Russell Waypa from Menominee shot the highest scoring black bear entered in state records maintained by Commemorative Bucks of Michigan during 2023 seasons and he got it in Menominee County. The bear that Waypa shot on September 24, 2023 had a skull that measured 21 11/16, easily qualifying for a spot in alltime national records kept by the Boone & Crockett Club, too. Black bear skulls must score a minimum of 21 to make the alltime list in national records as opposed to 18 for state records.

At least three more bruins taken during 2023 also qualified for B&C entry. Terry Koetje from McBain shot a book bear in Missaukee County that scored 21 9/16 and J. B. Martin from Kimball got another UP bear that scored 21 8/16. Andrew Coyer collected a third UP booner in Delta County on which the skull measured 21 1/16.

Martin’s bear was one of the oldest taken by hunters in the state in 2023.

Waypa’s bear was heavier and much younger than Martin’s. The Menominee County bruiser had a dressed weight of 530 pounds and would have had a live weight around 600 pounds. Martin’s bear dressed out at 385 pounds and had an estimated live weight of 450.

“The DNR aged my bear at 6 ½ after examining a tooth they took when I registered it,” Waypa said. “I thought it would have been older based on how big it was.”

But bears can gain weight fast if they have access to lots of food, and that’s the case in Menominee County. There are lots of cornfields besides the typical fruits, nuts and berries that bears typically eat. More record book bears have been bagged in Menominee County than any other county in the state, according to records compiled by Commemorative Bucks of Michigan. 

Waypa drew a bear permit for the first hunt in the Carney Bear Management Unit during 2023, which started September 6. It took him seven years to be successful in the drawing for that hunt due to the limited number of bear licenses the DNR issues for that unit on an annual basis. Only 95 bear tags were available for that hunt during 2023.

“My bait wasn’t hit until September 1st or 2nd”, the successful bear hunter commented. 

But he didn’t start baiting until a couple of days before that. It is legal to start placing baits for bear 31 days before the first season opens, which would have been August 5. Waypa said he used granola, candy corn, marshmallows and liquid smoke as bait.

“I knew there was a big bear in the area, but I never had him on camera at my bait,” Waypa explained. “Another guy who had a bait about two miles from where I was hunting had the big bear on camera.

Russell said he saw an average size bear that had an estimated weight of 130 pounds a couple of times while hunting, but he passed it up even though it was legal to shoot.

“I shot four bears prior to 2023,” Russell said. “The biggest was 180 pounds dressed. I was hoping to see something bigger than the ones I got previously.”

And that’s exactly what happened at 5:50 p.m. Central Time on September 24.

“He came in early,” Waypa said. “A lot of times you don’t see them until the last minutes of daylight. I didn’t wait for him to get to the bait before I shot him. He would take two or three steps and stop. It would take him a long time to get to the bait at that rate.

“When I had an opening and he was broadside, I shot him through the lungs. He only went about 50 yards.”

Russell shot the bear with a 130-grain bullet out of his Colt bolt-action .270 caliber rifle. He had the Leupold 3 to 9-power scope that was mounted on the rifle set on 6X. He was hunting from an elevated box blind about 60 yards from the bait. 

Martin also got his book bear while hunting over bait. The DNR aged the animal at 21 years old, according to Martin. He said he knew the animal was old based on the condition of its teeth.

“The bear’s teeth were worn down to the gums,” Martin said. “That male was very old.”

A photograph Martin took of the right side of the skull shows that the canine tooth on the upper jaw is broken, with only a stub of the tooth remaining.  The canine tooth on the right side of the lower jaw is missing. Canine teeth on the left side are still intact, but obviously worn down from years of use.

Due to the bear’s age and worn teeth, he wasn’t in the best physical condition. That’s why the animal only had a dressed weight of 385 pounds. Martin figured the bear would have been larger a couple of years earlier.

There’s not always a connection between the weight of bears and the size of their skulls. The heaviest bruins don’t always have the biggest skulls. Terry Grieser from Lakeview, for example, tagged one of the heaviest bears taken in the state in Delta County on October 10, 2023 while hunting with hounds. That bear had a live weight of 655 pounds and the skull has an official score of 20 14/16. The animal was 12 years old.

Martin’s bear looks old in game camera photos captured of it at the bait it was visiting prior to the opening of bear season. Part of the animal’s right ear is missing. The ear was probably damaged during a fight with another male during breeding season.

J.B. shot his book bear on September 11, 2023, which was the first day of the second hunt that year.

“He came in to the bait about 8:15 p.m.,” Martin explained. “It was almost dark. I shot him in the right shoulder with my Remington 870 12 gauge and he went right down.”

J.B.’s shotgun was mounted with a variable Bushnell Scope that he had set at 5X. He shot the bear with a 3-inch Remington solid copper saboted hollow point slug. He was hunting from a pop-up blind about 75 yards from the bait.

“I knew it was a big bear when I shot him, but I didn’t know how big he was until I walked up to him,” Martin commented. “When I saw how big he was, I started freaking out.

J.B. said he has bagged three or four other bears in Michigan over the years. The biggest one to his credit prior to 2023 weighed 300 pounds. He got that one in Marquette County during 2011. The skull from that bear wasn’t measured.

J.B. was hunting with life long hunting partner and cousin Dean Martin. Dean didn’t get a bear.

“A friend of ours set the baits for us that we hunted,” J.B. added.