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Judging size of a bear

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peterk1234

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At what distance would you say you can get a fairly good estimate of the size of a bear. Size meaning small versus worth pursuing?
 
I'm thinking there is no way I could tell with my binos. Comparing it to a small tree or shrubbery seems way too arbitrary. I'm going to put out a large piece of cardboard, like six feet at 400 yards to see what it looks like compared to my reticle ( duplex). Not sure I would know what else to do.
 
I would say whatever distance you can get a good look at the bears face. I would think within 1k yards with a good spotter would be reasonable for most with practice.

Billy Molls seems to be judging Alaska brown bears from 1-2 miles away through a swaro spotter. I don’t bear hunt so have no experience to say for myself. But I do shoot a 6.5CM now.
 
I am following this thread. I have struggled to really size a couple up close. I cant imagine at distance.
My quick guide on the couple I have considered was whether I could carry all or part of them out in one trip.
More wisdom would be great.
 
Those are good photos. I often had people ask me how to judge the size of bears, brown /grizz in particular. Known bait cans, big rocks to use for comparison help a bunch. Look at the face/ears overall conformation helps but they can still fool you. It is one thing to see bears from the boat, even 20 yards away, quite another to be on foot, wading a stream and have one pop out of the willows. They all look big. If you’re not sure it’s a big bear, it probably isn’t there is something that kicks in via your primordial brain when you’re near a big bear. Ever time, while fishing some of our more remote streams, we bumped into a really big bear every one of my guests knew it was big. They often made funny sounds.
The sequence didn’t quite work out. The first four get bigger. The bear across the creek from me was an 8 footer or so but had a real bad attitude. The black bear my young guide is backing is a dandy, little over 7feet nose to tail. Instant recognition at 300 yards he was a shooter. Ears are wide and a blocky snout. That bear I’m about to spray was a three year old. Maybe a 6 footer. Been a pain in the ass all day and finally got too close.
Another big black bear real wide blocky head. Two real big bears. Very likely both 10 footers but they are still skinny as the salmon have just shown up in the last day or two.
 

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Last edited:
Salmonchaser said:
Those are good photos. I often had people ask me how to judge the size of bears, brown /grizz in particular. Known bait cans, big rocks to use for comparison help a bunch. Look at the face/ears overall conformation helps but they can still fool you. It is one thing to see bears from the boat, even 20 yards away, quite another to be on foot, wading a stream and have one pop out of the willows. They all look big. If you’re not sure it’s a big bear, it probably isn’t there is something that kicks in via your primordial brain when you’re near a big bear. Ever time, while fishing some of our more remote streams, we bumped into a really big bear every one of my guests knew it was big. They often made funny sounds.
The sequence didn’t quite work out. The first four get bigger. The bear across the creek from me was an 8 footer or so but had a real bad attitude. The black bear my young guide is backing is a dandy, little over 7feet nose to tail. Instant recognition at 300 yards he was a shooter. Ears are wide and a blocky snout. That bear I’m about to spray was a three year old. Maybe a 6 footer. Been a pain in the ass all day and finally got too close.
Another big black bear real wide blocky head. Two real big bears. Very likely both 10 footers but they are still skinny as the salmon have just shown up in the last day or two.
Click to expand...
The last two in the river do look rather large.

Is that rifle set up with Alaskan iron sights, just scope rings:)
 
I can tell a good bear at over a mile with a spotter. A big boar is a big boar. Once you’ve seen enough bears you start to see the sows vs boars and large vs small. Closer in range, ear size is important. You want small ears. Sows will have big asses while boars have brute front shoulders.
 
I have learned a few things that apply to me atleast when i am glassing bears.
1) if first glimse does not induce "big bear" thought, its small!
2) all bears are smaller than i thought they were at distance
3) my best luck telling sex is by watching how bear acts
4) i am definitely not above shooting a small bear but i pass on lots of bears as some days i could care less about shooting one unless its a big boy.
 
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