Field judging black bears

OK, so with my trip coming up quickly, I’m starting to feel the twinges of final preparation mode starting to kick in. Stuff is starting to get organized, bow is being shot, I can feel the nervous energy starting up…

Last fall I shot my first bear, about a 200 lb WI boar (live weight). I’m not going to limit myself on this trip to anything particular, but I would preferably like to shoot a nice bear, hopeully 300+. I won’t get picky if bear are scarce, but if I start out seeing multiple bear the first night, hopefully I can take some time to pick out a good candidate for a rug or full mount…

I know field judging bears is probably one of toughest things to accurately do, but do you guys have any solid tips for picking and choosing “Mr. Right?”

I know the small ears, block head, equalateral triangle head, etc, are all general theories… What has worked well for you guys in the past? I don’t know if the outfitter will be using barrels, but that would be good for size comparisons… I assume a 300# + bear should be noticably bigger than a 55 gallon drum, right? What if they aren’t using barrels?

Any other words of advice?

Much appreciated!

Mike

Fall bears definatly are easier to judge than spring bears. I have shot many spring bears that I thought were over 300# that were only about 200# after getting them on the scale. the average bear loses over 30% of his body weight during the winter. but their hair gets much longer and makes them look much bigger than they actually are. I generally watch bears for the first 3 days of my trip and then make up my mind on a particular bear that i want. I look for a long bear with a long flat back with at least 9″ between his ears. the 2 pics below are spring bears from the last 2 weeks. one is well over 300# the other is about 150# hopefully by looking at these spring bears it will give you a good idea of what to look for. Good luck on your hunt!