Judging bears?

[Bambistew]

How do you tell the difference between a matuer vs imature bear?

What about the difference between a sow and a boar?

Can you use the same rules with brownies for juding size/maturity?

Does the same ratio of neck length to head length apply to black bears as it does to brownies?

What do tracks tell you about the size of the bear? Not just length/width but other featuers like toe shape?

How do you tell the difference between a mating pair vs a sow and a cub?

Where do bears typically den, how long do they hang around the den once they're awake?

So many questions so little time...

 

[drahthaar]

Crickets? I was ready to take notes.

 

[choc dogs]

I got no clue, but I'm watching this thread, I just wanna see a bear this spring

 

[jerrym]

I have a tape VHS called Evaluating the Bear by the late Duncan Gilchrist, hell of a great guy and very knowledgable. It has been collecting dust for years and it would be good if somebody would want to watch it. If you want I will sent it to you and just send it back to me when done or to Drahthaar, Choc Dogs and they can sent it to me when they are done, I am in Hamilton MT. I believe this is mostly black bears in SE Alaska.

 

[echo7]

Ears..

The spacing of the ears on the top of the Bears head. If close together, probably a small or yearling. If the ears are further apart it's a good bear. If the ears are pointing out the side of the top of the head it could be a 6 1/2 or 7 footer. As for sow or boar..never had much luck there,so I just look for any cubs and hold off? We can't bait in Montana, so spring grass, and trout streams are the good food sources. Right now if you live in a rural neighborhood here, just watch which neighbor leaves their garbage out and you'll find a bear quick enough.

 

[JASON LEE]

Body language tells alot. A big old bear will lumber around, young bears jump around and move quickly.

Old bears have a sagging belly.

Ears on a young bear look huge and seem to stand up more on top of the head.

 

[JASON LEE]

This one was 6' nose to tail.

 

[JASON LEE]

THis one was just under 6' but weighed more.

 

[TLC]

How do you tell the difference between a matuer vs imature bear? mature bear will have more space between the ears than an immature bear. will also have the "crease" on the forehead between the eyes. mature bears will have an overall larger look to them.

What about the difference between a sow and a boar? sex organs. again, boars will have an overall larger appearance than sows. look for the crease on the forehead. boars, especially mature ones, will have the "beer gut" appearance.

Can you use the same rules with brownies for juding size/maturity? have no idea. never hunter brownies.

Does the same ratio of neck length to head length apply to black bears as it does to brownies? no clue here either.

What do tracks tell you about the size of the bear? Not just length/width but other featuers like toe shape? nothing but the size possiblity. the larger the print, the larger the bear. trying to remember what I was told, but thinking a 5X5 print, or maybe it was 5 across is a sign of a larger bear? never head or read anything about toe shape. but if they are painted, they are either from a sow, or californian.

How do you tell the difference between a mating pair vs a sow and a cub? mating pair will have no cubs around. period. sows will run off their 1 1/2 year old cubs when she is ready to breed again. if they hang around, they may become dinner for the boar. biggest thing is, when a single bear comes in, give it a few minutes to see if any cubs show. while waiting, you can spend time looking the bear over.

Where do bears typically den, how long do they hang around the den once they're awake? small caves, under tree roots, anywhere they can curl up out of the weather and get comfy. bears may use the same den year after year if they feel safe there. sow with cubs may hang out in and around the den longer while the cub(s) get large enough to travel with her.

hope this helps. if you are baiting, use a barrel to determine size. never shoot to quickly. give the bear time to relax. eventually, it will give you a shot. look for the crease on the forehead, space between the ears, length of ears(shorter they look, the better), if the head looks like a bowling bowl with 2 small points, shoot it!!! look at the belly area. the lower it hangs, the older the bear is. not sure where you are hunting, but noticed in idaho where I have hunted, the younger bears were multi-colored. black/brown. not sure if this happens elewhere. did not see anything like that in minnesota a couple years back. when it's time to shoot, remember that the hair along the under side of the bear makes the bear vital area look lower than it really is. pick a spot slightly above the elbow of the front leg. that area straight back a bit will down a black bear almost every time. there is no such thing as every time in hunting.

 

[Bambistew]

I made this post mostly to see what kind of answers I'd get to questions I already had an opinion on... just wanted to see if I was on the right track or not.

Here's my take, from my limited experience and info gathering... Tony Russ has a great book about hunting bears, with a couple chaperts on judging.

How do you tell the difference between a matuer vs imature bear?
Ear spread, and a 'hump' on the forehead is another indicator.
Size of the ears relative to the head, ears should look small on the head. The legs look smaller in relation to the depth of the body. Big bears waddle. Eyes are the same size on a big bear as a small bear... big eyes=small bear. Hips continue to grow on bears as they age, the wider/longer the hips the older the bear. looking at a bear head on, if the hips are wider than the shoulders odds are a mature bear. Small bears have long necks

What about the difference between a sow and a boar?
The face of a boar is more square with a more pronounced brow. Sows will usually have a longer skinny snout compared to thier head width. Boars have a more square/blunt nose. Sows and young bears have 'thin' wrists and smaller forearms, and smaller/less muscular front quarters. Boars typically have longer skulls, the length of the neck is 2/3rds or more the lenght of the skull when looking from the side on a boar.

Can you use the same rules with brownies for juding size/maturity? From what I've seen yes

Does the same ratio of neck length to head length apply to black bears as it does to brownies? From what I've seen yes

What do tracks tell you about the size of the bear? Not just length/width but other features like toe shape?
Old matuer bears have square toes, young bears have round shaped toes. The width of the pads are a decent indicator of size, take width of front track in inches subtract an inch and you get a rough idea of the bears size squared in feet. Just like some people have big feet for thier size so do bears.

The older the bear the less pronouced the 'knotch' is in the hind foot pad. Similar to the toes, the pads get bigger and more round.

How do you tell the difference between a mating pair vs a sow and a cub? What if the cubs are the same size as the momma? The biggest difference is sows and cubs don't 'play'. A mating pair will run around, and 'frolic'.

Where do bears typically den, how long do they hang around the den once they're awake?
Most bears tend to den on northern facing slopes, in excavated dens, under rocks, stumps, etc. When they emerge they'll hang around for a day or two while they wake up , making short trips to and from the den before finally leaving. Boars typically emerge first

 

[Horn Seeker]

Good thread Bambi... With ample time I think I can do alright. With as many bears as I've seen hit the ground you'd think I'd be real good at it, but boy I've had some F-Ups... I killed a bear in 99 I think it was that I was SURE was a monster. The bear was 300 yards and the sun was shining on it and when it walked it just "rippled"...I thought "MONSTER BEAR" and laid down and took a shot and missed. It started running and in the sunlight and with its long hair, I just knew it was a monster. I dropped it on the 3rd shot and was so excited to go across the canyon. When I got to it I swear I dam near teared up... it was a hundred pounder...couldn't believe it. I'd seen a couple hundred hit the dirt from 60 - 368# dressed weights...and I had NO DESIRE to kill a small bear. I haven't pulled the trig on another yet, but am hoping to get one with a bow one of these days.

I think pics would be good for this thread.... pic is worth a thousand words right? Lets put some live bear pics up, I'll start. I'm just gonna snipe them from google...
Sow? Boar? Big? Little? Old? Young? You make the call!
Bear #1

Bear #2

Bear #3 See the diff in this sows head from what you would think is a boar in pic 1.....

 

[Horn Seeker]

How bout this one...wow...this one would have me thinking.....

 

[Horn Seeker]

What about this bear?

 

[Horn Seeker]

Last one, I'll let you guys post some!

 

[drahthaar]

Is that last one a "blue phase"?

Damnit HS, you posted right before me, now its second to the last.

 

[drahthaar]

I honestly don't know you can tell male from female without cubs around. That is tough.

That last one is all ears. Nose looks blocky to me though. Is that a small boar?

My friend is very good at killing bears, identifying size, etc. He likes a broadside look. He talks about females looking "hippy" with small shoulders, kind of tapering from big to small from front to back.

He says boars look more overall square, big shoulders. Looks for the ears to be pointing away from each other, lots of space between.

 

[drahthaar]

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

 

[Horn Seeker]

I agree with the "hippy" comment... for example, I'd call the pic above a boar...see how the shoulders appear bigger than the rear end...

1st pic boar, 2nd pic sow (yours)... both small. 125-150 dressed out.

That thick one, 2 pics up...? I just cant say for sure?

I think on a mature boar, you can tell it from a sow pretty easy by head size in general. Those sows just dont get big heads....16-17 inches is big for any sow "I think" from what I've seen...while even relatively younger boars will be bigger than that... This all varies widely by where you are too.....

I dont think any of them are blue bears...

 

[Lawnboy]

My friend is an absolute bear nut and lion and elk and ..... Anyway he's the one that got me even interested in bear hunting. He worked for me and so we would go out after work and we would go glassing. We were glassing areas that I was familiar with from bow season but never had looked at them in the spring. Ok some of his lessons for me were. That sows can be very deceiving in size. Meaning they can be huge. I know a few on here that have mistakenly shot a sow because of size. He told me the tell tale sign of a big sow is that she will look pear shaped. Big ol junk in the trunk and then taper towards her head. We glassed several that he showed me this on. Once we found a big boar he then showed me how they maintain a more blocky front shoulder and less taper.

The other thing he pointed out was that a big bear will look like a blob moving on the hillside. Meaning that you won't see much of his legs because of his size. Again he showed me a bear as an example.
He also showed me places to watch for them. I was always looking out on the open hillsides and he would be glassing small openings even areas around snow fields that were less obvious. He said that the grasses were different in the small openings versus the hillside and that he generally found them in there. They are way harder to see in those openings but dang that kid could find them.
He mentioned the whole thing about the ears looking small on a big head and that they will be more on the side but cautioned that he has shot some big ones that had big ears as well.
He told me that he usually sees the bigger bears later in the season. He thought in general they denned higher or longer than a younger bear. He usually wasn't all jumpy about finding them early in the season. He said that around the end of may and first part of June they start breeding and to really start focusing on the hillsides more. The boars are looking for love and are way more visible.

Anyway he taught me a lot more but this is all I'm sharing It is still real hard to find and shoot big bears no matter how you slice it.

 

[greatbasin]

Regardless of size, I have the best luck telling boars ans sows apart by how broad their muzzle is. Boars just seem to be a bit broader in the snout. Sows look a little more like they've had their muzzle sharpened like a pencil. This works for me, but you need see them well at close range.