Field dressing a bear?

Well first you kill a bear.:D

I like to do it this way. Others may have different ideas.

I lay the bear on a tarp. If you want a rug:

Slit from heel to heel on the inside of the hind legs.

Slit from heel to heel on the inside of the front legs.

Slit from anus to chin.

Skin out the legs on one side of the beast. Then skin the rest of the same side of the bear.

Flip the skin out of the way.

Cut the hind leg off at the hip joint.[ knife only, go slow.]

Cut the front leg off complete with shoulder. [again you only need a knife.]

Filet the back strap.

Roll the bear over onto the "carved" side and repeat for second side.

Two hinds, two fronts, two backstraps,

one hide.

Now you can cut the paws off when you do the legs, and let the Taxidermist skin the feet for you , or you can spend a little more time skinning before you cut the legs off.

Ditto the head. I like to skin everything and then put plenty of salt on the hide. If you think you have too much salt, that is usually a little less than you need, so add more. There is no such thing as too much salt

After the salt fold the hide , flesh to flesh loosely. at least once a day open and resalt. DO NOT PUT in a plastic bag. it will sweat and the hair will slip.

Oh yeah! take your watch off before you start. I don't gut them at all.

This method works with deer, elk, moose with a few minor adjustments.

I don't bother with the ribs.
 
if you lay the hide after its folded onto a board that is positioned at about 15 degrees up it will help with the draining of the moistures
edit to add if the bear wasnt killed before the skinning process you might want offer it some whiskey and a chunk of wood to bight down on. do not offer your hand or arm as you will need those both to finish the skining
 
Redfrog said:
Two hinds, two fronts, two backstraps,

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This method works with deer, elk, moose with a few minor adjustments.

I don't bother with the ribs.
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Depending on what you do with the carcass, this method could land you in quite a bit of trouble if used for deer, elk, moose, etc. The conservation officers will consider this wasting meat, at least they did when my cousin got tagged for it. You have to at least make an effort to remove the meat around the neck and briskit.
 
I did my very first bear kinda like a deer, hung it head down by the back legs. I butchered the job and was left with a tasty bear but a mess for a rug. Little more confident for the next one though. I have heard but not witnessed pulling the arms through a slit in the armpit, surprized someone hasn't elaborated on it more, splitting the lips is apparently an art, I simply put my foot on his nose and pulled until the mask let go, I guess I can see why the rug was no good.
 
fabs_4000 said:
This can be difficult, there are times when a bear won't let you put a dress on it
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and sometimes the bear makes you wear the dress RIGHT gatehouse ?
whos got "THAT" picture ?
 
I do it like Redfrog and I am fast and quick withthe knife on the quarters.

I am not such a fan of bear meat that i need to spend time de boning every olast bit and piece of it.:p
 
Gatehouse said:
I do it like Redfrog and I am fast and quick withthe knife on the quarters.

I am not such a fan of bear meat that i need to spend time de boning every olast bit and piece of it.:p
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'Especially' when it's time to get back to your beautiful cabin/home at the end of the hunt only to find your beautiful girlfriend is waiting for you with dinner prepared and a 'cold one' at the ready ;) :rolleyes: :cool:
 
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haggisbasher said:
'Especially' when it's time to get back to your beautiful cabin/home at the end of the hunt only to find your beautiful girlfriend is waiting for you with dinner prepared and a 'cold one' at the ready ;) :rolleyes: :cool:
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Ahh the life...:cool:
 
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