Help members judge black bear size....

[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]

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[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....