Category Archives: Big Game Hunting

Articles about Big Game Hunting.

Bear Meat – Eliminate Trichinella?

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I have been using Sous Vide water baths for cooking  game meat to a specific internal temperature. Below is the Sous Vide tool to heat water and food to exact temperatures. 

 

For example; my venison can be SV’d to 125F then sear on a grill for perfect rare venison. But now cooking bear meat to medium rare? How is that possible? 

 Bear meat, like pork has the possibility of containing Trichinella, thus for years, federal guidelines for cooking are at much higher internal temperatures usually 160ºF and higher. 

I read an article in Bear Hunting Magazine where the author now eats his black bear meat at 140ºF after using a Sous Vide (time and temperature technique in a water bath) perfected by Federal Government Food Safety Guidelines below to kill parasites like wild game born trichinella. See Table A1 for time and temperature in the website below to kill Trich.. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7033995/

The bear recipe article from Bear Hunting Magazine below.

http://www.bear-hunting.com/recipes?ID=8F8AB0C2-9C1E-49E2-AC48-B79ACA718A2C

I have not tried the Sous Vide method for Bear meat.

When in doubt cook to at least 160ºF internal temp. like in a stew. I pressure cook my bear for stew. 

Note; Steve Rinella of Meateater fame made a serious field cooking mistake in 2011 with Alaskan black bear meat. He cooked it over an outdoor fire but was not sure of its internal temperature. He and his hunt party ate it and came down with Trichinosis infection and all had to take antibiotics. It was no fun!

I don’t know what Steve was thinking but he already knew of the parasite issue?

He continues his bear hunts and eating bear but perhaps learned a very important cooking survival lesson.

If you have no way to accurately measure internal grilled bear meat temperature in the field, don’t eat it.

Many Indigenous people of North America  boiled or stewed bear meat. A few tribes roasted it on a spit but boiling long enough to stew and tenderize will kill both bacteria and parasites. See website below.

http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/mammals/bears/

Good Lesson!

 

 

Black Bear Taxidermy Thoughts

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I learned years ago to check in with taxidermists before the hunt for costs and mounting options when I hunted Africa years back. Some of my Africa mounts below in my office.

Black Bear mounts today are better than ever. I like the half bear mounts because they have animation, rocks and shrubs around them. They look alive, don’t they!  Examples below at Sterling Taxidermy. 

Bear Taxidermy

Clete's Taxidermy Studio | Bear mounts, Taxidermy, Deer hunting decor

Other options include a bear rug or perhaps a skull mount below.

If you do some homework, you can get cost and mount styles before the hunt. Good Hunting!

 

 

 

 

Why Hunt Black Bear? Food, Conservation, Fat, Fur and Skull.

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If you hunt in black bear rich habitat, such as Northern Maine, where I am hunting in September,  you are doing your part in conservation by control of the population. New Hampshire has bears too but a smaller, huntable, yet also growing population.

Hunters rely on biologists to determine the bear season. Maine has around 35,000 bears. Bear season typically begins in September. Check regulations for exact information. 

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting-trapping/hunting/laws-rules/index.html

https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/dates-and-seasons

But there has to be something that the hunter gets for bear hunting.

Among hunters and settlers, bear meat and bear fat has been a sought after commodity since the founding of America.

Bear meat, when cared for properly, is delicious. Bears need to be gutted and cooled promptly. Vacuum sealing the meat and freezing is one of the best ways to store bear meat.

Bear fat, when rendered, can make pastries, candles, lubricants, water proofing, and the fur makes a great rug. The skull can be sent out for cleaning and display the bears large jaw and teeth. 

Good Hunting!

Reflections of My October 2023 Newfoundland Moose Hunt

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It is 2024 now and near mid June. I took some time to reflect on my Newfoundland Moose Hunt.

Ed’s Moose taken Sept. 19, 2023

I was able to bring all 300 pounds of my frozen moose meat home on the back of our Subaru Ascent. On return home, we crossed over to Nova Scotia from the Port Au Basque side. An 8 hour Ferry ride. We had a ferry cabin, and 2 labrador retrievers with us.

I was hoping for a bull, but here along the Gander River, there were very few big racked bulls but never the less a decent quantity of moose live here. Given my senior age, I liked the hunt on the back of a Quad to get me close to bogs.

Cost of the hunt was in the $7000 range in total. Weather in October is storm prone, so be prepared.

So lets see, my moose meat costs $23 dollars a pound. Is it delicious? Absolutely the best! My wife goes bananas over the moose burger with a bit of pork mixed with it. This is my third moose and thoroughly enjoying the wild experience and the meat. We have shared meat with friends and family and still have plenty on hand. 

Below is the Moose hunt article.

Newfoundland Moose Hunt Sept 2023 With Gander River Outfitters

Good Hunting!

Next hunt is for black bear in Maine, in September 2024! 

7mm PRC Velocities Vary?

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Hornady’s new 7PRC owners are finding that the 175g bullet is not living up to its 3000fps advertising. Those that buy off-the-shelf 7PRC ammo have see a drop often of 100 to 150fps in lot to lot variation. Below is a video from “Big Game Hunting Blog” that helps to understand the variation.

In part it is due to powder shortages. Hornady’s use of different powders and lots of powder can cause measurable variation as well as rifle barrel length.

Hornady uses SAAMI 24 inch barrels. A 22 inch barrel will not cut 3000fps.  The key here is that the 7PRC was designed for long range accuracy, thus powders must deliver accuracy first. 

My Browning X-Bolt Speed in 7 Rem Mag achieves 3000 fps with a 175g Nosler ABLR bullet and a 26 inch barrel (9.5 twist) with RL 22 and Vitha. 560 hand loaded powder and sub-moa accuracy.  I did however, have to experiment with powder charges to safely optimize the loads. 

For 7PRC a lot of hoopla was made of improved faster barrel twist rate differences as well for heavier target bullets. The 7PRC rifle has a 1:8 Twist but my 7 Rem does equally well with 1:9.5 Twist with hunting bullets up to 175 grains. 

Good Hunting!

 

 

Time To Begin Reloading

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I have been reloading for pistol and rifle cartridges for hunting and target for over 40 years. It is time perhaps to enrich your inner self and reload. It’s fun and saves money too…in the long run.

RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single Stage Press Kit

RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single Stage Press Kit

My African safari hunt utilized all my custom handloads.

 

Not only have I saved thousands of dollars over the years but customized loads to accurize my guns. I started with this RCBS kit above. At just over $500 dollars, you also need cartridge dies, powders, primers bullets and brass. 

Midway USA sells all you need.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023389781?pid=345426

Check it out!

 

Hunting Bullet Campfire Talk and a Ballistic Gel Test – Update

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Bullet Speed/Hydrostatic Shock – Bullet Shape Mushroom – Penetration – Impact Location and often exit wound all play a part in a swift ethical game harvest. Below, soft lead bonded spitzer mushroom left, solid copper with broken mushroom, right.

 

Ballistic Gel Test

Below a Ballistic Gel Test I did in 2021 Hammer Hunter copper vs Nosler Accubond Long Range 

Ballistic Gel 6.5 Creedmoor Test Nosler 129g ABLR vs Hammer Hunter Copper 124g

Copper hollow point bullets do mushroom as much or more than the lead core. I find cleaning my barrel with soft pure copper is not fun. Newer copper bullets made on a lath are better as tolerances are much tighter.

 

A Master bear guide recently told me that one of his hunters always brought a .375 H&H Magnum on black bear bait hunts. The hunter was getting full penetration and a small exit wound at 50 yards but the exit wound exhibited little or no blood to trail. Shots were to the heart lung area too.

The hunter was shooting a spitzer shape pointed bullet we commonly purchase on store shelves. I do not know the brand or type.

Spitzers in the past have been designed ideally for longer shots often past 200 to 300  yards. Some recent spitzer designs do open/mushroom faster than others. 

Accordingly, use a bullet type for the kind of game you will hunt.  A round or flat nose bullet is already in a partial mushroom shape and shot at short range, you will get a better mushroom at the start or shoot a soft nose spitzer which mushrooms quickly. Except most round nose are not loaded in a cartridge for sale, instead manufacturers try to design spitzers for close range too and may mushroom better, like bonded and Partition bullets

 

But you know, experience is the tell all. I am a Nosler fan!

Good Hunting!

 

 

 

Nosler 7mm Bullets on Short Range Maine Black Bear – Update

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I have successfully used Nosler Accubond bullets on bull moose and bison out of my .375 Ruger.

But I have not used the AccuBond Long Range (ABLR) bullet on big game yet. I have plenty of 7mm 175g Nosler ABLR’s left from my Newfoundland moose hunt last year. Note: Since, I was staying in Newfoundland for 6 weeks, Canada would not let me enter with my Browning 7mm rifle unless I was headed directly to my hunt.

Hopefully,that will soon to change this fall on my Foggy Mountain Maine bear hunt this September. 

The AccuBond ABLR is designed to expand faster than the AccuBond.  But will the bullet mushroom “too much” in my 7mm Rem Mag 175g ABLR at say 50 to 75 yards? 

UPDATE

Discussion with Nosler says the Nosler Partition will have more weight retention and will mushroom nicely at close range. Accordingly, my Nosler friends are sending some Nosler 160g Partitions for my bear hunt. See the video below. 

 

The biggest complaint from black bear guides is the difficulty of producing a good blood trail, with fat and hair plugging the hole, from smaller diameter bullets. Bears run till death, that may mean hundreds of yards and little blood. I am hoping for a large exit wound for blood trailing.

Fast game recovery means better meat quality!

Good Hunting!

 

Bear Bait Style Hunt Mistakes : Rifle or CrossBow – Decision Time

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Photo Courtesy Wikipedia

This fall I am hunting bears that have been hunted before, my research indicates that, in particular,  older larger bears are very reluctant to come to bait in daylight. Sometimes letting smaller bears go first to test the water as it were.

This reluctance is very likely because of mistakes we hunters make year over year. We are in fact teaching older bears how to avoid certain bait stands.

That said; This September, I will hunt with rifle from a further away ground stand or treestand site. 

There are many more shot opportunities with rifle than bow.

And I’m not getting any younger. 

On caliber, my master guide tells me that big bore fast 3000 fps rifle bullets from say 375 H&H exit but with a small hole and lack of mushroom. Many say slower big bore like the 45-70 are better.

Said, my 7mm Rem Mag was a better choice of rifles I own. The bullet will really mushroom and create a larger exit hole for blood trailing. 

Ok! So what are some of our mistakes? 

Not watching the wind. Say, you find the wind blows from your stand to your bait? Skip that bait hunt site till the wind shifts away. Else big bruins wont be coming. 

Not washing yourself and hair (even mouth) or clothes before the hunt. 

Clothes have collected camp scents like campfire smoke or cigarette/cigar smoke. 

Clean Boots – Inside the boot too.

Not Wearing Mosquito netting. 

Break up your facial outline. Use camo and a face mask. 

Hunting too close to your bait. 

Coughing or making noise in your tree or ground stand.  A real no no. Quiet that cough!!

Fast movement of head or hands. Like swatting mosquitoes. 

Big bears circle and wind the site. 

Metal on metal clink sounds.

Eliminate these mistakes and you will greatly increase your chances of bigger bear showing themselves.

I noted earlier, in retrospect that big bears will let little bears enter a bait site first. Another tip off. 

Secondly, smaller bears tend to watch their backtrail often due to a larger bear. That’s a tip off…

Thirdly, Big bears sometimes approach and circle from behind to the tree stand first and give it a good sniff before heading to bait. 

Good Hunting!

 

Black Bears Sometimes Climb Into Your Tree Stand While Your In It

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Years ago I hunted Ontario, Canada for spring black bear with my Cascade recurve bow. I was on a baited stand with a large 8 foot high wood platform with a cheap plastic chair to sit in. A peaceful gurgling stream nearby masked any small sounds I had made.

A huge male boar was entering the bait site to my right.  My guide says, if he’s larger than the barrel, he’s likely a “book” bear.

The huge boar made the 50 gal. barrel look small. 

My 68lb bow, was just out of reach, leaning against a tree branch had an arrow on the string just a few feet from me. The bear walked to the base of my stand.

I leaned over to watch.

The bear stood up, and his whole head popped above the platform, just 3 feet away from my boots. I played possum with my eyes mostly shut.

Again, my bow was two feet away, no gun, no bear spray. He rocked his head back and forth, trying to get my attention,  but did not try to climb.

Finally, he got down, but as his front paws hit the ground, he bounced back up, trying to get me to respond. His huge nose sniffing intently and rocking again. I stayed still, eyes closed except for my tiny eye slits. My heart was flipping out in my chest. Should I grab my bow? Not yet. I hoped he would get down and head for the bait. He got down and bounced once more. I remained still…except for my heart.

Now, he got down and headed to the barrel.

He’s under my platform. I stood and grabbed my bow. I was using Easton XX75 2216 arrows with big Rothaar Snuffers. The bear being underneath me gave me no shot. Finally walking around the barrel I lifted my bow for the shot. The bear caught the movement and stood facing me. I did not want that bear coming back to my stand so I drew and shot him in the chest and struck his huge breast plate. The 700 grain arrow hit him, but never penetrated past his breast plate. My arrow stood out on the bear like an arrow hitting a tree trunk. Holy Crap!

The bear got down and bent the protruding arrow into a U shape. The arrow pried itself out as the bear ran off.

Darkness  fell and I had to walk 200 yards to my vehicle bow at the ready. I crazily drove 20 miles to get my guide. 

We came back that night and found the arrow. The tip of the snuffer was bent as it was pried from breast bone. Dark red blood drops lasted for 10 feet and disappeared. The next day we searched but quickly lost any trace.  I’m sure the bear healed but I never forgot that incident. It’s really not that uncommon. Today, I will hunt again with a backup 10mm pistol or my rifle.

Recently, I read of a similar situation below but with rifle. 

https://www.fieldandstream.com/hunting/bear-climbs-into-hunters-tree-stand/

Can you say adventure!

Good Hunting!

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