Doing a little elk/mulie scouting and came across some impressive bear track. Using the 4" barrel of my .44Mag the front pad probably measured just shy of 6" wide and the rear pad was definately over 5" (took some pics and will post if I can figure out how). Based on my Murie Field Guide (don't let this date me.....), this was one big black bear boar (don't think a female would be that big and there were no cub tracks) for central Colorado (don't think we have grizz?????). I think these were VERY fresh since they had no more water in them than my 30# dog's prints and my dog was getting very quiet/nervous/reluctant to follow (crap, maybe I should have been nervous...). Anyway, my allergies were in full blow so I could not smell anything if it was close. In case you think I am nuts I was locked and loaded just in case. It looked like the bear was traveling alot on this trail and would like a bear expert to guestimate its weight now and in the fall and the chances of the bear being close in the fall or do I start scouting all over again for him. Did not draw my Elk tag so maybe I'm bear hunting instead.

Deke.

No Griz in CO for over 40 years. The rule of thumb is 100 pounds per inch of front track width but keep in mind that the bear is probably as light as he is going to be all year right now. Lots of individual variation there and the track substrate can really stretch track size sometimes. Huge bear nonetheless. I wouldn't count on him being there in the fall. Bears follow seasonal food sources and travel alot more than people realize. What is holding him there now will likely be gone or trumped by a richer food source by fall. We've had radio collared grizz go over 20 miles in one day up here!! Congrats on finding a huge boar, I hope you're able to find him again when the season opens--what a trophy!
Good luck.

Deke,

With regards posting pictures, there is a thread "Posting Pictures" over on the "Hunting Reports- Africa" forum which will tell you how. If you have any problems following the instructions, email them to me and I will post them here when i get a chance...

regards,

Pete

[ 05-28-2003, 12:59: Message edited by: Pete E ]

Snowcat,

Thanks for the size feedback. According to CDOW, biggest blackie to come out of Colorado was in the 600# range, so by fall, who knows.... Not that it matters, but last grizz officially killed in CO was in 1977, 26yrs ago. I think it was killed by a bowhunter in the San Juans. I have to draw a rifle elk or deer tag in the second draw or buy one in the leftover sale to be able to purchase an over the counter bear tag. Missed out on the first round for all, will keep trying.

Pete E, taking the film in soon, will let you know if I have trouble posting those pics.

Deke.

Had the bros in law scan the bear track pics and email me in jpeg. Only problem is I don't know how to post them. Can someone tell me how to post them?

Deke.

Two years ago, in early summer, I found some tracks on a bear that went just shy of 8 inches across the front pads. When I asked the California DFG what to estimate his weight, they said 400 lbs., or 50 lbs per inch. This is when they are lean based on their extensive studies of them.
My cyber buddy, Big Stick, found one, and his son later killed, a 500 lb. Black Bear with 6 inch front pads. So, they do vary.
And they do move around, apparently following the food supply. After a summer of heavy cattle grazing, all the bears, including the monster above, had moved out. In central California, their home range is often over 4 sq. miles. E

I surely agree with the above post that bears can move around quite a bit depending on the available food. However if there is abundant food they will aparently stay in the same place for several days. I have seen the same bear ,Black and Grizzly [not together] in the same valley several days in a row.This has occured with different bears and different years. So if you see a bear durring hunting season and he does not get spooked there is a good chance he will be near by for a while, if there is abundant food.

Generally you can add 1" to the width of the paw and that is the rough square of the bear.
So that is possibly the track of a 6' to 7' bear.
As the other posters have stated weight can vary wildly depending on age and nutrition.
But if that is a bear living in the mountains I would say it will weigh roughly 300 to 450 pounds.

Well I would almost chose a mauling by this bear before figuring out how to post these pics again. As it turns out I won't be hunting in the area that I saw these tracks, since all limited tags (deer and elk as well) went the first round. When looking at the tracks the rear is clear. The pic of the front track needed some enhancment so I copied it and outlined it (based on the actual paper pic and my memory) next to the original. The Mtn Gun shown for scale is 4.125" from front of cylinder to muzzle. Here is the www address where you can go to see the pics. You will have to copy it then paste it.
www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/p21db836bbe61b626d3f54cc453770a6e/fbc772ea.jpg.orig.jpg

Deke.

Just for general info, there is a way to tell the difference between Black Bear and Grizzly tracks, has to do with the arc of the toes of a Black Bear being greater. Go to the link below and scroll down if interested:

http://www.mountainnature.com/wildlife/Bears/BearSigns.htm