How big is this Black bear?

[badge176]

While I'm not a bear hunter, recent experience on our deer hunting property may motivate my conversion.

First photo is of me (509 in height and honest 220 lbs)trimming under the deer feeder. Two years ago my spinner motor got knocked clean off the feeder drum- by a bear I'm guessing, so it got replaced with a sturdier unit. This year I had moved the game cams in around the feeder and captured images of a mob of Turkeys and a few deer, until the bear came to nibble.

Second and third photos are of my new nemesis. I found the bent pole legs and the spinner motor unit (mauled into scrap), but am still looking for the plastic barrel (or its remains!) in the tall grass.

Fourth and fifth photo is a bear, but I feel that it might be a different one, opinions?

I'm open to baiting or calling the bear but have no experience in either. Woods and terrain up here are not conducive to spot and stalk (too thick).

Lastly, while I'm capable of skinning and tanning the pelt (wall rug), I am curious about eating Bear. IS it decent or not table fare? can anybody suggest any tutorials/ resources for the budding bear hunter?

The next deer feeder WILL be a steel drum, mounter between three tall posts, up above this fella's reach, with angle iron "cage" around the spinner box!!! Also it WILL get installed a fair distance further from the cabin; I don't need these guys any closer than accidental!

And yes, IF I hunt this bear, THEN It will be done with a CB- most likely my Marlin 1895 in .45-70 with the Ruger BH .45 Colt slung across my chest for unexpected close angles...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?
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http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45670&stc=1&d=1341238163
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[bearcove]

You don't look that tall.

Looks like a 250-300 lb bear. Healthy too. Good eating if they aren't eating trash or fish.

You already have him baited, just keep feeding him till he's in season.

When season comes go to the donut shop and get the old stuff they were going to throw away. Bears are like kids can't resist sweets.

[waksupi]

I'd call it about 250#.

[375RUGER]

5' nose to tail not real big, but should have a lot more insulation on him by season though.
If you can, suspend that feeder a little higher inbetween trees where he can't reach it.
Eat 'em. It's my favorite. let the meat age at 35*-40* a few days before cutting up and packaging.
Calling works if you do it constantly, so is best if one is in sight. Buddy system is good if you are blind calling because they can sneak up behind you undetected, don't ask how I know that.
I don't hunt over bait. I can't sit in a stand anyway, I was disabled for many years and don't like to be still. I like to spot and stalk. What got me really hooked on bar huntin, was the time that a black was hunting me.

If I was hunting that feeder, I'd put out something like sardines or tuna occasionally along with donunts and whatever else, bear aren't picky, keep him coming to your set. Make him his own feeder, some distance away, so he won't tear down the deer feeder, maybe. Then when you go to hunt it open a can of tuna and climb in the tree.

Make a candy bucket- that will keep him there. http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1418005&highlight=bear

Bear also like that stuff deer cain black magic.

[DGV]

214 lbs

[runfiverun]

bears usually look much bigger than they really are.
but judging the front shoulders and head i'll go with the 250 range also.

[405]

Yep, agree with the panel. 250 to 275 tops

[GabbyM]

Looks about 180 to me. Of course it'll fatten up by start of hunting season.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

The only way I've found bear meat acceptable t eat is made into pepper sticks or other "slim Jim" type of treats. I have had steaks and roast, wouldnt walk to the table to eat it.
Some people love it

[Wayne Smith]

Two Christmas' ago I was given some frozen bear stew meat - cut into chunks. I have no idea how the meat was treated before I got it, I know it was from a small bear. I cooked it in a slow cooker with sweet white wine, savory spices, and sweet potatoes and apples. It was the hit of the dinner even tho it was only one of four meat dishes available. Cook it completely and treat it like a very lean pork or wild boar.

By the ears I'd guess on the small size, 150-180lbs for that one now.

[waksupi]

I made some maple glazed and smoked hams, that were great. It also makes good pastrami and sausage.

[TXGunNut]

Looks plenty big enough to make lots of sausage.

[OverMax]

Being I'm from the Range. (Bear River up near Togo) From what I see in your pix's it's hard to guess just which gender this bruin is. I'm pretty sure its a male your dealing with though. The time of year pix were taken there would be a cub or two bouncing around in the back ground looking to feast with mom. (Ear size and shape of its head seen straight on is how one tells the difference between a bore and sow.) Maybe 3-325 for now in weight and He's going to get heavier thru the Summer. Not bashful about doing his thing I can see. I would suggest you pull or hang your next feeder up high in a tree by a cable over any tripod arrangement. Otherwise this Big Boy after cleaning out your next feeder of its corn might early one morn may decide to stop by for breakfast when frying bacon or fish on the stove. One thing Bear have is a good sense of smell going for them. Like I said earlier something this size isn't bashful. Where I was raised Sir. Bear were considered: "Piglet snatching, Chicken stealing, garbage eating, varmints!!" Even a lowly sneaky Weasel smells better than a Bear does in the Summer time. As far a bear meat goes. Some like it some don't. I'm of the latter myself. I prefer a small Spike over a bear anytime for kitchen fair. Good luck with your uninhibited new live stock Sir.

[1bluehorse]

Well I sure could be mistaken, but if you're 5-9, 220 that bears at least 6ft standing upright. In this country thats a pretty large blacky. I'll bet it's in the 300lb range right now and gonna get heavier...oooooo doooonuts..

[quilbilly]

275-280# Looks like some fine roasts and sausages on the hoof. That is nature's way of keeping meat fresh.

[winchester85]

i would bet a couple hundred dollars that that bear is not over 200 pounds in the photo. notice how "long" his legs look, and how big his ears look. that bear is probably only a 2 year old. they look quite a bit bigger than they really are. if he were anywhere near the 250 to 300 mark his belly would be quite a bit closer to the ground.
i would not shoot a bear that size, i would guess him to be in the 175 to 185 range. a 300 pound bear is a decent sized bear, and it takes them a few years to get that big. sows rarely get that big.

[JIMinPHX]

Good solid 275, maybe closer to 300. He's beefier than you by a good 30% from what I see in that standing photo.

[lead chucker]

He might be around 200, look how long his legs look. I bet he is what a teenager would be in a human. If the head looks small in relationship to the body it's usually a big bear. If he looks long and lanky its usually a younger one. Just my opinion. I love hunting black bear.

[lead chucker]

If you hunt over bait. Make up a bunch of popcorn and scared it all over around the bait. It keeps them occupied and will usually give you a good shot. Popcorn's cheap.

[lead chucker]

I used to like hunting over bait until one day when my wife and I were sitting there waiting and a great big brown bear came in and figured out that we were there. That was the most intense situation I have ever been in. You would have thought that bear was on crack cocaine he was so jacked up. Lucky for us he was just bluff charging. He was getting braver every time. After we were back safe at the truck, my wife said She will never go hunting again ever!!!! But the next year she got a nice black bear on a spot and stock hunt. She still will not hunt over bait though.

[badge176]

I honestly think these are two different bears (?) the nose is so much more tan colored on the larger, standing beast, and the last two photos the nose is more darkly colored. I have more photos from this series if anyone cares.

I missed the deadline for our lottery for tags here in MN:(, but if there are any surplus tags, Then in early Aug I can buy one.:-? I'm in Bear zone 51 which is allotted like 1500 tags...

Just in case, I stuck the remains from this morning's fishing trip (bunch of filleted SunFish carcasses) in a brown bag in the freezer, and I found a pound of ground beef that had fallen out on the garage floor from our freezer a day or so ago, so that too went into the "Maybe Bear Bait" bag...:)

Do folks use the Steel drum, upright with the 6" hold at the bottom, or a perforated plastic drum (popcorn dogfood and the like) tethered to a tree, or the "dig a hole, pour in bait, and cover it up with logs" set ups???:confused:

[9.3X62AL]

Bears are a--hats.

[lead chucker]

I have taken a barrel and cut a hole in each end and ran a line through it and tie each end to a tree. Make it high enough that they can get in to it but not too easy. Make it high enough the smaller bears can't get it. Restaurant cooking oil mixed with dog food works. They will step on it and when they leave they will leave a trail that other bears will smell and follow to the bait. I have also chained a barrel to a tree. Make the hole big enough that the bear can get his paw in there but not his head or he will eat all the bait right a way. I like popcorn scattered around that seems to keep them busy.I used to get day old donuts and stick them up in the trees so they would have to work at getting them. This all will give you good shooting angles and lots of good pictures and videos. Once you get them coming in you can be selective you would be surprised how many bears are in the area. It's a lot of fun but where I live we get too many brown bear coming in and you can't hunt them over bait. When the brown bears start showing up they get real protective of the bait.

[marshall623]

I would say 300 - 350 looking at the length plus height on all 4's compaired to the stake in the picture /height of stake in trimming pitcure

[sixshot]

Looks like a mature bear from the head to neck ratio, not a sow, there would be cubs, not one but 2 or 3, bears seldom have one cub.
Bears can be very picky eaters if you give them a choice. Keep feeding it until you are ready. A honey bucket works great to keep them around, put the honey in a gallon bucket & punch a few small holes in the bottom, when it warms up the honey will drip, when it cools down it will stop so you don't run out very soon. Used cooking oil works great also, pour it over stale donuts, old bakery bread, etc.
Their nose is as good as it gets, you'll have to be very careful about scent & don't be surprised if they know you are there.

Dick

[lead chucker]

This is a little black bear, the 55 gal drum gives you some scale.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_124014ff4ac18ebeff.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5775)

[lead chucker]

This is a friends set up, it worked real well.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_124014ff4aecd6ae57.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=5778)

[lead chucker]

I wish I had some pics of the barrel after a brown bear got ahold of it. He smashed it flat like a tin can. Notice how the barrel is held up at a slight angle that keeps a lot of the bait in the back so the bear has to work at it. It's fun to watch them try to get the bait out. We were set up 15 yards above it so the shots would be close and we would be concealed.

[winchester85]

my experience with big bear is that they dont appear to have a neck and their legs look short.

i killed a record book bear last year. scores 21-1/4, that bear was probably about 400 pounds live weight. i killed a big bear several years ago that probably weighed around 350, he measured 78 inches from tip of nose to base of tail. if he was standing on his tip toes he could probably put his nose to about 7 feet 6. the record book bear dwarfs the 78" bear.
so if the feeder is at an actual 6 feet from the ground, that bear on his tip toes is probably only about 60" from base of tail to tip of nose. 60" is not a big bear.
lets do a pool, by fall if he is eating well he might add another 30 or 40 pounds so i call the 205 to 215 slot.

[badge176]

I appreciate all the feedback about this bear (s). I am learning a great deal about how folks judge size that may be important to my decisions this fall IF I get a surplus tag.:drinks:

[GabbyM]

Looks about 180 to me. Of course it'll fatten up by start of hunting season.

a 245 pound fat sow in the fall will run about 5 feet two inches nose to tail. Gutted weight. Bear in this camera shot is not that big and not fat yet. It may go over 220 by fall but will not make a 240 pound gutted weight bear.

At one time I had over two hundred photos of bear from the UP of Michigan. My ex destroyed them all along with all my photo files worth xx well priceless to me. A few of the photos were at range of under five feet on wild bears. That hurts a bit but then again it comforts me in knowing I did the right thing to divorce her. Darn witch anyways.

Oh btw all my photos were from hand held cameras not trail cams which weren’t invented yet.

That said: bear in photo will fatten up and a bear that size will make a wall hanger rug that reaches top to bottom on a typical eight foot ceilings room wall. Legs included.

I'd sugest a 30-30 levergun with a 200 grain flat nose cast boolit at 2,000 to 2,200 fps. Give or take a bit.

[saz]

I agree with lead chucker. That looks like a young boar. His ears still look big, and he looks like he has long legs- that is a young one. BUT, I dont go out looking for the biggest boy in the woods either, I like nice hides and the younger ones usually eat better anyways. That guy has a NICE hide. I wouldnt hesitate for a second to put him on the wall.

I had a very well respected meat processor in the area give me a tip on bear- get the meat cooled off ASAP! When an animal is killed the PH level in their blood starts going up due to the heat and the PH is what contributes to the "gamey" flavor in the meat. All animals are prone to this but bear is the worst. The next bear i took was skinned & quartered in record speed, and the quarters were plastic bagged and put in a nearby stream while we finished up fleshing out the hide and skull. It tasted great!

[bld451]

Big floppy ears and long legs=young bear <250. Small nubs for ears and short fat legs= big bear 300 or more. Generally, of course, but ears don't grow like the rest of 'em, and kind of get "absorbed" by a big fat noggin. Once they get a couple years and start filling out, bellies get closer to the ground, not really short legs, but appear so.

I agree probably two bears. Neither over 300, though.

[white eagle]

280#-295#
he looks like a youngin leave him grow you'll get bigger hams to smoke

[outdoorfan]

The one sitting down might be different than the others, but it's hard to tell. The others are smaller, probably around 200ish. Maybe as low as 180. For sure (I think) no more than 230-240. I live and hunt in Minnesota, as well, so I have the same issues trying to judge the size of bear from my cam photos.

Bait it and kill it and tell us all about it!

[lead chucker]

A lot of the time they look bigger than they are. That thick bushy hair is deceiving.once you get one skinned out they shrink quite a bit. They are all trophies to me.I'm going to try a shoulder mount on the one I got this spring. I got the form and a tanning kit just waiting on a couple more things and I'm going to give it a try. It should be a fun project.

[UBER7MM]

If you do it right, you can be eating lots of bacon and wearing a new black fur coat this winter!

Use a cast boolit!

(You're the one the weed eater, right?)

[badge176]

If I were a large furry creature of the forest, then I'd look more like a "silver-phase" black bear.:kidding:

[AR-15 Cowboy]

I'd say it's a 2 year old about 185 to 200lbs.

[Whit Spurzon]

The only way I've found bear meat acceptable t eat is made into pepper sticks or other "slim Jim" type of treats. I have had steaks and roast, wouldnt walk to the table to eat it.
Some people love it

Mountain Bears, that don't feed on fish are fine eating. I've fed it to folks that don't like game meat and they thought it was some of the finest meat they'd ever had, even after I told em what they were eating.

http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/bearbackstraps.jpg
Bear Backstraps - it's good for dinner.

http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/bearbackstrapsdinner.jpg

Oh and I'd guess the Bear in the picture is <250 with room to get 300+ by fall if he's getting fed regular.

[GabbyM]

I'd say it's a 2 year old about 185 to 200lbs.

2 year olds are not even legal shooters in the U.P. You'd be talking about an 85 pound dressed weight bear at two. Still with momma bear. I helped skin one out once. Not a legal bear but it was tagged and accepted. Yep they do look bigger. That little cub took five 8x57 Mauser rounds to the chest before it finally dropped. Looked like Swiss cheese hanging on the hook.

[canyon-ghost]

How big is this Black bear?

Bigger 'n' you, lot stronger too. 45-70 is a good choice.

[sharps4590]

It's a young one, not much doubt about that.

[Silver Hand]

I would give this bear the benefit of doubt 285 pounds. If he were in the back of an early 80s Toyota Pick up I might guess a bit closer.

[bowfin]

Save the fat and make sure it gets rendered for lard, if you are old fashioned and still cook with such a nutritional abomination, like me.

We are a might short of bears here in Nebraska, though my brother keeps egging the rest of us to go try it. I think he just wants to pay them back for all the anxiety he suffered at their hands while bowhunting for deer in Wisconsin.