Can you shoot a cub?

[pa mt man]

I think I posted this a while back. Here in Pa we are allowed to shoot cubs. Years ago a bear had to weight 80 lbs (I think). Than (I think) later it was no mother and cubs. I never hunted them back then so I can't remember the reg's.. The only bear hunt I have gone on,in 2001, I could have shot a cub. I couldn't get a shot at the mother or the first cub but the second cub stopped about 50 yards away and I didn't shoot. I probably wouldn't get teased so much, but more ammo saw them and couldn't get a shot. All my other hunting buddies None of them have taken a bear yet. I know all of them would have killed it. Even when they tell other hunter's their response is to me is "You saw a bear and didn't shoot?".

Just wondering how many of you that haven't taken a bear would have shot if it's legal in your state..don

 

[MarvB]

pa- We can't take (thankfully) cubs nor mothers with visible cubs here in Cali.
That being said, the second bear I ever took was shot (with hounds) after passing up 5 other bears due either to their small (~100 poundersor less) or the fact that my buddy (the houndsman) thought they were females.

If time and circumstances allow we hunt for more mature (~150#+) boars if at all possible. I'm not that hot at telling the difference (sans their running gear) but my buddy is pretty spot on determining males from females on the tree!

 

[JB]

yes, ill shoot a cub if he is extra small. im looking to do the standing ashtray holder.........you seen that mount?

 

[Ridge Runner]

Marv .. that raises a question with me about how to tell a male from a female if you can't see the tackle.. Not being a bear hunter or cat hunter I have wondered what to look for besides the sex organs to tell the difference.. I know that in Idaho I think you can only shoot female lions during specific times of the season. What other characteristics do you look for??

 

[Ithaca 37]

I don't shoot cubs, fawns, elk calves, lion or bobcat kittens, coyote pups, bighorn lambs, mountain goat kids, ducklings or pheasant chicks. I don't shoot quail chicks because they're only the size of bumblebees and they fit thru the holes in my pattern. Besides, if they get hit by a number 8 shot it destroys all the meat.

 

[MarvB]

Ridge..’xactly why I made the comment about having to see their runnin’ gear!
I’m not worth a chit at it without a plumbing shot!

My buddy (avid houndsman) has treed 100’s of bears over the years and either he is pretty darn good at sexing bears or should be buying lottery tickets as he’s been close to about 90% on all the bears I’ve seen him take (or his clients take) being boars. According to John (and believe me I’ve picked his brain quite a bit on this subject) the characteristics he uses to determine the sex of bears are the shape of the head, the location of the ears, the length of the neck (still confuses me…) and the shape of the body.

Males have blockier heads than females and snout is almost square at the nostrils and the chin when viewed from the side. From a side view, females have more pointed noses, which make the chin look more recessed. From a front view, the male’s face is also blockier and the ears of a male bear will tend to be more toward the side of the head than the top like a female’s.

The ratio of neck length to head length for a male is between two-thirds and three-thirds. The same ratio for a female is less than two-thirds. I've personally never had them hold still long enough for me to get my slide rule out He considers the length of the head to be from the nose to the back of the skull and the length of the neck from the back of the skull to the front of the shoulders.

The shape of a male bear’s body also differs from that of a female with broader, squarer shoulders. When viewed from the front, the shoulders of a male will be noticeably wider than its head. When viewing a female from the front, the shoulders will often look barely wider than the head.

He’s told me that these traits really don’t really show until a bear reaches 3+ years of age and since he seldom takes juvenile bears, he really doesn’t care that much about sexing them anyway.

Again, it might all be BS as well, but the guy has been remarkably consistent .

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks Marv. I'll have to start looking at them when I see then a little closer. Have seen plenty just never thought really of putting a sex to them. Just usually made a comment of seen a big ass bear or just seen a bear with cubs. Thanks for the info though. I guess the same type of formula goes with the kittys also?

 

[MarvB]

No idea on that one Ridge...the puty-tats are "protected" in this fugged up state and I haven't seen enough of them (a half dozen in my lifetime) to draw any conclusions...

 

[WH's OutdoorsChick]

I would never shoot a Cub or a mother, no matter what the law says!!! I know WH feels the same way because we have talked about it!!!!

 

[Big Sky]

Cub yup, momma with cubs, nope.