I apologize for my ignorance, but what does one do with a dead 500 lb bear once you

have killed it? Ya can't eat it, and I'm sure it's expensive to make it into a rug.

You can do both.

I once met a guy who's buddy wanted to go bear hunting with pistols

 

I'm no hunting expert, but I cant even imagine what the hell you would want to hunt a bear with. 12 gauge with slugs maybe?

I once met a guy who's buddy wanted to go bear hunting with pistols

 

I'm no hunting expert, but I cant even imagine what the hell you would want to hunt a bear with. 12 gauge with slugs maybe?

 

In NJ you must use slugs.

I apologize for my ignorance, but what does one do with a dead 500 lb bear once you

have killed it? Ya can't eat it, and I'm sure it's expensive to make it into a rug.

 

Why not?

As a hunter who has hunted and harvested a bear before, what you do with it is you shoot it, you cut the skin and pull it off, take it to the taxidermy guy and pick up your rug in a few months...as far as eating it, I am not keen on eating bear, but some of the guys I hunt with eat it, so they take it.

As far as getting a 350lb (my bear) bear out of the woods, I have the luck of being a member of a gun and rod club that has 2 crucial things:

1) lots of bears in the area

2) an ATV at the ready to come assist us when we are out roaming the farmer's land.

 

Black bear are beautiful to see when you are out. Most of them haul a** when they see you.

Many of them, I can assure you, will never be seen as they are quiet. One day a small bear was walking behind me for a while. Everytime I looked back at it, it would look left or right...it was funny.

 

You can take it with a pistol, (a .44 or something fast like that) but you cant do that in NJ, slugs only. I have some winchester super x 3in slugs for my 12. They come out at 1700fps. Gets the job done.

Anyway, hunting is alot of fun, and its just great to be out in nature...

My nephew was in the Coast Guard and was deployed on Kodiak Island for 2 years. They ate plenty of bear up there.

You can take it with a pistol, (a .44 or something fast like that) but you cant do that in NJ, slugs only.

So, is it the ammo or the pistol that's a no no? Because you can definitely load slugs in a judge. I think I also saw a couple other handgun calibers ammo loaded with slugs.

It's the pistol, not the ammo.

In NJ you are restricted to hunting bear with either a shotgun or a muzzle loader. They do not permit bow hunting of bear - though the consensus at the bear seminar was that many of the hunters wanted to be able to bow hunt bear. There may be an opportunity for that in the future.

 

You can eat bear. You can have a bear mounted. You can donate the meat to hunters helping the hungry. You can make a rug. Or, you can just stop Fozzy and Yogi and Smokey from going through your garbage...

So, is it the ammo or the pistol that's a no no? Because you can definitely load slugs in a judge. I think I also saw a couple other handgun calibers ammo loaded with slugs.

In the context of bear hunting, both are verboten. Minimum slug/shell size is 20 ga. for bear. .44 caliber is the minimum if using a muzzleloader. I am sure the decision is based on a minimum of ft. lbs. of energy. And we all know that pistols are a no-no in this state.

the sad thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the ammo that was not allowed. kinda like the stupid hollow point rule.

A recent poll suggests that a majority of N.J. residents approve of such a hunt. I know that prior to the closure of bear hunting in the 60's, one never heard a disparaging word against a bear hunt. Then again, there weren't many bears around back then either, nor were there many anti-hunter activists or anti-hunting videos going viral on the internet against hunting in general. That paradigm has changed somewhat in 40 years.

http://publicmind.fdu.edu/1011bears/

 

As for the lowly .410, it isn't allowed as a legal round for deer in N.J. In the hands of a savvy and competent hunter, it is used with some success in other states where it is legal, but should be considered a marginal round. It sheds velocity too fast and loses half its energy by the 50 yard mark. Bear are more heavily muscled and boned than a deer.

 

Not the most scientific analysis, but an interesting read:

http://mcb-homis.com/slug_410/slugtest/

So, is it the ammo or the pistol that's a no no? Because you can definitely load slugs in a judge. I think I also saw a couple other handgun calibers ammo loaded with slugs.

 

 

Definitely the pistol. NJ hates pistols...

My nephew was in the Coast Guard and was deployed on Kodiak Island for 2 years. They ate plenty of bear up there.

I've tried bear meat, it's not bad if cooked right.

I have also had bear, tasted just like roast beef, it was a pot roast and very well prepared..

Ive had it and its pretty good , but All wild game needs to be taken care of properly from the time its killed. Bear especially needs to be cooled , skinning as soon as possible to cool it down saves it from spoiling .