| Trophy
Bears
How to Measure a Bear's Skull
Canine spread indicates score
ONTARIO, CN
Requirements
Getting Regulations
Getting Maps
Fred Lutgers' Wilderness Bear Hunts
& Price |
Trophy Bears
In order to bag a big trophy bear, one that would qualify for the Pope
and Young or Boone and Crocket record book, there are a few things you
can do to swing the odds in your favor. .
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Be selective. If you truly want a trophy animal, don’t fill your tag on
a smaller bear.
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Know what a big bear is. This sounds easy, but seeing a bear in the wild
and judging his size is very difficult. Prior to your hunt visit sporting
goods stores that might have a full mount of a black bear. Also check out
black bears at museums, wildlife parks and zoos.
-
Look for a ferrule on the bears forehead. This indentation will be visible
running from the forehead straight back along the top of the bears head
between his ears. The older and bigger a black bear gets the more prominent
this indentation is.
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Hunt where there are big bears. Again, this can be hard to determine but
here are two good indicators; find out how big the Bear Management Area
the outfitter has. It must be big enough to support a continuous hunting
program. Too small an area will not let the bears reach a good mature age
to reach record book size. And ask to see pictures of recent bears taken
{within the last two years}. All outfitters can accumulate impressive pictures
over the years, but what potential does his area have for his next hunt?
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Look for front paw prints that have a pad wider than 4 inches. A pad that
measures 5 inches or better will usually be a bear of record book size.
Place wet sand around the bait you are hunting to get these prints.
Canine tooth spread can be a good indicator
of record book potential. I’ve found that measuring tip to tip spread
of a black bear’s top canine teeth will give you a quick indicator of the
bears record book potential. To get this measurement, put peanut butter
or honey on a Styrofoam or plastic plate left at the bait site. Check for
bite marks left by scavenging bears. Almost any puncture marks left by
the canines over 2 inches wide will be a Pope and Young bear with an 18
inch skull measurement.
|
How To
Measure a Bear Skull
Measure the width at the widest point and the length, front to back,
without the bottom jaw. These two measurements added together, to the closest
one sixteenth inch, will be your bears score.
Requirements & Facts for bear hunting in
Ontario
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A non-resident license to hunt black bear is $150 Canadian.
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Non-residents must have a Black Bear Hunting License Validation Certificate.
(issued by the outfitter where you hunt)
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You must show proof of prior hunting experience to hunt in Ontario. A current
or expired hunting license will suffice.
-
Successful hunters must register their bear with the Ministry of Natural
Resources. You must obtain an export permit to transport your bear
out of Canada.
For additional information write, visit or telephone the District/Area
Office nearest to where you plan to hunt.
For a current copy of Ontario hunting
Regulations contact;
Ministry of Natural Resources
435 James Street S., Box 5000
Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7C 5G6
Canada
Phone 807-475-1471
To order maps contact;
Natural Resources Information Centre Room M1-73, Macdonald Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2C1
Canada
Phone 416-314-1666 |
