Hi
Where is the best area for Big Black Bear. USA or Canada I just want a big one.
Also any recomendation for guides.
Dr B

The biggest Black Bears I have ever seen were in British Columbia. Vancouver Island is known for large Bears. Don't have any guide suggestions though. My wife is Canadian and I get a permit to accompany so I don't require a guide, (Have to go with my Brother in law).

The biggest in the last few years in PA [official weights] have topped 800 lbs !!

Yes, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina produce some hogs every year. So do parts of California and Arizona.

But for reliable large skulls (the part that counts in B&C) plus lot's of 7ft plus bears, it's hard to beat S.E. Alaska.

One important question is... hpw do you want to hunt them? Hounds, bait, still hunting, boat?

British Columbia or Alaska would be my choice. I had a very successful hunt with this outfitter. http://www.bolenlewis.com/ This is a two bear area and has as good or better quality then Vancouver Island. We hunted spot and stalk which I prefer to baiting.

I'm sure that genetics do play a role in how big bears get. This being said, areas with colder climates should hold larger framed bears to help them make it through harsh winters. The other factor that determines the size of black bears is the food supply. I believe that this is one of the factors that makes BC tough to beat for big bears. The bears in Pennsylvania and North Carolina are usually big fat pigs without the enormous frame, because they're able to eat year round for the most part. Granted, the pickings get lean in the winter with the berries dying off, but there is still more food in North Carolina in January than there is in Alaska!

Tom has it right. "Farm" bears that have access to crops and orchards are usually fatter, but northern maritime bears (which have access to abundant fish and fodder) grow bigger frames. For a B & C bear, hunt the Pacific northwest from Vancouver Island up through the Alaska Panhandle. However, I wouldn't look down on 600 pound Tarheel bear, even if his head was a little pointy.

Inland bears, whether black or grizzly, are great sport, but are almost always smaller than most people imagine. A two hundred pound black (in the spring, at least) is a good average adult bear anywhere in the Rockies.

Exactly what BW said, that is all you need to know.

Mark D

yup - SE alaska - especially kiwi island

You have a PM

North Carolina does grow some big bears, as they never hibernate...so I'm told. Constantly eating.

I have a place that I'll be going back to annually, but it's a secret because the bears I saw there were huge, but second to this place, try BC. There are lots of outfitters there and you can easily set your sights on a 7 footer in the 350-600+ pound range.

Queen charlotte islands.

if you really want a big one. harder and more expensive to get to than vancouver island.

aren't the big ones always in the harder to get to locales?

good luck and use enough gun to smack them down with authority.