[pinblaster]

The first black bear taken in MD. in 51 years was a whopping 85 ( that's right , eighty five) pound female . The nimrod who shot it is a freelance outdoors writer from the eastern shore of MD. . I would rather come home with nothing than to kill a bear the weighs less than some dogs . I am 100% in favor of bear hunting in MD. , but when some bonehead checks in with a grossly undersized bear , it gives the anti hunting bunch a stick to beat us all with . The controversy over the bear hunt was bad e-nuf , without having this guy bringing "Boo-Boo" to the checking station , in full view of anti hunting activists and the local news media , who were also at the checking station . ....Putting on my tin foil hat , I wonder ; Could this "bear hunter" be a shill for the anti hunting bunch ? Could it be the little bear was released or driven towards him , so they could give the bear hunt a black eye ? It sounds crazy , and most likely it is , but it wouldn't surprise me either . I wouldn't put anything past those folks .:rolleyes:

[anapex]

No kind of minimum size bear for this hunt? I agree though that's too small a size to shoot and bring in.

[mete]

Really dumb !!! Here in NY you can't shoot a cub or bears from a group ,they must be solo bears.

[tc300mag1]

Someone need to open up a can of whopass on this guy jezz must have shot the first thing he saw

[Stand_Watie]

Out of curiousity, what do our forum members consider the minimum size that a black bear would be considered adult? How old would an 85 pound black bear be, 2 years?

I had always thought of adult female black bears as typically being 150 to 300 pound critters, so 85 pounds seems small to me.

[mete]

I heard that the MD hunt has ended after 20 bears were taken !...A cub stays with it's mother for 1 1/2 years , at that point it's about 150 lbs. That 85 lb bear was then born last january . The three top bear taken in PA last year were over 800 lbs! More typical weights that hunters take run 250-400 lbs.

[GE-Mini-Gun]

In VA, IIRC bear has to weight 250 lbs. or more. The bear killed in MD was 9 months old; I’m all for hunting, but that guy should have his arse kicked up around head!

[griz]

FWIW from the Virginia hunting reg's:
One per license year, at least 100 pounds live weight or 75 pounds dressed weight (all internal organs removed). Females with cubs may not be harvested.

[birddog]

cub stays with it's mother for 1 1/2 years , at that point it's about 150 lbs. That 85 lb bear was then born last january .

As a die-hard bear hunter, I am always amazed at the over-estimation of bear weights. Yes, there are 5-800 pound bears out there in the NE, but they are the exception, not the rule.

Think of bears as being human-sized. Some are 100 pounds when adult, some older ones can attain much much greater weights. Chances are this was a yearling. A dressed weight bear of 85 pounds was certainly *not* a cub.

Now, while everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon to crucify the guy who shot this bear, just keep in mind that bears are THE hardest animal to field judge. Especially if this was a first-bear encounter. Of the three bears I've killed, 2 suffered incredible ground-shrinkage and I consider myself a pretty good judge of bears.

The guy killed the bear cleanly? Reported it properly.

Good for him.

[Stever]

I will not shoot a cub and I am not condoning shooting cubs but I have talked about this to a many a bear hunter in the past. Many have said that if you see a cub by itself, without mom, it is because mom is dead (most likely shot by another hunter) and it will probably not survive winter on its own and you are doing the cub a favor by dispatching it.

[Battlespace]

I once saw a guy with a deer at Ft Hood, TX that was about the size of my Beagle. I think she weighed 30 lbs field dressed. Pathetic to say the least.

[pinblaster]

I don't know if the bear was field dressed or not . The guy who shot it said he was going to have it mounted , so he may not have dressed it out , I don't know . The bear was 9 months old and was legally taken . I have never hunted bear , but I would think that 150 Lbs. would be the MINIMUM size bear I would want . The main point I was trying to make was that killing little bears doesn't make us hunters look good to the non-hunting folks . We need all the good PR we can get , and coming to the checking station dragging "Boo-Boo" doesn't help .

[birddog]

The main point I was trying to make was that killing little bears doesn't make us hunters look good to the non-hunting folks . We need all the good PR we can get , and coming to the checking station dragging "Boo-Boo" doesn't help .


I'll stand by my above assertion that an 85 lb bear is certainly not huge, nor is it "Boo-boo". And I can't imagine that it was not field dressed, regardless of whether it was going to the taxidermist. The additional innards would put the bear well over 100 pounds. Again, certainly not huge, but not a cub, especially if it was a female - as stated - since females tend to run smaller.

This was not a 40 pound cub, nor a shameful kill.

[bigfootlives]

are you sure it was a bear, im missing a black lab in the same area

[pinblaster]

:D :p :neener:

[Johnny Guest]

Several years ago, I paid pretty good money for a bear hunt in Ontario. Flew up from D-FW, rented a van with two other hunters, spent a week at a lodge, hunted hard for six days. On about day three, a young bowhunter at same lodge brought in a kill that might have run 80 pounds. He was proud and pleased.

Next afternoon, I had that one's slightly bigger brother in my sights. Maybe a hundred pounds? Removed the cartridge from the chamber and dry fired on him. Perfect sight picture, perfect trigger press. CLICK!! He jerked up his head and looked all over. Heck, I OWNED that lil' bear but didn't have to mess with dressing out, dragging it out, and the kidding I'd have taken from my hunting podnuhs.

Hunted two more days and never got a proper shot at a proper bear. Went home without firing a shot. The guy at Customs was a hunter. I presented my guns for inspection and he asked, "Did you have a successful hunt, Mr. Guest?" I said, "Surely did. Saw some grand scenery, ate some fine food, met some sweet folks. Hummm? No, I didn't shoot anything. But it was a great hunt, yessir."

Two years later, I bagged a nice bear in Colorado.

Some of those memories un viejo trots out to savor on occasion . . .

:)
Johnny