Many hunters think of bears as big nasty critters that are hard to kill. Bears can be big; an Alaskan brown bear can weigh more than a half ton. Bears can also be nasty. Across North America black bears kill—on average—at least one person each year. But bears—most bears—are not hard to kill, and their size varies greatly by location.
Most black bears weigh less than 500 pounds, with the average being closer to half that. And while a 500-pound black bear might be twice the size of a 250-pound black bear, it’s not twice as hard to kill. So, given their average size and the potential for danger, what are the
