Weight my '05 Bear...

[MichaelJ]

Well I got this guy in October of 2005.  His skull was 18 7/8" and he's 6'4" nose-tail and 6'9" paw-paw (as a rug) so that's 6'6.5" square.  We estimated somewhere AROUND 400 lbs but weren't sure as we weren't able to take him out whole.  What do you think?







The first couple pics are a little decieving, look at the proportions and you get a good idea of how big he is.  My Dad weights 170 and I at that time was around 140...  He had atleast 3" of fat on his back and was really burly through his shoulders, back and legs.  Thanks

Michael

[billythekidrock]

First off...Congrats.. that is a great bear.

I am going to be generous and say that bear is maybe 300 lbs tops. The chest is not that thick and the front legs don't have the mass that a really huge bear has.

Here are some pics of my brother's 2006 archery bear. It squared just over 6ft green and the skull was over 18 inches. It weighed 275 lbs.





This bear had inches of fat and in this pic you can compare it to my fat 210lb butt.

[ICEMAN]

Billy, how can we compare if you don't turn around? 

[saylean]

Billy, how can we compare if you don't turn around? 

Zing...

Nice bears guys... ;P I hate seeing these "smaller bears"...cause the one I got (my first) could have lived inside of either of these guys...lol..oh well...perhaps this year... ')

[MichaelJ]

Billy, Great bear! I see what your saying, but like I said the pics really don't do it justice.  The most impressive part of the bear was how thick he was through the shoulders/check and back.  Look at your bro's bear then look at mine, from the pics his looks bigger, but mine squared more and had nearly a 19" skull... And scoring green is a generous thing as the skin of a bear shrinks once it is tanned (as does any animal, to a degree).

Michael

[boneaddict]

I think I insulted you when I told you what I thought your bear weighed, way back on MM.   Your bear is a wonderful trophy, but not nearly 400 pounds.  I don't remember what I guessed back then, but 275-300 or would be a good guess.  Don't take me wrong, you got a nice bear.  Nice pics too Billy.

[high country]

I took this guy in the spring, not a ounce of fat on him. I am good at guessing weights most the time and I would say 270ish......since I am 6' and 230

[bowpredator]

Bears are really hard to judge weight when hanging. When I shot my first bear I thought I had shot a big bear 275-300 and packing him out he was even heavier,  but after gutting him and skining him then having him on the hook he weighed just over 100 lbs then you add 40 lbs for head and hide, then 30-40 guts put him at about 180lbs on the hoof. I have learned to take my time and size up a bear before pulling the trigger. Believe me when you see a 300-350lb bear in the woods you will not need to size him up because he will be big compaired to a 200lb bear. The bear I shot last year was a prime example of this, when we spotted him at 300 yrds I didn't even need to look him over I just shot him and when we got up to him there was no ground shinkage as compaired to the 200lb bears that I have shot in the past. This bear ended up scoring 19 8/16ths and my other 200lb bears were 18 and under. Dont get me wrong I'm not knocking your bear any bear is a trophy, but thats not a 400lb bear. Just my 2 cents.

Rodger

[robb92]

Both bears are really great congrats!!! I will be coming back to Spokane next week to do some bear hunting. Anybody willing to share where they have been seeing any bears? I only get to come back to Washington once a year and I missed last year do to being in the desert.

[billythekidrock]

And scoring green is a generous thing as the skin of a bear shrinks once it is tanned (as does any animal, to a degree).

Yes, but they are stretched by the taxidermist (usually larger than life).

[Machias]

robb92 your timing is perfect!  MUCH cooler weather rolling in for next week.  Might even get a little bit of rain.  Good luck my friend.


Michael, absolutely awesome looking bear, since you asked I would guess 270-290, which is about 60-75 pounds heavier then the average bear here in WA.  Congrats!

[Michelle_Nelson]

Tanned hides do shrink, but than again so do green hides if left to dry.  Heck what doesn't shrink when it's left out to dry.  Not to many things.  I will say this....you can't measure a green hide and get a accurate measurment.  Green hides streach A LOT!  Any hide will be bigger once it is skinned off the animal. 

Next time you go bear hunting bring a tape measure with you.  When you shoot one measure the bear around the belly and than from the tip of his nose along the back to the base of the tail.  After you skin it out lay the hide down and measure it again.  I gurantee it will be a lot bigger.

[Michelle_Nelson]

One more thing since billy brought it up...

If you bring an animal to a taxidermist you should get back what you give!  If you bring him a deer with a 19" neck than thats what you should get back.  Taxidermist arn'st doing any one any favors by over straching the animals cape or hides.  Yeah the mount may look good for a few years but they are setting you up for problems down the road.  Cracks in the skin can and do form in the cape.  Especially around the eyes, nose, and lips.  The seams can start to seaperate and pull stiches loose. 

If the animal comes back way smaller than the original measurments than the taxidermist did a half ass job streching the cape back to it ORIGINAL measurments.

[billythekidrock]

Next time you go bear hunting bring a tape measure with you.  When you shoot one measure the bear around the belly and than from the tip of his nose along the back to the base of the tail.  After you skin it out lay the hide down and measure it again.  I gurantee it will be a lot bigger.

Yes it will be larger skinned, but that is how they are squared. Layed out naturally..not stretched and distorted, measured nose to tail and claw to claw. It is funny to see a 5ft bear streatched (nailed on  sheets of plywood at the Taxi) to almost 6 ft.

If the animal comes back way smaller than the original measurments than the taxidermist did a half ass job streching the cape back to it ORIGINAL measurments.

Didn't we have this exact conversations at the archery shop?LOL 
If the hunter capes the animal then they should have the measurements for you. But they should also know the difference in measurements. Squaring a hide is the excepted way to express size, but not really a good way to measure for a mount, where eye to nose, neck and other measurements are better.

[boneaddict]

"layed out naturally"   is the key.  Folks tend to try to stretch it one way, take the measurement, then stretch it another and take the measurement.  Many then add an inch or two just for prosperiety sakes.  Pretty darn silly.  Be proud of your trophies folks, its not a pecker measuring contest.  A bear that squares 6 foot is a gorgeous rug.  If you shoot a bear over 200 pounds in Washington you should be dang happy.  I've probably seen MAYBE 4 bears in my life that might tip the 400 pound scale here in good ole Wash.  Thats out of nearly 1000+ bear.