Big vs Small

[beaglewalkerhunter4]

I have never bear hunted before, but from what i have read it seems as if the smaller bears is what gives the hounds a tougher run. I know that this is a pretty general observation, but from what i have seen it seems to be true. It seems like most big guys will tree alot easier but i would think that it would be harder to get the bigger bears to climb because...they are big and probably would realy rather not climb a tree unless they realy had to. But maybe they go up quicker because the hounds could keep right on them as oppose to the smaller ones which the hounds have a tougher time keeping up with. I hope this will spark some good conversation, But these thoughts are all based on observation unfoutunately not on experience. any thoughts?

[BlacktailStalker]

There is no general rule. A bear will do what it wants to do. Period.

The biggest of the 13 bears I've treed this year was about 400lbs and he went 2.5km and treed.
Next day we had a 200lb sow go 9kms and tree. Later that night a 125lber went 6 kms and treed.
Next morning I had a 150lber go 800 yards and tree.
If I'm missing the rule there, fill me in !

I run the nastiest sh*t you could imagine and bears downright try to lose dogs before they outrun them here.
Conditioning is EVERYTHING on bears.
All bears will tire, it is just a matter of who gets tired first, your dogs or the bear.

There's no bear my dogs cant catch right now (but being laid up in this heat will change that right quick)

[fox hunter]

The time of year feed terrain and pressure from hunters have alot more to do with how fast a bear will tree generaly speaking. With that being said a guy can run into a bad s.o.b. about any place time or of any size

[BuckNAze]

Well I am in no way an expert and dont claim to me. From my experience thus far it seems the big ones will tree easier. But thats not necessarily true, it all depends on what terrain you are running, if you dogs are in shape, the weather plays a big part (meaning hot or cold, wet or dry), along with some other things. You also got to remember a big bear is going to need a big tree to climb, most places have a lot and thats not a problem but some dont and the bear may run a lot longer which makes the race a lot longer. Also it seems the bigger ones might leave a little more scent then the smaller ones, not a whole lot more but a little. I just think the small ones that are built like horses are harder then hell to catch, we have been outrun a few times this year by small ones and caught a couple. But some bears whether small or big will run a long ways or tree fast, like someone already said it depends on the bear, getting a good strike or a good jump on the bear helps out a lot with suprising them too, that seems to help. All of this of course is coming from a Rookie, dont bash what I say too much or take too much of it to your head, this is just my observation.

[larry]

Bears are agile and athletic regardless of their size, don't shit yourself. how many guys are killing 4-500 lb bears???? How many are killing 1-200 lb bears???? Do the math. How many are never getting a look at the so called little bear that outran their dogs??? Of those dogs, how many are really getting out ran or just simply whipped off and weakened??? Lots of people out there are in denial.

[BuckNAze]

Bears are agile and athletic regardless of their size, don't shit yourself. how many guys are killing 4-500 lb bears???? How many are killing 1-200 lb bears???? Do the math. How many are never getting a look at the so called little bear that outran their dogs??? Of those dogs, how many are really getting out ran or just simply whipped off and weakened??? Lots of people out there are in denial.

So you're telling me a 400-500lb man is more agile then a 100-200lb man and can run faster?

[Nolte]

Bears are agile and athletic regardless of their size, don't shit yourself. how many guys are killing 4-500 lb bears???? How many are killing 1-200 lb bears???? Do the math. How many are never getting a look at the so called little bear that outran their dogs??? Of those dogs, how many are really getting out ran or just simply whipped off and weakened??? Lots of people out there are in denial.

We usually get a look at almost every bear that out runs us and 99% of the time it's a little rascal with major wheels. The odds go way up once the dogs get in shape though.

In our area little bears out number big bear by at least 10-1 if not 20-1. I know we never found a single track in that 400+ lb category all kill season. In fact as far as I know, I can only count 3 bear killed that dressed over 400 in about a 80 by 20 mile area.

[bearhntwi]

Bears are agile and athletic regardless of their size, don't shit yourself. how many guys are killing 4-500 lb bears???? How many are killing 1-200 lb bears???? Do the math. How many are never getting a look at the so called little bear that outran their dogs??? Of those dogs, how many are really getting out ran or just simply whipped off and weakened??? Lots of people out there are in denial.

We usually get a look at almost every bear that out runs us and 99% of the time it's a little rascal with major wheels. The odds go way up once the dogs get in shape though.

In our area little bears out number big bear by at least 10-1 if not 20-1. I know we never found a single track in that 400+ lb category all kill season. In fact as far as I know, I can only count 3 bear killed that dressed over 400 in about a 80 by 20 mile area.

Just curious,where abouts do you hunt?You in the western part of the state?

[Nolte]

Yes, western part of the state.

[larry]

Bears are agile and athletic regardless of their size, don't shit yourself. how many guys are killing 4-500 lb bears???? How many are killing 1-200 lb bears???? Do the math. How many are never getting a look at the so called little bear that outran their dogs??? Of those dogs, how many are really getting out ran or just simply whipped off and weakened??? Lots of people out there are in denial.

So you're telling me a 400-500lb man is more agile then a 100-200lb man and can run faster?

No, there's a big difference between a human and a bear, poor choice of examples. How bout a big Griz??? your little bear gonna outrun him?? I don't think guys are getting outrun as often as they think, they just don't have bear dogs. BuckNAze, didn't you post a video of your two dogs baying from about 100 yards and running for their life when a bear turned and looked at em??? Guess that bigger sized bear didn't have to try and outrun ya cause it could just whip off your dogs.

[BuckNAze]

Alright Ill let the "Big Dogs" talk about this subject, I havent been around long enough to argue with anyone because I am new and dont know enough to argue. And yes Larry im sure your plotts are better then my dogs. Wish I would of got mine younger, got both of mine from a shelter, she is 4-5 and my male is 1-3ish. She can run coons and bears now, havent had a chance to try her on any cats yet. Oh and the video was my dogs first bear that they have seen ever, dead or alive. They were close till my male got caught by that sow and scratched him right along his butthole, hahahaha. I thought they did alright for not even smelling a bear before, and I was 20yds away with the camera so they were within 10-20yds at all times except when he got caught by her. Still makes me laugh just because of where he got her claw at, literally cut him a new a$$hole

[BuckNAze]

Also I am not claiming to have awesome bear dogs or anything, just a guy starting out and having fun doing it. Its more about hanging out with friends and watching your dogs work then catching a monster everytime or even catching a bear.

[BlacktailStalker]

"Also it seems the bigger ones might leave a little more scent then the smaller ones, not a whole lot more but a little. I just think the small ones that are built like horses are harder then hell to catch, we have been outrun a few times this year by small ones and caught a couple."


Dogs don't lose bears because of lack of scent.
They either quit because they're tired, quit because they fell, nearly drowned (both happened to me this year on the only two they never treed/bayed) and more often than not they quit because they're scared (that happened a few times starting out too)

Dogs that tree bears run to catch, not run to chase.
If a couple mutts get right up on that bear RIGHT NOW they're going to piss him off enough to fight or tree. If they pressure a fighting bear well enough he's gonna get tired/annoyed and tree anyways.

The meanest bear we got on this year was a 150lb sow and my 2 pups (just shy of a year at the time) got put down with 5 other dogs, all 2 and older.
Long story short she ran about 3-4 km and slowed right down.
We went to cut them off crossing a road and heard the dogs coming towards us in the thick stuff, figuring they'd quit.
Out pops a bear head on from me at about 20 yards.
The dogs were 40 yards behind her.
THey didnt want to catch that bear they wanted to chase it.
Walking race went on for about 1.5 kms and we split up trying to get a good look at this bear and maybe shoot it on the ground.
Well my buddy had walked right in on my dogs to realized they had that bitch bayed in some thick brush and now all my buddy could hear was her growling, popping and huffing and the pups were growling too, not even barking
I think its because they couldn't see that bear and she was 8' away and they wanted to hear if she was rushing or moving etc ?? Don't really know the answer to that but I think if they were confident they woulda been yapping up a storm. For all I knew this was a first for them except when one got bit through the face 3 months prior.

Maybe they quit cause he was there now, maybe they quit because it was 27 degrees C and they were tired or maybe they quit because the rest of the dogs fell out, but they quit !
She ran when she saw him and my dogs looked at him thinking, "Now what?"

Didn't matter I was happy they hung in there til then.
It proved to be the beginning of the making of some awesome dogs so far and its only been a month since then and they're 13/15.

[BuckNAze]

Well maybe ours quit because they were tired, but that doesnt make much sense to me when they got tired on a shorter race down hill then later on chased one for quite a ways longer and caught it after already running one. With these hot dry days I think its easy to loose scent but if I am wrong correct me. No sarcasm in this post just wondering what was going on in this scenario?

[BlacktailStalker]

They probably quit because it was a po'd bear and it scared them.
Like I said if it isnt the elements of the land (stuck in a river, a fall, bear ran up a fallen tree onto a bluff that dogs cant get up etc) dogs just dont lose bears.