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Thread: Getting a bear home

  1. #1
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    Default Getting a bear home

    A buddy and I are going bear hunting in Idaho this coming May. Any advice on getting the hide and some meat back to SC would be appreciated. We don't plan on bringing all the meat from 2 bears but enough to give some away and a few meals for the family. Speaking of that, what cuts of meat do we need to keep. I've never tried bear so point me in the right direction. Would I be better off having the taxidermy done there?

    I've only duck and turkey hunted out of state so I don't have any experience bringing back large stuff.

    Thanks for any ideas and pointers
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  2. #2
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    I would probably have a taxidermist clean the hide and ship it. I’ll check with my buddy out there. He’s a taxidermist in Salt Lake City
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  3. #3
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    He said you should have someone skin , flesh and turn it then salt cure it then ship it. Hope this helps
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  4. #4
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    Any feedback on cuts of meat or the bear fat? I plan to take one.

  5. #5
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    The fat is suppose to be on par with duck confit.

    That is hard for me to believe, but I've heard several folks say that & there is obviously a whole lot more.

    Good luck man!
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  6. #6
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    Years ago a buddy of mine went to Alaska to kill a bear. Flew to a village and from there they went out to a spike camp and hunted. Came back to the village days later and got drunk with the locals, they took him to the dump and he killed a bear. Trying to get the bear back to civilization as baggage was gonna cost too much so he bought the bear a seat on the puddle jumper.

  7. #7
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    Fly it back on the plane. I killed one in Ontario, skinned it out minus the paws and fleshed it myself. The hide with skull and paws was 88#. I was able to freeze it a day or two and then packaged in a cheap Rubbermaid. It was totally fine and 95% frozen when I landed. 100# is usually the flight limit on one bag and isn’t too expensive. Break out the meat into 50# bags and fly them back too. It won’t be cheap, but shouldn’t be too bad.

    I also have done this with a caribou hide in my carryon.

  8. #8
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    I’d call your taxidermist here as well and see how he’d prefer to receive it.
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  9. #9
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    Are u flying or driving? I’d get a local taxidermist to do it, simply because they probably do more of them, and it would simplify a lot. Keep the fat and treat it well. It renders down to bear grease, which is magical stuff for cooking, waterproofing stuff, dry skin care, wood protection, tool protecting etc.
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  10. #10
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    Thank you everyone. I'm flying. I've reached out to the outfitter for guidance but haven't heard back yet. I'll see if there's a good taxidermist he recommends and talk to one here.

    Looks like I need to save some fat. What is the better cuts of meat to save.
    "My resume is the trail of destruction behind me. " Bucky Katt

  11. #11
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    They are basically a hog. I found that the flavor was good but it’s all pretty tough. I ended up using the roasts more than anything.

  12. #12
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    Debone it and just grind the whole thing up into hamburger. Freeze it and fly it home in a couple coolers. A cheap 48 quart cooler will hold at least 50 lbs. Not sure on best cuts of meat, but the hamburger will surprise you how good it is. You will probably have to trim some fat off before grinding. There should be plenty of fat to play with. I don't know a whole lot about it, but I have killed and processed a couple.

  13. #13
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    We had an elk and 2 mule deer processed and sent back on a plane. Over 400 lbs of meat. Processing, man's time to ship and shipping was $1100

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by lil 2 sleepy View Post
    Fly it back on the plane. I kill9ed one in Ontario, skinned it out minus the paws and fleshed it myself. The hide with skull and paws was 88#. I was able to freeze it a day or two and then packaged in a cheap Rubbermaid. It was totally fine and 95% frozen when I landed. 100# is usually the flight limit on one bag and isn’t too expensive. Break out the meat into 50# bags and fly them back too. It won’t be cheap, but shouldn’t be too bad.

    I also have done this with a caribou hide in my carryon.
    Do this, buy a big tote and some duck tape when you land. Cape it, freeze it if you can or throw some dry ice in.
    Fly it back with you for $50

    Done it many times. This is by far the cheapest route. Debone some of the meat you want and throw it in a Walmart freezer bag for $9. Fly extra bags back less than 50lbs for $75 per bag

  15. #15
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    If flying, we get a cheap cooler and pack frozen deboned meat in it. Hide in another. Ship it home overnight via Fed Ex corp account. Cheaper than oversized/ overweight bags on a plane. Keep same cuts as a deer. Backstraps hams and shoulders. How it tastes depends 100% on what they’ve been eating.
    If you’re doing a rug, the taxidermist will prepare the hide then send it to a tannery. Tannery send it back then he does skull and fringe. I think mine was $12-1300.

  16. #16
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    If you bring hide back with you use more salt on hide than you think you need. When a bear hide is rolled up heat builds up and hide will slip really quick. More salt the better.
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  17. #17
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    I talked to our outfitter and we have decided to use the taxidermist he recommends near there. That's assuming we actually kill one. Then use a cooler to bring back as much meat and fat as we can freeze and stuff into as one of our pieces of luggage. Neither of us wants a whole bears worth of meat so we are going to debone and freeze what we want and the outfitter said he has plenty of people who want anything we don't want so nothing will get wasted.
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  18. #18
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    bear fat > bear meat.
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