Bear Advice for the newbie

[LordGorjax]

Hey guys, i am looking for some help/guidance on field dressing a black bear, and i know its second nature to probably everyone here , but its the one thing i feel completely clueless about when it comes to hunting and the only thing that makes me reluctant to dive into it alone.

I havent had a chance to field dress a large game animal, but i have watched tons of videos of deer and moose being field dressed that i am completely confident i could stumble through it(albeit slowly) myself.

Now ive searched and searched for a good step by step videos on field dressing a bear and there just isnt anything that good out there. I guess the question is, is there really that much difference between the 2 animals? Are the fundamentals basically the same? I will probably end up taking the meat to a cutter for some proper cuts/sausage etc . If any folks here could point me to some helpfull info that would be great.

Just to add, i have been out hiking about a little bit in region 2 just kind of scouting around, ran into 2 piles of bear scat, but thats about it. Ive hit the snow line a couple times, faster than i thought . And last week i camped over night at one of the lakes and it actually snowed quite a ways below the previous days snow line. So i can see how the guys saying its still a bit early are correct.

Also thank you to the community here for all the educational threads, ive been lurking on this site for a long time and its great for us newbs. I'll wipe the brown stuff off my nose now :D

[untilthelastbeat]

Yea the insides are pretty much the same when it comes to dressing. If you have watched videos on deer then you can use the same practice on a bear. Just take your time.

[DeadlyGame]

I have only gutted a moose my buddy shot, cuz I wanted to learn, I'm new to bear hunting too and I understand the anxiety you might feel. But when I did my buddy's moose I just took what I learnt from books and the net and applied it to the moose, worked fine. Just the key to anything like this is take your time , relax. I am excited to dig into my first bear. I love biology and critters so it'll be fun. Whatever you do just have fun :).

[Gone_Fishin_]

Only difference will be the pelvis area, in a deer you can easily split this to remove the anus area and work a little easier. For bear i would highly suggest bring a large fillet knife with you and a zap strap. With a bear it is a solid bone and there will be no splitting here. Youll need a long knife to get in and cut "around" to extract.

Cut around like you normlly would with a deer, pull out that little bit and zap strap that sucker shut. Helps any unwanted "material" coming out. I do this for deer as well and works awesome.

Other than that same as any other species really, i find they dont smell at all and are actually really easy to work on. A bone saw will help you split the chest cavity and get in there a little easier. Work your whole diaphram around and under, get everything "loose" then reach up grab a solid hold of that esophagus make a single cut and as you pull roll onto its side and as long as everything is disconnected should come right out.

[HarryToolips]

I have only gutted a moose my buddy shot, cuz I wanted to learn, I'm new to bear hunting too and I understand the anxiety you might feel. But when I did my buddy's moose I just took what I learnt from books and the net and applied it to the moose, worked fine. Just the key to anything like this is take your time , relax. I am excited to dig into my first bear. I love biology and critters so it'll be fun. Whatever you do just have fun :).
This guys got the idea, don't overthink it, watch some youtube videos, you can do bear the same as deer...I cut around the asshole and tie er up before doin anything else, then pinch the skin and pull up at the abdomen to cut through the first layer, without cutting through the stomach layer, then the rest is self explanatory, or you can start from the chest... have fun...I did talk to one guy that says if he's hikin one from way out, he just cuts off the 4 quarters and the head and leaves with that, since that's where the main meat is anyway..anyone else do this method??

[Fella]

This guys got the idea, don't overthink it, watch some youtube videos, you can do bear the same as deer...I cut around the asshole and tie er up before doin anything else, then pinch the skin and pull up at the abdomen to cut through the first layer, without cutting through the stomach layer, then the rest is self explanatory, or you can start from the chest... have fun...I did talk to one guy that says if he's hikin one from way out, he just cuts off the 4 quarters and the head and leaves with that, since that's where the main meat is anyway..anyone else do this method??

More or less did that last year. Quarters, straps, neck meat and head. Gotta take the edibles!

[evilginger]

More or less did that last year. Quarters, straps, neck meat and head. Gotta take the edibles!

I couldn't agree more. I just brought home my first bear this afternoon and the gutless quarter method that you can view on YouTube and we've used on deer in the past worked great.

I didn't do quite the job on the hide that I wished we had but live and learn. I'll just repeat what others said above and say to definitely take your time

[Smiley]

youtube the gutless method, it is a thing of beauty

[dog812]

a good video for skinning in the field.
https://youtu.be/7qClyNk0RwI

[Rob Chipman]

What Gone_Fishn_ said. You can probably split the breastbone on a bear with a Havalon, but the pelvis seems more skookum than a deer or moose. The zap strap idea sounds good.

Spring bear may be different, but I got a bear last fall and it was way fatter than any moose or deer I've seen. I found the process greasier as a result, but the fat is great stuff to keep and render.

I heard a trick that I'm going to try: get a sharp knife to start skinning, then either dull that knife a bit or get a duller knife to get the hide off. Apparently it allows for going closer to the skin without damaging it. Haven't tried it so I can't recommend it, but like I say, I'm going to try it.

I can tell you that running out of bear fat from the fall bear made me want another and eating the last ham made my wife want another.

Last fall was my first bear. I'm a convert. Gatehouse suggested I butcher it myself but I ended up going to a game cutter. Unless I'm faced with a Monday morning deadline I'm going to butcher the next one myself and do way less sausage and more hams and other cuts.


Like you, I was out earlier this month and ended up too high camping by a frozen lake. The bears were lower, where the green was (duh!)

BTW, grab the heart for sure. I found it strongly flavored, but great. I will repeat.

[Fella]

OH! I'm sure this goes without saying, but make sure your knives are razor sharp BEFORE you go out into the field. I can't tell you how awful it is to carve up a bear with dull knives, especially when the light starts to fade! If you aren't using a Havalon (or something like it) then sharpen your blades and bring a stone with you for touch ups!

[andrewscag]

And don't sweat it. Be careful of the bladder, stomach, gall bladder, and intestines and the rest is nbd. Its not nearly as hard or stressful as you're probably thinking it is now. Dive in and you'll be fine. You'll likely do some things differently the next time, but there are very few mistakes that'll make it inedible. Have a gallon of water handy in case you nick something you shouldn't have. Just make sure the rinse water will drain right out without running over other fresh meat. Definitely save the fat, its really easy to render and is a great for high heat cooking and baking. Good luck!

[HarryToolips]

More or less did that last year. Quarters, straps, neck meat and head. Gotta take the edibles!
Good to know, thanks.....

[Drillbit]

Study up a bit, you'll be fine. Very similar to deer, except for the mosquitos & blackflies on you, so you don't want to be forever.

Also, line up a place that will deal with the meat before you go out. Lots of places won't deal with a bear.

[Skillet]

I'm hoping to get my first bear this spring too and have been trying to do my homework.
I found this video http://youtu.be/B-7UyZA24pg and it looks pretty good, be warned though it is almost an hour long. Shows a lot of detail though, especially on skinning.

[ACB]

Here's a different way. My Brother showed me this years ago and he's used it on every thing from bears, goats and sheep. First thing you do is skin the bear don't gut him. Once the hide is off including feet off at joints. We alway's do this on the ground using the hide to keep meat clean. Have the bear on it's side on top of the inside of the hide. Then on the side that up starting at the tail or head it doesn't really matter, say you start at the tail end cut along the spine working toward the head, but only go half way. Then cut down toward the belly on the loin but don't cut through! What you are actually trying to do is fillet that 1/4 off. Work the loin back to the hip joint and disconnect the leg and loin from pelvis then do same thing on the front loin and leg trying to get as much neck as you can as well. Once you'v done that flip him over on the hide and repeat on the other side. You can tie ropes around the legs to hang him even if you have to poke through close to bone to get a good grip on muscles and tendons. You wouldn't believe how fast this goes once you'v done it a couple time's. And no dealing with the asshole or the feed end. Once your done there's nothing left on him unless you want the rib meat too which there isn't much of. All the bones and guts stay out in the bush. Oh ya some thing else, I don't know if anybody else has said anything about this but you do know they have a penile bone don't you. The first one I skinned out nobody told me. It was What the HELL! Anyway there's only one way to get experience and that's to do it. Good luck and give er!

[ff89]

can you get trich from blood contaminating cuts on your hands

[Jagermeister]

Just don't forget some good quality rubber gloves, preferably those that extend higher the forearm than the wrist.