# First bear on the board



## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

Sitting in a blind this morning with the first rains from hurricane Irma falling around me, this young boar came in to chomp on some chestnuts.  I've got a camera overlooking a Chinese chestnut tree with numerous deer coming to it, but I had zero pictures of this fella until today.

Mathews Halon 32 zipped a Slick Trick tipped Easton Axis through him like butter.


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## tree cutter 08 (Sep 11, 2017)

Good deal! Fine eating ahead! Congrats


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## Nugefan (Sep 11, 2017)

how fer you have to drag em ????


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

Nugefan said:


> how fer you have to drag em ????



Not fer at all, and I'm awful glad, cause it was just me.


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## PappyHoel (Sep 11, 2017)

Good job nice stinky bear there . I had one close Saturday morning never saw him but I could smell him he was close.


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## Nugefan (Sep 11, 2017)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> Not fer at all, and I'm awful glad, cause it was just me.



you always want em to run dead towards the truck huh ....lol ..

It will eat good .....congrats ...


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## 35 Whelen (Sep 11, 2017)

Awesome!


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## 1eyefishing (Sep 11, 2017)

Sweet surprise...
Congrats.


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## Buckman18 (Sep 11, 2017)

Awesome! Congratulations!


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## Rich Kaminski (Sep 11, 2017)

*Congrads*

Thats a fine bear right there. Are you going to do one of those great wall mounts?


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

Rich Kaminski said:


> Thats a fine bear right there. Are you going to do one of those great wall mounts?



No, I'll probably just make a necklace from the claws.  He's not a big bear by anyone's standards.


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## Killer Kyle (Sep 11, 2017)

Good eating right there Dub! What was the wind like where you were hunting this a.m.? Also, what are the GPS coordinates?..........asking for a friend.
Nice work man!!
How you gonna cut 'em and cook 'em?


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

Killer Kyle said:


> Good eating right there Dub! What was the wind like where you were hunting this a.m.? Also, what are the GPS coordinates?..........asking for a friend.
> Nice work man!!
> How you gonna cut 'em and cook 'em?



Kyle, I seriously don't believe we've had a single wind gust over 5mph today.  It was dead calm with a steady drizzle of rain.

Gonna have backstrap steaks and chunk the rest for canning.  And will render what I can into grease.


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## bowbuck (Sep 11, 2017)

Good deal Congrats!!


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## tree cutter 08 (Sep 11, 2017)

How do you like that grease? Been thinking about making some but haven't tried it. Oh if you have a egg or a smoker, throw one of those front shoulders on and see what ya think. You will thank me later!


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

tree cutter 08 said:


> How do you like that grease? Been thinking about making some but haven't tried it. Oh if you have a egg or a smoker, throw one of those front shoulders on and see what ya think. You will thank me later!



I tell anyone that will listen, bear grease is superior to any cooking oil I've ever used.  The first thing my wife asked when I told her I had shot a bear was she getting some more grease.


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## Finman` (Sep 11, 2017)

Woohoo congrats!


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## Timberman (Sep 11, 2017)

That was quick!


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## oatmeal1 (Sep 11, 2017)

Good looking bear Congrats!!!


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## CornStalker (Sep 11, 2017)

Nice work man!! Also, great photo of the harvest! 

Hope the rest of y'all are seeing bears too...


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## BornNRaised (Sep 11, 2017)

Awesome kill.  Enjoy God's gift


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## ddd-shooter (Sep 11, 2017)

Ccongrats! Well done! Can you share your rendering process for us? I'd like to try.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

ddd-shooter said:


> Ccongrats! Well done! Can you share your rendering process for us? I'd like to try.



I've done bear and hog both, but the process I've found to be most efficient is this:

Take the clean, white fat and cut it into chunks.  I prefer to run it through a grinder.  It renders quicker and more thoroughly this way.  I put it in a cast iron pot and turn the stove on low heat.  You don't want to cook it, just melt it.  It may take a few hours, but the fat will slowly turn to liquid.  At first, it's very cloudy but as you continue to render, it will clear up.  I take a slotted spoon and scoop out any solids that are floating.  Other impurities will have settled on the bottom.  Everything else is pure bear grease.  I've used a large syringe (for injecting turkeys) and drawn out the clear liquid and then deposited it into clean jars.  It will set up over night and make a pure white grease like Crisco.  

We keep ours in the freezer until we need a new jar, and just keep it in the fridge to use as needed.  It makes awesome biscuits.  I used bear grease to season my Blackstone.  It's light and clean, and if you did it right, it has no off-putting flavor or odor.  You can put your nose in the jar and can't smell a thing.


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## jbogg (Sep 11, 2017)

Way to get it done in the rain!  Nice bear!


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 11, 2017)

jbogg said:


> Way to get it done in the rain!  Nice bear!



I thought about you when I was tracking it in the rain.


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## tee p (Sep 12, 2017)

Good looking bear!


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## ripplerider (Sep 12, 2017)

Good job! Did he have a lot of fat on him? I like bear grease too it's amazing how odor-free it is.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 12, 2017)

ripplerider said:


> Good job! Did he have a lot of fat on him? I like bear grease too it's amazing how odor-free it is.



No, he was on the average to lanky side.  His head and paws belong on a bigger bear.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 12, 2017)

Heck yeah!  I'm a fan of bear grease, too. Ate many a biscuit made with it growing up. I can remember grandpa curing bear hams in the smokehouse with the pork.


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## ssmith (Sep 12, 2017)

Great job on a day when most at home


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## king killer delete (Sep 12, 2017)

Never ate Bear . Congrats on a great hunt. He is a big boy.


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## livinoutdoors (Sep 12, 2017)

Good job! Bravin the storm paid off!


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## Cwb19 (Sep 12, 2017)

Nice bear congrats especially on a stormy morning.plus the smaller bears are better eating


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 13, 2017)

I really wish that we could shoot bears here in bow and ML season. I'd keep the freezer full. Our regulations make it almost impossible to bear hunt without dogs in western NC.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 13, 2017)

NCHillbilly said:


> I really wish that we could shoot bears here in bow and ML season. I'd keep the freezer full. Our regulations make it almost impossible to bear hunt without dogs in western NC.



That's one of the reasons I've never wanted bear dogs legal in north GA.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 13, 2017)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> That's one of the reasons I've never wanted bear dogs legal in north GA.



I have no problem with bear dogs being legal, as long as there was a season you could hunt them without dogs being legal. I see bears all the time during bow and ML season (before our bear season opens,) but after the first dog is turned loose opening morning, the bears pretty much go nocturnal and stay that way the rest of the season.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 13, 2017)

NCHillbilly said:


> but after the first dog is turned loose opening morning, the bears pretty much go nocturnal and stay that way the rest of the season.



That's my issue.  It renders ground hunting for bears a fruitless exercise.  In NC, if you don't hunt with dogs, you ain't killing many bears.  If the seasons were separate, I might be more inclined to support it.


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## Uncle Eddie (Sep 13, 2017)

Way to go Wes, You make me proud.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 14, 2017)

Uncle Eddie said:


> Way to go Wes, You make me proud.



Thanks Eddie!


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## T-N-T (Sep 14, 2017)

Thanks for the rendering process.
And CONGRATS!


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## Killer Kyle (Sep 14, 2017)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> I've done bear and hog both, but the process I've found to be most efficient is this:
> 
> Take the clean, white fat and cut it into chunks.  I prefer to run it through a grinder.  It renders quicker and more thoroughly this way.  I put it in a cast iron pot and turn the stove on low heat.  You don't want to cook it, just melt it.  It may take a few hours, but the fat will slowly turn to liquid.  At first, it's very cloudy but as you continue to render, it will clear up.  I take a slotted spoon and scoop out any solids that are floating.  Other impurities will have settled on the bottom.  Everything else is pure bear grease.  I've used a large syringe (for injecting turkeys) and drawn out the clear liquid and then deposited it into clean jars.  It will set up over night and make a pure white grease like Crisco.
> 
> We keep ours in the freezer until we need a new jar, and just keep it in the fridge to use as needed.  It makes awesome biscuits.  I used bear grease to season my Blackstone.  It's light and clean, and if you did it right, it has no off-putting flavor or odor.  You can put your nose in the jar and can't smell a thing.




Hey W, question regarding rendering. I've read that the type of fat you collect makes a difference. I read that people collect the fluffy whiter belly fat. Is that about right? Let me also ask this. My bears are going to have to be quartered in the woods and packed out. In the order of work, would you recommend fitting the bear then removing the fat as priority #1 before skinning and making meat cuts? I've gotten dirt on bear and hog before in the process (I am definitely no pro!), but with washing and trimming the meat always turns out fine. I'm imagining there is absolutely no way to clean pure fat once it gets dirty. For the quartering process, I am thinking split up the middle, and roll bear to one side. Skin just under the hair down along the ribs, and then go back and carve off the fat. Then roll the bear to the other side, and repeat. Does that sound about right?


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## blood on the ground (Sep 15, 2017)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> I've done bear and hog both, but the process I've found to be most efficient is this:
> 
> Take the clean, white fat and cut it into chunks.  I prefer to run it through a grinder.  It renders quicker and more thoroughly this way.  I put it in a cast iron pot and turn the stove on low heat.  You don't want to cook it, just melt it.  It may take a few hours, but the fat will slowly turn to liquid.  At first, it's very cloudy but as you continue to render, it will clear up.  I take a slotted spoon and scoop out any solids that are floating.  Other impurities will have settled on the bottom.  Everything else is pure bear grease.  I've used a large syringe (for injecting turkeys) and drawn out the clear liquid and then deposited it into clean jars.  It will set up over night and make a pure white grease like Crisco.
> 
> We keep ours in the freezer until we need a new jar, and just keep it in the fridge to use as needed.  It makes awesome biscuits.  I used bear grease to season my Blackstone.  It's light and clean, and if you did it right, it has no off-putting flavor or odor.  You can put your nose in the jar and can't smell a thing.



At one time Daniel Boone mad a lot of money rendering bear fat and selling it to early settlers. congrats on a nice bear...


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 15, 2017)

Bears are a lot like women, they carry their fat in different places.

In my experience, the most usable fat is found from about the middle of the back down to back of the thighs.  The backstraps are usually protected by a healthy layer of fat and the highest quantity of fat is usually along the midsection covering the ribs.  

It's easiest to process once the bear is skinned, but I've not done it in the woods.  Yes, you're going to get leaves and debris on everything, but I'm not sure that's a big problem.  All of that should float to the top in the rendering process and be easily scooped out.  If not, I'm sure filtering through cheese cloth would work.

Just as the saying goes, there's a million ways to skin a cat.  Well, I've not skinned many cats, but the same can be said for bears.  Ideally, I would skin him out and leave his hide on the ground like a blanket.  Then I'd roll him onto his stomach with his back up.  Make a cut straight down to the backbone from the shoulders all the way  back to the tail.  Then, start peeling the fat off either side, cutting it away from the meat.  Kind of the same you you do a backstrap away from the ribs.  Actually, if you've ever cut the side meat for bacon away from the ribs, it's a very similar process.  Whatever you do, be prepared to have you and everything you touch covered in grease  It's hard to hold onto a knife when both your hands and the knife are slick.  

As far as the quality of the fat from different places, I couldn't  tell you much.  But if it's pure and white, you can't go wrong.  

This is from a big bear a couple years ago.  There actually wasn't enough fat on this most recent one to even bother with.


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