Got the age on my bear!

[11P&YBOWHUNTER]

And i had to call the DEC in NY to talk to the biologist after reading my confirmation letter. My bear last fall i shot was a hair over 420 pounds. He was scored as 19 1/16 Boone and Crockett which does not make the Boone and Crockett cut off, but does place him in the Books for my State. The letter i got today shocked the snot out of me because it said that my bear was 3.75 years old, and that was confirmed by biologists using a microscope to count the number of cementum layers in cross sections of a premolar tooth from the lower jaw.

The reason i called the biologist is because a cub going into hibernation in my area of NY their first year is about 60 pounds or so. That cubs second fall, as a 1.75 year old, they average 120 to 150 pounds. After that i actually do not know how fast they gain weight. The biologist said that my bear was large for his age but in areas with a higher amount of agriculture with fields of corn, clover and wheat, the bears diet is substantially better than an area where bears feed on other sources. My bear was taken within sight of a corn field and probably was responsible for a large amount of the damage found in the corn fields adjacent to the area where i got him.

I just can not imagine what kind of a bear he would have been at 6.75 or 7.75 years old. I am willing to bet he would have been an absolute monster!!

Here he is after i met up with him...

 

[11P&YBOWHUNTER]

Oh yea...and here is the form i picked out. To bad it is 2 sizes to small!! It was the Taxidermy supply's fault. They shipped the wrong one. The correct one should be there by now and i was told that my bear will be done by middle of September which would be great because i am going to the awards banquet on the 19th of September to receive my award!

 

[Wire Nut]

post pic of award once you get it, congrats on a great bear.

 

[sluerat]

good looking bear.

 

[doublelungdriller]

awesome

 

[Resica]

Nice Bear you shot there. Congrats getting in the state book. We pass up little ones like that in Pa. Just kidding!

 

[11P&YBOWHUNTER]

Nice Bear you shot there. Congrats getting in the state book. We pass up little ones like that in Pa. Just kidding!

He was about 5 miles from Sherman, PA,... by the way the crow flies!





And, yes, i will post a pic of the award when i get it. I am mighty proud of this bear....kinda wished i got me biggest one recorded before i deployed in 2005. He was definitely bigger.

 

[earl]

I am envious. Great bear. I wish we had more snow to make tracking a little easier.

 

[injun joe]

Great bear and a great pic.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Congrats! He is huge!
Thats what I am holding out for-unfortunately, lots of small bears in GA...

 

[11P&YBOWHUNTER]

Congrats! He is huge!
Thats what I am holding out for-unfortunately, lots of small bears in GA...

I saw 7 bears before this one and they all were in the 150 to 350 class and i held out for something bigger. The day after i shot this one, i saw one his size and another much larger fighting over an apple tree still holding some big green granny apples. When i spooked them, i was hoping one would go out to my step father and one did, but the other went out to the neighboring property and ran the edge. He was shot at about 6 times but they never hit him. The one that went out to me step father walked 70 yards below him through open woods and he never saw or heard it. I was so mad,...but it was his loss.

This summer my bear hunting partner, my cousin, has been watching a few different bears and one would probably go at least 600 pounds. I got a pic of his paw print and it is 8 inches across.

 

[olhippie]

...Georgia record bear is just over 570 lbs. But that bear is a grand animal in most any one's book..