Bears Coming to Scent Lures

[Jumpshootin']

I have my permit for the Baldwin BMU, and have been putting out scent lures of rags soaked in anise oil for a month now. This morning I found that two different bears have come into a couple of lures a few miles apart. I measured the front paw prints. One was 4" across, and the other was 5.5" across. What's the rule of thumb for determining the size of the bear from the paw sizes? The bigger of the two sunk into the dirt about twice what my foot prints did, and I weigh 200lbs.

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Take a Kid Hunting!

[born2hunt65]

I did read something in a hunting book for guessamating the size of a bear by it's rear paw measurement. Danged if iI can find it now, grrr. Most go by how far the rear paw sinks in the mud and compare with their weight. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[birddog]

Two years ago a buddy of mine shot a bear that dressed out at 365 pounds and its front paws where 5 1/2 inches across so i would say your bear is in the same class,but then again i have seen 180 lb bear have a 5 inch pad so its hard to say for sure.Good luck on your hunt and hope you get the bigger bear so we can find out the size.