HUNTING Black Bear

[jeff]

I would say here in Idaho our bears are about half color phases other than black.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

I'm not particular about the color personally. It's the 30+ hour drive, or the extra weight of bringing home meat on a plane that get me hesitant

 

[Paul Homsy]

Ambushed this Bear at 27 yards, with a double lung shot. He went about 75 yards before expiring.

View attachment 205901

Nice bear !

 

[Paul Homsy]

Yep. In the northern zone in GA we can only spot and stalk or ambush them. As a result bears have a reputation for being easy to kill and not very dangerous. They become a completely different proposition when their adrenaline is up from running, cornered, hurt, and fighting hounds. The one I just killed would have never moved after the first shot if it was over bait or from a stand. I also think arrowed bears in trees often hang on to the tree until just before death due to a good shot through the lungs only "stinging". Gun hunters often break a shoulder, putting a wounded bear on the ground with men and dogs while it still has 30-60 seconds of fight in it. Either way they are great game animals.

My observations about arrowed bears as well versus gun hunters. I've hunted with both and found that a heavy arrow tipped with a large ultra sharp broad head is the most efficient set up.

 

[Brent in Az]

Nice bear !

Thank you. He was decent size for a 3.5 year old Arizona bear. I thought he would be older, but the G&F biologist aged him at 3.5.

 

[Paul Homsy]

Thank you. He was decent size for a 3.5 year old Arizona bear. I thought he would be older, but the G&F biologist aged him at 3.5.

You're welcome. Actually that's the approximate age I would have given him. Still lean but strong.

One of the physical attributes to judge, among others, is the thickness of the forearm (front foreleg). If it is continuous to the paw, it's a mature bear, if it gets visibly slimmer towards the paw, it's a younger bear. That's what I observed in your photograph.

 

[Brent in Az]

I used Easton A/C/C arrows, tipped with 125 grain, 3 blade Thunderhead. It was a complete pass thru on the Bear.

 

[Whiskey1]

I'm not particular about the color personally. It's the 30+ hour drive, or the extra weight of bringing home meat on a plane that get me hesitant

Delta got me for an extra $400 total for overweight charges for mine and Lil's hides, skulls, and meat. And that's after I bought another Marlin lever gun and shipped it home with our rifles UPS Ground to avoid the fee for a third (oversized) checked bag ($200 more) on my flight. That meant net cost of a 1950's vintage half magazine .35 was only $225. Too good to pass up!! I have a very understanding wife, BTW.

 

[TXHUNTER338]

This guy dropped like a rock from a .338 in the chest from about 50yds.
while hunting in Alaska in 2013 .....shooting from a floating canoe was a new experience !

 

[Paul Homsy]

Very nice bear and pretty good size. Congratulations !

The 338 is a great choice for this type of hunt. What did he weigh ? From the size of his head my guess would be 450 to 500 lbs, and he could be heavier. Tough to really tell without seeing the body but he's an impressive black bear !

 

[TXHUNTER338]

HE WEIGHED ABOUT 400LBS.
I was hunting on Lake Beluga in central Alaska . i took another nice bear on this hunt that was actually heavier but his head was smaller ?

 

[Paul Homsy]

Considering the head size, I thought I was perhaps being conservative in my estimate. I've seen similar heads on much heavier bears. 600 lbs and up even...Time of year also affects weight obviously.

 

[TXHUNTER338]

YES SIR , THIS WAS A SPRING HUNT SO I'M SURE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN HEAVIER IN THE FALL .
I HONESTLY THOUGHT HE WAS HEAVIER BUT I WAS TOLD BY THE GUIDE THAT HE EST. 400 +

 

[Paul Homsy]

YES SIR , THIS WAS A SPRING HUNT SO I'M SURE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN HEAVIER IN THE FALL .
I HONESTLY THOUGHT HE WAS HEAVIER BUT I WAS TOLD BY THE GUIDE THAT HE EST. 400 +

It that was his spring weight, he would have tipped the scales at 500 lbs at least, in late fall before hibernation.

 

[Big5]

I just saw this thread so I thought I’d toss in a plug for fellow AH forum member and friend, Kelly Ross, of Skyline Adventures in Manitoba. My nephew and I have hunted with Kelly several times. There are always lots of bears and with patience you stand a very good chance of coming away with a very big bear.

The below photos show my nephew with a 2014 B&C Fall season bear and me with a 2016 Spring season bear (my final hunt prior to double knee replacement surgery). Both of these bears made entry into the Manitoba Big Game record book.

Kelly’s website shows many photos of quality bears taken on recent hunts. I'm happy to say that two of the big bears shown were taken by our friends, Mike and Ed.