ORIGINAL: stubblejumper
There is a general rule that states that you take the width of the front paw in inches,add 1,and you have the length of the bear in feet.I have measured several paws and lengths ofbears and although it is by no means an exact science,it has been reasonably close.In any case,if the front paw is only 4" wide,the bear is a small one.
That is how I have been judging bears for a while now... My taxidermist told me that years ago... Not exact, but very close...
As far as judging a bears weight, cant be done by footprints, heck, stand at the check station in Pa and watch guys/girs try to guess weight LOOKING at the bear, it is very comical, MOST arnt even close to the actual weight..