Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game How to tell a boar from a sow black bear?

+2 "Short" legs with belly dragging the ground plus wide head with smallish ears set down over the corners and it is a shooter, whatever the sex, most likely a pot bellied old boar. If it is "tall" with long legs, it is almost surely a young bear, though I saw one huge boar in spring that was thin that fooled me for a bit.

BerettaMan, I want to thank you for starting this hilarious thread even though it was a serious question (I think). Here's a link to an excellent brown bear hunting book, even though you are talking about black bears, I think a lot of useful information (including judging bear sex from afar) is in there.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Bear_Hunting_in_Alaska.html?id=a2_AlBwwB5EC

well it was a serious question, but I think it has definitely evolved into humor! That has made it a better thread for sure! Alright, here is a fastball down the middle....

How common are gay bears in Idaho???

Well, if it was Montana it'd be a big hanging curve for a 'Ingwe caught the gay' comment.

Don't have to in Alaska. Shooting cubs or sows accompanied by cubs (be careful there- sometimes the cubs are stashed somewhere while mama feeds) is illegal.

There is a short period of time between when two year-old (nominally) cubs are run off and the sow rebreeds when sows are legal game. I've shot two for meat, not knowing or caring about the their sex at the time, or since.

As opposed to coastal Alaska brown bear and interior grizzly bears, interpreting black bear gender from afar can be tricky for inexperienced. But, the basic principle applies to black bears as it does to the various brown bears.

A key thing to look for when deciding on the worthiness of a male bear - if you're strictly trophy hunting - is to pay close attention to the ratio between the head and neck when compared to overall body length. As with the brown bears, a really large male black bear will have a neck/head ratio that is at least 30% of his total body length.

A long, thick neck with very broad, flat shoulders and heavy forelegs and, a box-shape head with ears somewhat alongside [not directly on top] and with a well-developed muzzle are good indicators that the bear you're looking at is an older age-class male.

But, if it's your first go-round at black bear, any legal bear with a well-furred pelt is a worthy trophy. You shouldn't pass up an incidental bear on a DIY hunt if it's your first hunt for those animals. You can always go back on a bear-specific hunt at a later date and search for the big one.

Best of luck to you and have fun.

A boar gets massivedouche above a hard on, he turns away from a sow. Unless shes Russian.

Every time I use the "lift the tale" method, I get mauled. There's got to be an easier way.

I agree with the above. Well put.

Oh, that would be the book/writer that says to "avoid mausers because they jam..."

There is lots of other really questionable stuff in there, too...

I'm no expert but have seen a few and wasn't sure but beside a big head, little ears and low ground clearance I've been told a male will have a side to side kind of step when they walk as where a female will walk straight and dainty.I would say also look around for cubs,some times they may hang around mother bear for a couple of years they could be almost as big as her but a male will almost always be alone.

Baiting them is the easiest way.
Just put out a beer and a cell phone.....