Newbie bear hunter in Washington

[Power]

Saw a black bear while bear hunting the other night. Ears/head seemed about med. size and belly almost dragging. Was this a good bear? What characteristics should I look for to bag a big one? Anyone know what sizes I could expect for a mountain black bear in E. Washington?

[Taz]

If the ears seem small compared to the bears head.... it's a big one.

[01magnatec]

One of the best ways i have seen is to look at the legs When the bear is walking or standing. If the legs look a little too long for the body, it is a small bear and has some growing to do.
If the legs seem to match up with the bear or seem a little short then you have a good one!!
Another way that i have been trying out is by trying to picture the bear without fur.  People don'e realize how thick bear fur is and end up adding on one hundred pounds.
So when i see a bear, i think of it being bald!!!

[45/70]

Power,
 If you need help sizing up a bear, just give me a call & I'll come right over and tell you that it's obviously too small for you, while I'm not as hard to satisfy and he'll do just fine...
 I live in the Tri-Cities and have been hunting for bear for 3 years, still haven't put one in my scope...been to all the places that SHOULD have bears and some places that have been suggested to have bear, and am yet to see one in the wild, when I had a tag...
 So I guess my take on this is that you're already a VERY successful bear hunter and should take your time and find the one you really want. From all that I have read, the two posts you got first are all you need to know about sizing. The legs and the ears...it's all about them parts! If you can track one, look for a 4.5" front track ofr bigger. Supposedly a 5" pad will put in into a 5 footer plus. No experience here, but I've been reading plenty.
 Best of luck to ya man,
45/70

[Colville]

45/70

You need to spend some time either tonasket north or Colville. From Omak to the border you can find either private (with permission) or abandoned on public land, Apples.... Apples  means bears if you are near the woods in WA.

Colville, Kettle falls, Huckleberry unit, Douglass, Aladdin, Kelly hill.... full of bears. hunt low, water.. scout off private dirt where there are fruit trees hunt the to from routes as most of the property there that is private is only owned right up to the foothills.. Scout north slopes wet and with berrys... I saw 3 bears last year deer scouting in colville. One was maybe 250..  big bear. I've never shot one or eaten one but I've seen 6 or more deer scouting. I was 10 yards from a dog bear maybe 100 lbs in tonasket about 5 years ago... I'd like to shoot em... but I have no idea what to do with the meat. Like most until someone gives me the heads up on what to do/whether they are worth eating... just going to watch em. I'll shoot a Coug though in a milisecond based on the deer take they do.  

Of course Western WA is full of bears too. Since the Dog/bait ban they're all over. Weyerhauser feeds them on replant clear cuts, on the middle sized trees. The bears strip and eat the bark/cambium on the small firs and can ruin a cut. Might call Weyerhauser about giving them a hand.

Colville

[Power]

No, never shot a bear yet and not totally sure I want to. Wife wants a rug and I suspect they might be decent to eat so you see my desire is hard to justify. Plus cost for taxidermy for a rug is $125 / foot and processing for the meat would be 45¢ / lb. so when I pull the trigger I'm probably looking at $700-$800. I think that is holding me back from just shooting any bear. I've seen a few in the wild around here but that's the first one I had in my scope during the season. I probably should have shot but didn't and that's ok.

BTW, my brother lives in Kennewick so you guys must be neighbors (LOL). Been hot there too lately?

[Taz]

I Live in Chehalis and I have seen bear every time I've been out this season..  (3)  I haven't seen on I could shoot yet, but seeing them keeps the ticker pumping..  They are there!!!