So been seeing alot of bear stuff popping up on the ole book of faces . Lotta pics of bears that honestly look obese I guess and people seeming pretty excited. So some dumb questions, because I've honestly never really looking into black bear hunting, with black bears is it the bigger and fatter they are the better ? Is that like the trophy metric ? Or does it also have to deal with meat quality? Also I'm legitimately curious when I ask this but do some of those critters ever die from like obesity / general exhaustion? Because I mean some.kf them where looking a good bit past just big . O and I see the main method is baiting them , which I'm not hating on, but is that like the only way you can really hunt bear due to their nature/ environment or are there other ways .. besides dogs I see that's common too.

Bears are scored off skull size. Baiting is very effective. I see a handful of bears every year not baiting and I live in bear country

I don't know a thing about them but alway thought it amazing how they can move very little all winter and come out still strong without their muscles breaking down. People sure wouldn't come out that well. Just another One of God's neat creations. Not sure why but I never have been interested in killing one.

No baiting here. Lots of spot and stalk. Sitting over bait seems so unappealing but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. Seems like the eastern bears are in the thick and habituated to being fed. Our bears aren’t fat here like flat land donut fed bears. This is a photo of a bear I stalked. One of my favorite unsuccessful stalks. Got 30yds from it and needed to be a little closer. If you find the food you will find them. Certain berries ripen thru hunting season. My best day was chasing 6 different bears in a day. I got #6 with the longbow

Dt how good is their since of smell? I'm guessing very good.

Baiting and dogs in Wisconsin most bears are in deep timber here I have done spot and stalk in Colorado

Reported to be better than a hounds. Supposed to be able to smell food at great distances.

I leave baiting, dogs, spot and stalk to local discussion as most all methods of take have roots in local conditions.

Down here in the south dog deer was due to terrain and cover type, swamp and thicket. I assume baiting may be similar conditions maybe with wide dispersal of bears thrown in. Spot and stalk obviously can only work where spotting at distance is possible.

In short use what method works in the conditions given.

They are good. I know baiters say they can get away with it since they are leaving sent when going in and out. And I think i would do the same so they associate more with a meal then a danger, but for the bears out here you get one shot. If they smell you its game over. The place I hunt has significant wind. Ive seen it gust so hard I couldnt continue forward progress. Generally its blowing 15-30 and its real easy to stay downwind

Americans tend to go based off weight for a trophy.

Canadians tend to go based off skull size for a trophy.

polar bear hunting is somewhat different. You cut a big hole in the ice, and put a ring of peas around it. (I've heard Del Monte sweet peas work best)

Then when the bear comes up to take a pea, you kick him in the icehole.


that's what my mom always told me anyway.

Where did you come up with this?

I have never hunted a bear in my life, live in Texas (we have a few but protected) and know that a trophy bear is based on skull size

DT it took me a minute to find the bear in the first pic

I know a guy in Minnesota who likes them about 2-3 yrs old, the meat is usually very good at that age. These are fall bears, I’ve had both spring and fall shot bears and find the fall bears taste better.
Food sources for the bears play into the taste equation.
Size wise those big old hulking bears are like big old bucks, people want them. Generally the big ones get pretty elusive with age like big bucks and bulls.

I’ve hound hunted them, guided stalks and baited bears. It’s all a challenge and good endeavor taking a decent one.

Osky

A size note on the trophy discussion.
You can shoot a very big bear with a not so big noggin, and a not so big bear with a very big noggin. Dried skulls are measured straight width and front to back straight length. Bulky body size of course is most visible and first indication of a “trophy” to most

In some ares bears may have terrific crop and food sources yearly, get very fat say at 11-13 years, but the bone structure hasn’t quite caught up.
Mother Nature.
Lastly Wolfy, don’t be mesmerized over a bear rug. Black bears have a coarse hair in my estimation and while they can make a pretty and thick rug, they are not something I’d wanna roll around on without my druthers on. Just about any other animal fur is softer and more luxurious.

Osky

Good morning everyone, It depends on what you value really. I live in North Central WI. Many value the weight of a bear others as for trophy books it is skull size. I am always interested in both. The last bear I shot here two years ago was 440# with an 18 1-2" skull 5 years old. Made P & Y, I never enter mine. Lots of fat. Bear weight often depends on feed from the area they live and of course age. I hunt Northwest Ontario at my buddy's place. A 400-500# bear up there is a big bear as it is anywhere and more unusual we find, but the food is often harder to come by but skulls are often large as the bear's age with the vast land and lack of hunting pressure. Last year 15 miles from me they shot a 680#, and a half mile from my house shot a 560#. Lots of acorns, corn, soybeans, mushrooms, etc. I love a big head on bears, deep crease in the head, small-looking ears, and scars add to the appearance. Just me. My bear weights are dressed not all do that, they weigh live weights also, so it depends, I always ask that question about weights.

I guess my goal is to shoot a 20 inch bear (skull size) but never have harvested a bear over 400lbs. A huge bear would be great but where I hunt that would an all night retrieval , no fun for an older guy.

As far as sense of smell goes with bears goes, an old bear will come to bait right after the guy who baits everyday puts it out. Some guides will bang the 5 gallon bucket on the 55 gallon barrel right before he leaves as a dinner bell. Bears will come right in, even the big ones.
Here's the problem. The big bear knows the guide's scent, and knows it well. If a different person comes in with a different scent, that big bear won't likely come to bait until after dark, after he hears the hunter leave.

Down here bears are hunted with hounds.....12 day season...Sept and Oct.

The bears are baited from about mid April thru the season. Donuts, candy, peanut butter in 55 gal barrels placed along private roads near creek and swamp drains. It is illegal to hunt bears over bait here in Georgia. Must be 200 yds AND out of sight of any bait. Also, illegal to release dogs/start the hunt at a bait site.

Bear hunters down here could care less about skull measurements for P&Y and B&C. The "bragging" rights come from the weight of the bear.

Back in the late 90s, I checked a group of hunters that had just killed a large bear...570 lbs (I remember the weight because 570 was my badge number.) I asked if they were gonna get the skull measured as the bear might make B&C. None of them had any clue what I was talking about. The guy that actually pulled the trigger did have the skull scored. It was #4 that year nationwide.

I've suggested many others to be scored and these hunters are not interested. But, they do bet money on guessing the weight. Most are dealt a final shot to the head to ensure a dead bear for hound safety which usually ruins any scoring possibility.

Wolfy, got to see my very first one in wild up close and personal this past week up at mantrap lake near park rapids MN.
The thing liked to raid the garbage dumpster right next to our cabin.
Resort owner made nightly rounds using ratchet straps to secure lids on the dumpsters. Her carried a paintball gun with pepper balls for bear deterrent to get him to avoid the resort. Not a big bear but was super determined and knew where the groceries were.
Made my trip to see one just a few feet from our cabin. That thing shot right up side of a big pine like it was a set of easy stairs. Came back down just as easily and effortlessly. Like a big coon in a way. Like garbage and could climb like the tree was a second home to get away from danger below.
Jim

A bear up close smacks it’s nostrils like a hound while pointing its head up into the air with poor vision they depend a lot on their sense of smell.