About 1 year ago, I moved to NW Montana.
In the past, have not been interested in bear hunting.

Killing an elk or deer, I will eat them.  I'm not sure what do do with a
blackbear carcass.  A rug or skull does not seem that interesting.

This Spring, I've been trying to spot black bear for fun.  I have observed a high population
of bears in my area, which has me thinking that it is o.k. for me to hunt them.

At any rate.  Here are a few bear photo's that my wife took.
Hopefully, someone will find them interesting.
We do not have a photo of one giant bear that we saw.










Tomorrow, we're getting up before dawn to try to spot more bears.

never hunted bear, I have however heard it both ways.  Good eating tasty, and greasy nasty never eat it.  Let us know. cool photos, thanks for sharing.

depends on when you get them and what they've been eating. If you're near a lot of berries, especially blueberries they can be pretty tasty. If they eat a lot of fish then they are usually pretty oily and the meat has an odd odor to it. The pelts are cool, and in a lot of places the population does need to be controlled. I would rather see someone shoot one than trap one.

Nice photos!

So far with the bear I have had there are a lot of "it depends" on how the meat will taste.
- depends on the bear.  young bears or lean males/females will taste better.  The fat of the bear and the blood not drained is what gives it the gamey/wild flavor.  Unlike deer and elk, where the fat is localized in the normal areas, with bears the fat is located a lot more in/under/around the muscle.
- depends on how you prep the meat.  I am firm believer in soaking out the meat to get as much of the blood out as possible.  Salt water overnight, drain and refill with fresh, grind that night.  Also getting the skin off and guts out of a bear (in my experience) has made a difference (I think) for how the meat tastes.
- depends on how you prepare it.  If you grind it and use it in sausage or ground burger for meatloaf/burgers - it is awesome.  If you are doing steaks, you might get some more gamey flavor.

Excellent info and advice; I bait black bears in the spring and stalk them in the fall. I love the taste. We took two on Tuesday night and they will be pepperoni sticks, sausage, and ground (save the straps and loins). Brining is a critical step for many who are not accustomed to wild game. It does a great job of mellowing out the flavor.

Bear hunting is not overly complicated. In your neck of the woods spotting them at distance, closing in with the wind at your face, and taking a well placed shot before they alert on you seals the deal. Not much more complicated than elk, deer, etc.. Give it a try; the ranchers and elk population will thank you for it.

this is my take on bear meat.. its all about how the animal was handled after the kill. deer hunting most of us will hang the skinned deer up somewhere cool to let the blood drain which will help the game taste a little. bear is complete opposite. bear, even in spring time have a ton of insulation. they can hold their body temperature for a very long time even after the kill. if a bear was taken in the evening hours over bait then there is a high possibility it wont be tagged till the next morning meaning the bear must sit in its own skin for another 12 hours or so. the is basically slow cooking the meat IMO . i shot mine in the morning hours and it was skinned and quartered 2 hours later. meat is delicious.

Go for it.
My interest in bears picked up last year. This year I took it more serious. The women and I would go into the high country on weekends to do summits and glass.
I took a buddy up on opening day and we got one at 7:30 at 5000 ft. It was 95 that day. Bear died on a north slope and stayed in the shade until noon. Then we had an hour of sun but we were about done.
Packed out in the heat and got back to the truck at 4.
I ground meat and made breakfast sausage last night. The meat is excellent. The whole lower GI of the bear was huckleberries.
We are guessing it's a ten year old sow. I had a back strap steak the first night and the flavor was superb but it was tough (not overcooked). The rest of the bear will be made into summer and breakfast sausage. A buddy of mine gets a bear frequently and having eaten his sausage for the last ten years I figured I was good to go.

Hope you go.

I'll echo what others have said about diet of the bear.  When they are eating insects and berries...they taste awesome.  When they are eating salmon or carrion they don't taste the best.  Just remember almost everything tastes better when it's ground up and mixed with pig fat.  I've known people who have made entire bears into sausage and form jerky because the wasn't palatable.

Diet will vary greatly upon region.  Some areas spring bears are eating the most insects and berries, others it's fall bears.  It just depends on the area.

Nice pics! I killed a bear a couple years ago a HD surprisingly it tasted pretty good when cooked right

Great tips on processing here!  Definitely does depend to an extent on what they've been eating.  I've eaten a lot of brown and black bear and have enjoyed it all.  Even ate a bear that had been tearing up a friend's cabin for a week or so.  That bear had eaten a snowmobile seat and a couple of cans of fuel (apparently a bear delicacy).  My friend threw it on a split drum grill and served it up at some rural Alaskan highland games he puts on every year.  That was one of the tastiest bears I've eaten.  Making my mouth water just thinking of it.