Field judging bears thread with photo examples

[7PRC Pharmacy]

Thought it would be a helpful exercise to start a thread for folks to show pictures of bears for field judging practice. Folks can provide their judgement and assessment based on these pictures and then I will provide feedback. Please feel free to share your own photos for others to learn from.

It would be preferable to include follow up pictures and information about the bears size closer up or after harvest.

I will start. These are two bears harvested recently in Montana. Each was the first bear harvested by each hunter. Both are viewed through a Swarovski ATC using Ollin digiscope adapter and iPhone 15 pro.

The jet black bear was approximately 600 yards away. The cinnamon bear was approximately 450-500 yards away. I do not know what magnification power the spotting scope was set on either.

 

[bigsky2]

I'm no bear expert, but both appear to be average size bears. I'm going to say both are sows, but not super confident in that.

 

[Nine Banger]

Anybody have a milling chart for bear?

This bear looked like a Volkswagen Beetle at 411 yards. Total newb.

 

[TheOrangutanGuide]

Anybody have a milling chart for bear?

This bear looked like a Volkswagen Beetle at 411 yards. Total newb.

View attachment 1062672

It is crazy how deceiving it is at distance.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Oh thank god Looking forward to this. The guy who checked mine in said big ears, don't shoot.

 

[Nine Banger]

It is crazy how deceiving it is at distance.

Yeah, I see in another thread you shot a tank as well. Nice work. Still recovering from the pack out, I imagine.

 

[TheOrangutanGuide]

Yeah, I see in another thread you shot a tank as well. Nice work. Still recovering from the pack out, I imagine.

Not sure about a tank but yeah! It’s actually the cinnamon in this thread too

 

[akircher49]

Very nice bears.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Same bear..

 

[7PRC Pharmacy]

Same bear..

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Great looking chocolate coat on that bear. I am going to say this is an adult sow that is on the younger side. The hips higher than the shoulders indicate it would be a sow. No real shoulder hump that you might see with a mature boar. Legs appear long relative to the body and Does not appear to have all that much of a potbelly. The ears relative to the head are pretty large and are more on the top of the head rather than the sides so that would suggest to me it may not be a super old/mature bear. It would be helpful to see a better profile of the snout to see if it’s thin vs wide/blocky but I am going to guess this is a 100-125ish lb sow probably in that 2-3 year age range. I could see it being a little younger/smaller as well but would be surprised if it were a real mature heavy bear.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Was 700ish yards away through the binoculars. Thats the best pics you're going to get LOL. I've bumped into a lil bear of that color off an on for several years now in that area.


Taking shitty, poorly timed photo's is a skill of mine

Different bear. This one had zero cares that I was there. I side stepped off the game trail as it went by

 

[7PRC Pharmacy]

Was 700ish yards away through the binoculars. Thats the best pics you're going to get LOL. I've bumped into a lil bear of that color off an on for several years now in that area.


Taking shitty, poorly timed photo's is a skill of mine

Different bear. This one had zero cares that I was there. I side stepped off the game trail as it went by

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That right there looks like a certified tank

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

They all look like shooters to me...

 

[Taudisio]

350ish yards through the spotter. How long do we wait before showing the end result? I made the correct assessment in the field. The second photo told me all I needed to know. I was not the shooter this day.

 

[7PRC Pharmacy]

View attachment 1062783View attachment 1062784View attachment 1062785
350ish yards through the spotter. How long do we wait before showing the end result? I made the correct assessment in the field. The second photo told me all I needed to know. I was not the shooter this day.

I was planning to give the end result of mine initial post tomorrow

Looks like you were hunting in some thick country. I am still inexperienced with judging these animals but my guess is that is a smaller bear. It does look a bit thin in the neck with long legs. Looking forward to you sharing your insight as I am not quite sure what you are referring to regarding the 2nd photo but if I had to guess it’s the neck is not all that thick or that the snout is fairly short.

Happy to be wrong though as it’s the whole point of this thread to stick your neck out with your judgement and learn from mistakes. Hope others will follow suit

Thanks for sharing your photos

 

[Steve300xcw]

That right there looks like a certified tank

I thought so. And it acted like it knew it

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Looks a lot easier to judge when they're close to trees and such.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Looks a lot easier to judge when they're close to trees and such.

I think they are a lot easier to judge, when they are actually a big bear

 

[Taudisio]

I was planning to give the end result of mine initial post tomorrow

Looks like you were hunting in some thick country. I am still inexperienced with judging these animals but my guess is that is a smaller bear. It does look a bit thin in the neck with long legs. Looking forward to you sharing your insight as I am not quite sure what you are referring to regarding the 2nd photo but if I had to guess it’s the neck is not all that thick.

Happy to be wrong though as it’s the whole point of this thread to stick your neck out with your judgement and learn from mistakes. Hope others will follow suit

Thanks for sharing your photos

That was the start of the timber on the edge of a clear cut. I don’t take a lot of “before” photos.
I’m usually manipulating myself into a shooting position.
I am not good at field judging from photos, it’s much easier for me to guesstimate in the field.
If I drew a hard line and had to guess within 10 pounds high or low, so far in this thread, I would guess
200
180
150
170
250
I am of the opinion that bears are like coyotes. As long as it’s legal, they are shooters. I just get antsy and hunt them hard at the beginning of the season in spring and I typically find the big boars come out first. It could be 120 pounds or 500 pounds and I’ll shoot it if I get the opportunity.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I am of the opinion that bears are like coyotes. As long as it’s legal, they are shooters.

I find I am a lot more selective, the farther away from the truck I get. Same if there are any canyons involved.