Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Black Bear

Id like to shoot one w my recurve but the bait thing im not keen on.

Buds have done it w bow and gun and now just want a whopper.

To each his own.

Id be alright w zapping one from a stand while deer hunting. Secondary target thing.

No bait.

Even the. Its proly be a one and done for me.

Ive eaten some others have shot. Was fine. Nothing great and nothing bad IMHO.

a couple of the guys i knew in PENN that have shot black bears have told me the death moan bothers them a little bit

TIA, sorry to hear about your hunting grounds getting smoked, speaking of big ones, i must have spoke with Phil more than 5 years ago about a big coastal brownie, same/same, i gotta get my mind right on the subject before i waste anymore of the mans time.

hookeye, no bait here either, i certainly wouldnt feel right about a stand over that mineral station, i wont blow a steer out of a feed trough before i go to butcher either LOL! bowhunting bucks on up the mountain and a bear comes by? maybe, i'll know when it happens.

Jericho, well damn! death moan? chit, that may do the deal for me, probably dont need to hear that either, a Cape Buffalo's death bellow sounds like, "IF I COULD GET UP, I'D FKING KILL YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!!" i'm okay with those lol, but a cry/moan? probably not. chit!

My hunting partner and I have fallen love with our spring bear hunts. Sneaking closed logging roads is an exhilarating way to hunt. From 350 pounds to less than a hundred, it matters not us. From fifteen feet to three hundred yards, charged by one that started his charge from a bit over a hundred yards. Ended at twenty feet with a roar. Four rounds from a 405 WCF and 350 grain cast bullets at 2250 and one 220 partition from my featherweight. Wish it was in video but we were busy.
In our wolf and grizzly infested west, I’m pretty sure we’re saving a few elk calves and deer fawns.
Hunting anything is personal, and I can’t wait for September 1 for bear season to start in Wyoming.

Damn, have heard of things happening fast with bears, sounds like you guys have a handle on it, 'all'

Maybe i can join the fun someday, Thanks for the story Frank500.

The death bawl they make can be pretty eerie when it's after dark and close to you. Good thing is it scares off the other bears. They do tend to look very humanlike when skinned out.

Thanks for that info RandyR, good to know if i do arrow one the bawl will make retrieval a little less of a puckering experience, i hunt alone here at the house, but will/do pack a sidearm whether bowhunting or just walking for exercise.

Did pull trail cam card Tuesday night, best as i can tell there's 6 different bears, have pics of two different collared ones, a small uncollared one that looks like a yearling, one good sized male no collar, a damn big male, no collar, and one monster that was facing the camera with head down, his head looked two feet wide, he also posed for the complimentary nut sack shot, they nearly drag the ground, if i take one, it'll be him.

I killed a Utah black bear with a longbow in 2004. It was the most adrenalin rushed hunt I've ever had. The #52 bow zipped a cedar arrow and 2 blade Zwickey broadhead right through him at about 7 yards from a blind. The skull scored 20 2/16" after drying for the required 60 days and at the time it was the #7 all time archery kill bear in Utah. I knew then that I'd never get so lucky as to kill another bear anywhere near that big, so I haven't wanted to hunt bear again. One is enough, especially since he was so big. My taxidermist and the P&Y scorer both estimated his live weight at 500+ pounds and the taxidermist had to use a small grizzly bear form to do the full body mount. He shaved down the hump with a Sure Form rasp and filled in the dished face with Bondo. Wish I could figure out the photo thing on this website. I had it mounted in a full body, standing pose and it looks great. The "death rattle' can be a little unnerving, but it just added to the excitement of a successful hunt.

Gunner Bro,

I crossbow bolted one @ 24 yards, only because it was destroying my deer hunting.

Had 30-30 sitting beside me !

Did it all legitimately, purchased a tag & decided I was going to eat the meat.

As to the "death moan", it is eerie, but on the flip side, you know your bear is done, before pursuing !











Skinned, gutted & butchered myself;











For what it's worth, my corn & barley fed bear, tasted fantastic !

*Cook to a min internal temp of 160*F

Great story Utah, bet it was a rush and a half!

LOL 99, looks like you're practiced at keeping warm and getting groceries at the same time, that bear meat looks great, i've only had it a few times, iirc bud said he smoked it to an internal temp of 168 degrees.

Gunner500, bear meat is good, but on a younger bear. Iv shot 3 , 1886 win. 45-70, Sharps 40-70 and a new Ballard 44-77 Death moan is a bit Spooky, but you know that after you hear it, the bear is dead. Happy Hunting

Dang, good stuff with that sweet and sour post Saddlering, sweet on using the old rifles to get it done, sour on only young ones are good to eat, i wont shoot a little one, crapola. ; ]

I shot a 450lb boar, with the 45-70 1886 he smelled so bad it was tough taking pics with him . Plus the skining, didn't get take any meat from him. Was told he was 11-12 years old. And he was a fall bear. I'm the same as to eat my kills, but, didn't feel bad about not taking meat from that bear!

LOL, i have an old buddy that'll eat anything, maybe he can pepper it up enough to make him a barrel of breakfast sausage, these two bigger male bears i have pics of have a serious sack of nuts on em, so yes, probably old and rank.

I like to think about, what the Animal I'm going to eat, like to EAT!

Bears eat Carcasses, and spoiled rotten Meat!

Yeah, Berries, and other Healthy stuff also, but I just can't wrap my head around, eating Bear meat!

Like many of you Guy's, I won't shoot it, if I don't Eat it!

bear meat = young ones are good to eat , the medium size bears on berries taste good , any big bore is awful to eat > ick you can smell an old bore cooking on the stove

Well, two things to happen first gentlemen, first have to see if i'll shoot one of it shows, second will be when the blade goes in, bet number two will be answered pretty dang quick ; ]

makes sense...
a lot like ducks.
dabbling ducks are good, diving muck rakers not so much...

is it bear that is supposed to taste better in berry season?

I love being around bears. Going out this weekend to hunt them. Usually don't shoot them, just watch. Hate the death moan. Bothers me greatly.

I can relate to all that FB, part of the reason for my hangup i guess, talked to an old Bud that's killed 12 with archery tackle, he said go ahead and arrow one, first bothered him too, he loves to hunt and eat them, same guy that smoked some bear meat at a retirement fish fry i went to last summer.