RE: bear

joesikora

joesikora

Long Time Member
Messages
3,393
RE: bear

Does anyone here go bear hunting on a regular bases? I love that NM has a good chance at a color phase bear. I love the brown, blonde and cinnamon colors. Whats the average size of the Bears out your way. I've seen a little cinnamon on a 52 elk bow hunt and I seen a dandy black on the Sargenrs.

Thanks Joe


"Sometimes you do things wrong for so long you
think their right" - 2001
"I can't argue with honesty" - 2005
-Joe E Sikora
 
RE: bear

...not in NM.
I've never seen one big enough here to bother with getting a tag.
Biggest bear I've ever seen was about a 200 lb.'er,here.

Now CA had some big bears,and every color phase in the rainbow.
Got a bear tag to carry while deer hunting often there.
I try and do the same with a lion tag here.
 
RE: bear

I was fortunate enough to get a nice big solid black bear. He was 398 pounds. He was a big one and delicious.

I also shot a beautiful red bear with my bow, but was never able to find him. Had good blood, then less blood and less blood then none. This one made me sick. He was such a pretty bear. Very red in color. I would say he was about 250lbs. Wish I could spend more time hunting bears, I enjoy it.
 
RE: bear

I've killed 3 bears smallest 200 biggest 400 lbs. My cousin killed a huge bear pushed 600 eating apples all day every day. He said it was great . where I'm from there are quite a few big bears around seldom hunted .
 
BUGLEnmIN said:
RE: bear

I've killed 3 bears smallest 200 biggest 400 lbs. My cousin killed a huge bear pushed 600 eating apples all day every day. He said it was great . where I'm from there are quite a few big bears around seldom hunted .
Click to expand...
Hi Bugle, I’m thinking of maybe getting a tag for Bear and or Cougar the fall winter. I’ve seen bear in 52 49 and a lot of sign in 2a of cougars
im having my lumbar surgery the 29th of July so hopefully I will be
able to hunt.
I really would like a color phase bear

are you interested in hunting them

thanks joe
 
Joe, I have killed a few in NM one in CA. 2 with bow, 2 with rifle. Got one last year with my bow. Message me your number I got a video of it to show you.
 
I have seen a big bear in 21 a and a cinnamon in 16c been buying my license since haven’t seen any this year will be different God willing I will be in the mountain a lot more this year.
 
I have been on a handful of hunts around 34 and seen bears on about half of them without particularly seeking them out, but I have not seen any of the beautiful color phase bears I've heard are around.

Someone feel free to correct me if wrong, but I've been told you need to get one early in season. Otherwise, when the quota gets close, it creates a sense of urgency and everyone with dogs hits the woods. Again, that's just info that passed to me, so someone chime in if it's not correct.
 
joesikora said:
Hi Bugle, I’m thinking of maybe getting a tag for Bear and or Cougar the fall winter. I’ve seen bear in 52 49 and a lot of sign in 2a of cougars
im having my lumbar surgery the 29th of July so hopefully I will be
able to hunt.
I really would like a color phase bear

are you interested in hunting them

thanks joe
Click to expand...
Yessir, I’m having a neck surgery soon so looks like we can probably make that happen! Pm me your phone number and we can talk bear!
 
hank4elk said:
RE: bear

...not in NM.
I've never seen one big enough here to bother with getting a tag.
Biggest bear I've ever seen was about a 200 lb.'er,here.

Now CA had some big bears,and every color phase in the rainbow.
Got a bear tag to carry while deer hunting often there.
I try and do the same with a lion tag here.
Click to expand...
The one I seen on the Sargents was a big ole black bear His ears looked to be the size of an Oreo cookie
He had just gotten up I guess and was lumbering down the hill side to get a drink. That was the first time I’d ever seen a bear and it was impressive

Joe
 
It is good that they got rid of the August season in most of southern NM. The bears were skinny and had very thin hair. Not a trophy at all. The same bear in October or November will look much better and be much heavier.
Mature sows are generally 5-5.5 feet, boars are 6 feet up to 7.5 feet. All the bears I have killed or helped someone else get were far from a road and I have never had one on a scale. There are big bears here if you are picky and don't pull the trigger on a small one. With that being said, my brother is a taxidermist and the average bear brought in is <5 feet. Most are young bears in the yearling to 3 year old range.
 
I like Bear, Big Bears
B56C42D0-7ECA-47B4-B3E7-E2C5E87BB130.jpeg
 
I figured killing 5 of them was enough, so I quit hunting them many years ago.

The first one, lured in with a Circe jackrabbit call in AZ in the 1960s, hanging on the wall...

bearrug.jpg


Two biggest from BC circa late 1980s...

me&2bear.png


The biggest above (Right) was 7'2" nose to tail...

roymike.png


From Ontario circa early 1990s...

TMbearBC.jpg


The last one from BC, circa 2005...

1790bear1opt[1].jpg
 
Last edited:
BUGLEnmIN said:
RE: bear

I've killed 3 bears smallest 200 biggest 400 lbs. My cousin killed a huge bear pushed 600 eating apples all day every day. He said it was great . where I'm from there are quite a few big bears around seldom hunted .
Click to expand...
How are you guys getting these things off the mountain, whole, and able to weigh them? All the Bears I’ve killed or helped with, we have to quarter them, and pack them out in pieces!!
 
Snoopdogg said:
Good looking bears!
Click to expand...
The sad part -- I lost the two biggest as far as mounts go. In the photo below, the hide from the biggest is hanging in the corner & the other one is covering the armchair to the left. I had planned to have the biggest done standing with a neat reddish colored salmon that I had caught in AK in its mouth. The other was to be mounted similar to the last one I got.

But like I dumbass, I screwed up by storing the already tanned hides in black plastic trash bags & not in the freezer for too long. By the time I could afford to mount one, the tanning oils had dried out too much to properly stretch the hides without tearing. The same happened the big mt. lion on the table , a lifesize blackbuck on the left coffee table and a full javelina not showing.


8496newertr1[1].jpg


PS: Joe, sorry for the intrusion into your thread. I didn't realize what section it was in when I first replied.
 
NMhunter4life said:
It is good that they got rid of the August season in most of southern NM. The bears were skinny and had very thin hair. Not a trophy at all. The same bear in October or November will look much better and be much heavier.
Mature sows are generally 5-5.5 feet, boars are 6 feet up to 7.5 feet. All the bears I have killed or helped someone else get were far from a road and I have never had one on a scale. There are big bears here if you are picky and don't pull the trigger on a small one. With that being said, my brother is a taxidermist and the average bear brought in is <5 feet. Most are young bears in the yearling to 3 year old range.
Click to expand...
This is spot on for sizes. Weights can vary drastically from Spring to fall, depending on food availability. You can measure hides, unstretched, and determine length, and width.

Weight is generally determined using the Rocky Mountain WAG method:

W ild
A ss
G uess
 
Joe- if I could hunt big Black Bears right now. I would like to do a boat hunt off the South Coast of Alaska, or a Good Canadian bait hunt where you see a lot of Bears. They are such a cool animal. You and your wife in a stand togeather with a Big Bear mysteriously showing up at 30 yds., makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Good luck!
 
Wow awesome bears guys! Joe I got it ! Sorry I checked out for a while the neck thing got pretty annoying this past week!
 
BUGLEnmIN said:
Hey joe!! Been better my friend!! I finally got into see the surgeon on August 4th! How you heelin
Click to expand...
Not too bad I finally got out of the house for a mild run to Lowe’s, I do have to admit after 40 minutes I ask my father in law if we had everything he said yes I said good. It’s time to go,

Bugle so your going in on the 4th? Cool buzz me after he gives you his prognosis! he did order your tests MRI and CT scan. YES? If not it’s another 2 months waiting. So if he didn’t call his office and check with then it’ll save you time and get you back doing what you need to be.
Remember Bugle I’m just a phone call away buzz me anytime

See ya
Your Bud

Joe
 
A few years back while Fall Turkey hunting I saw three bears in one evening. The first was black - around 400lbs. When I saw him he was about 15 yards away from me in an arroyo. I cocked my sidearm and told him to go away. He did. I've never seen an animal of that size run out of an arroyo and up a hill that fast without so much as breaking a twig or rustling a leaf; a silent bolt! Amazing!

The second bear came down very steep incline. It was preceded by a boulder. It appeared about 40 yards away. Cinnamon brown-probably about 200lbs. I jumped out and flailed my arms. It disappears quickly.

A third bear appeared about an hour later. At this point it was beginning to get dark. This bear was above me walking a ledge. A very respectable bear - probably crowding 500lbs. The color phase was absolutely incredible. Silver! I've never seen a bear this color before. When I jumped out and flailed my arms at him, he just looked at me and gave me a "go to hell" look. As it disappeared, a darkness was setting in, I thought best it was time to end the evening hunt.

An awesome, unforgettable evening.
 
hawkbill said:
Joe- if I could hunt big Black Bears right now. I would like to do a boat hunt off the South Coast of Alaska, or a Good Canadian bait hunt where you see a lot of Bears. They are such a cool animal. You and your wife in a stand togeather with a Big Bear mysteriously showing up at 30 yds., makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Good luck!
Click to expand...
I like that idea too! I know this is taboo but I seen a yacht hunt where you leave in the morning hunt then back for ouch anf fishing then out for the evening hunt then back for a 5 star dinner with prime cuts of beef fresh seafood, high end bottles of wines, cognac after dinner then off to bed dreaming of huge bears!

Joe
 

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