I have no experience judging the size or quality of Bears... never had the opportunity of hunting them or seen one in the wild.

I just may have a chance at a Black Bear when I head up to Alberta the end of September. Will primarily be hunting Whitetails, possibly a Muley, and Outfitter said Bears will still be out so I have Black Bear Tags as well.

I would appreciate any advice about field judging Black Bears...do not want to make a mistake...any tips are appreciate.

Thanks, jjs

In my only successful experience in Alberta bear hunting, I found when you see a BIG bear, you'll know it. Having said that, look for short looking legs, small ears, and if close enough, a crease down the middle of the skull. Where are you going and with what outfitter?

People generally overestimate the weight of a black bear.A 6month old weighs about 50 lb [they start very small when born in January no more than 1 lb] 1 1/2 year old about 150 and 5 feet tall on hind legs.The top bears taken in PA in the last few years were over 800 !!But the average is perhaps 250-350.One large one living nearby we figured was 400 and that's a lot of bear.

jjs

Two dead giveaways on a small bear is that his legs will look long and his ears large. A big bear will have ears more on the side of his head and they will look small also a big bear will just look bulky.

Mark

I always look at the head if it appears to look like that of a St Bernard instead of that of a Greyhound then I take a long hard look at it.

That to me is the first and formost thing that I look at. I look at about 50-60 bruins most years and am only interested in the really big boys. But that is just me. I want something that will go in the 100 ever taken in our state so I am looking for a bruin that will go 19 to 20".

Good luck Amigo

MD

Another thing to look for is a "blocky" appearance. Young or small bears have a lanky look to them. They appear to have a big head, longer neck and long legs. The larger a bear becomes the more they tend to fill out.

At leasat where I live you gotta be a bit careful with this as even a 5' blackie in the fall who has taken on a few lbs tends to look blocky.

At least that has been my experience. Now in the spring I would agree.

MD

Thanks, this is very helpful.

Will be hunting in Alberta zone 511.

Forgot the name of Outfitter is North River Outfitters. Ron Nemetchek's outfit. Primarily after a large Whitetail which is what Ron specializes in...Black Bear if we get the chance.

Web site is http://www.ronnemetchek.com. The Muley I took last year is bottom right on front page.

jjs,

In addition to the posts above a good way to measure how large a bear will square is my measuring the front paw print.
If the width of the front paw print is 8" wide then the bear should square 9'. Take the front paw width spoor and measure the width and add "1" . Accept the figure as feet rather than inches and this figure is very close to how many feet the bear hide should square.