Help members judge black bear size....

[jrebel]

We always see threads with members asking, "how big is this bear"  So I thought it may be helpful for members to see pictures of bears and have experienced bear hunters judge the bears size, not necessarily "WEIGHT", but rather small / average / above average / huge!!  Obviously, people can throw out weight...though most grossly overestimate the weight of most black bears.     

Also...if you are experienced, explain why you judge a bear the way you do...Long Legs, Big head, Small Ears, Etc. 

Please don't make this thread a pissing match on who is right and who is wrong....but rather an informative thread that can help new bear hunters to judge bear.  The season is just around the corner.   

I'll throw up a few pics to start.  This is a boar and a sow this spring.  I would say this boar is way above average and is a no brainer for shooting.  Small ears, big head, super tall, Not "huge" as it could definitely fill out and become fatter.  The sow is pretty average and I would put in the 175 lbs range.  The goat feeder has 8' 4x4's that sit on 4x4 skids for reference. 

[Angus]

I got this bear on a trail cam a couple weeks ago and thought it looked like an decent bear, maybe a shooter, A co-worker of mine who has taken a few bears says it's a good bear and he would definitely be shooting. I've never taken one but would like to when the season opens.
I have seen a lot of bears but most of them were on Prince of Wales Is (spent 17 summers there) and some were true giants, which I think makes it a little harder for me to judge WA bears.
I wish I had a better pic of it, maybe I will when I check the cam again at the end of the month.

[lewy]

That last bear is pretty small. The boar in the first pic is a really solid bear.

[jrebel]

I got this bear on a trail cam a couple weeks ago and thought it looked like an decent bear, maybe a shooter, A co-worker of mine who has taken a few bears says it's a good bear and he would definitely be shooting. I've never taken one but would like to when the season opens.
I have seen a lot of bears but most of them were on Prince of Wales Is (spent 17 summers there) and some were true giants, which I think makes it a little harder for me to judge WA bears.
I wish I had a better pic of it, maybe I will when I check the cam again at the end of the month.

I am no expert....though I have been part of 15+ plus bear kills over the last 10 +/- years.  I would say with that with the bear kills and my trail cams, I have become pretty decent at judging them.  The one pictured has big ears in comparison to its head.  It is short legged with a big back end.  I would say it is an average bear for most areas.  I would call it is a shooter......and put it in the 150 -165  lb weight range.  All that being said....with just a broadside photo, It is extremely hard to judge.  Still a shooter in my books. 

[jrebel]

How much does this bear weigh???  I have the weight before gutting that I will share later.  This is on the smaller end of average in my opinion.  Still a shooter and even better yet....a really good eater. 

[JakeLand]

70-80 lbs

[HntnFsh]

I'm going to up the ante and guess 90 pounds. That is all it is, a guess. I am trying to compare what I think the kid would weigh, and use that to guess the bear weight. I know almost nothing about sizing bears.

[MeepDog]

I ran trail cams for bears over a couple years and this was by far the fattest bear I ever got on cam. It was a video and he would only show up at night. I hope he's still alive because he's clearly very good at getting food being that fat in August.

[boneaddict]

Now thats a bear.   


Angus, thats a small bear, Jrebs is even smaller, but no less a trophy to that hunter I am sure.   

Define a shooter
cub will eat fawn eventually
under 100 pounds still a fawn eater
200 pounds, average adult fawn eater
300 pounder an exceptional fawn eater
400+ eats just about anything including fawns

[jrebel]

I know it's hard to judge...and even harder to judge when they are dead, but that bear weighed 153 lbs. 

It was long legged young boar. 

[lewy]

I believe it, bears are dense. It doesnt take much to hit 150 lbs, on the flip side of that it takes a real toad to hit 350

[lewy]

Here’s a fun one, this bear would be considered obese 

[jrebel]

I believe it, bears are dense. It doesnt take much to hit 150 lbs, on the flip side of that it takes a real toad to hit 350

Correct....I would say an average bear is 150-225Lb bear in our area.  To me it becomes very hard to judge weight after that.  I would classify a big bear in the 225-300 pound range and a really big bear 300+.  I have seen really fat sows that would only make 250 ish lbs and they look like hogs.  I have also seen very lean, tall, muscular boars that I believe would push that 350 pound class and they don't look as impressive as a fat sow.  With that said, I have learned to look at how tall and long they are.  Look at how big their noggins are and how spread apart their ears are...and most of all, how flat their backs are.  I'll try and post a video of a super fat rippled flat back sow.....that I would guess only makes 200-225 LBS. 

Here are a couple "Average Bear" in my opinion.  First on on the smaller side of average and second on the larger side of average. 

[MeepDog]

Here’s a fun one, this bear would be considered obese 

It looks like his belly hair is gone from dragging it around. 

[hunter399]

Here is this guy from last year.
Probably the biggest on cam last year.
Have a cam soaking there now,but haven't checked it this year yet.
How big is it guys.......GO!

[lewy]

   Head profile and ears are a good clue, also a crease will become prominent in large mature bears in the middle of their head. Another thing I really look at is how they move around, smaller bears tend to bee bop around, up and over things ect. If you have the opportunity to just watch for a while that will help a ton, judging on a glance is nearly impossible. If you are hunting over bait things become easier, they are not in a berry patch that covers a large part of their body, you usually have a known object to compare them to (barrel, tree, ect) and you can watch their demeaner. Subordinate bears will be very weary while at a bait while the controlling bear in the area will appear more comfortable.

[lewy]

That bear is still carrying a nice rub free coat

[Caseyd]

.

[jrebel]

Here are a couple pics of what I would classify as large bears. 

first two pics are a tall, lean, long boar with a huge noggin. 

[jrebel]

Here are is a sow / boar pair that both are huge.  Look at how blocky the sow is.  Then compare her to the boar. 

[hunter399]

Here are is a sow / boar pair that both are huge.  Look at how blocky the sow is.  Then compare her to the boar.

Those are some big ones.

[MeepDog]

Here is this guy from last year.
Probably the biggest on cam last year.
Have a cam soaking there now,but haven't checked it this year yet.
How big is it guys.......GO!

I'm guessing 300lbs flat. 297.5 lbs of you want specifics

[hunter399]

Here is this guy from last year.
Probably the biggest on cam last year.
Have a cam soaking there now,but haven't checked it this year yet.
How big is it guys.......GO!

I'm guessing 300lbs flat. 297.5 lbs of you want specifics

I wish I could find him durring the season and tell you that your correct.
I couldn't find him last year,and only got a few pics.

[jrebel]

Here is this guy from last year.
Probably the biggest on cam last year.
Have a cam soaking there now,but haven't checked it this year yet.
How big is it guys.......GO!

I'm guessing 300lbs flat. 297.5 lbs of you want specifics

I wish I could find him durring the season and tell you that your correct.
I couldn't find him last year,and only got a few pics.

Super hard to tell off that picture alone.  Do you have a picture of his/her head?  How long / tall???  I've seen super short bears that are round, plump and juicy......that look huge but would only top the scales at 250 max.  In my experience....though limited to some on this site....the 300lb bears are tall and long more than they are fat and round.  The tall, long, fat and round ones can top 400+.  300 +/- is a good guess. 

[mountainman]

We always see threads with members asking, "how big is this bear"  So I thought it may be helpful for members to see pictures of bears and have experienced bear hunters judge the bears size, not necessarily "WEIGHT", but rather small / average / above average / huge!!  Obviously, people can throw out weight...though most grossly overestimate the weight of most black bears.     

Also...if you are experienced, explain why you judge a bear the way you do...Long Legs, Big head, Small Ears, Etc. 

Please don't make this thread a pissing match on who is right and who is wrong....but rather an informative thread that can help new bear hunters to judge bear.  The season is just around the corner.   

I'll throw up a few pics to start.  This is a boar and a sow this spring.  I would say this boar is way above average and is a no brainer for shooting.  Small ears, big head, super tall, Not "huge" as it could definitely fill out and become fatter.  The sow is pretty average and I would put in the 175 lbs range.  The goat feeder has 8' 4x4's that sit on 4x4 skids for reference. 

He’s big enough👍

[mountainman]

Some nice bears posted here! Always nice to down a beast bear, in the 300-400# mark. But those in the 159-200 pounds typically taste the best👍
This guy was a tub!

[jrebel]

Yeah that’s a really nice bear.   

[OutHouse]

Certainly no expert but for me there are two general profiles of a bear. One is the blob that basically resembles a large potato turned on its side, and the second are the bears with some obvious skeletal structure defining the profile. The blobs are trophies and the others are somewhere else on the spectrum IMO.

Cool thread by the way   

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I'll never forget this guy..
.
Definitely think he was a shooter.

[Dan-o]

I'll never forget this guy..
.
Definitely think he was a shooter.

Geez!!!

The front legs on that pog....

[Jellymon]

What about these?

[Pacific Ghost]

Those are not small.

[Pacific Ghost]

Here is a vid out the back window shortly after we moved into the new house. Probably on the small end of average size.

[Pacific Ghost]

Here is a good one I posted in the trail cam thread a while ago.

[mountainman]

Yeah that’s a really nice bear.   

Here he is on the ground:

[CaNINE]

I was blessed with the opportunity to take this book bear a few years ago. Still get excited thinking about it.

[mountainman]

I was blessed with the opportunity to take this book bear a few years ago. Still get excited thinking about it.

He’s a fatty! Nice!

[Dan-o]

I was blessed with the opportunity to take this book bear a few years ago. Still get excited thinking about it.

Are you able to post a pic of the skull to show the healed up injury?
I thought that was wicked.

[CaNINE]

Yeah not sure how long he’d been running around with this injury but quite a while. The bone had fused and there is a massive wear channel in the upper canine where it was rubbing on the lower tooth. The pain must have been off the charts. Tough critter.

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Bears are hard to judge simply by pics. I’ve seen a lot of pics from clients and in one photo the bear looks huge, but a follow up photo of the same bear and it looks significantly smaller. Boars and sows have huge differences as well, some easy to tell, and others are not. And old sow may very well present or look like a younger bear. A lot of telltale signs of a ‘good bear’ are in the head, particularly the span between the ears. Another good look is the rear end…sloped off with no rise is a younger bear, heavy rise and wide is an older mature animal. The best guys I know that can judge a bear are people that have seen a LOT of bears. A good amount of bears roll through the shop every year and the similar statement is said with all the smaller ones…’he looked bigger when I first saw him’. Nothing wrong with shooting s smaller one, but good judgment on a bruin comes with lots of experience and taking a moment to truly evaluate the body of your quary before making a decision to pull the trigger. Here’s a good diagram of head judgement I’ve found helpful in judging them. Has helped and proven true with the bears I’ve been blessed to take

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Pics of both of my 2022 Washington bears

[CaNINE]

   Yup that’s a good’n

[Dan-o]

Pics of both of my 2022 Washington bears

Nice bears!!

You must have passed on a bunch to collect those 2.   

[mountainman]

Yeah not sure how long he’d been running around with this injury but quite a while. The bone had fused and there is a massive wear channel in the upper canine where it was rubbing on the lower tooth. The pain must have been off the charts. Tough critter.

That is unique and cool for sure!

[jrebel]

Here is a video of a 60ish lbs bear.  We were standing under the tree unknowing there was a bear above us.  It huffed a few times and I think my wife about possession her pants.   

https://youtube.com/shorts/As8dUQfPElM?feature=share

[mcrawfordaf]

How big on this one you think? Dates are wrong. Picture was taken in the last two weeks some time.

[ducks4days]

It’s either a chonk or a chungus, but it’s hard to tell which.