Black Bear Anotomy

[longrangelead]

I see bear threads about once a month and anatomy is mentioned frequently.

The search function turned up lots of mentions but no actual thread on bear anatomy.

I ran across this comparison pic today and thought why not have an anatomy thread with a good reference pic as the first post.

From my experience, this is a very accurate rendition of a black bear.


It feels wrong holding that far back on a bear but, thats how theyre built.
Theyre as easy to kill as antelope with a good lung shot.

if redundant, mods can delete.

 

[bowkill]

Good info, thank you!

 

[BLJ]

Good picture.

I’ve heard middle/middle a bunch for bears and never thought about trying to find a picture comparing them to something that is more common to me. Like deer.

Thanks.

 

[Theringworm]

Refer to my post, post #10 for a real-life picture that coincides with the diagram above.

Post in thread 'Bear shot placement- vitals vs anchor'

Nov 7, 2024

I have shared this before….. Here
is the carcass of my 2021 fall black bear, just shy of 8’ squared. If you take the two red dots as being just inside the legs then the red hashed line transecting the body is the “MIDDLE” of the bears body. Now take the middle of the bears body from left to right (the red dashed line) and the middle of the body from top to bottom. Where they both transect is the far left blue X. Now take that left blue X and put a blue X to the right behind the bears front shoulder and now split the difference, the YELLOW CIRCLE (aka my bullet entrance). That is MY...

• Theringworm

• 

 

[Bobbyboe]

I shot my first bear this past fall, and did not know about their anatomy prior to the hunt. My bear moved forward just as I pulled the trigger, which resulted in my bullet impacting pretty much center body. I was fully expecting a gut shot, and was surprised to find out I center punched the lungs.

 

[Pilsner]

Middle of the middle and forward a little.
Shoot 'em with an arrow in the same spot you would a deer or elk and you are in for a long tracking job that most likely won't end well for you. Learned that lesson the hard way.