Use in pie crusts for the best, flakiness, and most flavorful crusts. Also, use for deep frying doughnuts and rosettes- you will never be satisfied with Crisco or beef lard again.

I have nowhere near the experience as JJHack but I have shot a few. I'll agree with him regarding the thoughts going through the mind when following a bear. I haven't lost one but I often had second thoughts while crawling through the brush on hands and knees looking for blood.

I further agree on weapon choice. In MN we have only a fall season where one has to contend with thick fat and heavy fur. These prevent a lot of outside blood loss unless a large exit hole is left.

Shooting from an elevated stand is commonly done here as we mostly shoot over bait which keeps the exit low further helping with blood sign. The two bears I did not shoot from a stand left little blood and I was lucky enough the one shot with a 54 caliber muzzleloader dropped in a cornfield where he was easily seen down a row and the other fell a few yards away after being shot 5 times with a 357 mag pistol. Neither had low exit wounds and had little showing blood.

Shot placement is also key. As mentioned, a bear's vitals are a bit more forward than on a deer. I wait until the near leg is moved forward and then shoot close to it. Most times I get both lungs, the heart, and off shoulder since I wait for the bear to quarter a bit away from me. That is the best angle for an arrow from what I've been told so I figured it would be just as effective with a rifle.

That bears are mostly solid black and are shot at last light can have an affect too. It can be harder to align the sight to a vital place as sight or reticle can blend in with the bear. This makes placing the shot correctly a little tougher which further enhances the claims of a bear being hard to kill.

With a 30/06 or 300 mag, using heavily built 180 gr or heavier bullets I get full pass through and a short trail. It's not infrequently the bear dies right there as the bullet passes close enough to the spine to drop the bear immediately. This seems to occur more often with the larger bores of 35 caliber and bigger.

Bears aren't tougher than deer if hit solidly in the vitals but they can be tougher to find, both physically and mentally, afterward. Having claws and sharp teeth only add to the mystique of the bear's toughness.