Sow bears and boo boos - let's see them.

[Backofbeyond]

I’m just glad my true dinkiest dink came in a day before digital cameras.

Buddy and I were out for spring bear in high school, which was just a good excuse to drink cheap beer. Anyways, found a black spot in a clear cut, looked at it through the cheapest binos I could find and low and behold it’s a bear. Dropped it in one shot, high fives and “eff ya” all over the place. You’d have thought we just shot a B&C moose. We work our way up there, and pretty sure after gutting we could have just picked it up by the scruff of the neck and packed it back to the road. I felt so bad I didn’t truly put in any effort on bears for 20 years. They became a target of opportunity, not a target of focus.

 

[ajrcktts]

......after glassing through the Swaros for half an hour we decided he would go 15 loin clothes, 1and a half merkins. A good representative boar for the area....

I'm sorry sir, you need to notate the score in proper representative form: 15.1.5.

But of course we always round down as the market for partial merkins is very limited. So your final score is 15.1.

Others, please also keep in mind the 4:1 merkin:loincloth ratio for future reference. No gross score can be above X.3.9 before moving to (X+1).0.0.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk

 

[FAIR CHASE]

 

[Hem]

I’m just glad my true dinkiest dink came in a day before digital cameras.

Buddy and I were out for spring bear in high school, which was just a good excuse to drink cheap beer. Anyways, found a black spot in a clear cut, looked at it through the cheapest binos I could find and low and behold it’s a bear. Dropped it in one shot, high fives and “eff ya” all over the place. You’d have thought we just shot a B&C moose. We work our way up there, and pretty sure after gutting we could have just picked it up by the scruff of the neck and packed it back to the road. I felt so bad I didn’t truly put in any effort on bears for 20 years. They became a target of opportunity, not a target of focus.

Same. 30 years ago shot an average sow and felt so bad I have never felt compelled to try again.
Although I have always secretly wanted to kill a large jet black with my .50 cal traditional. Maybe when I am retired....just need that word in my vocabulary.

 

[MTTW]

I killed a 6 year old black sow 4 years ago. It was the first bear that I ever even tried to kill in my life. It didn't feel good in any way. I never took a picture. That fall I saw the biggest bear that I have ever seen, at 200 yards. I was with my 2 sons and none of us had a tag left.
I killed a decent boar this year and if I ever kill another bear it will be XL and most likely with a muzzleloader. I almost took it this year but the area that I was in has a lot of G bears so I pussed out.

 

[Coveyleader]

Seems like a can of spray paint that matches the bears color may be in order so you can paint the rocks and logs you prop them up on the same color. I can see it now, what's in your "kill kit".......... can of black spray paint? Check........ Can of brown spray paint?....... Check.......... Fisheye camera, check!

 

[wllm]

@Greenhorn Have you read Meshach Browning's Forty-Four Years of the Life of a Hunter hunting memoir of a guy in the early 1800s, guy was hosing down sows and their cubs...

 

[Greenhorn]

@Greenhorn Have you read Meshach Browning's Forty-Four Years of the Life of a Hunter hunting memoir of a guy in the early 1800s, guy was hosing down sows and their cubs...

haven't heard of that. Not 100% sure but I think either Saxton Pope or Art Young were shooting cub grizzlies in YNP. I haven't had time to dig, but I know I have some pics of tiny bears at home somewhere.

 

[Elkwhisper]

I can do one better than a pic...... Ihad a "never been hunting before" buddy with me that night and it was decided that in order to live the full hunting experience he needed to be part of a gruling pack out. Elevation and distance made it a grunt...but the packs weights weren't too bad..LOL!

 

[Elkwhisper]

I knew that little blonde bear wasn't very big when I pulled the trigger.... but it was still kind of a cool night with the way things turned out. My 2020 bear on the other hand, had me fooled. i had this one pegged for a big boar, and made a long shot across a canyon right at dark. Next morning when I was finally able to get over there, his pecker must have fallen off in the middle of the night.....

 

[Coveyleader]

I'm far from an expert, but what I do know from being around bears for 20 plus years, when you see one this color if you're looking for a big bear, STOP! Dark legs, dark face, skinny, and especially this color are normally sows or young bears. The more blonde, the younger they normally are. Very few big boars walking around this color. Tons of dinks though. If you're looking for a hide, hold off. If you're looking for a pelt, pull the trigger, and that's what you will get. You can put it on the right side of all the chipmunks, squirrel, marmot skins you have on the wall.

 

[Elkwhisper]

I'm far from an expert, but what I do know from being around bears for 20 plus years, when you see one this color if you're looking for a big bear, STOP! Dark legs, dark face, skinny, and especially this color are normally sows or young bears. The more blonde, the younger they normally are. Very few big boars walking around this color. Tons of dinks though. If you're looking for a hide, hold off. If you're looking for a pelt, pull the trigger, and that's what you will get. You can put it on the right side of all the chipmunks, squirrel, marmot skins you have on the wall.

View attachment 223639

You are not wrong....we run into lots of small blonde bears. Now that we each have that color checked off the to do list, they are generally pretty safe from us. Passed up this one the last day of the season last year.

 

[Coveyleader]

You are not wrong....we run into lots of small blonde bears. Now that we each have that color checked off the to do list, they are generally pretty safe from us. Passed up this one the last day of the season last year.

That’s because they all look the same. I could post tons of photos of this color phase passed over the years. It’s to the point keep the glass moving when you see them.

 

[Greenhorn]

That’s because they all look the same. I could post tons of photos of this color phase passed over the years. It’s to the point keep the glass moving when you see them.

The reason they’re all tiny is because most all get killed before they are probably 4 years old because “I just couldn’t resist the color.”

 

[Greenhorn]

Dug through a box of old photos. Fun looking at old hunts, friends, pets, bachelor parties, etc.
1st bear, a sow called into 20 feet or so

 

[Greenhorn]

This one’s not a sow, a tiny boar from 1997. Bridgers.

 

[Greenhorn]

Last day of Idaho spring season decades ago. Smallest sow ever. Worst part was having to wake up an island park warden to check it in, late that evening. THe over the log pose, again.

 

[RobertD]

You are not wrong....we run into lots of small blonde bears. Now that we each have that color checked off the to do list, they are generally pretty safe from us. Passed up this one the last day of the season last year.

I can see how someone would talk themselves into this bear. His body looks big compared to his head. But those little dinker ears seem like a giveaway to me

 

[RobertD]

Last day of Idaho spring season decades ago. Smallest sow ever. Worst part was having to wake up an island park warden to check it in, late that evening. THe over the log pose, again.

I appreciate when vet forum users break out the old photos, thanks for these. Though "breaking out the old photos" is a dangerous innuendo with you but still

 

[FoodIsMemories]

View attachment 223571
283 yards across a swathed oat field was able to drive my truck up for the retrieval. Shooting fall bears out of oats is a good way to get elk hunting permission in those same fields. I’ll gladly hammer small bears for chance to kill an elk lol

I halfway thought that was a beer can under its chin nice work Sasky