Sizing up a bear

[DuckHunt]

Well, my trail cameras have more bear on them than turkey this year. Actually, I have more bear than nice bucks. I've got enough pictures to consider paying for a tag. In Virginia, a bear has to be at least 100 pounds live weight. With all that hair, can you folks in bear areas size these up for me? Let me know an rough weight on these visitors. That will give me a baseline with actual subjects.

Bear #1: I'm guessing this one may not be a lot more than 100 pounds, maybe 150.


Bear #2: Like bear #1, I'm guessing 150 tops.


Bear #3: This one looks a little thicker. My guess 150-200.


Bear #4: This one has girth. Easily double the others. I'm thinking pushing 300.


Set me straight. I've only seen a couple while hunting and am yet to put my hands on one. I'd prefer not to shoot one that is just big enough, but I would at least like to get a good idea of what a 100+ pound bear looks like.

DuckHunt

[Big John]

They are to small except the last one.
Truthfully, the others may be the same one, but still maybe only 125 lbs.
The last one looks to be 250 to 275 lbs.
I'm no expert, but I do an awful lot of Bearhunting.

Big John

[miller1buc]

I think the first 2 may be the same one and is less than 100 for sure. #3 may be close to 100 but too close for me to chance. I would put #4 in the 200-225 range.

[vixenmaster]

3 lil ones #4 is yer shooter . Its head is big enuff the ears are rounded n at the distance the cam took pic. Yer yogi is goin to be over 250, its not a small Bear n worth gettin a tag fer

[BrotherRon]

I think the first 3 are the same bear a little over 100#. If you look at the dates you can see the little guy puting on a few pounds in a couple weeks time as he is fattening up for the winter. The last one is a ways away from the camera and is a shooter in the 300# range.

[DaGriz]

They are to small except the last one.
Truthfully, the others may be the same one, but still maybe only 125 lbs.
The last one looks to be 250 to 275 lbs.
I'm no expert, but I do an awful lot of Bearhunting.

Big John

I whole heartily agree with BigJohn. The last one is a shooter, first three are too small
When looking at a bear, visually compare the body to a 100lb sack of feed or spuds without legs, you will get an idea of the size of the bear Also if the head looks too small for the body it's a decent sized bear

[Bullzeye]

When your not sure of body size I always go by the ears, a bear that looks like it has tiny ears(because the head is so big) more times than not is a shooter bear

[DuckHunt]

Thanks for the feedback. I see the smaller one(s) frequently, but the larger ones not as often. I may skip a tag this season unless I see the big ones turn up more often.
DuckHunt

[paulaboutform]

The last is a possible shooter, depends what you're looking for. Besides the size of ears, look for the distance from the belly to the ground. The little one looks spindly and long legged. A big bear will look barrel like with short legs and a belly that appears to almost touch the ground.

Paul

[IronNoggin]

All Great Advise, and all well worth paying attention to!

Up here, they occasionally get rather large. I generally don't hunt them, given the amount of deer, moose, elk etc we can hunt. But I do take Buddies out for them from time to time. Here's a Bruiser from a couple years back now. Topped 500 lbs:



Cheers,
Nog

[paulaboutform]

All Great Advise, and all well worth paying attention to!

Up here, they occasionally get rather large. I generally don't hunt them, given the amount of deer, moose, elk etc we can hunt. But I do take Buddies out for them from time to time. Here's a Bruiser from a couple years back now. Topped 500 lbs:



Cheers,
Nog

Dang it that's a big ol pumpkin head! My buddy has one on his wall he shot up at High Hume....7' 3"...it's in the book and what a bruiser. I don't generally hunt them anymore either Matt, but maybe I'll have to make a run out when you have some time and put an arrow through one.

Paul

[Bullzeye]

Bear sausage YUMMY

[Cibby]

That's a tough law trying to guess the weight of a bear in hunting conditions. Back in the 1970's and early 80's PA had a law similar to that. They finally dropped it as they determined it was unfair. It has not hurt the bear population as we have more bear than ever. I get the same results in the Allegany National forest more bear on my cameras than deer. Looking at the pictures the last one is the only shooter. I look at how wide the bear is at the shoulders and the backend if I see it from behind wide body mass the size of the head are all things to look at. I'd hate to guess at pictures 1,2 and 3 lean and lanky looking smaller head not much width at the shoulders . It could dress out at 80 to 85 pounds.

[foofoo]

anyone take a guess on how big this ole big belly is

[paulaboutform]

anyone take a guess on how big this ole big belly is

That's what I'm talking about! 375-400lbs is my guess...easily.

Paul