A few more bear question's

[Schultzy]

How many years you been bear hunting?

What's a mature bear to you?

How can you tell It's mature before you shoot It (boar and sow)?

What's the biggest front pad you've saw on a dead bear?

What's the biggest front pad track you've found?

[dan]

How many years you been bear hunting?

I have hunted bears for about 20 years, but that don't mean I have 20 years experience... In Wisconsin over my lifetime the stretch in between tags has gotten longer and longer over time... So there have been long periods of time between tags. Fortunately I have done some out of state hunting, and have been fortunate enough to help some family and friends with there bear hunts. People who hunt canada, minnesota, and those who guide or run dogs get a lot more experience actually hunting and scouting than those of us in long draw states....

What's a mature bear to you?

Bears are very hard to age... cutting tooth sections and counting rings is the only accurate way. All we can do is look at them and say "yup" thats a shooter" They can live to be 30 years old or older in the wild.

When it stands broadside, does its belly hang low or not, does its legs and body look lanky or stocky? Is its face pointed and more dog-like (young) or more square (mature)? Do its ears look large in comparison to its head (young), or do its ears look small, spaced further apart, and its head large and round like a basketball?
I always say, use the wow factor... If your after a monster or nothing, trust me, you won't need to use any of the above rules. You will know immediately that it is a shooter when it walks out.

To me, the mature sows look bigger than they actually are. Probably cause they are shorter. They do not have as broad of shoulders and may be wider in the hips than the chest. I was fooled once into thinking a huge very old sow was a boar. But no regrets, a sow dressing over 300 is a monster to me. It just missed the P&Y min.

What's the biggest front pad you've saw on a dead bear?

The front pad on my biggest boar was only about 5 inches even though the bear weighed nearly 500 dressed and had a skull just missing B&C
Not positive, but I think my sow had a bigger track.
I had a bear coming in last year in Northern Minnesota that had a pad you could lie a dollar bill in. About 6 inches I would guess.

[Schultzy]

Bears are very hard to age... cutting tooth sections and counting rings is the only accurate way. All we can do is look at them and say "yup" thats a shooter" They can live to be 30 years old or older in the wild.

When it stands broadside, does its belly hang low or not, does its legs and body look lanky or stocky? Is its face pointed and more dog-like (young) or more square (mature)? Do its ears look large in comparison to its head (young), or do its ears look small, spaced further apart, and its head large and round like a basketball?
I always say, use the wow factor... If your after a monster or nothing, trust me, you won't need to use any of the above rules. You will know immediately that it is a shooter when it walks out.

To me, the mature sows look bigger than they actually are. Probably cause they are shorter. They do not have as broad of shoulders and may be wider in the hips than the chest. I was fooled once into thinking a huge very old sow was a boar. But no regrets, a sow dressing over 300 is a monster to me. It just missed the P&Y min.

Good stuff Dan!! You may not have gotten drawn every year but there's no doubt In the knowledge you have for bear and bear hunting. You know your stuff. Great post!!

The front pad on my biggest boar was only about 5 inches even though the bear weighed nearly 500 dressed and had a skull just missing B&C

Only 5 Inches? Lol! A 5 Inch pad Is a huge pad. In over 20+ years of bear hunting yet has anyone of us shot a bear with a bigger front pad then 4 3/4. We've shot bear over 400 pounds, some were just under B&C. It takes one of a bear to get over that 5 Inch pad. We've had them at our baits (5 Inch and up) but yet have anyone of us got one yet. It's gonna happen though.

Not positive, but I think my sow had a bigger track. I had a bear coming in last year in Northern Minnesota that had a pad you could lie a dollar bill in. About 6 inches I would guess.

We've shot some big sows too that have went 300lbs but none had real big feet. 4 1/2 was the biggest If I remember right and we thought that was huge for a sow. Any sow that's close to books Is pretty much a once In a life time sow to me. Well done Dan!! Would've been nice to see that 6 Incher hah Dan??

[dan]

We've shot some big sows too that have went 300lbs but none had real big feet. 4 1/2 was the biggest If I remember right and we thought that was huge for a sow. Any sow that's close to books Is pretty much a once In a life time sow to me. Well done Dan!! Would've been nice to see that 6 Incher hah Dan??

I will have to look at my sow mount and make sure Im not lyeing about pad size... I might have a picture of a huge track from last year in N. Minnesota. I will have to look around.

[Schultzy]

How many years you been bear hunting?

I was following my dad around In the bear woods at 3 years old (mom didn't like It at the time). At 3 years old I saw my 1st bear while we were sitting at our camp In the middle of no where. He just wondered In while we were eating breakfast one morning before dad was going to go out and run the baits. Dad chased him up the tree In our camp so we could finish our breakfast. From that morning on I've been Infatuated with bears. 1989 was my 1st year bear hunting (14 years old). We didn't start getting drawn every year till about 1998 but the years we didn't get drawn I would still go up and help friends of ours bait. I haven't missed a year baiting since 1989. I absolutely love bear hunting and can't get enough of It.

What's a mature bear to you?

Bear are nothing like deer so when a person see's a bear It's not like you can throw an age at It, too difficult. To me though a mature bear Is a bear In that 6 to 7 year old range. That's when they start getting smart and harder to hunt and It also seems that's when their big bear look (body characteristics) start to show.

How can you tell It's mature before you shoot It (boar and sow)?

What Dan said. I'll also say that when you have a mature boar In front of you you'll notice his big front end. His fore arms and chest will be big and solid. Depending on the location a bear could be fat as heck and still be a young bear. Over In the Hinkley area In Minnesota there's lots of oaks and more cropland. It's not odd to hear of a 400lb dressed boar being shot with a 16 to 17 Inch skull.

What's the biggest front pad you've saw on a dead bear?

We've shot 7 different bear that have had 4 3/4 Inch front feet. Dressed weights and skull sizes of the bear were- 400lbs (20 12/16), 375lbs (20 12/16), 325lbs (20 5/16), 260lbs (20 4/16), 375lbs (19 12/16), 260lbs (19 9/16), 340lbs (19 8/16). What we've noticed Is when we find a track that measures out at 4 1/2 Inches It could be anywhere from a 16 Inch skull (150 pound dressed boar) to a 19 Inch skull (350 pound dressed boar). From our experiences It seems when we find tracks bigger then 4 1/2 Inches of front pad the chances are In your favor that you've got yourself a real dandy on your hands skull wise as long as It's a boar.

What's the biggest front pad track you've found?

On 2 different occasions I've saw and measured 2 different bear tracks with a small tape I always carry with that were 6 1/4 Inches long. Both of these bear were hitting our baits but never were saw by us hunting. This was back before we used trail camera's. These 2 bear had to be absolutely huge. We've found a good share of 5 Inch tracks as well on our baits. We've saw a few of these bear on trail cams, BIG Is all I can say.

[dan]

bump

[Hodag Hunter]

How many years you been bear hunting?

1995 was my first bear hunt in Alberta. Baited and sat stands in WI before that to get the "feel" before heading to Canada.

What's a mature bear to you?

Depends where I'm hunting for a "killing bear". I will kill a 150 pounder in some areas we hunt in Ontario or will wait for 250lbs in WI.

How can you tell It's mature before you shoot It (boar and sow)?

Use a lot of the tips you suggested already. I will cut logs to exactly 6'-0" for laying over the bait and this helpos judge length of the bear. Will also leave bait scraps high in the tree with a camera on it to get a good judge of it's length also.

What's the biggest front pad you've saw on a dead bear?

Just over 5".

What's the biggest front pad track you've found?

In WI think I've only had about a dozen over the 5" mark at the baits. A legit 5" pad is a real nice bear and nothing to sneeze at. Once found a walking track down a logging trail......placed a dollar bill by it (6") and it was just shy. This was in one of our deer hunting areas years ago......late 80's. Didn't realize at the time how big that bear really was and what a find it was.

[headgear]

Good info guys, I've never hunted bear before but I can promise you it is going to happen one of these years.