Bear Hunt?????

[gill_cutter]

Disclamer: Iam not here to tick anyone off.

I came into the hunting side of iFish for the first time tonight. Saw a thread with a successful bear hunt. Out of curiosity what is the purpose of killing a bear. Food? Trophy? Does ODFW supply bear tags to help reduce the bear population? Is it all for the thrill of the hunt? I fish to eat and catch & release for enjoyment , but killing bear for enjoyment, I just dont get it.

[Idahoan]

Bear sausage tastes pretty good. They make good rugs too. It is a challenge.

[Steelie Ben]

I think most people harvest bear to eat, but they do make a great addition to the trophy room. I am not a big fan of bear meat, other than pepperoni and sausage, but some people love it. I belive we do play a role in keeping management numbers in check but I don't think its the primary reason for taking them. I will pop one this fall for the pepperoni and great mount it will make.
Ben

[Beamerfish]

Thanks for the fair question gill cutter, there can be alot of ethical debate on hunting issues and we can get kinda sensitive about people wanting to project their subjective interpretations of ethics on others when they are a very personal thing to weigh for one's self. Can't speak for others but I love to hunt bear in the spring for pretty much all the same reasons anybody loves to hunt or fish anything. Great time of year & excuse to see some country with my buds. Challenging and exciting hunt. Tasty and novel food item - got steaks, burgers & bratwursts from this year's bear. Rug & skull to celebrate and honor the bear and remember the hunt. Bear management is also an issue for regulating bear populations and their predation impacts on other species. Plus I have to admit to liking to pull the trigger and make the loud noise.

[baltz526]

i see no difference between prefering to eat bear, deer, elk over fishermen who prefer salmon, trout,steel head over any other type of meat. to catch a 50lb salmon and eat it is exactly the same as killing a 6yr old bear and eating it. a fishing rod is exactly the same as a rifle, they are both tools that assist us to eat

[gill_cutter]

I posed the question because I have never heard of people eating bear. Can't exactly go in the grocery store or meat market and pick some up. I have no problem with hunting as long as the meat is consumed. Actually sounds like a lot of fun. Happy huntings and be safe.

[baltz526]

i had a big dinner at my house a few years ago, served a big back roast. no one had any idea it was not beef. bear bugers is exactly like sirloin burger

[bait dunker]

personally i prefer bear to blacktail. ive eaten many bear and ive never encountered a "greasy" bear. ive found just the opposite, they are quite lean like an elk. they also make excellent sausage and pepperoni, great jerky too. i had some cougar in the crock pot once, it ws real tough so the rest was made into sausage and pep.

[gottafish]

Gill cutter, bear meat is very good and like all animals population need to be controlled.. So bear hunting= food= $$ for managment IE fish and game.= better habitat. and so on. Its all good

[riverswild]

Originally Posted by gill_cutter

Disclamer: I fish to eat and catch & release for enjoyment , but killing bear for enjoyment, I just dont get it.

I guess I could ask, "why hurt (catch and release) an animal (fish) for enjoyment? .......is hurting and releasing different then killing?

Before I get flamed...It was statement to invoke thought. Some may say the original post could be viewed as divisive to outdoorsmen, pitting fisherman against hunters..I understand it was not intended that way, but thought I would draw attention to the possibilities. And yes I know if you release something it will usually survive and killing means dead.

Anyway, to answer the question what is the purpose of killing a bear? The best way for me to answer is to copy a post I made elswhere on the same topic. The same question was asked by an archery deer hunter who thought his way was the only way...
--
Let me start by saying, fish eating bears in Alaska are nasty.....
that being said, I have killed 14 bear in WA and eatin them plus the meat from about 6 others. They were from different areas of the state (coast and inland), different times of the year (spring and fall) and feeding on grubs & berries to calfs & fawns, they were from 2 to 25 yrs of age and every one was the best critter I ever ate (except a prime elk steak). And though I make sausage out of them, I don't count that. I am talking backstrap, roast, stewmeat and canned meat.

Those that have had bad experiences with bear meat have eatin fish or dump bears or have had meat that was improperly dressed or prepared. Alot of the old timers lump all predators (bears, coyotes, coons) and because they weren't a glamour animal they must taste bad. (Ever eatin a bullhead/sculpin?....me neither......they must be nasty!)

I probably shouldn't have posted this and let you think they are nasty so I can fill my two tags every year, but there are people out there that will wonder "if it is so nasty why do they kill them?" We as hunters do not need another dividing line between us.

Sit in a tree stand over bait. Not here, not even if it were legal. While baiting can seem easy, I know that it is not, but it is not my cup of tea.

Calling a deer into bow range makes your heart beat? Try calling a 200# plus predator to twenty yards in thick brush or timber where the visibility is less. Better yet, get on the ground, douse your self with elk scent, then call to that predator with a calf elk call. When you see that bear closer then you wanted (without a shot) and realize that you never heard it get within range. Oh yea, that bear is looking for the source of the smell and sounds.....YOU .. and he doesn't want to shake hands.....he wants to eat.

That is why I hunt, kill and eat black bears.

[Bobberman]

Fish don't feel pain

[riverswild]

~singing~ "It's ok to eat fish 'cause they don't have any feelings"

But do they suffer? Pain and suffering go together like pb&j.. Just ask my wife......lol

[StinkyFish]

Very well said by all parties. I bagged my first ever bear yesterday, came home today cut meat and now going to bed. Bear burgers hu I will have to think abut that one.

P.S. Preditor calls do work..

I will post pics and story monday.

Good night.