SW Colorado Forage

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

How are you guys handling skinning it and quartering out? Are you skinning and removing the quarters/meat and then collecting up the hide after or skinning it fully and slipping in a tarp or such under the carcass to finish that off?

I'd normally think skin it back and remove the meat/quarters but with the mention of the hot sun melting the grease/fat it made me wonder if folks have tackled it differently?

 

[WCT3]

Also more central west than south west but I was out last weekend looking for bears in the Roaring Fork Valley from 7400'-8400'. I talked to an archery hunter that saw one bear around 8000', found lots of sign but none of it look very fresh. Pretty much no acorns and some rosehips but not much for berries around there either. I've heard there was a late frost that messed up acorns/berries this year.

Any suggestions for what elevation range/food sources to be looking for? Two years ago I saw a lot of bears around 12,000' the third week of September in that same general area, not sure if that applies this year too.

 

[Poser]

How are you guys handling skinning it and quartering out? Are you skinning and removing the quarters/meat and then collecting up the hide after or skinning it fully and slipping in a tarp or such under the carcass to finish that off?

I'd normally think skin it back and remove the meat/quarters but with the mention of the hot sun melting the grease/fat it made me wonder if folks have tackled it differently?

Assuming there are no unusual variables:

-opening cuts
-remove rear quarters
-remove front quarters
-remove neck meat
-seperate head
-skin the rib cage while pulling the neck up and back, remove from the hide by flipping it over on the belly side
-remove backstraps and tenderloins, rib meat

Basically, after removing the quarters, I seperate the carcass from the hide in one whole piece.

 

[WCT3]

Assuming there are no unusual variables:

-opening cuts
-remove rear quarters
-remove front quarters
-remove neck meat
-seperate head
-skin the rib cage while pulling the neck up and back, remove from the hide by flipping it over on the belly side
-remove backstraps and tenderloins, rib meat

Basically, after removing the quarters, I seperate the carcass from the hide in one whole piece.

Are you just cutting through the tendons at the paws and leaving them attached? I assume you also just pop the skull off and leave it in the hide as well?

 

[Poser]

Are you just cutting through the tendons at the paws and leaving them attached? I assume you also just pop the skull off and leave it in the hide as well?

Yes, I seperate the paws from the wrist and leave them attached to the hide. I've never attempted to turn the paws, though it would lighten the load and something I would do if conditions were good.

I had plans to skin the head out, but about the time I finished with everything else, it was getting really warm so I just left the skull attached to the hide.

 

[WCT3]

Yes, I seperate the paws from the wrist and leave them attached to the hide. I've never attempted to turn the paws, though it would lighten the load and something I would do if conditions were good.

I had plans to skin the head out, but about the time I finished with everything else, it was getting really warm so I just left the skull attached to the hide.

That makes sense. I suck at caping skulls out so I would definitely try to keep it all together.

When packing the hide do you try to fold it skin in then roll it up? Sorry for all the questions, I've never killed a bear and I'm making it a goal to get it done this season since I have no other Sept tags.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

When packing the hide do you try to fold it skin in then roll it up? Sorry for all the questions, I've never killed a bear and I'm making it a goal to get it done this season since I have no other Sept tags.

I don't have bear experience but normally you'd put skin to skin first and then roll/fold it from there. But you'd want to let it cool first and/or get it unfolded to cool asap after you've packed it out if it was still warm. Don't just toss into a cooler and think it'll chill out fast all rolled up.

 

[Poser]

That makes sense. I suck at caping skulls out so I would definitely try to keep it all together.

When packing the hide do you try to fold it skin in then roll it up? Sorry for all the questions, I've never killed a bear and I'm making it a goal to get it done this season since I have no other Sept tags.

Yeah, fold the legs in and roll up the hide to the head. Having some cord on hand to tie it up can be useful, but, as mentioned above, I think I'll be switching to a game bag to better keep it all contained. The head, which is heavy, is going to want to flop around on you which will shift the weight of the pack around. If this happens enough, a claw will end up flopping out of the roll and then you have 2 pieces flopping around which means you'll have to stop, take off your pack, shore it up and then shoulder your heavy pack again. Avoid the flop! Probably best to stuff the bear hide and head in your pack or on the load shelf vs. trying to carry it between the pack and the lid or on top of you pack.

 

[WCT3]

I don't have bear experience but normally you'd put skin to skin first and then roll/fold it from there. But you'd want to let it cool first and/or get it unfolded to cool asap after you've packed it out if it was still warm. Don't just toss into a cooler and think it'll chill out fast all rolled up.

Good call on cooling before putting in the cooler. I plan on having a contractor bag at the truck to put it in before the cooler so it's not getting soaked in the ice water.

Yeah, fold the legs in and roll up the hide to the head. Having some cord on hand to tie it up can be useful, but, as mentioned above, I think I'll be switching to a game bag to better keep it all contained. The head, which is heavy, is going to want to flop around on you which will shift the weight of the pack around. If this happens enough, a claw will end up flopping out of the roll and then you have 2 pieces flopping around which means you'll have to stop, take off your pack, shore it up and then shoulder your heavy pack again. Avoid the flop! Probably best to stuff the bear hide and head in your pack or on the load shelf vs. trying to carry it between the pack and the lid or on top of you pack.

That makes sense. The only hide I've packed out was my mountain goat which was fairly small and I was able to fit it in a regular game bag which worked pretty well.

 

[AlleghenyPaddler]

Thanks for all of the great info everyone! I’m back from my hunt and got it done! I ran into bears above 10500 that were hitting alpine currants. It took me to the last day but I got a beautiful old blond on chocolate sow. Thanks again!

 

[lak2004]

Thanks for all of the great info everyone! I’m back from my hunt and got it done! I ran into bears above 10500 that were hitting alpine currants. It took me to the last day but I got a beautiful old blond on chocolate sow. Thanks again!

Super cool man!

 

[WCT3]

Thanks for all of the great info everyone! I’m back from my hunt and got it done! I ran into bears above 10500 that were hitting alpine currants. It took me to the last day but I got a beautiful old blond on chocolate sow. Thanks again!

Beautiful bear! I think I'm going to try hunting high alpine next time I'm out.

 

[AlleghenyPaddler]

Good call on cooling before putting in the cooler. I plan on having a contractor bag at the truck to put it in before the cooler so it's not getting soaked in the ice water.

That makes sense. The only hide I've packed out was my mountain goat which was fairly small and I was able to fit it in a regular game bag which worked pretty well.

Pay attention to where the head ends up in the roll, it can act as a heat pack or an ice pack depending on how cool you can get it. Per my taxidermist the worst sin is getting it wet, far worse than just dirty. I cooled mine in the bed of my truck on the way home, wrapped it up in bags and set her on top of ice with good drainage till I got it checked.

 

[Poser]

Thanks for all of the great info everyone! I’m back from my hunt and got it done! I ran into bears above 10500 that were hitting alpine currants. It took me to the last day but I got a beautiful old blond on chocolate sow. Thanks again!

Nice. If I could consistently Fall bear hunt in the high country, I think there would be not be a more aesthetic form of hunting short of glassing for goats. Because I'm in a scrub oak heavy area, it just doesn't seem to be a viable option to hunt bears that high in the Fall. When I first started bear hunting out here, I tried to hunt higher for bears and just didn't get anywhere with it for a season or 2 until I started focusing on lower elevations.
Did you glass the bear up from a distance?

 

[ckleeves]

It seems the high country bears at least where I’m at are an every couple years phenomenon.There is always a few but some years (feed dependent im sure) they pile up in the high country. 2017 was absolutely nuts, you didn’t hardly have to look to find timberline bears it was like every basin had one (or 3). This year they seem pretty thick too, this guy was at 11600 last week. Was seeing at least one bear a day above 11k.

 

[AlleghenyPaddler]

Nice. If I could consistently Fall bear hunt in the high country, I think there would be not be a more aesthetic form of hunting short of glassing for goats. Because I'm in a scrub oak heavy area, it just doesn't seem to be a viable option to hunt bears that high in the Fall. When I first started bear hunting out here, I tried to hunt higher for bears and just didn't get anywhere with it for a season or 2 until I started focusing on lower elevations.
Did you glass the bear up from a distance?

I spotted her from about a mile away, but it was honestly dumb luck. I was sneaking through the dark timber and popped into a rockslide that gave me vantage on the opposing wall of the drainage and avalanche chute she was was at the top of.

 

[AlleghenyPaddler]

I spotted her from about a mile away, but it was honestly dumb luck. I was sneaking through the dark timber and popped into a rockslide that gave me vantage on the opposing wall of the drainage and avalanche chute she was was at the top of.

I hunted that high all week because is saw two bears the day before the season, but nothing during till this one

 

[hunthikecamp]

Yes, I seperate the paws from the wrist and leave them attached to the hide. I've never attempted to turn the paws, though it would lighten the load and something I would do if conditions were good.

I had plans to skin the head out, but about the time I finished with everything else, it was getting really warm so I just left the skull attached to the hide.

Same, I left the paws and skull in the hide. i've heard if you don't really know what you're doing you can do more harm than good trying to skin them out, at least if you want to keep the hide in good condition for a rug.

The biggest thing I learned was how 'clean' you need to get the hide, I initially was worried about getting every little bit of bloody fat and tissue off of the hide for fear of it spoiling and ruining the hide, but there's a balance. Mainly you just need to get the big chunks of meat and fat off but in my unnecessary efforts to trim every little bit of nasty bits off i created a few more holes in the hide, regretting that for sure... And yeah spread it out to cool, I rolled it up right away off the bear to keep the flies away until i got it off the mountain but I spread it out for a bit back at the truck. I also had the luxury of heading back home that night where I opened it up at home and was able to spread it out in my freezer to chill it down. got it close to freezing but not frozen, then rolled it all back up cold and stashed it in a cooler with frozen 1 gal jugs to avoid moisture issues as they melt. All that and a little anxiety of the unknown and 3 days later it was still in great shape when i dropped it off at the taxidermist.

 

[Poser]

Same, I left the paws and skull in the hide. i've heard if you don't really know what you're doing you can do more harm than good trying to skin them out, at least if you want to keep the hide in good condition for a rug.

The biggest thing I learned was how 'clean' you need to get the hide, I initially was worried about getting every little bit of bloody fat and tissue off of the hide for fear of it spoiling and ruining the hide, but there's a balance. Mainly you just need to get the big chunks of meat and fat off but in my unnecessary efforts to trim every little bit of nasty bits off i created a few more holes in the hide, regretting that for sure... And yeah spread it out to cool, I rolled it up right away off the bear to keep the flies away until i got it off the mountain but I spread it out for a bit back at the truck. I also had the luxury of heading back home that night where I opened it up at home and was able to spread it out in my freezer to chill it down. got it close to freezing but not frozen, then rolled it all back up cold and stashed it in a cooler with frozen 1 gal jugs to avoid moisture issues as they melt. All that and a little anxiety of the unknown and 3 days later it was still in great shape when i dropped it off at the taxidermist.

I think the key to getting the hide "clean" happens at the time of skinning. A curved, longer blade knife such as a "lamb skinner" or a "hog skinner" is going to be ideal. I haven't yet used either type of such knife, but I do have a vintage "hog skinner" that I bought from a 100+ year old butcher shop that closed down and had a sale. Its not the most practical knife to carry around for backcountry hunting, but the banana curve on a thicker blade would allow for maximized long strokes that would separate quite a bit of hide from flesh in a consistent manner. I generally carry small, ultralight skinner with a 2.5 inch blade and I think that tends to result in more holes in the hide on a bear. Great for elk or deer, but thinking I may go with a heavier, more specialized knife for skinning bear out in the future.

 

[Poser]

Went out with a buddy this morning to an area that is usually reliable for bears in an ocean of scrub oak. No acorns at all this year in the entire area. We did walk right up on a sow with a cub, though. She had been eating nothing but Aspen berries according to her piles of poop.