Small game or Big game?

[Wildschwein]

What is the defining line that differentiates Big game from Small game? Is it a certain poundage or is there no written rule? Just curious as to where animals like Beavers, Javelina, and Wolf would fall.

[chinook907]

Well, regulation-wise, wolf is classified as big game in Alaska, but so are wolverine.  I'm  gonna guess it varies depending on what part of the planet you're on.

[Looper]

Typically, each state in the US will define what is small game and what is big game.  

As a hunter, I tend to divide critters into different categories.  Small game to me (not including the birds) means squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, beaver.  Predators are fox, coyote, bobcat, cougar, wolf.  Big game are javelina, hog, deer, black bear, elk, moose, caribou and pronghorn. Dangerous game would be the brown/grizzly bear (at least in North America).

I guess small game would be something I would shoot with a blunt or judo. Big game would definitely require the use of a broadhead, but then again, I use broadheads on some small game (beaver and groundhog).

[allanburden]

Originally posted by looper:
As a hunter, I tend to divide critters into different categories.  Small game to me (not including the birds) means squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, beaver.  Predators are fox, coyote, bobcat, cougar, wolf.  Big game are javelina, hog, deer, black bear, elk, moose, caribou and pronghorn. Dangerous game would be the brown/grizzly bear (at least in North America).
 

  I agree completely!

[Earthdog]

In the New Zealand bowhunters society this is often decided by how difficult an animal is to hunt,more than it's actual size.

We have Wallabys here that are not big at all,but are considered big game because their quite hard to hunt.

Feral goats are considered small game because their not hard to hunt,even though they can be physicaly as large as many deer spieces.

Pigs under 30lb are considered small game because there's plenty of them and at that size/age their not hard to hunt,,,,any thing much over that size has had plenty of time to work out everything they'll ever need to know about people,so by then their considered big game.
That's NZBHS thinking,but for me wallabys will always be small game because their small,pigs will always be big game because their thin on the ground in the area where I live and I do have a hard time getting my hands on one of any size.
Goats will always just be dog food or something for young bowhunter to cut their teeth on,,not really game animals at all.
Different strokes for different folks huh.