Trophy sized bear?!

[Meattoeat]

I’ve got this guy I’ll be chasing all august and September. Will be a first bear for me and a dandy at that I think. All I know is judging the ears and belly. But those ears look awfully small to me

[jrebel]

Looks like a very nice bear to me.  I think the picture you had with him next to the sow (another post) really illustrates the size difference.  I will be the first to say that bears are one of the hardest animals to judge, as far as size goes.  I have walked up to very nice sized bears dead on the ground and thought to myself, "wow...that doesn't look that big."  I have also shot a couple that I would have swore were absolute hogs to walk up and see the ground shrinkage....   

[Meattoeat]

Looks like a very nice bear to me.  I think the picture you had with him next to the sow (another post) really illustrates the size difference.  I will be the first to say that bears are one of the hardest animals to judge, as far as size goes.  I have walked up to very nice sized bears dead on the ground and thought to myself, "wow...that doesn't look that big."  I have also shot a couple that I would have swore were absolute hogs to walk up and see the ground shrinkage....   

Yeah I can 100% see that.

I’ve always been taught with deer and elk to use their ears to judge frame size IE: if they’re wide or tall or what have you. Next time I go out to check cameras I’m gonna try and use some reference points to get a better idea of how big. I know it’s a huge long shot to hope he’ll be around come august but that’s what spring and early summer are for right!? Dreaming and drooling over big bears and deer/elk.

Just can’t imagine getting lucky with something like this for a first bear.

[h20hunter]

Shooter all day any day.

[bearhunter99]

As Jrebel stated bears are the hardest to judge.  I have killed quite a few and there were only a small percentage that looked the same when I walked up to them....  That one does look pretty good though with the blocky head and small ears.

[Pathfinder101]

That's a good bear.  You won't be disappointed if you kill him, first bear especially. 

[CaNINE]

a very solid bear.  It's pretty impossible to judge skull measurements until you get a tape on him but from looking at the ear size and location on his head I'd say 18"+ for sure.  Good luck and punch out the front shoulders so you anchor him in place. 

[huntnfmly]

He also has a bit of a crease on the top of his forehead and head which is another way of judging them
He’s a nice bear I’m agreeing with caNINE on skull size

[brew]

my concern is there is a pic you posted on a different thread about a bait site and in that pic there are some thumbnails below it at one of the pics is of the bear posted on this thread (pretty sure that's what i'm seeing ?).  Anyway hope you get 'em but just be careful about the pics you post and the details surrounding it.  I'm not advocating something illegal just don't know the laws about when you can stop baiting deer/elk and hunting bears in that area

[Meattoeat]

my concern is there is a pic you posted on a different thread about a bait site and in that pic there are some thumbnails below it at one of the pics is of the bear posted on this thread (pretty sure that's what i'm seeing ?).  Anyway hope you get 'em but just be careful about the pics you post and the details surrounding it.  I'm not advocating something illegal just don't know the laws about when you can stop baiting deer/elk and hunting bears in that area

Yeah I was posting because I was trying to figure out what the stipulations were about baiting before or after season, pretty much just decided that I’m just not even going to bother with trying. Not that I would have actually done it just due to lack of time and plenty of other things. Just seeing the bear made me wonder what do you do if you are in a situation with bait and you come across a bear.

No intentions of doing anything risqué just trying to get clarification on the previous post. Also was able to contact wdfw finally which helped a ton.

[Rainier10]

What was wdfw response and thought on it?

[polishstunner]

Lots of guys looking on here for tattle tail pts too.  Far too much emphasis on what the other guy did to get a better critter than me.  The guy above is right though, be careful.

[HAGEMANIAC]

That's a healthy bear, no doubt about it.  I would shoot any day. Good luck!

[jackelope]

Lots of guys looking on here for tattle tail pts too.  Far too much emphasis on what the other guy did to get a better critter than me.  The guy above is right though, be careful.

WDFW does the looking for themselves. Don’t doubt that for one second. I believe the masses want to see everyone do everything right and everyone kill giant animals, until someone does something wrong. I guarantee you though, WDFW has found the violators on here on their own more than any tattle tails have.

[polishstunner]

No....they reply to tattle tails.  Dont kid yourself.  Cases dont happen until complaints are made.  Game wardens are not looking thru these posts. 

[greenhead_killer]

I’ve seen guides use a 3’ post marked out and set in view of the cam. If the bear hits the top of that 3’ post, they’re usually a great one. Maybe try something like that if you’re trying to judge.

[Caseyd]

I’ve seen guides use a 3’ post marked out and set in view of the cam. If the bear hits the top of that 3’ post, they’re usually a great one. Maybe try something like that if you’re trying to judge.

What about 3’ garbage bag 

[Cougartail]

It's a good bear. The size of it's head compared to it's ears is the best indication of this.

[jackelope]

No....they reply to tattle tails.  Dont kid yourself.  Cases dont happen until complaints are made.  Game wardens are not looking thru these posts.

Believe me...as one of the guys who gets contacted sometimes...they are watching all the time.

[jrebel]

No....they reply to tattle tails.  Dont kid yourself.  Cases dont happen until complaints are made.  Game wardens are not looking thru these posts.

Believe me...as one of the guys who gets contacted sometimes...they are watching all the time.

I know for a fact they watch, draw conclusions and contact with a guilty verdict before knowing any facts.   Had a lot of respect for Wdfw officers until about three years ago when one guy blew it.   Judge, jury, executioner with no facts……never been more pissed. 

[ctwiggs1]

No....they reply to tattle tails.  Dont kid yourself.  Cases dont happen until complaints are made.  Game wardens are not looking thru these posts.

Believe me...as one of the guys who gets contacted sometimes...they are watching all the time.

This forum is the only nexus in an instance where my name came up in a conversation with a game warden.  They're watching!

And honestly... That's a good thing. 

[BD1]

In this day and age it seems logical for LEO to lurk on these types of forums, especially F&G  Seems like part of doing a thorough job...I would be doing the same thing if I was one 
As Brisco Darlin would say "More power to ya".

[jrebel]

In this day and age it seems logical for LEO to lurk on these types of forums, especially F&G  Seems like part of doing a thorough job...I would be doing the same thing if I was one 
As Brisco Darlin would say "More power to ya".

It is very logical and actually dumb for them not to in my opinion.  They need to be very cautious with taking information from a site and drawing a conclusion that doesn't exist.  Then treat someone like a criminal and treat their family poorly to find out they were completely wrong in the first place.  This topic comes up yearly and it makes my skin crawl knowing how me and my family were treated because they read a post and then accused me of something I had absolutely nothing to do with.  A simple phone call would have cleared things up....but they treated me as guilty until proven innocent.  Bass ackwords if you ask me. 

And the apology afterward was very non sincere....makes me sick.

[BD1]

That unfortunately sounds like someone who didn't perform their job correctly and that probably wasn't the first or last time for the individual...there are always some bad ones mixed in with the good ones.

[pianoman9701]

In this day and age it seems logical for LEO to lurk on these types of forums, especially F&G  Seems like part of doing a thorough job...I would be doing the same thing if I was one 
As Brisco Darlin would say "More power to ya".

It is very logical and actually dumb for them not to in my opinion.  They need to be very cautious with taking information from a site and drawing a conclusion that doesn't exist.  Then treat someone like a criminal and treat their family poorly to find out they were completely wrong in the first place.  This topic comes up yearly and it makes my skin crawl knowing how me and my family were treated because they read a post and then accused me of something I had absolutely nothing to do with.  A simple phone call would have cleared things up....but they treated me as guilty until proven innocent.  Bass ackwords if you ask me. 

And the apology afterward was very non sincere....makes me sick.

I remember you going through a tough patch. Glad to see you came out the other side. 

[Threewolves]

Getting back on track and back to the Bear.... tuff when there is nothing to compare it with. The ears do not look pointy like one a really small bear. I think the ears look a little pointy because they look as if they are trained foreword. The rest of the bear looks ok. As my wife would say why worry about it you can get two bear tags!

If I see a bear from a side view and it looks kind of lanky I am pretty sure it is not going to be a very big bear. Usually if you are new to bear hunting all bears look big. If you have some experience you will know a really big bear when you see it. Additionally, if you have to think about it, it's probably not a big bear.
 
I know the standard is no matter what size bear, you are suppose to say "that's a good bear or look at the pumpkin head on that one". I know I talk a lot of crap and say I'll shoot the first one I see, (1.because of the two bear tag thing and 2. because even the smaller ones smoke up great) but life around my house is a little harder if I was to shoot a 3 1/2 footer. No one going to say "good bear" you might here "who shot the dog".

[Dan-o]

I am not a bear expert, but that guy looks pretty thick, with a big head and pretty small ears.

I sure think it's a really good bear.

I'd like to find out first hand!   

[Ridgeratt]

You could drive a few  2x2  a known distance from where his nose is. 
If you get to observe the animal and can see where the hind wheels are. 

Another thing that I have been told works is kiddie playground sand spread out a few  inches deep and then smoothed out like a table top.
When the object steps into the sand you should get a good foot print.

[Meattoeat]

Getting back on track and back to the Bear.... tuff when there is nothing to compare it with. The ears do not look pointy like one a really small bear. I think the ears look a little pointy because they look as if they are trained foreword. The rest of the bear looks ok. As my wife would say why worry about it you can get two bear tags!

If I see a bear from a side view and it looks kind of lanky I pretty sure it is not going to be a very big bear. Usually if you are new to bear hunting all bears look big. If you have some experience you will know a really big bear when you see it. Additionally, if you have to think about it, it's probably not a big bear.
 
I know the standard is no matter what size bear, you are suppose to say "that's a good bear or look at the pumpkin head on that one". I know I talk a lot of crap and say I'll shoot the first one I see, (1.because of the two bear tag thing and 2. because even the smaller ones smoke up great) but life around my house is a little harder if I was to shoot a 3 1/2 footer. No one going to say "good bear" you might here "who shot the dog".

There’s a side view, and a second bear for comparison, I don’t know why I didn’t put this up with the first post.

[HAGEMANIAC]

That's a brute

[idaho guy]

It’s a very good bear. Don’t over complicate it and Shoot it when you’re legally able

[jackelope]

That’s a big bear.