Bear

Zonie said:

I once tried hunting bare but when I hunkered down in the frost covered weeds my posterior objected strongly.

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You ain't seen/felt nuthing till you hunt "BEAR" and have him come sit with you. Wearing duds or bare, makes no difference to Smokey.

My son, son in law, and I were all successful on a Spring bear hunt in Alberta this year. A rug with backing and boiled and prepared skull is $1500.00 including shipping.

How's the meat taste?

We arnt got no baars xept may be on Brighton Bech on a good somer dey an in afw Zoos not awaud o Blackpuul Prom or bech an too cold in the norf sept in Skye or may be Anon in the west.
We got brown rats,tree rats,stots, and weasel.may be a few other quadrpeeds like Muntjaq,tedy burs from the watar,the thars rows & reds,falas,sikas & reds,norf west souff & eest.we got some baggrs Good eatin till the ban.mi granda use e hams smoked
for Chrimblemous lik they conynetals.Us as a fuw xcaped wilt piggys wots spreddin
Theywilders wants te bring bak wulvs an linkses ta liv on our shep.theyall put bac rinedeer in yhe igh lands for the aul gents tabogan.Youall loc ata yourn or yal be like uz afor long.Ta kep waam us all use wam wal twed wal blunkets an tha lftens o tha forg we wekd at the day..
Liyk Me, felt wad, smoothy an toley..

OLD DOG (RUFF)

I can Translate if Zonie would prefer..

How about if I Prefer?

I had a close encounter a few years back. Sitting on the ground with a friend and hoping for a deer to wander by, we saw a jet black blob came rambling from our left to our right. No question as it was in full view with little in the way of brush. He was fat, big and beautiful. In fact he looked almost like he had no legs! Well he spotted us and turned to come face to face with us and investigate. Personally, I think he just wanted to say "HOWDY". He came up to "apple tossing" distance (closest I've been to a wild one) ; I'd guess 20-25 feet. Finally satisfying himself that we were deer hunters he turned and continued on trip. He didn't go far so was visible until darkness sent us home. My friend's dad fed them apples by throwing bunches out for the deer near his stand. A pack of coyotes serenaded us on our walk out.

I once was sitting in a rather large stand, built amongst a clump of birch trees. It was positioned about 60 yds from a bait. I had arrived quite early at 3 pm. Usually bear don’t come around till right at dark, so I leaned the 50 cal against a trunk across from me a good 3 ft away, while I sat back against another trunk and started to read a book. I wasn’t there an hour when something caught my eye and here was a nice sized bear right at the base of the birch clump looking up at me as if he wanted to ask permission to come up the ladder. I was quite startled but slowly reached over for my muzzleloader. I suppose it took only 30 seconds but seemed like 5 minutes. I managed to get it in my hands but just as I was taking it off half cock, that old bear wheeled and took off through the brush. I never had a chance at him.

Tom A Hawk said:

How's the meat taste?

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The few times I've had it, I thought it was a lot like pork.
And I believe it was prepared much the same way pork is too.

When I was single I hunted bears. I was luck enough to shoot 12 of them over the years. My neighbour at the time also hunted bears. We agreed that the best eating bear is between 200-250 lb. standing weight. Bigger than that the meat can get stringy. I shot a bear that was 350 lb. - and it was a little tough. My friend shot one that was 450 lb and he said it really stunk when it was cooked.

When I was a tree planter in Northern Ontario the outfitters there told me bear meat will get an off taste if it isn't skinned quickly after shooting. I've always followed that rule and the meat was always delicious and tender - consistency of pork, tastes like beef. Skin them quick and let the quarters cool in a fridge or cooler before butchering. The taste of bear fat is off-putting to some. You can remove the fat before cooking if you like. The meat makes great sausage as well.

We were camped on the Uncompaghre Plateau back in `93, up high ... I was told t'was 12,000 feet or so, but I don't know that for sure. I stepped out of my tipi one night to get rid of some used beverages. It was close to moon set and camp was quiet. There was a very big, hairy critter sniffing around another camp in the moonlight a few yards away. I stood very still and watched as he heard me, raised on his hind quarters to look me over, then finally - after what seemed like a week - dropped to all fours and shambled away. When I could breathe again, I discovered that I didn't need to "go" any more.
In the morning I walked over and checked for tracks, figuring I might have just dreamed the whole thing after all. Sure enough, there they were. One of the fore-paw prints that was clear enough to see was bigger than my size 12 moccasins. Grizzly. It was Forest Service land and they told us our camp was in bear country and to be cautious.
Two of the camp Fire Watch saw a big bear over on the other side of camp a couple nights later. Could have been the same one or another.

Stupid question: buddy and I picked up a bear tag that coincides with muzzleloader elk season, but bear hunting would be an opportunistic thing. If I decide to actually look for a bear, where should I be looking? Food sources. I assume? Might be able to find a gambel oak patch with ripe acorns.

Pay attention while aggressive cow calling. It is so similar to a predator call that I have been forced more than once to relocate due to the arrival of a black or grizz.
Elk and bear share the same haunts as both try to avoid humans for the most part.
Walk

Around the timing of most elk seasons the bears tend to concentrate at food sources like acorns, serviceberrys, choke cherries, etc. Usually at lower elevations than elk but not always.

brewer12345 said:

. If I decide to actually look for a bear, where should I be looking? Food sources. I assume? Might be able to find a gambel oak patch with ripe acorns.

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It was explained to me that bears NEED high fat content foods to bulk up for winter (That is why they switch almost over night from berries to mast) as soon as some nut or acorn is ripe and in enough supply the bears will gorge themselves on that or anything that might have an even high fat content. You might ask the wildlife officer in the area what bears are feeding on in your area at the time of year you will be hunting. Also I can't imagine a big fatty elk gut pile would go far wrong as something to watch.

Find a waterhole that both the elk and bear are using. Have shot several bears that way and see a few elk. Best waterholes for both are often in oak brush.

Much obliged.

I saw a video once shot by a man and woman in a ladder stand and hunting for deer. A black bear came along and started climbing up the ladder. The video was of the woman talking to the bear the same way one might talk to a dog. The video was a tad choppy but she was using her foot to push, not kick, the bear as it came close. The bear was simply extremely curious and maybe smelled something worth investigation. Finally the bear started trying to climb back down, which was more difficult for him than the climb up. The blackie wasn't scared nor was he aggressive (other than curiosity). He took his time as he moseyed away. Got to love those bears.