Any Guesses on the Size of this Bear?
 

I'm not familiar with the live weight of bears, any guesses on his dressed weight? Age?

A friend keeps saying "that's a big bear, that's a big bear". Judging by the head and comparing him to that traffic cone, I don't believe he is all that big.

pretty much everyone that see's a bear says THAT"S A BIG ONE LOL
as most folks see them very seldom and to be honest bears ARE the hardest animal to judge, as every different angle you view than at can make them look larger or smaller than they really are
I am exposed to bears very very often, almost daily 6 months out of the yr!

IMO
and its just THIS< as I find it very hard to give weights on bears from pictures, doe to again, things that you can use to judge are unknown

BUT, IMO< that is a male, in the 350-400 lb range, nothing HUGE, by black bear standards of what BIG one's can weight(some are near 900's in the record books)
and I would not say he is that old of a male either , maybe 5-6 yrs old or so IMO

be a very nice bear for anyone hunting them to get for sure,
but its no monster black bear!

I agree, in the 350 range.

350 to 400 field dressed? That's bigger than I would have guessed, mostly from the length vs width ratio of the head. But I'm also not an expert!

Thanks for the help!

NO that guess of mine is LIVE weight as it is right now walking
and I would say on the lower end of the 350-400 lb range too, its coming out of winter if pic is taken recently, and that could mean it WAS a 100 lbs or so heavier, and can get back there again and then some, pending food access he has!
when they get into the 500+ range you really don't see a lot of taper to there belly line, it runs flat from rear feet to front legs and will get a pop belly as well, and heads start to look smaller than bod's
I don't know where this was taken at
but many places bears get HEAVIER faster than others
PA< typically has the fastest heaviest BY AGE black bears around, due to lots of easy meals, and IMO< a lot of folks that well, feel them super HIGH calorie foods
but they can eat a LOT o food from farmers to bulks up when they live near them too!

I know the feeling these days! lol

Ok, thank you for the info. I think you're spot on with your guess (of course I'm only guessing as well).

New member
 

Hi i’m new to this site. How do I post on this site ?

I think you just did. Welcome to Huntingnet. I think it is a nice bear. Live weight 300 plus.

It is a mature bear but I do not think it would weigh 300 lbs. Looking closely at the head and belly makes me think it is somewhere in the 250 - 275 lb. range. The legs look short and the ears look small on the really big bears. This is without a doubt a nice sized bear. If this is a Spring photo then this bear might add enough weight to push 300 or maybe more by late Fall. I think most fellows are a bit too optimistic when judging live bears.

I wouldn’t say anymore than 250 on him. But bears are hard to judge even when you have something near them for size comparison..