![]() ![]() Undaunted, I skinned the hide from the hind quarters and flanks, keeping the hide and paws attached to the front half of the bear and severed them from the carcass at the base of the ribs, creating two parts of roughly equal weight that could be hauled out on my plastic toboggan. Like a couple of years earlier, I had taken this large bear hours after the last members of my restless dragging crew decided it was time to return home. Happily, I ended up with 276 pounds of bear meat, equal in flavor to any I have ever tasted in all my years of bear hunting and a luxuriant hide that was made into a beautiful and much admired rug.Īll other bears taken by my sons, son-in-law and me were dragged via our own power to our waiting vehicles one, another 400+ pounder, by me alone. We dropped the bear squarely on the sled and within 30 minutes we were shoving and pulling it into the back of my pickup for its 1-1/2 hour trip to the butcher.ĭid I make it in time? It was close. Shortly after daybreak the next morning, a local logger named Wayne Revell (a shirt-tail relative) and one of his neighbors drove a pair of ATVs, chained together, and a large sled right to my bear, their trail across a spruce bog cleared a bit here and there by me with my chain saw. Wolves being prevalent in the area, I draped my shirt (damp with perspiration) over the bear's outstretched front legs fresh and strong human odors will keep wolves away for up to 48 hours. To enhance cooling, I propped the abdominal incision open with a pair of 10-inch long sticks, sharpened at the ends to prevent slipping. Using screw-in tree steps, a stout rope tied firmly around the bear's lower hind legs and a hand winch, we raised the bear carcass up into an adjacent birch tree (I did not want to tie a rope around the bear's neck for fear of ruining the condition of the luxuriant fur). The part resting against the ground would surely spoil overnight. The carcass could not be left on the ground, however. I decided it would be safe to leave the bear in the woods overnight while scrambling for help. This job was going to require some special equipment.įortunately, the temperature was in the mid-40's. ![]() We could hardly turn the bear over for field dressing. There was no way three humans were going to be able to drag this bear 3/5ths of a mile through an alder swamp and forest to the nearest road. Upon completing field dressing the large bear, I realized I had a big problem. Unfortunately, some hours after all but two of my pre-arranged dragging crew had departed for home. In 1989 I shot a 422-pound bear, six-feet long from nose to tail, on the evening of the fourth day of my hunt. Now you are wondering how big of a job it is going to be to get this bear to the cooler or butcher in time to make sure that the meat and hide do not spoil. You got your bear and you are done field dressing it. ![]()
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