Bear care in the backcountry

[heretic]

I'll be chasing bugling bulls in the backcountry of Colorado this September with my bow. As an added bonus there was a leftover archery bear tag for my unit that was up for grabs Tuesday. I jumped on the chance and now have a bear tag as well.

Being from Missouri I don't have a lot of experience with bears (i.e. none). I've cut up enough critters in my time that I feel fairly confident I'll be able to cape out a bear except for the paws. I don't expect my elk hunt to turn into a bear hunt but in the off chance I am successful are there any tips/pointers I should be looking at when it comes to caping one out and keeping it preserved in the back country? I get that I should remove the cape and fat as soon as possible for the meat care.

Should I pack out the cape immediately and get it into a freezer as soon as possible? Would it be okay to air it out and let it hang for a few days in the shade near a creek? I'm sort of at a loss here.

 

[swampsnyper]

One of the guys in my group bear hunt in Canada in May, killed a bear that we gutted that night and left out until late the next morning before we got it on ice. Temps that morning were in the 80s if I remember. We put it in a plastic garbage bag and then in the ice chest packed with ice. He tanned the hide with no issues. I'd think it would be fine in a cool spot for a day but I'm no taxidermist. You could keep a sack of salt at the truck and when you get it out to the truck, spread it out and salt it very well. Then wrap up and put on ice when you can.

 

[PEEJAY]

SALT DAT S***!!!

 

[PEEJAY]

Just imagining how long it would take that guy to salt a big cape

if anyone doesnt know who that is just youtube "salt meat guy" lol worth a watch

 

[PEEJAY]

this was next to that pic hehehe

 

[dalton916]

Here ya go....


Ask a taxidermist

Ask a taxidermist

Hey all - I'm a taxidermist im SC. I've gotten lucky enough to work with animals in many countries. I've been on the large commercial side and small side of taxidermy. For a while I also had a big deer processing plant. I see a lot of questions and sometimes misinformation out there in the...

r.tapatalk.com

....straight to the source.

 

[heretic]

Here ya go....


Ask a taxidermist

Ask a taxidermist

Hey all - I'm a taxidermist im SC. I've gotten lucky enough to work with animals in many countries. I've been on the large commercial side and small side of taxidermy. For a while I also had a big deer processing plant. I see a lot of questions and sometimes misinformation out there in the...

r.tapatalk.com

....straight to the source.

Thanks, super helpful thread!

 

[Vtbow]

From what I understand, it depends on what you're going ot do with it. MY last bear went out west to a relative's taxidermist so they could turn it into a rug. The Taxidermist was VERY specific in that he said DO NOT SALT IT. HE wanted it frozen as quickly as possible. Mine was in the freezer frozen within 3 days, and stored in a walk in cooler for 3 prior.

 

[Topdog]

You want that hide off ASAP, we kill a lot of bears around here and unless its super cold, late season or something bears are like nothing else for spoiling, my taxidermist wants them in the freezer ASAP as well, no salt, bear meat is my favorite when handled correctly, I think sometimes it gets a bad rap because of people not taking care of it quick enough in warmer temps, no need to split the pads when caping it out just break the joint above the paws and leave the feet in and let the taxidermist skin it out the way he wants is what we do, I should say my brother I’m horrible with a knife.

 

[slonstdy]

^^^This!!^^^ My taxidermist said exactly that, leave the skull and paws in the hide and freeze it. Bear meat is delicious, much better than deer in my opinion.
Good luck!

 

[Blinginpse]

Leave paws and skull and get froze.soon as u can. If not hair will slip. Skunt out bear looks like a human pretty good eatin if killed at right time the year. Usually when these get in the corn fields and apple trees in September and we get to killing them they dang good but once they get on acorns they tend to change taste it seems. Must be bitterness of the nuts

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk