Heading on my first hunt tomorrow

[Shea_G]

So Im heading out to the west side of Harrison tomorrow morning in the hopes of finding a black bear. Ive never hunted big game before, Ive done tons of reading but any advice would be greatly appreciated as unfortunately I don't have the luxury of going with anyone experienced. Itll be me and my gf on my RZR. Anything I should take into account due to the high temps expected this weekend? Im using a 180 grain .308 Winchester super X round which has a soft nose, will that be a problem penetrating black bear (its all the store I went to today had)? I feel pretty confident in field dressing it, if I get something, but after that how long do I have to get it butchered? Should I freeze it first? If I wanted to have a rug made how long till I need to get it to a taxidermist and should I try to skin myself or leave that to them? Basically whats the sequence of events and time I need to do things in after I gut it? Any advice or tips on the area? Or anything else would be greatly appreciated, Thanks a ton.

[Rusty]

At risk of sounding like a Dad, be safe and totally aware of your surroundings, such as parked vehicles that may have hunters in the area, get back off the road, positively identify your target, take the time to make your shot count. you want your first experience to be a good one without having to romp through the bush after a wounded bear.
Have fun and good luck. I look forward to reading your post about your first Bear story.

[RoscoeP]

I almost shot a mother bear with a cub a long time ago, thank god I saw the cub before I shot, I would have felt terrible and I had my young son with me. So if you see a bear glass it for a while, the cubs may be near by but are small and could be hidden by bush etc. Good luck, the hunt itself is what it is about, getting something is just a bonus, enjoy the day. Cheers roscoe

[Sofa King]

like roscoe said, take the time to insure there's not an accompanying cub and you are shooting it's mother.

[r106]

So Im heading out to the west side of Harrison tomorrow morning in the hopes of finding a black bear. Ive never hunted big game before, Ive done tons of reading but any advice would be greatly appreciated as unfortunately I don't have the luxury of going with anyone experienced. Itll be me and my gf on my RZR. Anything I should take into account due to the high temps expected this weekend? Im using a 180 grain .308 Winchester super X round which has a soft nose, will that be a problem penetrating black bear (its all the store I went to today had)? I feel pretty confident in field dressing it, if I get something, but after that how long do I have to get it butchered? Should I freeze it first? If I wanted to have a rug made how long till I need to get it to a taxidermist and should I try to skin myself or leave that to them? Basically whats the sequence of events and time I need to do things in after I gut it? Any advice or tips on the area? Or anything else would be greatly appreciated, Thanks a ton.


Make sure your sighted in with that ammo.

With warmer temps get it quartered and hide off ASAP. I would also look at boneing out the meat if it is shot during the warmer temps during the day. Try to find a shaded area by a creek or river to quarter it up and skin it ( it will be several degrees cooler ). Make sure you bring something to keep the flies off the meat.

When I go for day trips for spring bear I usually throw the meat in the fridge if I'm taking it to the butcher the next day but I have put it in the freezer and taken it to the butcher the following weekend.

As for the hide - Being your first time. I would just skin the bear cutting off the feet and head ( attached to hide ) and freeze the whole thing as soon as possible. It will cost a bit more to have the taxidermist skin out the head and feet but at least it will be done right.

[ICEWOODY]

If your successfull take your bear to sumas meats in abbotsford. Best pepperoni, and I would sugest some Italian sausage. And it's within 45 mins off Harrison. *** hint *** mystery creek. Go east side lots of bear up the right side of the road from 15km to 25km look hard and be carfull lots of bear in there. I will try to figure out how to post pics on here I got a spring bear up there this year

[Shea_G]

Well after a few setbacks in the morning i got out to where the asphalt road ends going up the west side of the lake at about noon. Unloaded the rzr and went from there. Spent about 7-8 hours driving around the main fsr and going up side roads up to 20 mile bay (the 32ish km mark). Went up and around mystery creek fsr. Kept my eyes peeled, was conscious of wind direction , hiked around a bit but the terrain was very thick and very steep so visibility was limited when hiking. All i saw was some old scat. Still had fun bootin around but next time it'd be fun to actually see something. Is it best to most drive around and look out and walk around every so often or hike around one spot? Alot of the trails i went on were very thick and i doubt many others went on them. I was able to because i have a windshield but i couldn't see anyone with a quad doing it so i thought there would be less pressure where i was