How to tell a sow from a boar?

[teddy12b]

Last night I was watching a show on TV and they were bear hunting.  This show was different because these guys knew the difference between a sow and a boar just by looking at them.  I couldn't tell the difference and I've always been told that if the bear has cubs with it, it's a sow and if it doesn't have cubs it's fair game.  That's what I have followed in the past.

I can't say enough about how much I really really don't want to ever shoot a sow.  Where can I learn more about telling the difference between a sow and a boar, besides here obviously.

[blackbear]

Black Bear sows have a smaller more pointed head. They also have smaller feet. It is difficult to determine sex of younger bears but mature bears are not difficult if you know what to look for. One of the best reasons for hunting over bait is that you have time to look closely for extended periods of time at the animal before deciding whether or not to shoot. As far as the bear hunting TV shows, most of what you see on them is staged. I have seen very few where the host knew anything about bears.

[teddy12b]

I agree that a lot of hunting shows have a lot of staged scenes.  Kinda like when the hunter approaches the animal for the first time and the cameraman is already there ahead of him.

What caught my attention about that show was that these guys were talking about the way the bears were walking, if they were bigger in the front shoulders or the rear, and how the boars have a crease in their forehead. 

I've only seen one bear in the woods and I wouldn't have been to tell what it was because it was so dark at that time of day. 

[blackbear]

Watch on most bear hunting programs what the bear looks like before the hunter shoots then look at the bear they pose with. Often it is obviously not the same bear. If you can, sit and watch the bears at your bait before the season. The more you watch the easier it gets to tell a sow from a boar. Many hunters shoot the first bear that comes in. That is almost always a young bear. The big boars usually come in just before dark where I hunt. Most likely in the last available light.

[teddy12b]

I've heard that if a bear walks in kind of skidish and timid it's probably not the "Alpha" bear for the bait and to wait for a bigger one.

[blackbear]

Often big boars will bed down up to 100 yards from the bait. They will stay there until it gets dark before coming in. Some smaller bears will slip in and feed while being very cautious. I once had a bear ( Approx. 200 pounds ) crawl in to eat my bait. It crawled in stayed on it's knees while eating then crawled out back into the swamp. Many times a boar will be close enough that subordinate bears will not come in at all while the mature boar is near. The hunter may assume that there are no bears in the area and become restless, moving and looking around, even leaving his stand before dark. With few exceptions, every large bear I have seen at the bait came in when it was getting dark. Sometimes too dark to shoot. Don't leave your stand until it is too dark to see. Then leave quietly. If you leave when it is still light you risk loosing a big bear from that site. Bears don't spook as easily in the dark.

[teddy12b]

The only bear I've seen on bait was huge and it came in around 8pm when it was getting dark.  I never get out of the stand until I can't see through my scope anymore.  That's when I turn on my flashlight and get out as quickly and quietly as possible.  I don't dilly dally when it's time to leave. 

[corbanzo]

Usually the males are the big bears.... and there are a few ways to tell what bears are BIG.  Though there are some big alone females out there also....

Square head - bigger
Flat nose - females will slant in from nose inward to lip, if the have almost an underbite where bottom lip sticks out at least to the nose, with a flat nose front, big male.
Seemingly short legs - belly down towards the ground, big bear.
Small head - means a big body.
Long neck - as in a comparison of neck length to back of skull to nose length.  Longer the neck... bigger the bear.
Ears - if the ears are on top of the head, smaller bear, if ears are down more on sides, bigger bear. 
Big hips - if you can see the rear end a mile away, and the front end seems small in comparison

So if you have a blocky seeminly small head with ears on the side, head that is shorter than the neck with a flat nose/lip and big gut hanging without much ground clearance and big hips, then you may as well be looking at a good boar...


But most of the time you really can't tell. 

[SharonAnne]

without cubs,  beats me

[Sourdough]

We go up and spend the night in our tree stand.  Most of the bears come in after sundown, and leave before sunrise.  Right now the sun goes down after 11 PM, and comes up around 4 AM.  We are gaining 7 to 8 minutes of sunlight every day.  So by the end of the month it hardly gets dark.  The really big bears don't come in unless it is dark, real dark.  But the noises they make sounds interesting, but it is down right spooky when they get to fighting in the dark down there under you.


Our tree stand is more like a tree house.  Approx. 6X8, roof, and a rail around the side.  Walled in below the rail, to better hide us.  Also so we don't fall out when sleeping at night. 

[Redhawk1]

We go up and spend the night in our tree stand.  Most of the bears come in after sundown, and leave before sunrise.  Right now the sun goes down after 11 PM, and comes up around 4 AM.  We are gaining 7 to 8 minutes of sunlight every day.  So by the end of the month it hardly gets dark.  The really big bears don't come in unless it is dark, real dark.  But the noises they make sounds interesting, but it is down right spooky when they get to fighting in the dark down there under you.


Our tree stand is more like a tree house.  Approx. 6X8, roof, and a rail around the side.  Walled in below the rail, to better hide us.  Also so we don't fall out when sleeping at night. 

Sounds like my kind of tree stand...

[jrfrmn]

Last night I was watching a show on TV and they were bear hunting.  This show was different because these guys knew the difference between a sow and a boar just by looking at them.  I couldn't tell the difference and I've always been told that if the bear has cubs with it, it's a sow and if it doesn't have cubs it's fair game.  That's what I have followed in the past.

I can't say enough about how much I really really don't want to ever shoot a sow.  Where can I learn more about telling the difference
between a sow and a boar, besides here obviously.

The boar will have long fat hotdog.
The sow will have a catcher mitt sized bun.

[efremtags]

Check for balls.

Impossible to tell apart in the field.

[S.E.Ak]

Look for the longer hair on the (censored word) sheath area or stains in that area.Once you see it you will know from then on. Think of your hound and then add six inch longer hair there.

[dabigmoose]

Amigo will 
Since you lived in Haine for a while brother Try the word OOSIK for the censored word . Sorry about that but i know in the past greybeards had some problems with some hackers that were really rude. But even though The walrus OOSIK sheath is larger you get the the drift lol.
Dabigmoose

[S.E.Ak]

Yes OOSIK will work fine thanks a bunch.Hope your all layed in for winter and have some good new books to read.