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!