After shooting the bear...

[MontanaHunter222]

Hey everyone,

I've hunted deer and elk in Montana for some time. Now I'm ready to seriously pursue black bears. I live in Northwest, Montana, and I've been running into them more frequently.

So here are my questions:
- Do any of you test for trichinosis? If so, how would I go about that?
- What are the best things I can do with the meat?
- What are cost effective ways to use and display the hide, claws, etc being on a tighter budget?
- If I wanted to get the hide professionally tanned, how much should I expect to spend? (I've tried reaching out to local taxidermists for pricing and they've all just said, "It depends...")

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I don’t test for trich, I just treat each bear like it has trich and act accordingly, to be honest I wouldn’t entirely trust a negative test result.

I pretty much treat bear meat as I do any other big game meat. Steaks, roasts, some sausage, etc. For steaks I do a quick sear in a frying pan then sous vide them at 140 for 10 hours or so (essentials while I’m at work), this kills the trich. For more specifics google, Hank Shaw + bear meat, also while there isnt any science to confirm this method makes the meat safer, as some varieties of trich found in bears have shown temp resistance, I typically put all my bear meat in the freezer for a couple of months before I eat it. Its more of a first in first out kind of thing, but my hypothesis is that temp might actually kill the parasite... eventually. All the temp studies have been for flash or sort term freezing not freezing for months. In general just practice good food safety and you will be fine, bear meat can be extremely good if handled correctly and if you kill a bear that has been snacking in the right stuff, ie not a rotting cow.

As for the hide the cheapest way to go is to skin and salt the hide yourself, turn the lips and ears and then mail it to the tannery. You can do this with Foxx USA. They charge by the foot, last bear I did cost about $350. You can also just freeze the hide and fedex it “green” but this is more expensive. That being said Montana has very competitive taxidermy rates and I bet you could get a full rug on a 5’-5’6 bear done for $800-900. Cost is base on size of bear so a giant will cost you more than a small one.

Alternative you could try tanning it yourself with a kit, I’ve never tried this and given how much I’ve aleady tested my wife’s tolerance for hunting projects doing euro mounts in our 700sqft appt probably never will.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Pretty much everything above. I only go with sausage though. Bear makes the best breakfast sausage. I have had 3 bears tanned professionally, two rugs, 1 mounted fb. Just spend the few hundred and get it done. You won't regret it. Good luck to you the Bruins are out already!

 

[NEWHunter]

Bear meat is excellent. Our family has gotten several here in WI. I will do roasts in the crockpot and they turn out great. They also make the best burgers ever. Im not much for bear steaks for some reason - I know, doesn’t make sense based on how much I like the burgers and the roasts.

We do all of our burger on a straight grind - nothing added. Like every other game meat it’s extremely lean. Cook the burger to done with some provolone cheese, dill pickles, and nueske’s bacon - best burger I’ve ever had. We also have a great local butcher shop that makes some great sausage and hot dogs. My kids love the hot dogs and sausage.

I also tend to keep it in the freezer for a few months too and cook to done due to tric concerns. Maybe that’s why I don’t care for the steaks as I’ve always felt the need to cook them to done. Never done anything with the bear fat. It has always been trimmed. I might try saving the fat next time though. Good luck.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Don't worry about testing it unless you have to eat your meat medium rare...Anything at 140 or above kills trichinosis although many, including Rinella, proport that long term freezing kills the parasite as well. If you want it tested, almost any land grant/Ag school can test for it for a few dollars. The meat is good anyway you would use any other wild game; sausage, ground, roast and steaks.

Ive never done anything with the hide although I think a european mount on the skull looks great.

 

[Europe]

all the gentlemen who have posted before me have given you good advise in reference to your original questions.

I would just like to add that we also used the fat from bears for the following

soap, fire starter, candles, joint/muscle pain, dry skin, waterproof/soften leather, and the best pie crust you will ever taste---however, make sure the bear you harvest has been on a berry diet , not a fish diet--if it has been on a fish diet, forget the pie crust

Best of luck on your hunt

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Per my comment on freezing, I do it to make me feel better there is no scientific proof it works and several studies to the contrary: "Trichinella species can survive freezing in muscles of livestockand laboratory animals. T. spiralis larvae in horse muscles survived freezing at − 18 °C for 4 weeks (Hill et al., 2007)."

Unfortunately, T. Spiralis and T. Nativa are the species found most often in bears. I've often joked with my wife that I'm going to buy a lab grade freezer, put my bears in it, crank it to -30C and let it run for 6 months... let's see if those worms can survive a winter on Hoth.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405676616300129

All this being said its not hard to prepare safe bear meat, just make sure that if you are doing a recipe which calls for an internal temp less than 165, i.e. a steak, that you hold the internal temp for a nice long time, hence the sous vide. I think 45 min is enough.

 

[Gerald Martin]

As per the advice above, cook to well done for the trichnosis. As far as tanning a hide, unless you are proficient at turning ears and lips and taking the toes out, just take it to a taxidermist and pay the extra money. I would expect to pay $100-150 for the fleshing and hide prep and $200-$400 for the tanning. If he has to skin the entire bear expect the taxidermist to charge more.

 

[Gut Shot]

I never worried about trich. just cook it properly and it will be fine.

Depending on what the bear has been eating the meat can be excellent. On a young bear it will be very tender and can have a very delicate flavor. Steaks, roasts (my favorite), burger, whatever you want. Try cutting up a backstrap, bread it and cook it like breaded pork.

If you get a fall bear that has been fattening up on salmon it will smell like rotten fish. Cut off all of the fat between the hide and the meat, ALL OF IT, and it should be palatable.

As far as displaying the hide. I picked up my daughter's bear from the taxidermist last week. The total was $195. Her bear was 5'-5'6". I told the taxidermist to leave the claws in in case my daughter wanted to have it rugged at some point. All the taxidermist did was scrape the hide, turn the ears and lips, and send it off for tanning.

If you are confident in handling the green hide you can salt it and send it in to a tannery yourself.

I'll do a European mount on the skull after the weather warms and dries out this spring.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

The total was $195. Her bear was 5'-5'6".

Taxidermy prices in some parts of the country just blow my mind... you can't get a Euro in Denver for under $200

 

[MThuntr]

That is dirt cheap for tanned hide. A euro mount of a deer dang near costs that!

I've always wanted to make soap with bear fat...one day that'll happen

 

[scubohuntr]

There are several species of Trichinae in North America. The most common one in the southern US can be killed by freezing. Northern areas have one that encysts harder and is basically freeze-proof. Cooking still kills it, though. You don't need to cook it to death- 137° for 20 minutes or 145° for one will kill any of them. The old 160° guideline was more for Salmonella, and had a huge anti-moron safety factor. The trick is that all of the meat has to reach these temps, so unless you are doing sous vide, give it a little over. I wouldn't bother testing for it. If I had a bear come back positive, I'd have trouble eating it. Knowing that it might have trichinae doesn't bother me, but having it confirmed probably would.

Roasts and burger are delicious. Bear is one of the few game meats that make a decent burger without the addition of pork. There is enough intramuscular fat to keep your burgers juicy. It's not really marbled like beef, but the fat is there. I would love to try curing a bear ham someday. Hank Shaw has some guidelines for things like salami, that aren't cooked. Like any game meat, get all the fat off when you butcher. Unlike deer, save the fat you take off. Render it down and use it for cooking, waterproofing boots, and lubing muzzleloader patches. Raw bear has a slightly weird smell, compared to beef or venison. Not bad, but different.

 

[Gut Shot]

That is dirt cheap for tanned hide. A euro mount of a deer dang near costs that!

It probably cost him $100 to have it tanned including shipping? So he figures in his time to flesh it and skin out the paws and that's what he charged me I'm guessing.

There are some guys around here who will do a euro free if you give them the cape off of the deer. Of course they will charge the guy who screwed up his cape and wants a shoulder mount.

Shoulder mounts are another story. I haven't had one done in several years but the best guys are north of $1000 for a large animal and 5-600 for deer.

 

[Fire_9]

I’m pretty sure the state of Montana will test the meat for free. Pick up one of their kits from a regional office and send it in if you’re worried about it.

 

[Firedude]

Euro mounting the skull is usually pretty cheap. Around $100. I've had 2 of my bears rugged. It takes 1 year to 18 months to get one done so my taxidermy man will take payments for that time. He takes $200 down then $50 per month until it's paid for. It won't leave the shop until it is paid off. But bear is size dependant. Bigger bear = more cost. Cheap display may be to just have it tanned. Unless you're proficient with turning lips, eyes, paws, and ears I would pay someone to do it. One slip and it's a noticable defect. If you don't have money right after the hunt they can be frozen for a while until you do. Talk to your Taxidermist and ask about a price once you kill one. He can tell you his to freeze it. If you can't swing the price right then roll it tight, bag it, squeeze all the air out, bag it again, squeeze it again, tie it and tape it so it's sealed. I froze one for 2 years like that and it still came out ok.

HOW you skin it is important if you want a rug! If you're an inch off to one side they have to cut 2 inches off the other side to make it even. Go slow and study how to skin one correctly before you go!

 

[Pondera]

Randy has some clips of skinning and hide care on his youtube channel. Here's a good one linked to the spot in the video

However this video is the best one I have found so far (long)

For what its worth I've carried a black bear tag a few seasons but never tagged one. Maybe this spring is the year?

 

[Muskeez]

Thank you Pondera for sharing that video from the Yukon guy. Incredibly detailed , helpful, and thorough!

 

[SFC B]

I got a bear in 2nd season '17 here in CO. I had the meat done in Italian and breakfast sausage at Prime here in the Springs and it is great. As for the hide, I skinned it in the dark on the mountain via 3 headlamps. I will say that skinning a bear is a PITA compared to ungulates IMO. The fat on the back of my bear was about 8-9 in thick and had to be hacked away to get to the backstraps. I am glad to have gotten what turned out to be a great bear but I probably won't do it again. Part of that is also that I am so pleased with the color and the rug it would be hard to top. I had mine done in Steamboat. He squared at 6'1 and was about $1050 total. It took 9 months. Here are some pics (the bed is a queen).

 

[Sask hunter]

I usually get the hides tanned way cheaper then taxidermy and take duo way less space. Here guys charge 50-60$ a foot for tanning

 

[Jcs271]

I’m pretty sure the state of Montana will test the meat for free. Pick up one of their kits from a regional office and send it in if you’re worried about it.

They have not done free testing for some time now.