stupid bear question

[Fishpimp]

 i just got into bear hunting and i shot my first and second bear last year. my dumb question is when you measure a bear is it just nose to tail? what do they mean when they say it "squared" at such and such a measurement?
 the first one i shot was small,just over 5' from nose to tail. the second was alot bigger,i haven't measured it yet{it is at my taxidermist being made into a rug} but i had the small one tanned and i got him back tonight. the big bear had a 19+" skull. he was a donger!

anyway i just didn't know exactly how to measure a bear skin.  thanks

pardon the poor picture of the big one, it was raining like hell and my flash quit on my camera

[billythekidrock]

Nose to tail + front claw to front claw divided by 2.

Congrats on the bears.

[fc2038]

Nice bears! Just started hunting bears and you wiped out two......... lucky dog! Congrats!

[saylean]

If the skull is 19+ inches, think about getting it officially scored. Grats on the bears, nice work.

[Fishpimp]

If the skull is 19+ inches, think about getting it officially scored. Grats on the bears, nice work.

any idea where i could get that done?  sorry to sound like a newbie but i have  hunted since i was 10 , mostly duck and blacktail so this bear thing is very foreign to me.  not to change the subject but i have a blacktail i would like to have scored too.  any ideas?

thanks

[billythekidrock]

If the skull is 19+ inches, think about getting it officially scored. Grats on the bears, nice work.

and idea where i could get that done?  sorry to sound like a newbie but i have  hunted since i was 10 , mostly duck and blacktail so this bear thing is very foreign to me.  not to change the subject but i have a blacktail i would like to have scored too.  any ideas?

thanks

The sportsman show this weekend.

[Fishpimp]

awesome, thanks!

[Airnip]

Like your pictures. Prefer as dropped compared to packed out photo's.Interested in seeing plant life around bear supporting habitiat.

Curious about the hunt story on these? Chance opportunities when hunting something else? Spot and stalk? Ambush?                           

Congratulations on your success.

[GoldTip]

Nose to tail with no stretch for an honest measurement.  If you wanna make it sound like it's 3-4" bigger than that, then you "square it".

Congrats on a couple nice bears.

[billythekidrock]

Nose to tail with no stretch for an honest measurement.  If you wanna make it sound like it's 3-4" bigger than that, then you "square it".

Hhmm. Not sure how that works. I have shot bears who's claw to claw measurement was shorter then nose to tail and thus made the square measurement smaller.

[cohoho]

Nose to tail with no stretch for an honest measurement.  If you wanna make it sound like it's 3-4" bigger than that, then you "square it".

Hhmm. Not sure how that works. I have shot bears who's claw to claw measurement was shorter then nose to tail and thus made the square measurement smaller.

Have to agree with you Billy, don't understand that one, squared is squared no matter what.  Curious to ask why that way, don't get offended just wondering is all.  Everything I have read, seen and done for bear measurement is squared not just length???

[muzzleman]

Nice bear kramer congrates.

[Airnip]

On a human being wing span or finger tip to finger tip is equal to height. Must be squared on a bear to allow for the difficulty of getting one to stand up straight on a door jam to get an accurate measure nose to tail.