Finally got my 2019 (fall) bear mount back from the taxidermist this morning (nothing moves fast around here). Had a few funny double-takes from people when they saw my 'passenger' in the truck. The taxidermist had a tough time with this one because the bear was so old (the state biologist aged the tooth at 16-1/2). I'm pleased with the mount, but the important thing was regardless of the age, the meat was outstanding. It weighed in at 267 and only made it around 15 feet after a double-lung shot (30.06).
Haven't seen any yet but have seen plenty of signs in the woods that they are out and about. Hard to believe that bear season is less than four months away already.
Haven't been on the forum in months (been a bumpy year health-wise but such is life). Did manage to get out a few days bear hunting and got this nice 202-pound boar during the last 16 minutes of the 2022 bait season. It's like they say, don't give up and don't leave the stand early, which I almost did because all I had seen so far during hunting hours were small bears and sows with cubs. Thankfully it was all downhill to the truck. Bear is processed and the meat is in the coolers. Tomorrow is grinding day. This was a porker with lots of fat so looking forward to rendering it down later this month. The last couple pics are the monster I was hoping to get. Only came in one night but wow. The peanut butter he was licking off the tree was about 8-feet up and he's not even stretching. Hopefully he's around next season.
If Mike has his G2G again I'll bring some more bear chili. Been making a cast iron hunter's pie a lot this year with the bear meat and that's become my favorite.
This is the 1st time I've caught this thread. Nice bears!!! We'll be up at the cabin the 1st weekend of November. We couldn't reserve it for February. Grrrr. We did reserve it for January.
Your 2019 bear EODMSgt is quiet a trophy with its age. Nicely done. Good job this year too. What do you think the weight of the one you missed out is? That's one big bear!! Now Im interested in making cast iron hunters pie.
Showed the pics of the large bear to several other hunters up here, including a conservation officer, and the general consensus is 450-550+. Definitely a huge bear for up here. According to the state, the average weight for a harvested boar is 130-150 pounds (sows are only averaging around 100 pounds), however I think the numbers are somewhat skewed due to a lot of first-time hunters and those that shoot the first bear they see. Would definitely have had to break out the capstan winch to get that big one out of the woods. Found out the age of the 260-pound dry sow I took last year when the conservation officer came to the house to seal this year's bear. Seven and a half years old, so not a bad one to take out of the system. A buddy got a 232-pound dry sow at the same location I shot last year's bear so there must be some good bear genes in that region. Cast iron hunter's pie is the bomb! Just finished the last batch on Wednesday and I'm ready to make more.
There was a lot of nostalgia using the old hand grinder however the new LEM grinder makes processing so much easier.
