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Posted: 8/10/2008 6:20:42 PM EDT
I'm an avid deer and elk hunter that always has a bear tag while hunting. The liberals outlawed hound hunting so the populations are growing and I'm bound to run into one sometime, but don't target them.
I am wondering if people hunt bears for just the hide or if the hide is secondary to the meat. I suppose that for some hunters the hide is secondary while for others the meat is secondary. In your opinion do the majority of bear hunters hunt for the hide or for the meat? Is it poor form to waste the meat because you only wanted the hide? Is it poor form to waste the hide because you only wanted the meat? |
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AK, USA
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Posted: 8/11/2008 12:36:23 AM EDT
[#1]
Out here in rural Alaska we hunt for both hide and meat. There are people who do just hunt for the hide when the bears are on fish.
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CO, USA
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Posted: 8/11/2008 2:28:32 AM EDT
[#2]
If I get a tag I'll use both.
People tell me as long as the bear is not eating trash or road kill the meat is great. I'll probably need a pro to deal with the fur once I get it off. |
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Posted: 8/14/2008 11:04:34 PM EDT
[#3]
Hide is best in spring when they leave the dens with new coats but meat sucks after a winter of hybernation.
Meat is best in the fall when bears have engorged themselves with blueberrys, but the hides suck after a summer of wear. |
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Posted: 8/14/2008 11:11:49 PM EDT
[#4]
If I went bear hunting I would find someplace to donate the meat to. Someplace or someone.
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Posted: 8/14/2008 11:19:53 PM EDT
[#5]
up here the hide is best in the fall, meat is best then too luckily I get two black bear tags a year so I can get both!  I have to travel a ways to get grizzly though and I eat bear meat, though I also like the hides |
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Posted: 8/14/2008 11:58:16 PM EDT
[#6]
that's what I did. I don't like it anyway's, but the old addage that the bear tastes like the last thing it ate did me in on this one.  This was his last meal. 
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Posted: 8/15/2008 12:03:03 AM EDT
[#7]
LOL beef! its whats fer dinner!
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Posted: 8/15/2008 12:08:58 AM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 8/15/2008 8:51:45 PM EDT
[#9]
I have killed 7 bears in the wilderness of Idaho in the spring.
Most of the time I hunt for 4 or 5 days backpacking before I find a bear I want to shoot. In those 4 or 5 days I eat nothing but freeze dried food and trailmix. Every time I kill a bear I have such desire to eat the backstrap. Every time I cut it out and cook it on the fire...take 1 bite and about puke.....understand  I have started giving the hides away to familly and friends. Bear skins are hard to come by in Indiana. |
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OH, USA
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Posted: 8/19/2008 4:32:35 PM EDT
[#10]
In the Spring the hides can be beautiful, however, do you want to eat something that hasn't shit for six months?
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Posted: 8/19/2008 9:34:13 PM EDT
[#11]
I don't want to eat a nasty assed bear at all. I was hoping everyone would say they just hunt bears for the hide.  |
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Posted: 8/21/2008 9:18:16 PM EDT
[#12]
Sorry dude. I hunt em for the meat.  The hide is secondary. I do however have them tanned just to hang around. Mabe some day a rug...
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FL, USA
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Posted: 9/1/2008 12:48:35 PM EDT
[#13]
the only time I ate bear was at a cook out. some guy had killed it(of course) marinaded it, and cooked it on a grill.it was quiet good. of course, there was alcohol involved.
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IN, USA
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Posted: 9/2/2008 2:23:04 PM EDT
[#14]
I think you're going to run into both kinds of hunters. Some want the hide & some want the meat, but most will want both. I was in Ontario bear hunting for the first week of the season. 9 hunters, two guys got bears. I'd expect some dirty looks if you plan to waste the meat.
The second guy to get a bear that week was after the hide. It was interesting to see how the rest of the hunters reacted to that because it never even crossed their minds to not be interested in the meat. That guy had no respect around camp from the other hunters. The lady at the camp ended up cooking some of the meat for everyone to try and I'll admit it was some of the best meat I've ever eaten in my life. I never expected it to be that good, but it was absolutely delicious. Hard to be any more fresh of a meal than some thing that was shot the day before and then marinated for 24 hours. |
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MN, USA
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Posted: 9/2/2008 6:19:26 PM EDT
[#15]
my family rule is ...you kill it you eat it.
that being said....I have only tried black bear. Brown bear is supposabliy not so good. |
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Posted: 9/7/2008 1:50:42 PM EDT
[#16]
I'd never consider shooting a deer or elk just for the hide or for the cape and antlers. Bear, however, seem to have a slightly different "trophy stigma" status, undoubtedly at least partly to the fact that you need to marinade a bear for a day to make it palatable. You could make a bears ass hole taste good with enough marinade. Seems to me that the whole omnivore thing is working against it as well.
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IN, USA
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Posted: 9/8/2008 7:57:15 AM EDT
[#17]
I don't remember exactly how that lady cooked the bear, but I remember eating it and it was delicious!
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Posted: 9/8/2008 8:37:28 AM EDT
[Last Edit: WhyTanFox]
[#18]
A friend of mine tagged one during one of the few recent seasons here in NJ.
He didn't care for the meat: said he could stew it to make it palatable, but that was about it. That said, the bear population in northern New Jersey has become... "problematic". The state really has to either re-open bear season or stop trying to develop every last acre :-/ -WhyTanFox |
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Posted: 9/9/2008 2:04:07 PM EDT
[#19]
That is our rule too. Only exception is you have someone who wants what you don't... BEFORE you pull the trigger. |
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Posted: 9/14/2008 11:08:46 PM EDT
[#20]
I never got to eat my bear, someone else got it from the freezer.
I do have a nice rug though. |
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Posted: 9/14/2008 11:28:02 PM EDT
[#21]
Sounds like everything worked out just fine for you. 
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Posted: 9/14/2008 11:30:07 PM EDT
[#22]
I've had bear once--ground bear in lasagna. It was very good. Whether this was in spite of the contents of the lasagna, I do not know.
Doesn't mean I am gonna stop hunting bears. Was out this weekend in fact. |
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Posted: 9/20/2008 11:29:57 AM EDT
[#23]
I guess I am the odd man out here. Hell, I love bear meat. I will reach over a platter of venison to get at some bear roast.
Hides? Those go to the taxidermist and get turned into mounts.
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VA, USA
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Posted: 9/22/2008 8:29:49 PM EDT
[#24]
I have only recently (today) considered hunting bear for many reasons. The location I will hunt has a minimal deer population due to coyotes, but is overrun with black bear. The location has 25 miles bordering a national park!
I originally planned on hunting squirrels til deer season. Now I plan on hunting squirrels til deer season, then bear in bear season, and coyotes every chance I get. As someone new to hunting, please reinforce my thoughts, or break me of my misconceptions. Lastly, I have lost my job, so a new gun is out of the ?. Here are my available choices and plan for the jobs ahead: Ruger 10/22 w/ 4x scope Squirrel and Coyotes if I get the chance (is a head shot needed to kill them?) Vulcan (please refrain from pointing out how much I f'ed up buying this brand AR! I am painfully aware) Coyote Remington 700 in .243 Deer and Bear (I am concerned that this is not enough gun for a Bear) I am of the opinion that good marksmanship is more important than caliber. That being said, I REALLY do not want to only wound a bear, out of concern for the animal an my own preservation as well! Please feel free to offer your opinions for me, esp. in regards to .243/bear combo Extra credit - I plan to wear a sidearm for self-defense from bear/coyote packs, and renegade albinos. (This is legal for me) H+K Compact .40 S+W that I shoot well or .357 that I am less skilled with? |
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Posted: 9/22/2008 8:42:37 PM EDT
[#25]
Carry the .40.
A .22 is great for squirrels but not so great for coyote. I've seen a coyote suck up ten of them before laying down. Use the .243 for coyotes. Hornady loads their 58gr vmax. That ought to be perfect. Use an 85gr TSX or a heavier bonded bullet for deer and bear. Neither are particularly tough, the only concern is the potential for bullet failure. Use good bullets to eliminate this concern. |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 9/25/2008 4:43:08 AM EDT
[#26]
i aint killing anything i wont eat unless its in self defense just hunting for antlers or hides makes me sick
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Posted: 9/25/2008 5:28:01 AM EDT
[#27]
I was looking for both when I shot my bear. Turns out I didn't like the meat much, so once I finished it, I decided I wouldn't be shooting any more bears. The Rug is really nice though.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2008 11:32:01 AM EDT
[#28]
My hide is nice. Remembering the hunt is nice but the meat sucked. I ate as much as a could but didn’t finish it before it went bad. Once a week I ate some form of bear for a solid year and could not get the greasy taste out of the meat. Imagine beef soaked in Crisco grease. Bear jerky goes rancid in a desk drawer at work? Deer and elk I can keep for a week in the drawer but not bear. I will never kill another bear because I don’t eat the meat.
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Posted: 10/26/2008 4:46:18 PM EDT
[#29]
Whether I make an effort to eat the bear meat depends on how long it takes me to get him out of the woods and to a locker. It was warm during the one week still hunt in upper SC and I was solo backpack camping with a game cart along. When the bears have been eating mostly acorns, the meat is supposed to taste pretty bitter anyway, so preserving the hide is a big part of the hunt experience. Further down state, deer hunters usually have a short run on a four wheeler to get their kills to a truck and ice. However, most of the mountain hunt unit is remote and no motorized vehicles are allowed past the gates, so their is a greater chance of spoilage if the weather is warm.
I would try to save the meat if conditions allow it. RS |
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Posted: 3/6/2009 3:00:32 AM EDT
[#30]
I have only eaten one and it was a 2 or 3 year old in northern maine... it was good.
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Posted: 3/6/2009 7:30:07 PM EDT
[#31]
Holy thread ressurection, Batman!
How did this not go to archives? |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 5/24/2009 7:02:51 PM EDT
[#32]
Never wanted to shoot a bear, probably because I'm not a trophy hunter and I wouldn't want to have to eat it. I've heard varying stories about how good and bad it tastes, but more stories about how most of it is loaded with Trichinosis. Don't know if this is true or not, but I'd like to hear from the bear experts.
I'll stick to birds and occasional deer meat... |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 6/2/2009 8:04:02 PM EDT
[#33]
Shot mine in the fall. Ontario, Canada just west of Sudbury. Good eats. Tasted about like venison. Going to Maine this year. I have a half mount of my bear on the wall, posed with berries like it's still eating.
The Maine bear, if I get one, I might look for a taxidermist who needs a skin. Don't know that the cost of another mount would be worth it for me, but looking forward for more bear meat. |
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Posted: 6/19/2009 4:23:25 PM EDT
[#34]
My Grandfather always said:
He who eats the most Bear eats the most hair.... |
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IA, USA
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Posted: 6/26/2009 4:05:34 PM EDT
[#35]
Bear is great meat just cook it low heat and slow. It gets tough as nails if you try to fry it. And don't cook it in the bear fat. Put in cast Iron pot with lid with bacon and rice cook at 140-150 for 4-6hours add water as needed. More bacon fat the better. Cut as much of the bear fat off as you can and use that to water proof your boots better than mink oil. Bear fat is the strangest fat I have ever seen it is like a silicone spray or something. Try not to have any in with the meat when cooking it. I like to use bock beer and raspberry juice as base then add water as it evaporates. When you have bear cooked like that you will understand why no one wants to waste the meat it is the best...
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Posted: 7/13/2009 4:01:37 AM EDT
[#36]
My bear meat was hit/miss. I had a lot of it mixed with pork into sticks and they were awesome. The steaks were ok if they were marinated for a couple days. I wouldn't kill what I won't eat but I did it for the rug(which I still haven't got back)
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Posted: 9/21/2009 10:03:33 PM EDT
[#37]
Originally Posted By ShingleMonkey:
I have killed 7 bears in the wilderness of Idaho in the spring. Most of the time I hunt for 4 or 5 days backpacking before I find a bear I want to shoot. In those 4 or 5 days I eat nothing but freeze dried food and trailmix. Every time I kill a bear I have such desire to eat the backstrap. Every time I cut it out and cook it on the fire...take 1 bite and about puke.....understand
I have started giving the hides away to familly and friends. Bear skins are hard to come by in Indiana. I never puked but it gives me the shits every time. |
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WA, USA
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Posted: 9/24/2009 7:44:57 PM EDT
[#38]
This dude was killed earlier this month. Bow kill, arrow got lungs and big arteries of the heart. No track but he did react to the shot and attempt to escape though he expired within rock throwing distance of the stand
Shortly thereafter, BACKSTRAPS baby! 
AWESOME meal. Even those who typically don't enjoy wild game were fighting over the left overs. 
If I had served it without telling you what it was you might say this is one of the best steaks you've ever had. The sausage is incredible too. |
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Posted: 9/24/2009 8:49:51 PM EDT
[#39]
A chocolate bear, very cool! Congrats!
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USA
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Posted: 10/3/2009 2:11:22 PM EDT
[#40]
Hell no I eat em...got one in the freezer with breakfast sausage thawing on the counter to make American Chopsuie!!
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Posted: 2/16/2010 1:50:01 PM EDT
[#41]
Spring bear season is right around the corner.
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Posted: 2/17/2010 6:31:25 PM EDT
[#42]
2 more months for me
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Posted: 2/17/2010 7:01:33 PM EDT
[#43]
black bear yes
 , brown bear absolutely no
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WA, USA
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Posted: 2/26/2010 9:44:00 AM EDT
[#44]
My wife & kids won't eat it like it is, so I got me one of those 3/4 hp grinders from Cabelas & grind my own breakfast & summer sausage. Doesn't last long anymore
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Posted: 2/28/2010 10:25:27 AM EDT
[#45]
I miss Ca
Hunted bear there many years, sausage and salami FTW! |
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Posted: 11/5/2010 10:39:29 PM EDT
[#46]
Mmmmmmm, BBQ bear ribs...................
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Posted: 3/7/2011 7:59:07 PM EDT
[#47]
wish i had bears here, the wife wants to hunt one so bad..you guys are lucky.
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WI, USA
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Posted: 3/28/2011 8:20:51 AM EDT
[#48]
I eat as much bear as I can get. The wait for a bear permit in Wisconsin is running between 4 to 6 years so the bear is few and far between. Cooking a bear is pretty simple. Treat it like a pig. Roast and BBQ. Sausage with bear meat is pretty good, but again they are just like a pig. As far as hides and rugs are concerned I used to give them away, the cost for making a rug is astronomical, about 90 bucks per foot. A 250 pund, average bear is about 4-5 feet long. That's pretty expensive for a rug.
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Posted: 4/1/2011 3:30:47 AM EDT
[#49]
Spring black bear makes the best breakfast sausage on the planet. I hunt for the meat. I would never shoot a bear that has been eating salmon or a trash bear.
I have no problem with people hunting bear for any reason in the areas where they are overrunning the deer/elk/moose. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 7/23/2011 11:49:34 PM EDT
[Last Edit: PAPI]
[#50]
Remington 700 in .243 Deer and Bear (I am concerned that this is not enough gun for a Bear) I am of the opinion that good marksmanship is more important than caliber. That being said, I REALLY do not want to only wound a bear, out of concern for the animal an my own preservation as well! Hi, You might tryout a "Premium Bullet " , since the " .243 " is a bit lite for " Bear ". Swift Scirocco " 90 grains " http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=487758 Norma Oryx Bullets " 100 grains " http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=855154 Corbon Loaded Ammo : " 80gr DPX " http://www.shopcorbon.com/DPX-Rifle/243-Win-80gr-DPX/DPX24385-20/400/Product Not " Cheap "..., but , after sighting in, you should have a few left over for the next " Bear / Deer " season ! Just mt two cents. PAPI |
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