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Bears, Spring vs. Fall
Posted by Byron_Lamb on Feb 25 2005
Rarely, if ever, do you see two life-size mounted Brown Bears next to each other,one harvest during the Fall, and the other harvested during the Spring. If you ever did have the chance you might notice some distinct differences.
When you get right down to the "meat & potatoes" of the trophy aspect of Bears, we're really talking about hide quality, which means hair lenght & density, claw lenght, and to a less extent the color of the hair. Obvioulsy the overall size makes a difference also.
Interestingly enough a lot of Alaska guide/outfitters refer to the "squared" size of the hide. The way I was taught to "square" a bear hide was to measure an UN-STRECHED hide (can be freshly skinned) from nose-to-tail, next you measure across the front claws from tip to tip. Add them two figures together and then divide by 2, should give you a square. I personally have measured quite a few Bears, it is common for MOST (if not ALL, except Polar Bears)Bears to be wider than they are long. For example a large mature Boar could measure an honest 9 foot even across the front paws, and an honest 8 foot long from nose to tail. This Bear would "square" 1/2 between 8 and 9 foot, I'd call this an 8 1/2 foot Bear.(8' 6")
No doubt there is some "bear stretching" that goes on in Alaska every year. You can relate this to a "fish story". Most everyone has seen the pictures of a freshly skinned Bear hide HANGING from its nose on some type of wood structure. Freshly skinned Bear hides have plently of strech. A large hide can weigh 125-150+ lbs. By hanging, or stretching, you can easily make an 8 foot Bear into a 10 foot bear. Of course some of the pictures I see advertised as a "10 foot" Bear I'll never know how they calculated the figures, they look a LOT smaller than 10 foot to me.
The 2 main record keeping clubs, Boone & Crocket, and Pope & Young, each measure only the skull.
Measuring the squared hide size can give you an idea of the overall body size of the bear, however this method is grossly mis-used! The main problem being that many first time Alaska Brown Bear hunters (most folks only hunt Brown Bear once in thier life)have been mis-lead into beliving they should harvest a 10 foot bear, otherwise its' to small and not considered a trophy. BS!
Noted outdoor writer Craig Boddington recently wrote an article about this very subject. In short, he noted that the idea of "squaring" a bear hide, espesially done in camp, by a guide, can be duplicated again, and therefore creates problems in the future. Belive me, you can use the "stretch-n-measure" method at hunting camp, but once the hide gets salted, maybe stuck in a frezzer for a month or so, and then fully fleshed by the taxidermist, and I promise you that hide will be smaller.
The overhwelming majority of Fall Bears are at thier heaviest weight, afterall they have been eating fish (Salmon) all summer. Next they topped off all the fish with a berry dessert. Fall Bear are nice trophies.
Early Spring Bear have the most prime hides and toe-nails (claws). An early Spring Bear will have claws 1/4" to 3/8" longer than a fall Bear. During the fall their claws get worn down from walking and digging/fishing. Also an early Spring Bear will have very long hair, I commonly see Spring Bear with hair 6-8"+, its very full and dence, lush. As the Spring season progess' it is common for them to get some rub spots from itching and rubbing.
So in closing, both Spring & Fall Bear make NICE trophies. The most prime hides/claws come from the Spring season, the earlier the better.
Good Hunting..>Byron Lamb
Previous: Spring or Fall Alasken Feb 25 2005
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