Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Largest Black Bear You Know Of?

high_brass,

I asked Dr. Ault about why the Pa. bears get so big...answer is simple : good food and age, just like deer.

From what I read about the eastern NC bears, they live in a agricultural are. The big Pike County Pa. bears live in huge swamps that are loaded with berries. Lots of sugar, high calories = fat, plus the swamps are big and thick. The bears can grow to an age where they are huge.

They are very hard to hunt. We drive the swamps where we can. It is tough and I have had bears jump out so close it was almost like hunting rabbits. You usually only catch a very brief glimps of them while driving.

The older smarter ones, are like the older, smarter bucks, they circle back or hang tight in the thickest nastiest stuff they can crawl into.

Tony

The formula used from Bear hunting magazine is mine. I developed that chart and wrote that article in the Magazine. That is what I spoke of in my previous post

Holy cow, what a pig! Nice bear, Mtn Hunter.

Is this the one in B&C?

Yessir!

MtnHtr

Hicountry,

That makes alot of sense, thanks for the info. I've never hunted bears a day in my life but find them rather interesting. As a matter of fact, I saw one two hours ago at one of our job sites near Hobucken, NC <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />. Talk about irony.

thanks for telling the story MtnHunter <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> very impressive <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Hi Folks,
Here's a link to some interesting NC Bear Facts

web page

Good Shooting,
HBB

This bear was taken on Memorial Day in 2002 by a buddy of mine. I borrowed a commercial fishing boat from my cousin

and we went to a small cove past Day Harbor out of Seward, Alaska (I believe it's called Horsehoe Cove).



He bagged it on the beach feeding on hooligan (smelt) that were thrown onto the rocks by waves.



May not be a record bear but it was big enough to make it a successful trip.

Proman1,

Welcome to the Campfire! Always great to see another fellow Alaskan. I think Wasilla still counts as Alaska? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I saw another post of yours in which you mention some serious 'sea time', so that certainly counts!

That's a great bear, and looks darn big to me. Must be nice to 'borrow' a commercial fishing boat. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Was that bear in the tidal zone? Those are some fairly large rocks to deal with.

proman
Had a discussion with a couple guides just a couple weeks ago about hooligan and bears. All of us had seen many bears around hooligan, one actually saw a bear mouth one, one time.

I have tried to use them for bear bait and the bears would eat all the other stuff and leave the hooligan completely alone!

Not trying to bust chops or anything even remotely like that, simply bringing it up in the interest of science... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />BTW, long as I'm flinging, the proper spelling for "hooligan" is eulachon. The pronunciation is similar. Again, no flames intended, just stating something some might find interesting.

Looks like a very nice bear and a great job of posing him!<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
art

BW,
Thanks for the welcome, glad to be here & sounds like a lot of knowledgeble gents play here.

Yep, it's great to have a "cool" cousin to let me have his boat for the trip. This year I'll be "borrowing" it again for a deer hunt on Montague and Green Island in Prince William Sound.
All he asks is I replace the fuel filters and refuel when I get back , a couple hundred bucks split 4 ways ain't bad I guess..
Besides we get to catch halibut, red snapper, ling cod and silvers while on the trip, can't wait..why is it only July??

Yeah, I sure did spend a lot of time at sea, I've been on commercial boats since '83, from Dillingham (Bristol Bay),
and along the coast to Dutch Harbor, and up all the way past Kodiak and Cook Inlet to Cordova.
I still regret not taking the opportunity (had many offers) to fish down your way, heard it is a whole 'nother Alaska down there. I suppose you can consider Wasilla as part of Alaska, actually consider it part of Anchorage, it's gettin' way too damn crowded here for me, I'm used to those quiet coastal fishin' towns.
I envy you being in Sitka, must be nice not having to deal with a bunch of liberal bunny/tree hugging dirt worshippers.

Well Sitka Deer,
You musta had something on the menu that the bears preferred over the hooligan, you guys feeding those bears donuts again?

The spot were my buddy shot the bear was littered with half eaten hooligan (yeah I know it's Eulachon, the other way is easier on the eyes and brain...)

We never actually saw any bears eating the stuff but did see the chewed on remains in the immediate area where the bear was dumped..

Proman
Was just curious as several of us have had this discussion before. I cannot imagine why they would not like them, but I personally have never seen evidence of any bear eating one... and I have seen a lot of chances for them to.

Oh, and welcome... did not mean to give you any grief at all, <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
art

BW. Funny thing about blackies the little ones are the best eating bears. I have killed a half dozen around 200 lb. or less and they made very fine bacon ,chops, sausage etc. the largest one I killed went 441 and was good only for sausage and not very good sausage....I leave the big ones alone. I like to hunt the high country blue berry fields but the big bear came from a swamp he smelled badbut had a great hide. I currently have a cinamon phase 150 pounder s hide in the freezer....will give to any one who wants it if it is not freezer burned.

Bullwnkl.

Welcome to the forums, proman! What a bear your buddy got. A nice one.

I'm in the Wasilla area as well.

Couldn't resist jumping in on this as I love to hnt bears and have been doing so for the last 40 years. the two biggest bears I've ever seen were in Manitoba One was at tTrapper Don"camp and it was an honest 8 ft. I just couldn't close the deal on him. THe other, which I,ve been after 4 yrs, I have on video tape and would weigh 650 + and he is still there !
My personal best came June 5th, it squared an honest 7 ft plus( no streaching) weighed 557 on a scale and greened scored a little shy of 22". It was skinney, had no fat on it, all mussel with massive forelegs. same bear in the fall may have gone over 650, just a guess. Long story but I didn't get a single picture. I also got a bear in Sask the went 6'10 nose to tail ( 20")and a 6 foot in Manitoba, pure blond, went 453 on a scale and scored 20 1/2. don't know how to post a picture but if you want to see it send an e-mail and I will send one.

Sitka Deer,

Now that I think more about the trip with the bear and hooligan thing, a few thoughts from my memory banks.

I do remember seeing several large River Otters, not more than 200 yards from the kill, as we were skinning the bear a mink came along to see what we were up to, sucker came within a few feet of us as if begging to get skinned also.. I let him know I'm a trapper and he scampered off.

We sorta assumed the blackie was eating the hoolies, but it may have been the other critters..who knows, like I mentioned earlier we never saw any bears eating those tiny fish and there sure was plenty of 'em scattered on the rocks.

In the same cove there is a lake that leads to a glacier and some awesome panoramic views, anyway as I sat glassing the other side of the lake, I saw one of the largest blacks I'd ever laid eyes on, I tell ya he had no ears or legs on 'im, just one huge black ball of fur rolling along the hillside, my bud swears it was a good 7+ footer and I believe him, a few years ago I bagged an honest 6ft 7 in. boar (not stretch measuring mind you) and the bear on the hill looked much larger.

Bearstalker, thanks for the welcome, care to tag along on the deer trip I mentioned a few posts ago? We need 1 more "dude" to make it a raiding party, if we get our deer quick we might have time to stop at the "bear glacier" on the way back to Seward..

I have seen several hundred bears killed in my life from Washington, oregon, Montana, Idaho and a mountain of big bears from coastal SE Alaska where I guided.

During all this time I skinned packed and took care of every detail of them getting prepared to travel home with the clients. One of the more important features was helping them set up the photos of the bear after it was shot.

This bear has the most bizzare long legs I have ever seen on a bear anyplace. It almost seems like a different species of bear! He must be 5' at the shoulder when standing! Maybe it's the angle or the way the he's balanced on the rock under him? It's a photo that clearly takes advantage of his great size! I'm just trying to imagine this bear walking on the beach with those long front legs. In the photo they appear almost twice the normal length, What a bizzare genitic wonder!

THe squared size of this bear must be well in excess of 8 foot because the legs from paw to center of the hump must be 5 feet alone! That would make this bear at a minimum 9 foot wide.

Anymore info on the dimensions of this guy?

Here a a couple of pics of my two best bears........both are Virginia bears, taken in archery season. Both are about the same size, about 5' each, both around 225lbs.

The first one is a 3/4 body mount. Was kind of a unique way to mount one, the other is obviously a rug mount.




Not monsters, but because they were both taken with a bow, are real trophies to me.

Two seasons ago I had to pass up a slam dunk shot at a very large sow who had 3 cubs in tow. Was one of the most fun days I have ever spent in the woods, getting to watch those 4 bears at such a close range. After they left it finally dawned on me that at one point, there I was, with nothing but a bow and about 18 feet up a tree between me and the sow. Thank goodness the cubs didn't decide to climb the tree I was in !!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

The only thing that sucked is that it was one of the few days I didn't have my digital camera with me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Tony.

Not the biggest but one of the prettiest bears I've ever seen, beautiful animal!
Photo taken just before the opener awhile back..............


MtnHtr