizz there???  

[String Cutter]

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