Should I hunt them?

I had bear meat that a friend's dad fixed in Virginia and it was excellent, if a little rich. I've also had it prepared by others and I wouldn't have fed that stuff to a dog. My understanding is that meat trimming and preparation are VERY important, and all of the surface fat and connective tissues need to be removed. I'm trying to get the recipes from Virginia.

Kevin Little
Bamboo Rodmaker
Registered Maine Guide

I've heard that. The guys I know that like the meat say you've got to take care of them quick and need to trim everything off the meat. I imagine I'll at least shoot one to try it out. After all everything tastes good cooked in the crockpot for 8-10 hours.

I have never had the opportunity, though I would like to try it at least once.
I have a Dan Wesson 44 mag pistol I would like to use on the hunt.

Steve. You wouldn't know where I could get a good scope for that cannon, would ya?

Unfortunately at the moment I don't have any pistol scopes in any of our lines. Recently I've been asked that a lot so I guess I'd better get on it. At any rate, the noise alone from a .44 mag should easily kill a bear.

Black Bear meat is excellant if properly cared for. I'll NEVER try grizzly again.
I have seen one guy ride all over gardiner/chelsea/randolf maine showing off the little bear he shot 3 days earlier! I don't even think it had been gutted. That one, I believe, was waisted.

If you can removed the innards quick, and get the carcass into a walk-in cooler within two hours or so of shooting the animal, you should have great tasting meat. Or get the hide off & chunk (quarter) the carcass to put into a regular fridge.
And as stated above, all of the fat must be removed when butchering.

I'll be hunting for 'em next fall!

We have a get together with a bunch of hunters in the summer here and one of the big items on the menu is BBQ Bear Ribs and we usally run short its so good. Proper care for game from the field to the table is the key to making it good.

I think preperation and care of the meat is the key with any wild game. I find that fat from wild game of any kind isnt good. Lean wild game will taste the best.

I heard if you smoke the meat, it tastes good. Never had bear that I can remember to be honest.

Bear is excellant...slow cook and trim all the fat off...cool quickliy after the kill and hunt far from town. Garbage in and garbage out!!!!!!!

Thanks for all the advice. Aroostookbasser if I try to hunt them it'll be down Haynesville way so I'm not too worried about the garbage factor!

I'll be taking one with a smith and wesson 500 next season... thats a cannon

whoa! I guess

tweede: My sources tell me that the bears were really working the mast crops along the river south of town...near the camps on 9 road...and In and around Valentine Ridge last fall. (One friend saw three bears in less than two hours near the ridge.)

stweedie, I was thinking of hunting them myself. Can you imagine if we both went out together. Would it be the blind leading the blind?

Remington,
You'd have it about right I think. We could have a pretty good walk though! I've seen them time to time out bird hunting when they bolt across a loggin road or skidder trail. The dogs usually aren't too far behind though! I've always wondered why, with all the different methods to take a bear would a hunter use dogs? Just my luck by the time a big ole bear got treed he'd be a good 2 or 3 miles from any kind of a trail!

Try spot and stock late in the day near the berries left late in fall.......and the beechnuts.
My favorite way......a treestand near a feeding area. Then I use standard varmint calling methods. The key here is to be sent free.....I love my scentlock suit.