Big bear

[Allaroundsportsman4201]

Got this big guy on a trail camera up in the poconos

Any guess on the weight?

[LPJR]

@400? Nice pic..

 

Welcome to the site  

[Greybeard]

Hard for me to guess, but it does have nice hind quarters.  Welcome!

[Rusty]

Looks like a good size bear, but like Greybeard says, it's hard to guess weight without some kind of reference.  That's why outfitters often use 55 gallon drums at their bait sites, it give you something to compare the bear to.  

 

Welcome to the site Allaround.       

[Buck154]

Big enough it will be a lot of work dragging out.

 

Welcome to the site

[TroutandBucks]

Nice bear either way. Cant wait for bear season 

[Bucksnbows]

If it is 400 lbs, it is considered average in NJ as adult male bears average that weight.  That sounds a bit crazy, but that is a fact.  A "big bear" these days has to be north of 500 lbs.   

[nmc02]

475

[Allaroundsportsman4201]

Thanks to everyone for your warm welcomes. I'll make sure to put a reference out to get an accurate size estimate.

[Allaroundsportsman4201]

If it is 400 lbs, it is considered average in NJ as adult male bears average that weight. That sounds a bit crazy, but that is a fact. A "big bear" these days has to be north of 500 lbs.

 

I consider it a big bear if it can kill me:) Edited June 29, 2017 by Allaroundsportsman4201

[Bucksnbows]

They say black bears are the toughest North American game animal to judge and looking at just this one good picture proves that.  That photo if it were a whitetail buck would be extremely telling about its age, size, rack, etc. but not the bear.  Need to measure length, width and height and getting several angles to get all of that is tricky.  The noted black bear guide and outfitter Jim Shockey always says something like, "I'm 90% sure 90% of the time that I am having my clients shoot large, male bears".  And he sees hundreds if not thousands of bears each year on his leases.  

 

Personally, the thing I find toughest is seeing a still younger boar that is fat because they always look bigger than they are.  Skinny young bears are much easier to judge.  

[Allaroundsportsman4201]

They say black bears are the toughest North American game animal to judge and looking at just this one good picture proves that.  That photo if it were a whitetail buck would be extremely telling about its age, size, rack, etc. but not the bear.  Need to measure length, width and height and getting several angles to get all of that is tricky.  The noted black bear guide and outfitter Jim Shockey always says something like, "I'm 90% sure 90% of the time that I am having my clients shoot large, male bears".  And he sees hundreds if not thousands of bears each year on his leases.  

 

Personally, the thing I find toughest is seeing a still younger boar that is fat because they always look bigger than they are.  Skinny young bears are much easier to judge.

 

That's cool. I'm starting this year bear hunting and can't wait

[BHC]

I would say 425/450 lbs., he will pack on another 100 plus pounds by fall

[Bucksnbows]

That's cool. I'm starting this year bear hunting and can't wait

 

Good luck.  That would be an excellent one to start with!  Like BHC said, he'll pack on a bunch of weight between now and winter.   

[3Blade]

Big enough to shoot!