Trying to figure out some pros and cons of gutting a bear.

[BiG Boar]

I have it from two seasoned hunters that they have never gutted a black bear, though they have killed many. I have it from another less experienced guy that its good to gut them because the black bear meat spoils in about an hour, if not gutted and cooled. So, what I want to know is, who is gutting them? And who is removing the hide, then cutting off the 4 quarters and the back straps? And or any other ways, or tips. So people remove the quarters with hair on I also hear and then skin the quarters.

I want your number of bears taken or helped take, and which way you do it.

Just so I know whos talking out of years of experience. Seems like some newer bear hunters dont even know you can not gut them.

[Steeleco]

I've tried the "gutless" method but didn't do a good job of it at all. I've gutted near 20 bears since I took up hunting them. I do it as you would any other game animal. Never had any issues aside from one that was gut shot, and it had a tape work that defied description. YUK!!

On warm fall days I try to skin them on the spot, but if it's cooler like spring or late fall, I'll skin them in camp or home.

My first bear was skinned and trimmed by a good friend that has done far more bears then I. He had that in pieces in mere minutes. I should have taped the show for future viewing!!!

[Rock Doctor]

# of bears I have had to deal with..............I'm actually not sure, but it would be very safe to say DOZENS (I used to be part owner of a Sports Store/Taxidermy)



black bear meat spoils in about an hour, if not gutted and cooled

Don't eat that, that's horsesh*t.

I have skinned out plenty of them that were left much longer than an hour, some the day after they were shot.
Depending on "where" they were shot, most of them were fine.
However, they are much easier to deal with when fresh. I prefer to skin them, then debone them using the No Gut Method.
My 2 bits.

RD

[browningboy]

We always do the no-gut method, very clean, easy and quick. I personally don't pursue bears anymore but my partners love it and always do the no-gut thing and as they say, it gives the grizz only one piece to pick up and carry away instead of a pile!

[Gateholio]

I don't gut anything anymore. Skin it, remove meat and leave the guts inside.

There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, I'm done gutting...

[wolverine]

I guess I'm old school. I still gut my animals. The bit about bear meat spoiling in an hour is bullshit. It depends on what the ambient temperature is but last fall I shot my bear at first light. Due to a hard walk in hunt the afternoon/evening before we had been up late hanging meat and were beat. The bear I shot was actually coming in for the hanging meat and woke us up. I got up and ran outside and put the bugger up a tree. He was pissed right off at me and was growling and jaw popping so I gave him .270 good reasons to leave my meat alone! He hit the ground dead as a stick and I went back to bed. After breakfast that morning we gutted him and strung him up beside the rest of the meat. I always take the hide off and clean up the carcass and wrap it in meat cloth. That was to date, the best tasting bear I have shot and I didn't get him cleaned up for about three hours after I dropped him. I wouldn't do that if I thought I might have nicked some gut but you don't have to worry about such things when you pound 'em in the melon.:-D

[Wildfoot]

i'm not familiar with this no gut method..? could someone describe it - or post up a link to instructions? sounds interesting.

[Gateholio]

It's pretty straightforward- Skin the bear out on one side. Remove the hams, shoulder and loins of the side.

Put the meat aside and keep clean.

Flip it over and do the same thing to the other side.

That is it in a nutshell...There are several varaitions, depending on animal and location, etc.

[Rock Doctor]

i'm not familiar with this no gut method..? could someone describe it - or post up a link to instructions? sounds interesting.

Just Google "no gut field dressing", you will get plenty of hits. Mostly Deer and Elk, but you will get the idea.

[Wildfoot]

i guess to get the belly meat i would need to cut open the body cavity :(. I think bear belly would make great bacon!

[BOOMSTICK]

Depends on the situation. If I'm using a quad or pickup to transport, I'll gut them out. If I'm backpacking, gutless method + de-bone.

[outdoorsman812]

I haven't heard much about the "no-gut" method, never tried it. Usually i gut black bears right away and prop the rib cage open until i get to a spot where i can hang it, which is usually home because it only takes minutes to get back. Then i skin it out, depending on the temperature i would hang it over night or quater it right after skinning it and put it in a fridge. My dog likes chewing on bones and stuff so i usually dont leave the carcass in the bush.

[Mr. Dean]

I have it from two seasoned hunters that they have never gutted a black bear, though they have killed many. I have it from another less experienced guy that its good to gut them because the black bear meat spoils in about an hour, if not gutted and cooled. So, what I want to know is, who is gutting them? And who is removing the hide, then cutting off the 4 quarters and the back straps? And or any other ways, or tips. So people remove the quarters with hair on I also hear and then skin the quarters.

I want your number of bears taken or helped take, and which way you do it.

Just so I know whos talking out of years of experience. Seems like some newer bear hunters dont even know you can not gut them.

That's how I did it. Its pretty slick and a LOT easier that trying to grunt several hundred lbs of bear outta the bush. I had the 1/4's in a freezer within 5 hrs of the trigger being pulled (all for sausage). Next time I think I'll hang the hinds and cut steaks.

[dana]

I have skinned countless bears. Heck when I guided for bear I skinned over 30 in a 2 season period. When you are doing multiple bears every week you can get pretty damn fast at it. Especially when the mosquitos are eatin ya alive. :shock: I have strictly been doing the gutless method right on the spot for quite a few years now. It is quick and easy. I can do a big bear in about 20-30 minutes, fully skinned and quartered. Way easier to skin a bear when it's warm. The use of rubber gloves can aid in speed as bear fat can be rather slippery and the rubber gloves allow you to pull on the hide easier and help keep the knife from slipping out of your hand as well. The bonus of the gutless method is that it is way easier to get your bear up hill back to the truck. Bears don't drag all that easy. Way easier to carry the quarters on your shoulders or in your pack and do a couple trips if you have to. Having skinned quarters starts the cooling process right away instead of keeping that heat trapped inside under the hide. Hot spring days in the high 20's or even the low 30's is common during May and June. The faster you can get the hide off the better.

[Pete]

Once you have opened a few you do not want to go there again. Most have either tape worms or round worms which will turn off even some seasoned folks. Remove the 4 quarters and the loins as required in the regs. and leave the gut bag in place.

[Blainer]

I originally started by gutting the bears,untill I discovered the alternative.I find leaving the guts in to be cleaner and more efficiant.I have harvested a couple dozen bears in my history.

[Timberjack]

Never done a bear but do lots of deer/moose/elk with gutting on backpack trips. Works like a charm and fast 'n clean.

Just give er a go - it's easier than you think.

TJ

[Timberjack]

Never done a bear but do lots of deer/moose/elk with gutting on backpack trips. Works like a charm and fast 'n clean.

Just give er a go - it's easier than you think.

TJ
Sorry, that should have said without gutting.

TJ

[tomahawk]

I want to utilize every ounce of meat when I harvest an animal so I go through the gutting process. At home I debone the meat and seperate into steaks, roasts, burger and sausage cuts and BBQ the larger leg bones to freeze and give to my dogs for treats throughout the year.

[boxhitch]

The methods will change for everyone, when the Regs change about what meat has to be recovered from the carcass. IF they change.

[hunter1947]

I would not even gut a bear ,if your taking the hide skin it then cut the back straps off then the shoulders then the hind quarters.

[ElectricDyck]

How do you get at the tender loins?

[MOWITCH SLAYER]

When i harvest any animal , my first concern is the care of the meat. Any butcher well tell you that cooling the meat is very important, to cool the meat and get good tasting meat you need to feild dress the animal as soon as possible . Stong tasting meat comes from poor care in the feild . If you want the hide? The first thing to do is contact a good taxidermist (before you pull the trigger) and talk about how they want the animal skinned . Most of them have step by step instruction pamphlet's that also cover salting the hide. to leave the hide on to long the hair well start to slip (fall out). To spend that much on a trophy a little work well make it shine.

[shotgunjohn]

I've been in on somewhere around 40 bears over the years and for me it depends on the circumstances. I prefer the no gut method and if I'm at home will even carve roasts off the hind quarters without removing them from the bear. Just skin the back quarter on one side debone and butcher right then. Then move up and skin the front shoulder remove and then the backstrap is exposed and can be fileted off. Roll the carcass over and repeat. The tenderloins on a bear are small but if you want you can open the carcass after everthing else is done. This also gets away from the skinned bear that looks like a man that gets some people freaked out :).
If its early in the day and we have another hunter/tag though I will gut and prop open the carcass so it can start cooling, then later proceed as above. I do feel it is important to get the skin off and even the meat off the big bones in the hind quarters the same day the bear is killed. This is from a bad experiience just lately where we shot a bear and didn't recover it till after dark. We gutted it and skinned out the hind quarters and propped it open to cool, then left it till early the next morning. This was a cool fall evening but when we started to butcher the bear the next morning it smelled like a pickle barrel when we cut into the meat.

[Dirty]

http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27

[Ambush]

I have also killed dozens of bears. At one point in Reg 7 we could buy five tags. I don't gut bears for a few reasons. Tenderloins aren't worth the stink and mess. No chance someone can say you took and sold the gall bladder. And like someone else said, gives the grizzlies an easier time keeping it away from the coyotes. I bone it right off the carcass. It becomes sausage and jerky anyway. Try putting a trail cam on the carcass also.

[Gateholio]

How do you get at the tender loins?

One the hams are removed, you can make a small slit on the back of the chest cavity, open it up a bit and remove the tenderloins. I'd do it for a moose, for sure. With bears, not so much.;-)

[ElectricDyck]

One the hams are removed, you can make a small slit on the back of the chest cavity, open it up a bit and remove the tenderloins. I'd do it for a moose, for sure. With bears, not so much.:wink:

Ahh I see. I like.

[bruin]

Probably 15 bears, half were gutted. All depended on the situation, close to truck, gut. Not close to truck, skin and quarter etc.