Definitely should be cooked well done!
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Eastern fall black bears
- Thread starter Endless_prusuits
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HRM Johnny
Well-Known Member
Wow. Great, helpful responses. This is one of the things that I love about this forum.
OK, one of the best places to hunt DIY is the Adirondack Park upstate NY. Public land, lots of bears. I haven't hunted there in fee years but I talk to friends and population even higher.
I saw bears every time I hunted the Tawas area by the High Peaks Wilderness area. I hunted for deer and in a 5-6 day hunt see 4-5 bears when not even hunting for them. I believe fall only. Do combo bear/deer hunt. There are some really nice bucks in back country.
DIY or Outfitters.
I saw bears every time I hunted the Tawas area by the High Peaks Wilderness area. I hunted for deer and in a 5-6 day hunt see 4-5 bears when not even hunting for them. I believe fall only. Do combo bear/deer hunt. There are some really nice bucks in back country.
DIY or Outfitters.
iShoot17
Well-Known Member
I was concerned of this too when I first started hunting bears (and am still mindful of it). I've heard horror stories of bear meat with a rancid smell and essentially not edible. I've also seen videos of bears with worms hanging out of their butts that would certainly deter me from wanting to hunt bears again.
However, none of the above has been my personal experience. I'm not saying it can't happen in Pennsylvania (or other east coast states), just saying it is not my experience. The PA bears have a heavy diet of berries, nuts, bark, leaves, etc. The majority of places we hunt are fairly far removed from human populations and such garbage and human wastes aren't really a part of their diet. Additionally, the bears don't have an enormous population of fish to be feasting on. Sure - they'll eat what they can get when they can including carrion, but it is my understanding that is very far in the minority column in our state with the abundance of vegetation to keep them happy. PA has done extreme work to build up our woods and create habitats that sustain mast bearing trees. Bears have an overwhelming amount of acorns, hickory / walnut / beech nuts, etc. to feast upon, along with barks, blue berries, black berries, etc.
My family has had our fair share of PA bear meat over the years - whether the bear I took or shared by other hunters from our group - and I'm of the position that I won't turn it down. My wife says it is her favorite meat of all the various game animals that we have taken of the years (moose, elk, whitetail, etc.).
We cook it well done, I temperature probe it every time, and we enjoy.
Again - just my experience with PA black bears.
iShoot17
Well-Known Member
He is shooting for the end of the month as long as everything goes to along with the new plan.
I'll try my best to remember to post a picture.
Don't rule out the National Forest areas of North GA.
Camping is decent, the population of bears is good, and the fishing is great if you want a bit of a break from tromping around the mountains.
Chances of a 400lb bear are slim, so if you are looking for a book bear, then it may not be for you, but it would be a relatively easy drive for you.
Camping is decent, the population of bears is good, and the fishing is great if you want a bit of a break from tromping around the mountains.
Chances of a 400lb bear are slim, so if you are looking for a book bear, then it may not be for you, but it would be a relatively easy drive for you.
If you have a good processor, bear meat is no different than fresh pork. With that said anything that be done creatively with pork can be done with bear meat. We primarily eat bear meat all year long if we harvest one. I usually will make hamburger and sweet Italian sausage and stew meat. A lot of people make cured hans as well.
Nice bear in your avatar.
I hunt PA Pike County. There's plenty of land but way too many hunters, even thou Pike is a great county for big bears. I would go to Western/Central PA. The tougher the terrain the better the chance. Whatever you do, don't throw out the ribs! Bear BBQ ribs are amazing! I shot a bear in Maine, and an old timer smoked and grilled the ribs. Holy cow they were awesome..
My experience is May bear in Alberta just coming out of hibernation. Out of 25 bear, not one piece of meat was eaten. Every one of them was full of worms. Outfitter had a pile of bear carcasses in the back forty for coyote bait. I asked the outfitter if he ate bear meat? A hard hell no as we watched the carcass of a skinned out bear "moving". Yuck.
A month or so ago, a few people in Ga died from trichinosis, several others hospitalized due to trichinosis in bear meat they consumed at a party.
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iShoot17
Well-Known Member
I hate hearing that. Unfortunately (fortunately?), I'd probably stop bear hunting if that was my experience. While I enjoy the hunt, I can say I wouldn't continue if I wasn't going to be eating the meat. I'm not in it just for a kill. In an experience like yours, I wouldn't be eating the meat (obviously..).
I read about a family getting hit with trichinosis and some of them passing a few months back - maybe it was the same story. If I recall, the bear was from Canada (Saskatchewan?). I also remember them saying the meet was undercooked because they couldn't tell if it was done or not and it had cross-contaminated the vegetables on the side. In either fashion - it was no good and very unfortunate.
I wonder if there are areas where trichinosis is more prevalent than others? I honestly have no idea. It is something we are very mindful of when cooking bear and I always use a meat probe to ensure we are above 165 degrees.
I think you may be referring to this one: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7320a2.htm
Nobody died. Less than 0.2% of known infected people (about 10000, worldwide) die from trichinosis. For those that are math challenged that is 20 out of 10000. I couldn't find any information on any deaths in GA from trichinosis.
Also, trichinosis larvae are not visible with the naked eye. In very rare cases, you may see the cysts that form around the larvae, but they are very small and very hard to see, especially in the large muscle groups with lots of fat. Not sure what those of you who saw stuff "moving in the meat" were seeing, but it wasn't trichinosis.
I thought I had read that it's more prevalent north of the lower 48.
