i know ZERO about bear hunting.

[Boom]

i've eaten bear meat.  wonderful slow cook food. 

besides knowing what a bear looks like, that is where my knowledge ends.  i can ID one "hey look a bear!, and i can turn one into a great Indian curry stew.
after that, i knowledge is blank.
there is a running quota in NM.  you have to check the numbers killed before you let the arrow fly?  what if you are driving to find a game warden with the dead bear, someone kills the last allowed bear?  and how the hell do you save gender identification on the bear?  you leave a nut sack?  or the female part?  what do you do with the paws and head?  what the heck do you even keep?  the hide?  what for?  what do people do with the hide? hang it on the wall?

i have never felt like such a newbie..
oh, i know about the trichinosis.  i dont think a bear is tough to kill.  they seem to die easy.  that death moan might mess with my mind.

 

[elk sicario]

friend, in case you havent learned yet: a black bear IS NOT EASY TO KILL. i have never seen a bear die easy. my mother teaches people how to hunt bears. she specifically targets fall bears. to give you an idea of how tough a bear is, my mother uses a 30-06 loaded with a 200 grain bullet. forgive me for not being able to remember the exact bullet, as the type of bullet is equally important as caliber. i have seen an average sized bear(+/- 5 feet) soak up 3 direct hits and still dissapear into brush or charge. i only know one person who can work a bolt gun faster than a semiauto. that person is my mother. even with those capabilities, she carries a pistol or grizzly bear spray. these are dangerous animals. the dead ones are the most deadly. there are very specific ways to hunt them and track them after shooting. most of the time you wont find blood, but you will have a dead bear or a wounded bear that needs killing. in close quarters, expect them to charge with the intent of killing the thing that just poked the bear(sorry!). THIS IS NOT MEANT TO CAUSE OFFENSE. a wise man once said "Ignorance can be taught, but stupidity is forever!" I am no expert, my mother claims she is not an expert. she has spoke at the oregon outdoor council meetings where steven rinella has spoken after her. she is the most knowledgeable and credible source on blackbears i know. around the family, the running joke is that she is a stone cold killer who is planning her next hit. If you are still looking for true bear hunting knowledge and experience, let me know and i can get you setup.


ps.
how was the 2019 season?

 

[lang]

ELK SICARIO- We have all been lied too. Bears are not ungulates and their thoracic cavity sits back farther than what we have all been taught our entire lives.  I thought the same thing and have been told ( by rifle hunters) "you have to take out their shoulder to anchor them" because they are so hard to kill.  I did a lot of searching after hitting a bear right behind the shoulder line half way up on film that was still alive the next day.  Canadian bear guides have clients aim for the middle of the middle and will tell you they loose more bears being hit too far forward than too far back.  My buddy lost a 450 lb monster he shot perfect for an elk...well he now aims back 4-6" from the shoulder.  Three years later and that bear is still alive and well.  We have found bears are actually pretty easy to kill if you hit vitals-shocker I know.  Don't just take my word listen to the bear guys.
  http://www.bear-hunting.com/2019/9/5-tips-for-shot-placement-on-bear-podcast

 

[lang]

Boom, now that we have basic anatomy covered...don't know about NM quota but they have to allow some leniency if you do your do diligence to keep up on the quota.  Yes gender identification is what you think, leave applicable parts attached. You can keep whatever you like fur for rug, mount, or half mount.  The skull can be bleached or beetled.  Claws for a necklace, buddy put one on his keys.  Lots of options you can adjust do yourself or have others do depending on your budget.

 

[elk sicario]

lang


your preaching to the choir buddy! the point i was trying to make is that while any animal is easy to kill with proper shot placement, they are still going to burn the world going out. when it comes to my crew, when targeting bears, is to aim back (due to lungs being low and back) and allow the near shoulder to swing forward. the shot we like basically takes out the lungs and breaks the off shoulder simultaneously. that breaks down their abilty to run off (or towards you), and it gives you time to get another shot off. i live in washington, so we hunt thick stuff and close quarters. in our camp, the rule is if you shoot a bear once, you keep shooting till he is no longer a target ie: bear is dead or you no longer see him. the reference to my mother working the bolt as fast as a semi, was a close quarters kill. she shot 3 times. the first he was stopped. the second and third on a full blown charge. he died about 10 yards from her stand. all 3 shots were in the kill. the point i am making is this. they are not something to be taken lightly. this is a serious thing. they are to be given the utmost respect, and they are not a "soft" target.


again if any of you guys are after a source of bear knowledge and tactics to target both spring and fall bears, let me know.