anyone know how to judge the size of a bear?

Dobbin19

Dobbin19

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hey there, last year while putting apples out for deer at my tree stand I noticed some piles of bear droppings in the area and about 10' from my apple pile there were scratches approx 5-1/2' to 6' off the ground. I thought nothing of this as I do not bear hunt at all, and no nothing about it, but if this is a sign of a good bear I may be interested in trying to get him/her this fall. A friend once told me the best way to judge a bear (if their in sight)is the space between there ears , well I did not see the bear all year , could someone tell me how to judge a bear from scratches on a tree, or if that's even possible? thanks
 
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Usually you go by the size of the scat. We have bears here that leave coils so big, you might think that there is a ### bear community grubbin around.
 
look at the distance between the ears and compare that to the nose , so it forms a triangle so to speak .

the wider the ears are apart the older and bigger the the bear .

there was a thread on this a while back that even had pictures .
 
I've spent a bit of time watching from my stand, waiting for a big one, & the one I recall scratching a tree was reaching over its head.
I don't know if they all do that though. I suggest a trail cam. Post the pic !
 
Hahahahahahahaha so when u gp bear hunting dp you walk around in the woods with your pants down bent over, then when the bear comes close enough you turn around and surprise him with a shot of lead in the face! Hahaha

I'm sorry I had to say it !!
 
I actually never took a pic , I didn't think anything of it until afterwards , if he comes around thisbyr I will post a pic.

"Cole" I'm sorry but I was laughing too hard when I was typing that last one, felt I had to post it(StI'll laughing)
 
When I judge the size of a bear I usually go by the size of their mellon if you got a big fella he'll usually have teddy bear ears (rounded and far apart) if he's a small bear his ear's will be closer together and look like dog ears with a bit of a point. If you wanna get technical about it one can measure the bears stride length or foot print length. I don't think any of these methods are 100% accurate but their pretty close. The only real true way to get a true measurment is to choot em then measure.
 
BrotherRockeye said:
not a good bear... maybe a real tall deer ;)

usually adult boars make marker poles so they don't run the risk of a confrontation...

the higher the scratches the bigger the bear...
Click to expand...

So how high is a sign of a good bear? Or is there too many variables to determine that from a scratch on a tree?
 
The scratch height you mention indicate a small bear, blackies don't do this a lot but it is a territorial marker and usually a 6' bear will scratch about 8' up. I think what you have seen is a cub playing around.
 
If you see a lot of daylight between the belly and the ground it is a youngster.

If the belly is dragging in the dirt leaving it's own trail then it is a big one.
 
'Boo said:
If you see a lot of daylight between the belly and the ground it is a youngster.

If the belly is dragging in the dirt leaving it's own trail then it is a big one.
Click to expand...

This.

Also, a youngster will have skinny legs like a dog, and a big one will appear way more stout.

The bit about the ears refers to the ears themselves not changing in size much, but the head growing larger. So a baby will appear to have larger ears, while a big one has relatively smaller ears.
 
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