Bear Hunter input please

[Guy M]

I've never shot a bear. That's my size 10 boot in the photo - taken last week while deer hunting. Any idea how big the bear might be???

I shot a mulie in the same ravine where I snapped this photo. He has a gut pile, a ribcage and a hide to chew on. I've got a bear tag.

Worthwhile?

 

[yobuck]

well guy you know his feet are big. maybe if you threw in some of those nice fish, you could make a deal. ask t.t. what he thinks.

 

[Ridge Runner]

front pads appear to be about 5" wide, I'm gonna estimate around 400 if he's in good shape, saw one 494 dressed once that had 6.25" wide front pads. bears are funny though, have also saw feet like that on a 275 pounder but he was really poor, come to find out he had a ruptured gall bladder.
RR

 

[bigg_sexy1]

Rule of thumb for bear hunting: take the width of the front paw, add an inch convert to feet, and you will have a good estimate on the size of the bear.

eg. 5" wide front paw print + 1" - convert to feet = 6' bear

 

[Guy M]

Thanks all. Have been back into that area - but tracks & bear sign are both very light after deer season. Suspect the bears are down in the real thick stuff, following the onslaught of deer hunters in mid October.

Still, there's a couple of weeks of the season yet to go.

 

[bigg_sexy1]

Good luck to you Guy, remember when your bear hunting its not wheter or not you can out run the bear its wheter or not you can out run the person you are with.

 

[Guy M]

I think I should have gone for bear BEFORE deer season. After the season I've found very few tracks or fresh sign. Strongly suspect the bears went deep into the brush after the hordes of deer hunters went through the area...

Or maybe a lot of 'em are already settling in for their winter nap? I dunno... Next year I'll start earlier for bear!

 

[bigg_sexy1]

Next year I'll start earlier for bear!

My best man went all bear crazy for a few years. One year in particular he had found a bear den before the season opened, on opening day he had another one of our buddies tie a rope around his ankle while he climbed into the den to shoot the bear... crazy bugger didnt even have ear plugs in

 

[hammertyme]

Guy

Whatever came of the bear in your area. Actually what area is it and do they have Griz tags available?

As already stated: One inch added to the width of the track and convert to feet for attempting to size a bear by the track.

Neal

 

[Guy M]

Neal - I live and hunt in central Washington. Although I went back in there - I never found another bear before the season closed a few days ago. We can only hunt black bear here, although there are occasional reports of grizzly up in the North Cascades, or over in the NE corner of the state in the Selkirks.

Darned near ran into a good size black bear in June while scouting an old dirt road on my motorcycle though! That was exciting for both of us! Came around the corner and there he was. We both took off pretty quickly.

Bumped into another bear while fishing in SE Alaska in September - Alaskan brownie.

Am already planning on making more of an effort to tag a bear next season!

 

[hammertyme]

Guy

That last track post is of a nice bear. Reason I asked about the Griz tag is because I would bet the farm the first picture you posted was a small griz. Based upon how far the claws were sticking the sand in front of the pads.

I live on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Big and BIg Big bear are an every outing event the past few years. Every spring for years we spend a week in Valdez hunting black bear and in some areas both species are in the same bay.

There were 3 bear taken inside the city this year in defense. Two of those bear were 2.5 year olds that were out on their own for the first time. Their tracks were 5 inches across. I took a 3.5 year old problem juvenile bear 3 years ago. His track was right at 6 inches wide. He squared right at 7'.

The past five years I have been hunting a brute in which I can put my two number nines side by side in his track and there is still track showing. We figure a 11 footer squared and pushing 1500 pounds!

Neal

 

[Guy M]

Well heck, you're used to bear like the brownie in my photo above!

I get up to Alaska to fish and/or backpack every few years anymore. Love it up there. Keep running into bears though. Peaceful for the most part, so far! Only trouble I ever had with a bear was a small black bear who invaded our camp late one night when we turned in and left some of the cook gear out at the campfire/cook fire. He made one heck of a racket banging the pots and pans around looking for something to eat! He was pretty easy to scare off, but we were glad he wasn't a bigger brownie/grizz. We kept a cleaner camp after that.

Dad fished on Kodiak last year - but I don't know where he went for sure, or what guide/outfitter service he used on that trip. He saw quite a few of the big furry fuzzballs while he was fly fishing.

I think those paw prints in my first photo were from a black bear - but who knows? I never saw the bear. There are a few grizz seen in Washington from time to time. I've never seen a grizz in Washington, but I do hear or read reports once in a while.

Our bear season is closed - but I'm going to make getting a bear a priority next season! Usually I just buy the tag because it's cheap, and I might run into a bear while I'm deer hunting.

Regards, Guy

 

[Akbushape]

GuyM, Guaranteed that track in your first photo is the track of a grizzly. The
claw marks are a positive identfier. I'd agree it is about a six foot bear, and
most definitely a grizzly.
In mud you will see claw marks on a black bear track but they will be much closer to the toes.
This bear had pretty impressive claws for a grizzly that size, especially for
a fall bear. From spring to fall their claws will wear down, on a big bear up
to an inch or more. They will grow long in the den, but by fall they will be worn down considerably.

 

[Guy M]

That would really be something if it was a grizzly, because it's only about 10 miles from town, and grizzly are pretty rare here in Washington.

Lots of black bears though. Hey, I'll take your word for it - darned if I know - I'm pretty sure it was a bear track though! Not much of a bear hunter if you can believe it... I keep running into them while fly-fishing mountain streams and small lakes in the Cascades every summer. One year I was backpacking with a bunch of Boy Scouts, and in a week we ran into five black bears, including one cinnamon and one blond phase bears. Pretty cool. It was bear season too, late summer, but I didn't think it would be cool to load the Boy Scouts down with a hide, skull and a bunch of fresh bear meat halfway through the backpacking trip. Fun perhaps, for me anyway... I did have a big handgun with me.

Thanks for the info - I'll file it away and see if I can get a photo of a grizzly here in Washington. Not many around, and no tags available for them. If it's a black bear, well... He may meet a bullet next summer - ya never know.

Thanks for all the input you seasoned bear hunters! Regards, Guy