The best way?

[daycort]

What is the best way to judge a bear? the little head, the measurement of the front pad and add two? Who really knows! I just want some feed back at what other guys judge by as everybody is different in the way they judge animals. I see alot a bears in the summer months because of my job, I think the most accurate way is the old head to body size method.

[Will]

What is the best way to judge a bear? the little head, the measurement of the front pad and add two? Who really knows! I just want some feed back at what other guys judge by as everybody is different in the way they judge animals. I see alot a bears in the summer months because of my job, I think the most accurate way is the old head to body size method.
There is no "best way" to judge Bears accurately..........they can be tough even for seasoned Bear Hunters.

I've seen some 5-1/2' foot Bears that made the BCBooks and a few pushing 7 feet that did not ? :-?............for me anyways headsize vs body size is probably the last thing I look at. Far better to learn to evaluate the Whole package.....

My preferered method for guestimating from a track is the front Pad width, add 1" then convert to feet.......it comes pretty close:wink:

As far as judging a really Big Bear I prefer the "Holy Crap ! That's a Big Bear" approach....:mrgreen:
You generally will know a Big one when you see it 8)

[pupper]

I can tell if it is a big bear if I am scared to put a stalk on it with my bow:-D

another way is if the ears a far apart on the head its a big one

if the ears are close together and large looking its a youngin

you cant judge by how fat or how long it is because some short bears have big skulls and vic versa

[Mr. Dean]

This fella is what I got 10 days ago. He has enough room on his head to land a Bell Ranger between its ears - Yet he was barely over 6'

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/P1010156_edited-2.JPG

From 800 yards in the spotter, I though I found a monster, but when I viewed him from 30 or so feet, I found that I was kinda confused. After watching him for about 10 min, I knew he was a 6ft'r that had the bulk of something much larger.

His pads told the true story (width + 1"). His were around 5"

-When in doubt ---> Get closer.

-I had the pleasure of finding 2 MUCH larger bears on this hunt. Both of them had several pronounced scars on their faces.

-Get a couple of movies that feature large Bears. You'll become accustomed to them after several viewings.


As far as judging a really Big Bear I prefer the "Holy Crap ! That's a Big Bear" approach....-This isn't BS. If you find something that literaly takes your breath away... Hopefully he'll let you get a GOOD look at him. I hum'd and haw'd on one for to long only to end up losing him.

-Some one told me this when I posed the same question last winter. " Get out and start looking closely at bears. Imersion is the best set of training wheels". After a while you'll get to learn when to believe what your 'gut' is saying. Hence the HOLY CRAP!! method.

The one thing I hate seeing though is dog like ears w/ the long triangle face FWIW.

[Mr. Dean]

Here, I found this old thread I started that has some REAL good stuff in it. Every page is worth reading.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=10788

Enjoy!

[mark]

Tape measure! :wink:

[lapadat]

and a set of steel-alloy balls

[Stone Sheep Steve]

The big boys hardly ever look around or smell/check for danger. That was reinforced on our grizz hunt when we were deiciding if one boar was a shooter or not. He kept checking the air and looking around occassionally. Saved his life indeed:wink:.
We eventually found out why he was nervous8). However, he might be a little more relaxed now:-D.

SSS

[Mr. Dean]

King of the mountain = Don't give a dam.

[happygilmore]

combination of littlepin ears far apart and lenth of the legs.

[Elkhound]

all good advice.....especially the "when in doubt....get closer"