[juanbenae]

Hoo boy - amongst hunters, this is kind of like the ubiquitous "oil thread" on car forums. There is no agreement, and we actually see some very heated arguments.

great example to get me up to speed....

this bear apparently is a large bear for the foothill according to what the neighbor relayed from the game warden that verified the animal and tag. although i got game cam footage of one on my property last december that appeared much bigger and more muscular. granted this one had been gutted when i saw it and took the pictures and but it appeared smallish to me. other than the legs and paws it seemed not to be much bigger than a very robust male Rottweiler.

this was the closest ive ever been to a bear, so what do i know? what i can say is the front paws and claws were very impressive. he says i will get a piece to taste for myself and im looking forward to the experience.

oh, and congrats to the OP for a fine looking deer.