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Question for you bear hunters

Is there a way you can come reasonably close to telling how big a bear is as in weight and all that before pulling the trigger?

It's pretty hard to trophy judge a treed lion or bear, and often times the best way to measure them is on the ground. I use track size and what my eyes tell me that I see in the tree, but that isn't an exact science. In the end, I always tell the hunter the decision is up to them, and if they aren't hapy with what they see to walk away. Ground checking them works.......

But a bear's weight doesn't mean much to a western hunter because the only thing that scores and goes in the book is the skull. I hunted with a guide from Canada a few years back and he'd call them a "five footer" or a "six footer" or a "seven footer." The six and seven footers are both shooters.

http://www.ingramwildlife.com/picture.htm

ike

Re: Question for you bear hunters

quote:

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Originally posted by Phantom
Is there a way you can come reasonably close to telling how big a bear is as in weight and all that before pulling the trigger?

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__________________
Bob Brooks /
Jordan Tyler (grandson)

BackWoods River Walkers/Beagles
Just all 'round , meat gettin' hounds.

Thanks Ike

Actually the weight don't/won't mean much to me either.Till time to drag it out of the woods and throw it in my truck.So pretty much a seven footer is worth shooting and the smaller ones might as well let them walk from what you are saying.

Bears seem to be measured lots of different ways, and two of the common ways are the hide squared or nose to the base of the tail before skinning. A six to six and a half foot bear that is measured before skinning is a keeper bear, and if that measured seven or more then he's a pig.

My buddy shot one in Canada that taped 6'3" before skinning, had about a 5 1/4" from pad, scored up around 19 3/4" skull and teeth that were worn over half way down. It was getting close to the rut time and he'd probably ran off much of his weight, but he had fresh and old bite scars on his body that showed he was an old warrior and a trophy.

I killed one that taped 7'4" from nose to base of the tail before skinning, he had a 5 1/2" pad, scored 21 8/16" Boone and Crockett, was aged at twenty-eight years, and had better teeth than my buddies. The first bear would have squared up close to seven foot and mine hung over both ends of a eight foot fletching table.

In my opinion, either of those two bears are real trophies and a guy better not walk away from one like my buddy killed if he ever wants a bear, cause seven foot bears don't grow on trees........

ike