Why is bear so underrated?

J

Jimbobob08

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I’ve always really enjoyed getting out for spring bear after a long winter. The bugs weren’t bad at all, and the weather was pretty decent this year. The bush is filled with life, at dusk and dawn a person almost needs ear plugs because the amount of birds, I saw lots of deer and moose, a rabbit, coon, and even a fisher came in. Of course I had pesky squirrels and wood peckers too, all part of the fun.

I filled my tag earlier this week 17km from home. Double lung shot with a .44mag 240grain xtp, bear didn’t make it 35’. It’s consistently my cheapest hunt of the year, likely due to location (Ontario, between Sudbury and North Bay), lack of travel required with a healthy bear population. It doesn’t take much for bait to bring them in. Making the bait was a whole family event. Popcorn, mixed with hog feed, long range bear additive, corn syrup. Couple beavers hung in trees. It’s the first big game hunt my 4 year old was involved in, making memories hopefully. He wasn’t there for this sit, but has sat in the blind with me and got to watch a monster come in and feed. After the tag was filled, I called the wife and told her to keep him up. He watched me gut and skin the bear at home.

Following day I made a nice bear stew. Everyone that tries my bear is always shocked at how good it is. I’ve never had bad bear, so I don’t understand the surprise. Had a kid from daycare over with his parents for dinner. It sparked the father’s interest about getting into hunting. Says he’d like to take his son out, like his grandfather took him out as a boy. I put the offer out there, who knows, maybe some future hunters in the making thanks to some bear stew.
 
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What you described what it is all about...
Making memories and living life large.
Bear is under rated by those who have not enjoyed the savors of their hunt imo.
Much fat ?
Rendered bear fat makes great lard for pies. (prolly better in the fall..the fattening)
Rob
 
My Dad has gotten a few bear over the years (I haven't been as lucky), but he always makes a great bear stew/soup with it. I think people find the meat underrated if they try to use it like deer. We made a couple burgers out of his first bear and they were meh at best. People just don't know the right way to cook them.
 
Jimbobob08 said:
I’ve always really enjoyed getting out for spring bear after a long winter. The bugs weren’t bad at all, and the weather was pretty decent this year. The bush is filled with life, at dusk and dawn a person almost needs ear plugs because the amount of birds, I saw lots of deer and moose, a rabbit, coon, and even a fisher came in. Of course I had pesky squirrels and wood peckers too, all part of the fun.

I filled my tag earlier this week 17km from home. Double lung shot with a .44mag 240grain xtp, bear didn’t make it 35’. It’s consistently my cheapest hunt of the year, likely due to location (Ontario, between Sudbury and North Bay), lack of travel required with a healthy bear population. It doesn’t take much for bait to bring them in. Making the bait was a whole family event. Popcorn, mixed with hog feed, long range bear additive, corn syrup. Couple beavers hung in trees. It’s the first big game hunt my 4 year old was involved in, making memories hopefully. He wasn’t there for this sit, but has sat in the blind with me and got to watch a monster come in and feed. After the tag was filled, I called the wife and told her to keep him up. He watched me gut and skin the bear at home.

Following day I made a nice bear stew. Everyone that tries my bear is always shocked at how good it is. I’ve never had bad bear, so I don’t understand the surprise. Had a kid from daycare over with his parents for dinner. It sparked the father’s interest about getting into hunting. Says he’d like to take his son out, like his grandfather took him out as a boy. I put the offer out there, who knows, maybe some future hunters in the making thanks to some bear stew.
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I've had good bear, but not very often. - dan
 
EL34/6L6 said:
Trichinosis?
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Yes, that (despite the fact that it is rare) and the belief that bears are generally "Wormy" and also many people ignorant of the fact that bear has to be processed immediately and left hanging for even a day will make for poor quality meat.

Suits me. The fewer bears others shoot make getting one easier for me.
 
I always wanted to hunt bear but never got around to it. There used to be a large number at my cottage when the salmon fishing was huge and the local dump was active. I walked into the cottage one day to find a black bear literally sitting at my kitchen table eating cookies off a tray, he'd got in through a lower kitchen window screen. Funny now, not so much right then. There was a group of guys several years ago that bought a camp and acreage just down the road. In 4 years, they took over the dozen bear. Between that and the salmon fishing drying up, I'm lucky to see 1 bear every 2 years. Saw a sow with 3 tiny cubs this spring though, was the coolest thing I'd seen in a long time.
 
I killed a younger bear this spring here in North Western Ontario. Had some tacos the other night with some of the bear grind. Absolutely delicious and without the beef fat tallow wash you get with ground beef sometimes. I shot a much older and bigger bear two years ago. Tasted great but was super tough. Pressure cooker cured that. Cook all bear to well done and you will have no issues with parasites. The biggest barrier to eating bear is getting around the idea you are eating bear.

Darryl
 
Ive had a few tasty meals of bear but we don’t eat it much, too rich. I think rugdoc is correct in handling the meat immediately. The fat has a low melt point and makes everything greasy even at room temperature. I do like rendered lard from a white fat fall bear.
Ever noticed how nothing will scavenge a skinned bear carcass? They just kind of melt into the ground. If the ravens and coyotes don’t want it.....
 
EL34/6L6 said:
Trichinosis?
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Get the internal temp up to 160deg for 3-5 mins and there’s no risk of trichinosis, cook it like pork and enjoy it. Some of the best meat around.


In my case I wanted to try it prior to shooting one, didn’t want to end up with a ton of meat that I didn’t like the taste of. Couldn’t find anyone I knew that hunter who hunter bears, they all said they didn’t want to shoot bears or they had a bad experience with the meat and were turned off by it. It’s one of the best tasting wild meats I find, my only gripe is you can’t cook it rare/blue like most ungulates or beef. But I definitely love eating it, will be curing and smoking hams this year if I can cut a tag.

The other thing I find is a lot of people have been conditioned over the years to think bear hunting is ethnically wrong, all I can say is bears used to be sought after for more than their meat. They are a multi use animal, the hide, claws, skull, fat, meat were all utilized back in the day. The most ethical game animal as far as I’m concerned when you look at it from a use standpoint.
 
Hollow Point said:
What are the worms that live between the muscle tissue of some bears called? Do they present any potential health problems?
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As mentioned above Trichinosis is a food-borne disease caused by a microscopic parasite called Trichinella. People can get this disease by eating raw or under-cooked meat from animals infected with the parasite. Often these infected meats come from wild game, such as bear, or pork products.
 
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