Out this past weekend

[Untouchable]

My girlfriend and I headed up in to the interior last weekend to do a little camping/ maybe some bear hunting. We got up into the princeton area, friday night pretty late and set up camp. Saturday morning we woke up and went riding (dirt bikes), until about noon. We had lunch and made sure the 270 wsm was shooting half decent, and then we turned our attention to finding a bear. I had seen two bears at this one really green section in the past, so we shut the bikes down and hiked for a closer look at the spot. Sure enough, there was a big black bear in front of us. It was the biggest black bear I have ever seen a really mature bear. No sign of any rubbing, or molting, and he had a bluish tinge to him in the sun. I got inside about sixty yards of him, and just watched him through my scope. Part of me really wanted to shoot him, but another part just enjoyed watching such a big dangerous animal from so close! I have never killed a bear before and I have a few questions I need answered before I drop the hammer on one. Firstly I intend to make a throw for a bed/ couch if the hide turns out to be as nice as it looked. After I shoot the bear, gut him out, etc. what is the next step in keeping the hide in good condition? Ive heard that you salt it but what exactly does this mean, and how soon should it be done? What about the feet and head, are they supposed to be turned inside out or something? I presume the meat care is the same as it would be for any animal? And lastly what would be the approximate cost of getting the hide done so it would make an acceptable throw for the couch, the bear would have weighed a little over 400 lbs. in my estimation. Also I saw lots of deer and a few button bucks, one was a real big bodied deer with huge bases starting!
Theres a picture of me and the bear in my gallery if someone can post it for me.
Thanks.

[Rhys]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/stalker.jpg

[interceptor]

Nice work mate,

Cant help with the questions but will be keen to see the answers :)

Cheers Noel

[cowboy-up69]

Hey, where abouts did u set up camp?? LEt me know when your over this way next, could show u around maybe.

[BearSniper]

Nice Bear8-)

If you shoot it, you skin it out and cut the paws(bone) as close to the base of the leg as possible.(several "how to skin your animal" websites offer good tips and pics)

Cut the lips and face around the skull. Then spread it out fur side down, on the ground and spread salt over the whole flesh at least one inch thick.

Then wrap it up, not in plastic, and prepare to transport home. As for the meat, your choice, you can leave it on the bone and wrap in cloth and keep it cool, or debone it and bag it.

Hang the meat to drip for a few hours in a cool area then you can butcher it, or take it right to a butcher. Most people make sausage or pepperoni with bear. You can freeze the meat for later use or if time is an issue.

Most local Taxidermists, ( heads above the rest, a sponsor here ) charge $170 - $180 per foot for a bear rug .

Nothing like a Black Bear rug to add character to your room.:smile:

Good luck:smile:

[MattB]

Looks like a smaller bear to me. Compare the body size to the power poles infront of him and behind him, theres no way thats a 400lb bear he'd be lucky to go 150. Good on ya for turning him down until you know what to do, many guys would have shot and figured it out as they went along.

[Brambles]

Looks like a smaller bear to me. Compare the body size to the power poles infront of him and behind him, theres no way thats a 400lb bear he'd be lucky to go 150. Good on ya for turning him down until you know what to do, many guys would have shot and figured it out as they went along.

That bear is quite a distance from any of those poles for them to be of any good in judging the bear IMO. Not a good picture of the bear either. So basically you have to go shoot the bear so we know what it weights OK!!!:smile: Bears are hard enough to judge in real life let alone from one distant picture.

[30-06]

ya that is a little ways from the poles.and the person taking the picture is back a watchs to

[steveo32]

Still looks like a smaller bear:) If you really want a hog for a first bear try between 21km and 27.5 on garrison or some people call it whipsaw, was out there today and saw a toad jet black bear worthy of mounting but i gotta stick to my guns and only take a monster blonde one:twisted:

If you need more info or anything else i am on most night and have been working down in princeton for about 3 months now

steve

[RiverOtter]

Untouchable, if you haven't done much skinning before, you may want to leave the head for the taxi. If you are planning on doing the head, I would suggest buying a scalple and a coulpe spare blades; the #20 style work good. Take special caution around the eyes, as its very easy to cut the eye lashes off. The rest of the hide is not to hard with a partner holding paws while you skin. Running your finger against the lay of the hair to give a line to follow with your knife is a big help as well. The cuts from heal to pelvis and wrist to chest are the most important for how the pelt looks when it is laid out flat.

If you can get the hide into a freezer or to the taxi within a few hours, I would not worry about salting the hide, as the taxi will have to flesh the pelt and then salt it before it goes to the tannery.

Good luck with your bear hunting.

RO

[bighornbob]

Posting a pic like that and saying its a big bear will get him shot before you get back to him. I am sure there are a bunch of guys who know where that could be. Good on you for not shooting when you did not know what to do, but big trophies rarly give you second chances. Hope he is still in the area when you get back there.

BHB

[Untouchable]

Thanks for the replys guys,
For the record, just as a mere reference, Im 6' 215 lbs. and the bear is approx 65 yards in front of me. Now I wouldnt argue with any of you as you might very well be right as to his size, but his head was a block, tiny little ears, and his belly was low to the ground. As far as I know those are the classic signs of a big bear, plus he was the biggest bear ive seen. I'll post some more pics in a minute. There is a pic of his paw print with a 270 wsm shell in it. You guys are the pros and I want you to know im not arguing, but in my opinion he was a bigger bear. I also saw a stuffed 6' bear and this bear was quite a bit larger than that, so. Anyways I guess ill just have to go shoot him, now that I know how to process him, thats of coarse if I see him again! Thanks again for the advice on what to do guys.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I agree. Go shoot him. That's the only way to improve judging bears. Make your guess....pull the trigger and get out the tape!8-) If he's not rug worthy, just get him tanned and hang him off a peg board in the corner.
I plan on filling a corner of the room before I ever rug one.
There's no way I would make a guess from your pic.

SSS

[boxhitch]

http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/magazine/blbcare.htm
Heres one of the many on-line resources available.
You have two bear tags available, one can be a practice round for the other. And you will have two next year, and the next, and so on......

[Maxx]

[quote=Stone Sheep Steve]I agree. Go shoot him.


hey, hey - Practice what you preach, I am been waiting for the kill photos from you for a week on the monster you filmed? Put that Bow down, and go kill it,

[Will]

There is a pic of his paw print with a 270 wsm shell in it. You guys are the pros and I want you to know im not arguing, but in my opinion he was a bigger bear. I also saw a stuffed 6' bear and this bear was quite a bit larger than that, so. Anyways I guess ill just have to go shoot him, now that I know how to process him, thats of coarse if I see him again!
A "fair" judge of size is to measure the width of the front pad......add an inch then convert to feet.........it actually works to give a good guesstimate of the bears length :wink:
(5 foot bear will have a 4" wide front pad/ 6' bear will have a 5" wide front pad etc....) Not exact but close enough......I rarely get excited now when Blackie hunting till I find a front pad impression pushing 6 inches:o

Even more so when Mr Fuzzy is still standing in it :lol:

[Elkhound]

A "fair" judge of size is to measure the width of the front pad......add an inch then convert to feet.........it actually works to give a good guesstimate of the bears length :wink:
(5 foot bear will have a 4" wide front pad/ 6' bear will have a 5" wide front pad etc....) Not exact but close enough......I rarely get excited now when Blackie hunting till I find a front pad impression pushing 6 inches:o



Does this really work Will? Maybe the bear just has really small feet......I have a buddy thats quite large but only size 9ft......I don't know how he stays standing......reminds me of one of those inflatable clowns with the small base that just wobbles back and forth when you punch it.:lol:

[srupp]

the front paw width in inches and add one and change to feet works pretty darn good..IF 30 some years of bear hunting and some guiding allow me to add my .02 cents

Steven

[Will]

the front paw width in inches and add one and change to feet works pretty darn good..IF 30 some years of bear hunting and some guiding allow me to add my .02 cents

Steven
Yep........and Old Trapper told me this years ago ;)

Does this really work Will? Maybe the bear just has really small feet

I've confirmed it with every dead Black Bear I've measured :-)
Not Perfect but certainly gives one an idea.........
Big Feet almost always = Big Bear :lol:

[cowboy-up69]

I went for a lil bush cruise up into this artea today, didnt see any bears, but LOTS of deer, including one whitey. All the muleys were bucks, all got about 2-4 inch nubs and some pretty big ones too!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

[quote=Stone Sheep Steve]I agree. Go shoot him.


hey, hey - Practice what you preach, I am been waiting for the kill photos from you for a week on the monster you filmed? Put that Bow down, and go kill it,

I'm trying:oops: . Wife's been away for a week and now it's time to chase Mr. Grizz. He might be safe for another year. Oh well, he'll just be bigger!:cool:

SSS

[RiverOtter]

the front paw width in inches and add one and change to feet works pretty darn good..IF 30 some years of bear hunting and some guiding allow me to add my .02 cents

Steven

I agree with the pad width +1 and convert to feet as well. In my experience with interior black bears, I have often seen bears go width +1 1/2, providing the track your looking at was left in firm ground and the pad didn't slip. My 7'1" squared blacky from a few years back had 5 3/8" front pads. When you find a good front print that is 4 1/2" or wider, you are onto a bear nearing 5'8" - 6' square. Another good indicator is large toe pads, if the rest of the track doesn't register as well.

RO