# So, I killed a bear.  Now what?



## chadeugene (Sep 1, 2013)

The club I joined this year is eaten up with bears.  Never shot a bear, and although I have seen them, I've never seen one while hunting.  I'm just curious (as well as many others I'm sure) about the steps that should be taken after killing one.  

I think it would be beneficial to have a sticky explaining how to clean, move, and report your bear to the state after the kill.  

Just a though, thanks for reading.


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## 95g atl (Sep 1, 2013)

Good suggestion. 
My club has seen two bears, but they are not legal in that county. :/


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## NC Scout (Sep 1, 2013)

*Don't be Squeamish...*

bear are the nastiest beast to clean-worms, pus, infectious diseases, puke provoking stench....


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## Bucky T (Sep 2, 2013)

NC Scout said:


> bear are the nastiest beast to clean-worms, pus, infectious diseases, puke provoking stench....



Well..  I'll make sure to breath through my mouth, and to eat a brkfst that will come up easily..

Lol!


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## bluemarlin (Sep 2, 2013)

NC Scout said:


> worms, pus, infectious diseases, puke provoking stench....



and don't make a bad shot.. They'll climb your tree and eat your head off.


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## Judge (Sep 2, 2013)

Lots of helpful response posts in this thread


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## Killer Kyle (Sep 2, 2013)

Care for a bear is primarily the same as any other big game animal.  If you have gutted, skinned, and quartered other big game animals, its the same with a bear.  Up the middle, out with the guts.  Skin the bear. Keep the head and hide to be checked it with the state.  This is mandatory, not an option.  
Skin the bear just like you would a deer or hog.  There is usually a lot of excess body fat.  Trim off the fat that you can remove within reason.  Quarter.  Cut off the hams, shoulders, back straps, carve out the rib meat, cut out the tenderloins, remove the neck meat if you want.  Bada bing bada boom.  Done.
Just like with ALL other game animals:  Keep the meat as clean as possible. Cool the meat as quickly as possible.  Keep the hide and head on ice so it doesn't start to stink  while you're waiting to show it to DNR.  If you plan to get a rug or mount or hide, keep it cold all the way to the taxidermist.  If a mount or rug is your plan, protect the hide when removing from the woods.  Drag animal on a sled or doubled up tarp.  If you are packing out, roll the head and hide up and pack it in a breathable bag.  If you are looking for breathable bags to pack your meat and hide in, go to Walmart in the iron/laundry section and get small mesh bags for $2.00 each.  Boom.  Meat carrying sacks.  
Looking for a good way to cook bear that's easy, tastes great, and allows you to cook in bulk?  Smoke it.  Bear BBQ.  Don't have a smoker?  Find someone who does and pay them to do it for you.  Also bear chili is great, masks whatever "taste" people are worried about, and all you need is a grinder.  People will never even know they're eating bear.
A last tip.  A bear rug might cost you $1,000 or more.  That's an average estimatr on a good sized bear.  A bear hide, not rug, will cost you probably $300-350. I dont care enough about a piece of felt being sewed on to pay an extra $700.00.  Just my humble opinion.  
Just some quick-draw tips off the top of my head.  Pretty much common knowledge.


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## Killer Kyle (Sep 2, 2013)

Judge said:


> Lots of helpful response posts in this thread



There you go Judge.  

Also, if you want to know how to gut and skin a bear, youtube is your best friend.  I'm sure one of the 30 videos showing how to skin, gut, and quarter a bear should be found as useful.


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## jp94 (Sep 2, 2013)

I have always found bears to be easier to gut than deer. More room in the body cavity and they lay on their back much easier with the legs out of the way. I have never noticed a bad smell. They are a pain in the rear to drag out of the woods. As Killer Kyle said you can find many videos on youtube & you can google how to skin a bear and get several sets of instructions from taxidermist on the preferred way to skin for rugs or mounts. Good luck on getting one this year!


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## NorthGaHunter (Sep 2, 2013)

Also if you are going to have a rug or mount, cut your seams across the pelvis and chest before gutting.  Doing this will keeps your seams straight which will be important if you happen to want a mount.  Btw, the meat tastes fine; just get him gutted as soon as you can.  If the temperature is not very cold, get ice inside him and put a couple 20  lb bags underneath him to get him cool from both the inside and outside.  Hopefully the meat will be ice cold by the time you skin him.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Sep 2, 2013)

I agree that a bear is very similar to a deer with a large body cavity. Also, that the meat gets a bad rap. I really like it, and think there's a lot more options for cooking. It's a little bit lighter than deer meat, and I think it does well on the grill with some type of asian marinade.

Take all of the information on here with a grain of salt though. A lot of times the quality of both the hide and meat just depends on what the critter's been into. As we all know, they'll eat just about anything. This can either be good or bad. Some have great coats and really good meat. 

Some can look like they have mange and taste about like they look. But, I think this is in the minority. Your experience with Whitetails should suffice for all practical purposes.


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## NC Scout (Sep 4, 2013)

Bucky T said:


> Well..  I'll make sure to breath through my mouth, and to eat a brkfst that will come up easily..
> 
> Lol!



yep, once you get that first wrench or two out, bada bing bada boom, cleaning a 300-400 bear is a cake walk...

lol!


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## buckeroo (Sep 5, 2013)

I found these videos most helpful for explaining how to skin a bear for a rug or a full size mount. I would have gotten it 90% right except I would have probably not done the leg and arm areas quite right.


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## DYI hunting (Sep 5, 2013)

Can you legally quarter up a bear and skin it before moving it from the kill location?  What do you need to bring to check the bear in with the DNR, the entire bear or just the hide & head or???


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## NC Scout (Sep 5, 2013)

DYI hunting said:


> Can you legally quarter up a bear and skin it before moving it from the kill location?  What do you need to bring to check the bear in with the DNR, the entire bear or just the hide & head or???



Bear aren't easy to get out of the woods, its understood that you may have to quarter him up to get him out.  And its best for the meat to get hide off ASAP. But they want to see as much of that bear as possible, I'd bring everything that made it out of the woods to check in.   

If you _even_ think your bear's weight _might_ be marginal, put every hair, organ, fat tissue, worm , in a cooler (so they won't dry out) for weighing at check in.  

Not many people process bear but there's a guy in Rabun Co. that did excellent job on a bear for me at a great price.  I can't really afford to pay someone to dress a bear but I was leaving for quota hunt next day.  Can't remember that guy's name but I found him in an old GON.

Keep some of the snow white fat that comes off your bear.  It makes for the lightest, flakiest biscuits, pastries, pie crust, ect.


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## humdandy (Sep 5, 2013)

What do you do with the gall bladder?


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 5, 2013)

humdandy said:


> What do you do with the gall bladder?



Sell it for big money to the Chinese black market, and go to jail if you get caught.


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## HighCotton (Sep 5, 2013)

buckeroo said:


> I found these videos most helpful for explaining how to skin a bear for a rug or a full size mount. I would have gotten it 90% right except I would have probably not done the leg and arm areas quite right.



I would really love to see a video this clear and simple and going slow on how to gut and quarter a deer including getting the tenderloins and backstraps.  Any suggestions?  Most videos I've seen go way too fast and aren't of very good quality.


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## humdandy (Sep 5, 2013)

NCHillbilly said:


> Sell it for big money to the Chinese black market, and go to jail if you get caught.



Ok.

Don't know any black chinamen.

Really?  What can I do with it?  Last one I tossed with guts, but who knows, maybe I'm missing something good!  Might grow my hair back!


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## ChickInATree (Sep 5, 2013)

bluemarlin said:


> and don't make a bad shot.. They'll climb your tree and eat your head off.



ALWAYS take a sidearm!


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