Whats a "Good" Bear (Size, Paws etc)? How do you rank it?

[TheHunter]

With deer we always talk about rack size, weight, age....

Now with a bear, how do you know what is a "good" shooter bear?  I mean I see people taking stuff from 200 to 500+.

How can you tell a bear is a Sow or not? Is there something easy to detect from far away?

[papabear]

when i was going to Maine for my first bear hunt i read every thing i could get. A good bear for a full mount is between 125 to 200 lbs [in my opinion]

if you want a big bear the best way to tell is looking at the head the smaller the ears and if it has a small beady eye's it is a good bear and if belly is hanging low to the ground that too is a good bear if it has a big round butt it should be female if the butt it small and tight i would say male

I think the best hunt is in a tree stand over bait if you want to hunt Maine  I have a guide that is excellent

papabear

[gutpile]

Ears look like there on the side of the head pig eyes = big bear.

[Daveboone]

An awful lot depends on where you are. And lets face it, for most people any bear is going to be a splendid trophy, especiallly one out of NY. The average NY bear as I recall is between 175-200lbs. That is probably a 3 year old bear, or so. Where I have bear hunted in Canada, the avg. bears taken are in the 175-200 range also. There are always more smaller bears than big ones. Even NY has BIG bears, with bears well over 500 taken. They are also very hard to find. It will be alot easier to find a pretty average bear with a very nice hide than a big bear with a so so hide.

[burmjohn]

I'll be keeping my eyes open this year.  Fairgame got a real nice bear last year and his is my new hunting neighbor.  The previous owner of the property we picked up said he took a bear every year, ranging from 200 to 500.  (I never saw any pictures, its what he said @ closing)  My one neighbor who does not hunt said there is a solid 250+ that roams around his house at least once a week. None the less, I am excited.

[Mr VJP]

The farmer up the road from me says, "a good bear is a dead bear".

[A6A6]

150- 300 is a large mature bear.

determining sex is alot harder and next to impossible . but for what its worth. if you can see a bear more than once, and you are sure its the same one , the males heads and bodies are a bit larger than females.

i wouldnt be able to back this up with proof of a bear since ive never shot one but thats the word..

[erussell]

The farmer up the road from me says, "a good bear is a dead bear".

Agreed!!!! I dont like that i have to look over my shoulder all the time now because of all the Bears. Might have to start shooting them!

[woodsdweller]

i have harvested 5 bear here in the catskills, they are a hard animal to judge. dont get me wrong there are some big ones around but not as many big ones as said to be!!! at any rate the are very good eating.

220# sow 6 3/4 years old

165# male very long 4 3/4 years old

155#  sow 10 3/4 years old

145# sow 3 3/4 years old

125# sow 2 3/4 years old

how big would you guess this one to be?

[burmjohn]

140?

[ANTLERS]

In western Sullivan county,We have a sizable Bear population.We're seeing Bears two or three times during the season.This picture is the Bear I took in 2008.One week later I returned to try and fill my deer tag,And here comes another Bear strolling by.This one I photographed with my cell phone camera,it looks a mile away,Buts its only about 30 yards.

[papabear]

i have harvested 5 bear here in the catskills, they are a hard animal to judge. dont get me wrong there are some big ones around but not as many big ones as said to be!!! at any rate the are very good eating.

220# sow 6 3/4 years old

165# male very long 4 3/4 years old

155#  sow 10 3/4 years old

145# sow 3 3/4 years old

125# sow 2 3/4 years old

how big would you guess this one to be?

Well its down i can't give a good estamint but I'm going to say around 250 give or take 25 lbs

[steve863]

i have harvested 5 bear here in the catskills, they are a hard animal to judge. dont get me wrong there are some big ones around but not as many big ones as said to be!!! at any rate the are very good eating.

220# sow 6 3/4 years old

165# male very long 4 3/4 years old

155#  sow 10 3/4 years old

145# sow 3 3/4 years old

125# sow 2 3/4 years old

how big would you guess this one to be?

I'd say the one in the picture is anywhere from 140-160 lbs.  Many guys claim to have seen huge bears and make claims that it must have weighed 300 lbs or more, but I think most of these estimations are way off.  I doubt too many bears will let a hunter weigh them unless they are shot dead first! 

[woodsdweller]

well this sow had a very nice head on her she dressesd out at 145 and was 3 3/4 years old. i was glad to have harvested her, she was full of bird shot in both hind quarters and loins as well. she had also been shot high in the rt front legg stright on and out the back but only hitting flesh. i was not pleased as i lost most of the meat to the effects of the bird shot.

[beardog]

i have harvested 5 bear here in the catskills, they are a hard animal to judge. dont get me wrong there are some big ones around but not as many big ones as said to be!!! at any rate the are very good eating.

220# sow 6 3/4 years old

165# male very long 4 3/4 years old

155#  sow 10 3/4 years old

145# sow 3 3/4 years old

125# sow 2 3/4 years old

how big would you guess this one to be?

Thats a nice bear Slade.

[woodsdweller]

greg how ya been? hows the running going getting any treeded?

[beardog]

Not too bad buddy. Its tough running down here. Its been really dry and the tracks keep falling apart. I need some corn running ;D