The Bear Facts

[JimB]

"Facts" may be a little strong,possibly "
Impressions" would be more like it.I've dismantled and measured a lot of bears over the years and this is a little summary of that and it might help some get a ball park weight when no scales are available or even get a rough guess of size by looking at a clear track.

1.Length is measured starting at the nose,with the tape following the contour of the top of the animal,to the base of the tail.
2.Girth is measured at the fattest part of the torso,usually around the rear of the rib cage.
3.Length and girth will usually give you a pretty close,ball park weight.
4."Square" of the hide is a very subjective thing and can vary widely within a specific size group of bear,depending on who is measuring,stretchiness of individual skins,differences in leg length etc.I throw it out there because it is used a lot,especially among outfitters but take squared measurements with a grain of salt.

To get the "square",lay the hide out,measure from claw tip of one front foot,across to claw tip of the other front foot.Then measure length from nose to end of tail.Add these two measurements and divide by 2.

You must understand,the green hide,laying on the ground will measure considerably bigger than the the carcass length and girth.A true,70" bear may square 7'(84")but your taxidermist can not mount it and make it go 84".It doesn't work that way.He can mount it to it's true size of 70" though.

5.Skull size also varies a lot within size groups,between males and females and within older age classes,varies even more.I'm just throwing out some average skull sizes,based on what I usually see.Skull measurement is length plus width.

6.Track size also varies a lot within a given size group.A 60" sow for example will have a smaller foot than a 60" boar.Individuals vary also.Again,these are some average widths of front foot tracks,for those who want to get a rough guess of a bear they are tracking.

Length + Girth Weight Hide Square Skull Track
1.52" x 34"     125#    4 3/4'     15"  3.5"-3.75"

2.55" x 37"     150#    5'         16"  4"-4.25"

3.60" x 40-42"  225#    5 1/2'  17-18" 4.25-4.75"

4.65" x 52"     300#    6'      18-19" 4.75-5.25"

5.70" x 55"     400#    7'      19-20"+ 5.25-5.5"

6.75" x 60"     500#   7.5'-8'+  20"+   6"+

For those who hunt over bait barrels,a steel,55 gal drum stands app. 34.5" tall and has a circumference a hair over 70" around.About any bear whose height on all fours,is equal to or above the height of a 55 gal drum,is a shooter in most people's books-usually 350 lbs+.

[chinook907]

Great info Jim.  I may start measuring girth now.  Thanks again, great post.

[twitchstick]

Good info.  

[fivebears]

Really good info here.A lot of outfitters don't even have scales to weigh your bear.A bear's size is very deceiving so this should really help.Thanks Jim.

Ken

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Good info Jim!

Gotta agree on pretty much everything you have said. You hit the nail on the head with the whole square footage thing. From what I've seen, most guys pull the hide for the length measurement, then pull the hide width wise on the legs for the width measurement. Every time you "pull" it gives an unrealistic measurement.

For an honest measurement, lay the hide down on a non slippery surface as if it were a bear rug. Measure length (not to the longest hair on the tip of the tail) and then the width.....add together and divide by 2.

Weight varies so much seasonally that I find basically useless. Sqare footage and skull size don't change with the seasons making comparisons between bears more accurate.

Thanks for posting this Jim.....nothing wrong with keeping people honest!

Ryan

[mb bowman]

Good info! At the end of the day it is up to the individual to be honest in whatever method they choose. I square my bears because that is what has traditionally been used. Though I do employ Ryan's method in order to get an honest measurement