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
