kidso

I am a bear turd nerd, and I'll tell you what...as a rule of thumb when assessing the size of a bear, its not the size of the pile, its the circumference of the logs that make it! I've found a few "coke cans" stacked up before and nearly passed out each time in exhilaration!

Just for my own education, as I know little to nothing about antlers and their score, and everyone has commented on how sweet that bull is...what kind of score might that bull possess? Is it a 400 bull, 300 bull, 200 bull? I truly am not educated in this area. Please provide a score.

The meat is so tender that it melts in your mouth and simply falls apart. Totally moist, and fat free! However, it is still in cubed form and did NOT turn to mush in the crock pot. The "broth" that formed in the crock pot over the cooking duration was spicier than I normally like it, so I ate last night with minimal broth in my soup bowl. My wife liked the spicy broth. Anyone on the east side is welcome to send me a PM if they would like to sample a free bowl today or tomorrow afternoon.

Here is a simple crock pot recipie for bear stew: 5 pounds of fat-trimmed meat, cube cut Marinate meat 48 hours in the fridge: 4 cups water 1/4 cup worchestershire sauce 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 Tbsp liquid smoke 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp black pepper *1 tsp chilli powder *1 tsp cayenne peppe (* = these last two ingredients add a spicy kick to the marinade, and are optional) After 48 hours of marinating meat cubes, drain off solution and place meat in crock pot. Add 1 sweet onion (sliced), 1 pound of peeled baby carrots, 1 celery clump (chopped), 6 potatoes (cubed), and 1/2 cup water to crock pot. Cook stew in crock pot for 10 hours on high setting. Turn off crock, let stand 20 minutes, and enjoy!!

Man, that yellowish-brown colored bear sure is popular on the trail cams this season! Beautiful!

Great luck with you and the bears. So sad about the bear deaths in the pool. Would be interested to hear more about the two bears that were allegedly put down in the White Mountains. Any more information on this?

I am glad that you got a picture of the great white bear claw! That young cinnamon bear is gorgeous.

Don't see a whole lot of the bear from this angle. Its length is deceiving, but looks shorter than average. However, its ear looks short and curved, which is a common trait of a good bear. But again, it is so close to the camera, it is tough to fairly judge the ear from that perspective without seeing the complete head. Nonetheless, one thing is adundantly clear; that bear has a beautiful color phase hide. Any more pictures from this photo sequence?

Pulled out a boneless javelina roast and marinated it for 4 hours in the fridge. Then, I put it on the spit and roasted it at 325 degrees for 2.5 hours, with re-basting every 30 minutes. Very delicious! The marinade was water, worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, onion salt, onion powder, garlic salt, chili powder, cayenne red pepper, and a little Adobo seasoning.

Agree with Dan. Different bears without any doubt. The bear from last year would almost be twice its size this year.

Very sweet color pattern!

Do you have room for two shoe boxes strapped under your seat?

I love the terminology of "the slump". My slump, however, was self-imposed. Twenty years ago, I called in my first bear. I actually had four bears respond on the same stand, and ended up shooting the one that charged me. It charged me because a larger more dominant bear was about 20 yards behind it, so it wanted to consume some protein before it got forced off the quarry by its bigger brother. My bear had a skull measurement just shy of 21 inches, which ended up being a curse to me instead of a joyous pleasure. A curse because I had no idea of the "trophy quality" of the bear I had just harvested. All I knew is that a larger bear was out there, and it had a beautiful red coat that I wanted to adorn my wall with someday. I "trophy hunted" for 15 years trying to find a bear larger than the first bear I tagged, but to no avail. Don't get me wrong, I loved my time and experiences in the field calling in and passing on good and even a few great bears, but never did I meet another monster, which was what I was seeking. After 15 years of this "slump", my wife convinced me that I will probably never come face-to-face with another bear as large as my first one, and that I needed to start pulling the trigger on "smaller" bears or risk losing my sanity. So I still trophy hunt today, but now my trophies are more about various color phases than they are about size.

What food sources is the bear feeding on? I would set myself up between the water tank and its primary food source and start calling at first light while the bear is likely to be on the move. I would agree that a 6-inch front pad is big bear. An 8-inch pad is a monster, and such bears do exist on our public lands. From your description of this bear's tracks, and the fact that you feel they are larger than those of the "cattle killer", is it possible that your 6-inch estimation is low and that you actually have a bear with 7-8 inch front tracks? If you go back to search for bedding areas or scat to identify its food sources, bring a camera and a ruler. Look for scat in wide spots along trails, in saddles, and in small clearings, especially in areas between food sources and bedding areas. Good luck and keep us posted. A bear that size is worth investigating and keeping in touch with to pin down its whereabouts prior to the opening day of the fall bear season.

I remember your story from last year, you were set on tagging that bear! Rug looks great. Did you ever get the skull measured on your bear?

I think the black bear is the same individual bear. It came, sat in the spring, left, then returned 2 minutes later, as you can see the wet fur on its hind end and rear legs. Can't be certain whether or not the cinnamon is the same bear; in one picture, it is totally wet from laying down in the spring, in the other, it is not. However, they do seem to be similar in size and in color, so I think that the two pics of the cinnamon are from the same bear.

Interesting two bear idea. The way the head is pointing with the ears do not quite match up with the leg on the right side of the head in that second picture. Could it be two bears? Any more pics of this bear or bears in that sequence to help solve the mystery?

I put in for my first ever deer hunt, but did not draw. Not a life-ending moment for me, but it helped me to decide to hunt OTC archery deer in late August. It will still be my first ever hunt for deer, but it will now be archery instead of AR-15.

Black colored bear is your average 180-220 pound bear. The second picture makes him looker larger than he is with his head down angle. The cinnamon looks a bit lighter closer to 160-200 pounds, but has such a sweet color! Tag your preference between size or color.

Last year when a portion of 22N was closed due to bear attacks, I felt that 22N archery bear tag holders should have been personally invited into that area in an attempt to tag and remove one or more possible problem bears instead of restricting our access to the area. The politics and policies surrounding road closures always seem to be questionable.

Very nice cinnamon bear. I really love the contrast in picture 3 of the bear and the surrounding green vegetation. What unit is this in? It is not up in the Kaibab, is it?

...sorry, it's just me. I posted this because this tank, which is roughly 30feet x 20feet x 1foot is now bone dry. All that water gone in just 6 weeks. We sure need some rain. I only had cow elk and free-range horses on this camera, not a single bear. In fact, I had absolutely no bears on my other trail cam either. However, there was a dead elk calf in the middle of that water hole. Don't know how it died, no wounds or anything on its body. I pulled it out on the bank and left it there to see if I can match AZLance with a golden eagle ripping into the carcass. Called all day for bears Monday, but no luck. Just brought in a coyote on one stand and a fox on another, and at least a dozen blanks in between. This morning, I called a coyote on stand one and stand two. Then while driving to stand three a beautiful blonde bear raced across the road twenty yards in front of me! I slammed on my brakes, doing all but 20 mph on the gravel trail and skidded to a stop. I grabbed my bow and slipped into the trees and sat there for about 30 seconds before a coyote started barking its head off, clearly to complain about the bear cutting through his territory. I waited about 15 minutes than started calling. The coyote came to 40 yards within 2 minutes, but no blonde bear. I crept around the area and called off and on for two hours while glassing through the tree trunks, but never saw the bear again. I'll try for spring bear once more in a week or two after I finish drying my eyes. The goal of my hunting life is not a 360 bull elk, 180 bighorn sheep, or a 100 coues, but a blonde color phase black bear.

Reminds me of the old school Santa Claus I grew up with who always had a pipe clenched between his teeth! Those images are difficult to find in modern Christmas books.

You guys are nuts! I would never show up in such a magazine, as that is not my style. However, if you bought the 2013 "Sows and Studs" calendar, don't be surprised if you spot me cuddling up to Ms. July!

Not quite a sticker sighting, but my family ran into Sniper while leaving Bass Pro yesterday afternoon. It was nice, as he asked if I was kidso from CWT, and added that he was Sniper from CWT and identified me from the pictures on my recent bear post. In turn, I remembered him from his large bear taken last year in a rock chutte while predator calling. We exchanged pleasantries and went on our way, but it was a neat experience, like running into an old friend you haven't seen in a while. Thanks CWT and thanks Sniper for the introduction!