Jersey bear down on opening day

[Bucksnbows]

Today is our off again, on again opening day of archery bear. I manage a property for a life long friend and we have far too many bears, so time to thin the herd. I bumped her off the bait as I walked in, but not badly as I heard it slowly walk off. I got to my spot overlooking the main trail to the bait and set up and settled in. He didn’t take 20 minutes before he came walking past broadside at 22 yards. 
 

This is my second bear. First was with a slug gun during our December six day season. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Bucksnbows

[mowin]

Congrats. Good sized bear. I wish I could have made it down to meet you and Rusty, but youth season has me busy. 

[Bucksnbows]

28 minutes ago, mowin said:

Congrats. Good sized bear. I wish I could have made it down to meet you and Rusty, but youth season has me busy. 

Next year! 

[Doebuck1234]

Congrats!!!!!

[Bucksnbows]

208 field dressed with an estimated 245 lb live weight. 

[mowin]

1 minute ago, Bucksnbows said:

208 field dressed with an estimated 245 lb live weight. 

Not bad.  Do you keep the meat, or donate. I love bear meat. 

[Cabin Fever]

Nice! Congrats!

[nywaw]

Congrats Brian!  Nice bear!

[Bucksnbows]

1 hour ago, mowin said:

Not bad.  Do you keep the meat, or donate. I love bear meat. 

I also like bear. I’m having it cut into steaks and the rest ground. Butcher is making me 10 lbs each of Hot Italian Sausage and cheddar bratwurst.  I’ll make other sausages from the ground left over. 

[Robhuntandfish]

14 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

I also like bear. I’m having it cut into steaks and the rest ground. Butcher is making me 10 lbs each of Hot Italian Sausage and cheddar bratwurst.  I’ll make other sausages from the ground left over. 

Bear maple blueberry breakfast sausage! 

So you have made into steaks?  Well done steaks hopefully but that doesn't sound great.  Do you cut them up for stews or braise them all?  

[Bucksnbows]

20 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Bear maple blueberry breakfast sausage! 

So you have made into steaks?  Well done steaks hopefully but that doesn't sound great.  Do you cut them up for stews or braise them all?  

You need to reach 160F for three minutes to avoid trichinosis. So not rare, but not burnt to a crisp either.  

[Bucksnbows]

Getting it out of the woods to a dirt road was easy. At least for me. I did the phone-a-friend. In this case, my best friend’s 29 year old son. I gutted and dragged his first PA buck when he was knee high to a grasshopper and in the stand with his late grandfather who was like a second father to me growing up. So the “kid” owed me one. He will be richly rewarded in less than 2 weeks at our NY (Otsego Cty) deer archery camp. Beer and brats will be my thanks to his young back. 

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

You need to reach 160F for three minutes to avoid trichinosis. So not rare, but not burnt to a crisp either.  

160 is considered well done.  Def want to be sure no trichinosis.   I'm sure there are lots of recipes etc for it. Enjoy.  

I would like to get one NY bear sometime.  Never have even had one on cam here.  Good and a bad thing.  But I might get up to the Adirondacks for a gun hunt and never know. 

 

 

[Buckmaster7600]

I hated bear meat, especially steaks until I bought a suis vide! After having a couple steaks a buddy did in his suis vide bear is back on the target list, as long as it’s not too far from the road.

[virgil]

8 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

You need to reach 160F for three minutes to avoid trichinosis. So not rare, but not burnt to a crisp either.  

Where in Otsego county is your place?