Black Bear Hunting Series
Re-Published with permission from
Virginia Chapter of American Bear Foundation
Follow them on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/VABearFoundation
https://www.americanbearfoundation.org/
Join the FACEBOOK GROUP - Missouri Black Bears this is a group for like-minded individuals of Missouri that want to show growing Missouri Black Bear Population.
The Missouri Black Bear is a hunting/conservation group designed to build a real resource for the serious hunters of Missouri. The Missouri Black Bear is the icon species for conservation.
Remember that this is a family orientated group, so please keep the post clean and respectful for the whole age group. Members from anywhere are welcome but the focus will be on Missouri.
This may not all apply to Missouri Black Bear hunting, so use your common sense for each series.
Black Bear Hunting Series
Re-Published with permission from
Virginia Chapter of American Bear Foundation
Follow them on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/VABearFoundation
https://www.americanbearfoundation.org/
These are a series originally done by Unbranded Outdoors and shared by Old Dominion Black Bears. It lays the basics for what the black bear is. The other parts of this series and the ones to follow are designed to help make you a better bear hunter by knowing the incredible animal we chase.
Part 5 of Series - Field Judging Bears - is important and it is not easy
Scouting, covered in the last segment, leads to hunting. Stand placement for bear is much like stand placement for deer; elevated is better if you can manage it. Knowing and understanding the air currents and air movement is absolutely critical. A bear’s nose is unmatched. If the air carries your scent to the bear, the only way you are still in the game is if the bear simply does not care that you are there – which can happen, but it is not common. There are no products, sprays, garments, or magic potions that will hide your scent from that nose so the best you can do is to know where the air will take your scent and set up accordingly.
If you get a bear in view but cannot get it in range (often the case for archery), or get a clear shot regardless of weapon, a series of lip-squeaks that imitate a small rodent can sometimes be the deciding factor in getting a shot. Bears are curious, and they are opportunistic. If a bear is foraging on mast, for example, and hears what it thinks might be an easy protein snack there is a good chance it will come to investigate.
Making sure you know what it is you are looking at when it comes to bear it critical. In Virginia taking a sow bear with cubs is not legal and most states have a size limit. Take the time you can to make sure you’re looking at a legal bear first. Missing a chance is far better than making that mistake.
Beyond the legal requirements, understand that bears are among the most difficult, if not the most difficult (mountain goats being the other possible) of North American game animals to judge in the field. There are no antlers or horns to differentiate the sexes, no color differences between males and females, and even the sizes of bears are tough to judge due to their hair and their overall physique. Sow bears without cubs are legal, though many hunters choose to focus on boars if possible. Sows are generally smaller, generally have a more tapered head and profile, and generally are not as stout through the chest and belly as a boar, and with a rear-end that appears wide compared to the rest of the body. Notice the use of the word “generally”, because these are just guidelines and there are very few definitive differences that can be easily judged in the field.
The same goes for judging the size of a bear. There are certainly clues to help figure out whether you’re looking at a younger bear and a smaller size bear. A young bear, especially a cub or a first-year bear, will look very puffy and fluffy in its fur. As a bear gets older, they shed this young fur and develop a much more uniform, sleek looking coat. Look to the ears; are the large and prominent on the head and situated more toward the top of the head like a dog? If so, that’s a young bear and smaller. If the ears look appropriately sized and off toward the edge of the head, that’s getting to be a mature bear. If the ears look small, or are hard to really see, and they are off to the sides of the head, then that is a big bear. As bears get older, their ears also often are scarred and torn from fights, mating spats, and just wear-and-tear. The more tattered the ears, likely the older the bear. The same goes for the face; a nice, clean, pretty face is likely a younger bear, while one that has some wear-and-tear and scarring is most likely an older bear. Look to the overall shape and profile of the head, too. Just like a sow will have a more tapered head, a young bear will have a more pointed face and a more doglike head. An older, larger bear will start developing a more square and blocky head. If there is a very defined crease up the forehead and across the top of the head, almost like a bad part in the hair, that’s almost definitely a large bear and most likely a boar.
The overall body will also give clues. Younger bears look long-legged and lanky, with thinner looking ankles and a more streamlined stomach and smaller chest. Older bears start developing more of a swayed back, sagging belly, and fuller chest. The more the bear looks like a sway-backed barrel with short, stumpy legs and fat ankles – and especially if it looks like the belly is hanging down close to the ground – the larger that bear is going to be in relation to other bears in the area. How does it move? Does it walk around even and balanced, or does it swagger and sway in more of a bow-legged fashion and labored? The former is more of a younger, smaller bear while the latter is generally older and larger (and especially boars). All that said, when you see a really big bear – you know it is a really big bear. The attached pictures will give you some comparisons, and there are a multitude of pictures on the internet. Spend some time looking at pictures with the intent of seeing the differences between boars and sows, and between younger, smaller bears and the really big bears. That practice is not just fun, but it can be quite helpful in learning what to look for when judging a bear in the wild.
A note on judging weight – bears have a coat of fur that is anywhere from 3” to 6” thick, depending on region and season. There are far and away more “400” and “500” pound bears that weigh in on a scale at half those guesses than there are real 400 and 500-pounders. Try to look for the indicators of age, of maturity, and of sex, and leave the weight to whatever the scale says it is later.
The same can be said for judging skull size. Skull size is the official record-book entry method for bear, not weight. All of the major record-keeping organizations (B&C, P&Y, SCI, etc.) use essentially the same measurements system for scoring bears: a total of the width of the skull at the widest points plus length from the furthest protrusion from the back of the skull to the furthest forward protrusion off the front of the skull (including teeth) with the lower jaw removed. Virginia has a separate scoring system that includes the tip-to-tip distance between the upper canines, and the height of the skull with the lower jaw attached. Various minimums exist throughout the systems for inclusion based upon species, weapon used, and location. However, just like weight, field judging the skull size of a bear is not much more than a semi-educated guessing game. An older age class bear, and especially a boar, is likely to have a larger skull. Yet, due to the fur and the massive musculature of a bear’s head, being able to tell whether a bear is a 19” or a 21” B&C/P&Y bear in the field is incredibly difficult. Again, look for the indicators of age, of maturity, and of sex, and let the tape measure what it will later.
Missouri Black Bear Photos Only
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