So you want to bag your first black bear (part 2)

Part 2

To get your first bear requires alot of footwork and scouting. I am going to focus on spot and stalk since that is the only legal form of bear hunting in my home state. It is critical you understand the bears habits in your area and what food is available during the season in which you are hunting. Generally in the spring bears will be feeding on grassy slopes so thats a great place to start. This is where your optics come in. Find a good area with lots of open area to glass over. Cover everything because some times even if you think its a stump or a shadow you could be surprised. I have spotted lots of bears that i didnt think were at first. A good method for glassing a area to get good coverage is starting on one side and working your way down to the bottom, then move over the width of your coverage area with your glass and go back to the top, repeating this until you have covered the whole area. Once you locate a bear, try to identify if he is a shooter.Look for his ears to be grown out towards the outside of his head rather than pointed ears on top of his head. Also a good indicator he is a decent bear is his legs will look shorter and his belly will hang down. Long spindly legs generally will be a smaller bear.

Getting in position to take a shot is harder than one would think. Bear have a very keen sense of smell. I have ran several bear out by the wind direction changing and giving me up.Try to always keep the wind in your face. While keeping quiet is important you can get away with some noise, gravel popping, sticks cracking, and still get in on him do to the fact they are used to other animals making noise. A good quality rangefinder comes in handy when getting in shooting position because, keeping in mind ballistics , we want to know where the bullet will hit. Getting in side of 200 yards is more than adequate. Get a good solid rest or use your bi-pod. Shot location is very important on a bear. Behind the shoulder in the center is a great location to place your first round. Be prepared for follow up shots as bear rarely go down immediately after absorbing your initial round.

After shooting your bear you should always wait a half hour to begin searching for it. The last thing you want is an angry bear getting the drop on you. Start by looking for a blood trail you can follow. They have thick fur so you dont always see it right away. If you cant find blood then start looking for disturbed ground and broken brush. They leave a pretty big trail when on the run carrying lead. I spent 8 hours looking for my first bear and considered calling off the search more than once. BE DILLIGENT IN YOUR SEARCH!

Now that youve located your kill, the real work begins. If you are planning to have a rug made, which I highly recommend, you will need to start by rolling him over on his back. Make a shallow incision just above the pelvis with the skinning knife. Hold the knife blade in an upward direction to prevent cutting any organs or intestines. Run the knife from the pelvis to the throat.

Make an incision from the chest, along the inside of the front legs until you reach the paws. Stop at the base of each front paw. Find the joint where the wrist-bone reaches the base of the paw. Cut through the joint with the serrated knife to separate the wrist from the body.

Make an incision from the pelvis, along the inside of each hind leg with the skinning knife. Stop when you reach the base of each paw. Cut through the wrist joint located at the base of each paw to separate the paws from the carcass. Use the serrated knife for the joint.

Work the knife between the hide and the flesh to separate the hide from the body. Work along the white tissue to avoid puncturing the intestines or the hide itself. Continue until the entire hide is free from the carcass.

Cut the neck at the base of the skull with the serrated knife to separate and compete the skinning process. This leaves the skull intact for the taxidermist.

Roll the hide and pack it in a game bag for transport from the field.

This is the short version of killing your first bear but hopefully helps in your pursuit. Be careful because it may become a passion and consume your life like it has mine.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions as there are many left unanswered.