From what I have read average bear is around 230 lbs. State record is around 600. How in the world would I transport a big bear if I was hunting solo?
whelennut

In a pack in multiple trips. Unless you ain't required to keep the meat, then I'd just lug out the hide and skull.

I'd like to pack one out in a canoe someday.

I've brought them out in a canoe before. Not nearly as romantic as it might seem.

Have talked to guys in PA that have killed black bears and have been told that dragging a big one out of the woods is like dragging a soaking wet mattress.

Deer cart works well at times or four wheelers.

In pieces.

Dragging any animal loses it's novelty real fast. I'd dismantle it and backpack the pieces before I'd drag it.

Yep. We did it with a 400 lb on dry leaves. It sucked - bad.

Follow him until he is close to the road, then cap him.

IIRC that's not an option in PA. I think they have to come out whole.

The change a few years ago in ID to not having to pack out the meat is making it a bit more attractive to me for a bear hunt.

Skinning close is a bonus in the field with any type of hump. I've brought out average bears (5 1/2 to 6') and the pack with only hide/head has weighed 90 pounds.

I need to work on that. Keep leaving too much fat on the hide. We can bring them out in pieces here. Really loving fall bear hunting here.

Too unstable? I hunted the Thorne river from a canoe a couple years back but didn't see any big bears. Too unstable when you did it?

Most bears in Pa. do go to the check station as a complete carcass but you can skin and/or quarter them, there is no requirement to present them whole. Mostly they pull a tooth, get information on the kill location, and weigh them. I've seen them take blood samples but I'm not sure they still do that.

If I was bear hunting alone for some reason, I'd have my friends on speed dial. Most of them live in bear country so they'd be close.

Dale

Most bears in PA are taken by "gangs" making drives through HEAVY cover. So when a bear does hit the ground, there are generally some helping hands to be had.

That being said.......... you don't want to have to move a big one very far. Biggest one we have taken was just a whisker under 700 lbs. Luckily it was on private ground and we could get my Jeep Cherokee within about 30-40 yards of where it fell. Took 8 or 9 guys to get it the 15 inches up on to the hitch-hauler........... which it bent and twisted. Also permanently killed the rear leaf springs in the Jeep. Never sat right after that.

That is funny!
The preferred method around here is to hunt over a bait
pile from an elevated stand.
I guess I need to put my bait somewhere close to a logging road or atv trail.

Bears in PA are a little like moose.

The best ones fall closest the road.

Canoes ain't too bad if ya balance everything just right and NOT take your fat arse buddy with ya........even a mile long lake can be traversed safely.....

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[URL=http://s215.photobucket.com/user/guitarster1/media/IMG_4442_zps8db1d831.jpg.html]bear2[/url]

Big bears come out in pieces in packs in Oregon. Just like elk and deer.

Canoes are always more a PIA, but there just ain't nothing romantic about it.

Yoder is exactly right. Every year in PA guys kill a number of 600-800 pound bears. But the guys who get the big ones are usually putting on drives with anywhere from 5 to 25 guys. With enough manpower they (normal bear; under 400 ibs.) just aren't that hard to get out.

When did they change this? This opens up some hunting opportunities if true.

Other than pack-size pieces, here are two other ways that have worked. Each only had to go 1/4 to 1/2 mile.

lots of big bear on the shenadoah national park. i live one mile from one of the heaviest populated area's in va. i've seen one at 700lbs,actually 702. guy next door has 3 mounted over 500lbs.
there was one taken near me this season at 598lbs.i had one passing thru my yard that i'd say was 400lbs. we also had a guy get attacked by a wounded bear that was over 550lbs. our population is growing way to fast and we need to kill more of them.i've dragged them by hand but it doesn't take much bear to wear you out fast.i've drug a few out with my atv that were around 500.

Steelhead is spot on,

Have packed well over 200 bears out. Full skin, with skull and paws still in will be 90 lbs on a fall 6 foot bear.

It takes three trips to pack out alone on a 400lb lb bear. My little guy and I have packed 6 in the last three years of our own. In the last ten years I've taken one out in one be piece.

That was safarimans bear which was winched out a couple hundred yards straight up hill. A specialized machine was used.

Beside that one unique situation, learn to skin gutless and bring meat bags with a pack that has good suspension.

Dragging bears is brutal, maybe not for sub 300 so much but those 400 plus don't move at all! Carry out on a pole? No way over 300 pounds.

JJ-

The pole method was tried.....once! That one was about 5'11" and 220? spring bear. Never again. It's not as easy as it might appear at first thought. That thing can get to swinging!

The one in the sled was my daughter's and she insisted on doing everything herself. The sled was the only concession she made at 15.

I'm betting this is the easiest way.



http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3194295&page=7

Can't remember when but that (bold part) is what I was told by one of the WCO's from the northcentral region. The only thing the Hunting Digest says is:

Bears should be field-dressed before being brought to a
check station, as Game Commission personnel do not need to examine reproductive tracts.

It doesn't say you can't go further than field dressing.

Dale

Kinda a gray area.

I was ALWAYS under the impression that the bear had to be delivered to the check station in tact, other than being field dressed. If that's not the case, it coulda saved a whole bunch of guys a whole lot of grunting and sweating a few years back. Coulda saved my Jeep springs and hitch hauler, too.

My buddy is a WCO. I'll ask him.

Ya, in 2007 we had one that weighed in at 380 when it got to the check station. It of course, found the worse place to die on the whole mountain, straight up for a 1/4 mile in any direction followed by beaver swamps. We called and were told, field dressed only, we could not skin and quarter it ( IIRC they asked how they were supposed to get a accurate weight). It took 10 men a day and a half to get it to a quad.

What state was this?

PA

I didn't know insanity like this existed. If I had to take an animal out whole so a biologist could weigh it I'd quit hunting.

No way Gary Alt would have agreed to this I know him, and he would have had alternate means through tape measured hides.

There is something missing in this. Gary is a great guy. One of the top bear biologists in the world. Hard to comprehend with his influence this policy would be required for the situation described.

My father and others have about stopped bear hunting. They go as standers on certain drives. and sit in a treestand on private ground where you can drive a quad to where a bear is harvested. Sad really.

HA!... actually I'm editing this now, He was great Bear guy. Deer?!?!?!???

Hanging in the quarters, the same way butchers have been doing it for years.

Like I said, it's been a few years but it was a LMO that worked the bear check station that told me it didn't have to be whole.

PGC is well known for giving different answers to the same question.

Any way you look at it, a big one is a lot of work.

Dale

Amen !!

....and Amen !!!

This year the only one our gang downed was a 213 pounder. Only took 2 strappin young fellers to drag it field dressed up out of the hollow.

Dragged it up out so fast they almost overshot the road at the top !!

Several of the guys remarked that the 200-somethings were as much fun to shoot as the near-700's and a WHOLE LOT more fun afterwards.

Where I hunt bears you couldn't get one out whole unless you had a twin engine helicopter and then the ones in the wilderness would make that illegal! The last one I killed was an August bear. I carried the hide and skull, my buddy got both hindquarters. The rest spoiled before we made it back. Pretty typical of august bears. It was 105 when I killed it. There is no cooling it down unless you get it on ice. We only have to present the hide and skull and it can wait up to 10 days. IF it's frozen they want you to make sure they can see the sex.

I'd hate to just take the hide and skull out and leave all the meat. Not really saying you shouldn't but I like the meat and it would be a shame to let it just lay there and rot. Some guys can't stand it but my oldest son and I will eat it any chance we get. Matter of fact bear is on the menu for the superbowl get together tomorrow.

MM

Mike,

"The pole method was only tried......once" was exactly what I was thinking when I saw your picture!! Tried that myself.......once!

Bob

The pole method is something that I think we got from looking at pilgrim/indian paintings. It was some dummy's wild imagination. It is a horrible way to haul anything bigger than about 30 lbs! I just bone and put in backpack. Try to get the Ranger as close as I can...

States the require ANYTHING to come out whole are [bleep] stupid. Yankees

If they want anything of mine whole then a bunch of folks wearing green pants and badges need to come drag it themselves.

Tried that pole "method" ONCE just to see WTF because all those old black and white photos must've been right. That is probably THE most difficult way to get an animal anywhere and a buncha old hunters must be laughing in their graves. After about 100 yds the blades went to work. Spine surgeons lust after the effects of an effort like that.

It ain't that difficult really. We got my three moose out whole as well as my BIL's. Plus we brought out I don't know how many bear whole. They look better on the game pole that way.

A buddy and I poled a Buck he shot out of a Tobyhanna state park Swamp in Pa. If you ever been there you know why we did not drag it. Brush was thigh high ,rocks of all angles were knee high..... Anyways the thought of poling anything over about 50 pounds is stupid. My partner was 6 inches shorter then me and It took us about 2 hours to get it less then a quarter mile to a truck. that swamp has large , 600 lb plus bears in it and I often sat there waiting to see one thinking , how the Hell does one get a large bear out of here.. Never did get the chance to try and never came up with a plan. Seems near impossible.

I agree

I shot two in NY, no requirement to come out whole. The first one was smallish and I dragged him out for a ways and then when I got to a skidder trail left him and got a deer cart for the rest of trip.

The second one came out in pieces in a pack.
If I were to do it again I would take the hide/skull and one good load of meat. Both my bears were good tasting but unlike venison, elk or moose I couldn't get anyone to take bear meat and 50lbs is plenty for me.

I do a lot of my hunting from a jeep liberty, and have thrown plenty of animals on top or in the back. If you haven't ever done it.. don't put a bear inside your vehicle. The last one I shot was 2011 and there is still bear smell in there. No amount of Fabreeze or carpet fresh can get it out. When I put a dogs in the jeep they go apesh*t. The last bear was the reason I now own a hitch hauler.

Black bear meat is my second favorite table fare. Pronghorn is my first.

Do you know beerhuntr? I blame him!

Forget about dragging. It's really not a viable option in most situations. Piece by piece. Now, a mule is good ... but you still have to load it.

I worked with a guy who gave his bear a ride
in the trunk of his Mercury.
He always left his windows open to let it air out.
whelennut

You might ask that question just before you pull the trigger.

Jim

I found a neighbor who has a bobcat.

I found a neighbor who has a Bobcat.
whelennut

ironbender;
Hopefully this calm morning finds you and your fine family doing well and staying warm sir.

Your top photo made me wince as when I first moved here to the mountains a buddy and I carried out his second rack mulie buck that way.

There is no way I could describe any of that train wreck as successful other than the fact we both somehow survived it.

One memorable time it started it's pendulum routine and we didn't drop it in time and all three of us were rocketed sideways down the mountain.

When we got it back to his Dad's place, his grandfather who did a lot of mountain hunting was there and asked us pointedly if we had a death wish!

Jake - his grandfather - ended up being a hunting mentor for me in many ways even though we didn't hunt that many times together. I'd bring a pack over and he'd show me how to modify it for comfort, how to load it and "little" things like that.

I'll second the dead sled as the way to move a bear if at all possible and a pack as the alternate method.

All the best to you and yours this weekend ironbender.

Dwayne

Pennsylvania does not require bears to come out whole, but you cannot leave meat behind.

I think most in PA do their best to get them out whole since they must all be taken to a check station, regardless. It'd be interesting to see a pile of bear parts get tossed on the scale, however. Definitely good for a laugh.

Dwayne-
Thanks for the post.
I wince when I view that top photo too!

That bear got to swinging as we stepped over deadfalls. Good thing it didn't have to go very far!

Put it in the driveway and sit on the garage roof.

Are you on your own place? If so, I'd think you could get your wheeler nearly up to it. I've been using an Otter Sled to get the deer out of the thick stuff lately. It works great. Something to think about.

I read somewhere that the trick to the pole carry was to get the pole right in tight to the body cavity and lash the whole carcass to the pole, that avoids the 'swing'.

That said, I can see problems in trying to get a rope around and under the bear and then tighten the rope to the pole. Maybe 3 or 4 small ratchet straps laid out on the ground and roll the bear onto them, place the pole and tighten the straps?

When carrying it, you would certainly want to take a page from the canoe portage handbook and prop one end on a tree limb when you stop to rest.

Dale

Just let him chase you to your truck

To the Pa hunters, you do not need to bring a bear or deer out whole. The code has NO mention as to where a carcass must be processed. It is Pa tradition to bring them out whole. The regulations state the animal must be tagged immediately and before moving. The tag must remain attached to the animal while transporting. BUT here is the key, the legal definition for tagging a big game animal is a WHOLE animal, so the animal must be tagged when it is whole and transported. After processing, again NO requirement the animal must be brought to any place specific to be processed, but after processing legally it is now animal portions or parts. There is no requirement that animal parts be tagged for transport, only that anyone in possession of animal parts must be able to identify who killed the animal. That is why you don't need a tag after it is cut up, you can bring it home from the butcher, cut it up wherever and divvy meat out to friends, donate it, etc., all without carrying a tag with all the parts. Kill must be officially reported via mail or online but no requirement to retain the tag.

So you shoot the deer/bear, tag it immediately. Process it where it fell, it is now animal parts and can be transported any way you see fit as long as whoever has "parts" in their possession can identify the shooter. Take all the bear parts to a check station and all is legal.

It has ALWAYS been this way. The whole misconception comes from the tagging requirements. People think the animal needs to remain tagged and how can you do this if it is a bunch of parts requiring a bunch of trips to bring it out. But again there is no physical tag requirement after processing.

But the one thing that must be considered to do this if you are on public land. By law only the offal may be left behind. Any and everything else as defined by law is refuse and must be legally disposed, i.e. residential waste. So at least from a theoretical/technical standpoint if you took off the backstraps and neck meat and decided to leave the spine behind, in "theory", you "could" be cited for illegal disposal. Same law would apply if you threw away your boned carcass or trapping carcasses along a public road. As slobs do every year!

That method isn't worth the effort, (ir)regardless of technique.

Haul it out on a wheeler, that's how I usually do it. If i can't get a wheeler to it i'll pack it out in peices, could not imagine tying to drag a black bear through the woods.

I can.

Me too with a 400 lber. It was about as fun as it sounds.

Of course I dragged a big 8 pt last over a mile to my truck. Forgot my pack frame and wasnt driving a 2 hour round trip to get it. It sucked worse than the bear drag...............

No motorized on the KNWR!

Previous owner claims that birdfeeder will draw them in.

I hunt bear alone and in very remote areas, plane takes me out and drops me off for a week. Because I�m alone I don�t want to carry heavy loads and risk getting hurt so a bear takes me 5 trips. First trip is simply to take all the extra stuff I won�t need back to the tent, extra clothing, day pack, and rifle if that�s what I�m using. Return with the pack frame, saw, game bags, knives, rope, sharpening steel, and a handgun. Fully process the bear, trips 2 and 3 each with a rear and shoulder quarter. 4th trip is light with the loin straps, skull, and all the implements. Final, 5th is the heaviest with the unfleshed hide in a feed bag. So 5 trips, depending on distance to tent and time of kill it may take 1 or 2 days.

The longest packout was 3 miles and that took 2 full days of packing. Shot in the afternoon, made the initial trip back to the tent returning with the equipment and processing it 100% into game bags and hung in tree, returned to tent in the dark empty handed. Then 2 trips each of the following 2 days, that was 12 mi each day, 6 of them loaded.

These pics are all from the same trip, brought back to tent in one day but the tent may have only been a half mile away.

Video at the kill site:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/tundragriz/media/videos/Ak09handgun.mp4.html?sort=6&o=1



All the parts back near the tent, skull is red in the tree, meat in game bags, hide in the feed bag still on the pack frame.


Tent


Having some chow after everything is brought out.


Eagles on the carcass the day after.

Very cool hunt. I'd like to do that hunt in the near future.

Good job. There's a hunter. Thank you for the video.

Tundra griz
Thanks!
whelennut

Whelennut,

I got a nice Blackie 2 years ago and it was a 9 year old that weighed 358 dressed. Which is ironic since my .358 misfired causing me to use my 300 wsm. Anyway I was really happy that I had my yamaha kodiak as I was able to maneuver to where he was without much trouble (didn't even break plastic) I had an otter sled that I got him into with the help of my friend and only dumped him once on the way out. I have drug 200lb deer on many occasions and Black bear simply don't' drag well. Even a 200#er is brutal without a sled. If I couldn't have driven to him I simply would have pieced him out from there.

Bigbuck

Never hunted the KNWR.

I am 59 so dragging is out of the question for a big one. I hunt alone too.
I think an ATV and a sled are in my future.
I hear you can plow snow with them as well.
Do they float in case one runs into a swamp?
whelennut

Whelennut, ya got to believe me. Shoot the dumb bear close to the river. Steelhead sais it ain't romantic. Nuthin more romantic than paddlin to the cabin with a bear in the canoe and the red sunset glaring off thew river water..

Great hunt Tund....thanks for sharing your pics.

Is yer lab sleepin'?

Yep, nothing more romantic than an evening paddle with your poodle.

At least it wasn't next to the road?

I knew a disabled guy that couldn't get out and hunt the mountains well. He would pattern the bears crossing the dirt track roads and always got his bear by waiting them out, and dropping them in the road with a Remington pump 270. That thing sounded like it was set on 3 shot burst when he shot his bear!! He knew he had to put it down RIGHT THERE because he wasn't going to be chasing it all over the forest!
He knew bears like most guys only dream about. When, why, and what.
He taught me how to read and age sign, determine the food, water, and bedding sites. There's great satisifaction in patterning a big ol' smart bear. To this day I still hunt them by learning them and patterning them, and if that includes a road or trail crossing, all the better!

I would not hesitate to drop a bear in the road under those circumstances. Otherwise they get a free pass (when in the road), no matter how big. It's all about the hunt. I would rather outsmart a 200 lb bear like that and get him in the road than hire a guide to stick me in a tree stand over a pile of doughnuts and shoot a 450 pounder. That'd be an embarrassment and the bear deserves more respect than that. To me, that's the most ridiculous "hunt" I can imagine. That's not how it's done where I'm coming from.

Outsmart him where he lives or let him alone.

I'm sure Steelie got my reference.

Illegal shooting 'on, from, or across' a road aside.