Aldermarsh Bear

[Waynzee]

Hi fellas, I was fishing up on game lands 159 back in the Aldermarsh and this big black bear comes out of the laurels about 40 yards away. It's sometimes hard to judge a bear but this guy, WoW, Belly almost touching the ground, ears small and wide apart on his head no mistaking the size. He seemed like I wasn't even there as I was backing out away from him but I'm sure he knew exactly where I was.
Anyway, I've heard mixed stories about large bears, 400 lbs.+ being good to eat any of you fellas have some thoughts.

 

[atl5029]

I drive bears with a group of guys in PA, and we've taken bears from 150-500+ pounds. The little ones are obviously better eating then the big boars, but in my experience it's the bear's diet that determines how good it is. The bears where we hunt feed mostly on the things the deer do - acorns, crops, berries, etc. The small bears taste just like venison, just fattier. The big ones taste about the same, but the meat is a lot darker and can be tougher. That's nothing a slow cooker or grinder can't fix. You can get good meals from a big bear, just don't expect to eat a lot of steaks on the grill....more like stew, pot roast,burgers, and sausage. On the other hand, some of my friends also hunt near an area of PA where there are a lot of trout hatcheries, and the bears eat a lot of fish. They tell me the bears around there taste like absolute garbage.

So if you know what the majority of the bear's diet is, you can get an idea of how good it would be, no matter the age.

 

[Waynzee]

Yep, that's kind of what I've been hearing at the local gun shops and fellas that hunt bear seriously. It's all about their diet and size. One fella told me he shot a bear 2 years ago and when he opened it up he wanted to just walk away the bear stunk so bad. Probably a garbage eating bear. But, ya have to take them to the PGC and get them checked.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[atl5029]

Yep, that's kind of what I've been hearing at the local gun shops and fellas that hunt bear seriously. It's all about their diet and size. One fella told me he shot a bear 2 years ago and when he opened it up he wanted to just walk away the bear stunk so bad. Probably a garbage eating bear. But, ya have to take them to the PGC and get them checked.
Thanks for the reply.

Lol well I've never opened up a bear that smelled good. You're hunting PA too? Where about?

 

[Waynzee]

Lol well I've never opened up a bear that smelled good. You're hunting PA too? Where about?

Yep, especially garbage eating bears.
I'm in the N.E.,Wayne County is where I hunt, sometimes I'll go south to Pike County. 3C and 3d.

 

[atl5029]

Gotcha. There was a giant bear killed up that way a couple years ago. I think it went 700+. We hunt in Bald Eagle State forest and Rothrock which is just south of Penn State.

 

[Waynzee]

Yep, If it's the 700 lb.bear I'm thinking of it was killed out by Mt. Cobb N.E. of Scranton. The fella that killed it lived in Allentown and was invited to hunt on a relative's property and he had only one day to hunt.The best part is he killed it with one shot from a Winchester 94 30/30 that he borrowed from his relative.
You ever hunt north of that area up in the Allegheny forest?

 

[atl5029]

that's the bear but I heard it was shot with a 30-06. And yeah I've hunted allegheny forest before. A few of my friends have camps in Tionesta. That's where I took my first deer.

 

[Waynzee]

Naw, it was a 30/30, I know the fella who owns the property, he goes to church with my brother. So I kind of got the story up front. But, ain't that the luck of some people. I've hunted all my life here in PA. and only seen one bear that would come close to about 600 lbs. and I couldn't shoot him because it wasn't bear season and he was on private property. Seen a few, including the Aldermarsh bear that are around 400 to 500 lbs. and some smaller bears. But nothing that rivals 700 lbs.