Those who have black bear hunted?

[Patocazador]

I've killed 2 bears. The first was a 2 yr old that was gorging on blueberries, tenderest meat I've ever eaten but absolutely no flavor .. of any kind.
Second one was an old sow with teeth worn off at the gums. The loins were so tough that my brother and I had to cut it in tidbits and swallow. Chewing could not be accomplished. :td:
Somewhere in between should be like Goldilocks baby bear porridge - just right.

Like anything else, it depends on the individual animal.

 

[larry wv]

I would also like that info.

Larry

 

[biliff]

I heard bear meat isn't too bad?

A few years ago, I posted a beanpot bear recipe down in the cooking section that works pretty well on roasts. Think its still in there.

Bear steaks,burgers etc are pretty good. Trichinosis warnings apply.

 

[jamesthomas]

Going bear hunting and putting one in the freezer is on my bucket list. I'll be hunting with a Steel Sheetz rifle with a .45 cal. 42 inch Rice Southern Classic barrel.

 

[nhmoose]

Why might this be the last year to hunt them in Maine?

Ballot vote sponsored by PETA and the Humane society of America.

NO bait no dogs Stupid, stupid Watch out for the antis everywhere

 

[irishtoo]

i shot a 2 year old 180 lb female black bear last year. the meat was very lean, tender but with very little flavor, very very mild. the hunting grounds are surrounded by corn fields. irishtoo

 

[Joshsimonswvu]

I've seen a full spectrum of experiences while bear hunting here in WV. I've seen bears go down easy and seen them full of holes and whoop the tar piss out of a pack of hounds. I am at the heart a houndsman first and foremost and urge you all if ever hunting over dogs to have a backup shot/s ready in respect to the dogs under tree. I hunt with a 44 magnum pistol or my 270 pump and shoot as many times as I can until the bear is DEAD. As far as a bears ability to run, I've seen them go miles swim rivers/lakes and others tree quickly with no rhyme to reason. Usually big bears are harder to tree. I killed one 2 years ago that covered about a 10 mile circle and swam the Elk river twice. Started the track at 7:30 ended at tree at 2:30 shot twice in lungs with my 270 and finished off in the throat with a 357. It was a smaller bear. I know I'll catch heck on a muzzleloader forum for talking modern guns but I am a houndsman and love my dogs. Just food for thought if y'all ever consider a hound hunt. I know reality is dogs get tore up but don't up the odds. Sometimes multiple shots are needed. Our party usually harvest 10-15 bears a season and hunt everyday (legal limit per person)

 

[Ethan Grotheer]

Well,..
I got my bear(a small boar. Bear sizing is a new thing for this whitetail hunter, but alas, I am still thrilled)!
Killed it at 18 yds with my bow on Thursday Arrow zipped through and lodged into the dirt so I now realize that any whitetail set up is fine... The bear only made it 30 yds.
My friend however did op to use my .54 lastnight and got a shot. He is unsure as to where but after being hit with a 425 gr. Great Plains bullet and being trailed for 400 yds to no avail, I do have a healthy respect for their resilience.

 

[necchi]

Congrats on your harvest!

Sorry to hear about your freind,, maybe a little practice with a firearm (any firearm) before using it for a hunt would be advisable.
If he didn't know where the bullet/ball would hit,, why did he pull the trigger?
It's incidents like that, that lend a bad reputation to traditional arms for sporting harvest.
Please keep your freinds story and experience in proper and realistic context.

 

[Flint311]

I've got 3 with my .50 flintlock (from 190lbs. to 500lbs.). Never needed a 2nd shot, but I wasn't hunting with dogs. I would take some sort of backup if I did.

Years ago, I downloaded a .pdf of skeletal, arteries, and organs of black bears. There was free download 10 or so years ago, that's the one I have. It is very interesting/informative.

 

[satx78247]

I've hunted bear with crossbow & ML several times in 2 states but not taken one, by either means. = That's why it's called "hunting", rather than "killing", I'd guess.

Otoh, I do EAT quite a bit of bear, as my friend takes at least one every year in Canada & he "shares". ======> Pot-roasted bear (from my crockpot with onions, carrots & potatoes) is hard to turn down most anytime of year. :grin:

yours, satx

 

[Alden]

Necchi's right -- I wouldn't want to know he was shooting at a bear, I'd want to know what PART of the bear he was aiming for and what made him confident enough he could hit it that he'd pull the trigger!?

No good answer, no good, friend - last time you're out in the woods with me!

 

[Ethan Grotheer]

I apologize if my wording wasn't clear. He has shot the gun on several occasions. He was solidly sighted on the vital zone when he shot but obviously he missed the mark and we are assuming hit the bear high high. He didn't just pick up a gun and shoot at a black blob.
He's human just like any other guy on this forum and out of his excitement must have pulled the shot.

 

[nit wit]

Referendum to ban baiting and dogs for bear this November.
NW

 

[Patocazador]

PETA & HSUS suck!

 

[Shine]

252 lbs. 50 cal 70 grs 2f. At Nit Wits bear camp year before last.

 

[tenngun]

Well,..
I got my bear(a small boar. Bear sizing is a new thing for this whitetail hunter, but alas, I am still thrilled)!
Killed it at 18 yds with my bow on Thursday Arrow zipped through and lodged into the dirt so I now realize that any whitetail set up is fine... The bear only made it 30 yds.
My friend however did op to use my .54 lastnight and got a shot. He is unsure as to where but after being hit with a 425 gr. Great Plains bullet and being trailed for 400 yds to no avail, I do have a healthy respect for their resilience.

In defence of your friend some times animals are tough. In New Mexico where I grew up I knew an old boy that had a bear skull with most of one side of the braincase blew open...and partly healed. The bear had been shot and lost a good size hunk of brain but healed and went on to fall a year or more later.
We used to have a bath tub on a deck. One night my wife was taking a bath when an opossum decided to explore the deck. We used to feed our cats out on the deck. She called for me and I grabed my cheap tower pistol. It was loaded with a .595 ball and 40 grains of 3f. I shot it on the right side of the shoulder while facing toward me. Ball,guts and possum dropping sprayed out of his left hip, he shot over the edge of our deck to drop on to a stone wall 6 feet below. I went down stairs to get him and take him out into the woods and found possum guts and possum blood but no possum. I got a flash light and followed a blood and torn up leaf trail out into the woods, wanting to put the possum out of pain. Went 1/2 a mile in a big simicircle, only to loose the trail. Sometimes animals are just like john wayne and to tough to die.