Bear Watch is alive and well

[steel_ram]

They are fun to watch. Bear hunting to many is just an excuse to get out and enjoy the Spring.

[Iron Glove]

Maybe making sure there are no cubs close by?

Good point, that and how hard of a retrieve it is if the bear is well into the bush.
Son has seen dozens of bears this past week but hasn't pulled the trigger yet for a number of reasons, cubs and retrieve being the main ones.

[ROY-alty33]

I love watching bears be bears, and could and have done it for hours on end. They are by far one of the coolest animals on the planet. To their downfall they are also voracious predators and just happen to be quite tasty as well!!

[caddisguy]

If I am looking for a bear to eat, I'm not too picky. I'll take whatever looks like a decent sack of burgers... and decent in my standards is anything I will walk away with 50lbs of ground.

I'll watch and try to film if it's a sow, something feels off, or I'm solo and it's too late in the day, too hot, etc... or if I already have a bear in the freezer and I'm just camping with a rifle... or sometimes I come across them in the fall I'm more likely to go for the camera than the rifle.

There's always a lot of posturing too on social media about shooting small bears and guys bragging about the ones they passed on "see I let this little 350lb guy go because I don't believe in shooting small bears. they need to be at least 7ft and 500lbs"

I was out camping on the weekend in an area where I've never really seen any bear sign close by. This time I found 6 huge piles of scat (girth of soda cans scattered in 12 pack piles) and they were all amazingly fresh. Had a rifle (thank goodness, made me feel better) but to be 100% honest, I went for a little walk in the afternoon just to see if I could track it down and film it from a safe distance. I wanted to see what the heck could leave piles that big... maybe a 500lb tank, maybe a region 2 grizz, maybe a little bear that takes big dumps. I was curious as heck LOL ... probably put up a trailcam there this weekend. I wish I had one on me. Maybe an evening walk this time instead of an afternoon walk too (by the evening were too busy cooking)

[landphil]

2 300+ lb bears have more meat than 2 200 lb bears. It’s not much more work to process a big bear than a little one, with a lot more return. My bear this year put 93 lbs of well-trimmed meat in the freezer.

That said, I haven’t passed a bear on size alone in a long time. The bigger ones are less jumpy, less likely to bolt, more concentrated on feeding, hopefully giving a good chance to watch for cubs. And big boars never have cubs with them.

So where’s your bear hunting pics / story?

[Huevos]

I wonder how many people have actually weighed their bears. A 200lb spring bear usually sits right around 6' squared with an 18" skull. This is not a small bear. It is not huge, but is a descent size bear. I have weighed a lot of spring bears and have yet to see one that broke the 400lb mark. 300 lb spring bear is a really good bear. It will have over 19" skull, These bears a guy can find, but only if you are either lucky, or put in the time.
There are always other factors that come into play while bear hunting, some were mentioned before (is it a sow with cubs, location for retrieval). One factor for me is whether it is rubbed or not. If we are going to take a bear, it might as well have a good hide.
I have seen well over 100 bears this year hunting with the kids. We shot one. Spending quality time with the kids has been worth way more to me than any bear meat or skull could ever be. I am sometimes of the opinion that there is no better way of ruining a good hunt than by shooting something. We spent 2 four day weekends camping, exploring new country(our primary goal) and we saw lots of bears. We took some video, made some stalks, (mostly for practice) and just had an all around good time. The meat for me is a by-product of the opportunity to get out and enjoy nature and time together as a family. Every time we see a bear, I have my kids tell me if it is a boar or a sow, and how big it is. They are actually really good at it now.
(P.S. my daughter's bear that she did end up taking squared out at 7'.)