time frame?

[diggie-d]

hello out there, I'm new to the forum, but have followed it for some time now and found a lot of great info from some very knowledgeable woodsmen. that said I'm hunting bear this august in western Washington. I hunted it last year for my first bear season and I had a blast. this year I'm planning to pack into a spot that is a ways out there, my brother will be with me on at least one weekend. with the heat I experienced last year I was wondering... if we have a really hot august about how long do I have to get the animal out in edible condition. if my bro is with me I can get out in one trip, I figure about 4-5 hours, but if alone it will take me two trips and at least twice as long. Is that in the realm of reality? I ask because last year I shot one and he did the unthinkable and dropped off the side of a mountain, literally. by 1 a.m. we found our last blood and I knew he was piled up under this pile of forest an avalanche had created the winter prior. went back in at 6 a.m. with day lite only to find my smaller sized bear being a meal to a larger one and stupid me without my bow, (yes I have learned my lesson) a butcher I know later told me even if I had recovered him his meat would have spoiled, does this sound true to you? anyways I was sick to the gut to think of an animal being wasted even though nature got her share. I would really love a rug this year but I'm equally concerned about the meat. any feed back is welcomed and appreciated

[3nails]

 I'm not a big fan of August bear hunting. It's better in Sept. ,Oct, way better odds of getting them out unspoiled, hides are better later. Could you delay another month?

[diggie-d]

I could try in September but my whole month is dominated by my passion for elk, well most of it anyways. I will be out in October for sure unless tagged out. I guess Im just jonzin to get out, also my brother will only be around in august so I wanted to get in some back country with him while I can ( he's a great pack mule). I have heard their hides are better later elsewhere too. does my pack out time frame seem to be pushing it a bit at that time of year?

[ICEMAN]

Two trips for one guy can go fast or long. If you exercise restraint and not push your hunt that far back from the roadway, I could see doing the hunt.  The main issue is to not risk wasting the animal. Sometimes it does not make sense to hunt, especially if too warm out...

[diggie-d]

not wasting it is my main concern, so I agree completely, its sounding like that's the wrong time of year for that style of hunt. I have plenty of closer to the road spots. im new to the bear world and after hearing they seemingly spoil faster then other game animals, I want to be respectful to the animals and make an educated decision on how to go about this season.

[skagitsteel]

if you plan it right you can get one out early.  Last year a buddy shot one on the fourth of aug, it took us all day to get it out (wasn't that far back but was in the worst brush patch I have ever seen  ) It was  11 hrs from the time the bear hit the dirt to when we had the quarters on ice at the truck and it was fine.  It seemed to me in my limited experience that the lower elevations, closer to the road were actually pretty good in early Aug.

[fish vacuum]

Hard to answer you question, but having a plan for packing out, and ice at the truck, will increase your meat quality.

[sirmissalot]

I shot a bear labor day weekend a couple years ago, it was close to 90 degrees that day and we made pretty quick work of getting it out, skinned and into a cooler but I still ended up with a little bone sour, none wasted but it was close. I had it cut and froze by that night and that was the closest I've ever had to losing an animal to the heat. It totally depends on the weather, your altitude and area. Some of the high country spots will have glaciers nearby so you can cool the meat. I agree that september is often better hunting for several reasons.

[h20hunter]

Dig....


One of the guys on the forum shoots most of his bears just before dark. Evening hunts and cooler temps could do two things. One, help cool the meat as you work on your bear through the night. Two, make finding your bear if he doesn't drop right on the spot that much harder. Leaving it overnight in Aug will probably result in spoiling.

One of the above posts mentioned planning the hunt and keeping distance in mind. Do a little scouting and find an area that you can hunt yet get game out as long as everything works out. Keep a couple buddies cell numbers handy and know who you can call to get help when needed.

Good luck this season and be safe.

[D-Rock425]

Stang and I plan on packing in the first weekend in August but not far from the road really.  Should be fun I think we can get one out in time no problem.

[h20hunter]

Across the river so to speak?

[crazysccrmd]

I'll probably be bear hunting in August this year as well. How much more effective would it be to bone out the meat and hang what can't be carried on the first trip?

[D-Rock425]

If I told you I'd have to kill you.

[D-Rock425]

I think boning it out would be best.

[shanevg]

I do a lot of bear hunting in August and I would think 4-5 hours to the car you could get away with as long as you recover the bear quickly.  I shot a bear in August on a 90+ degree day and it took us about 3 hours to get to the car.  We gutted and skinned as quickly as possible, then when we got to the truck, wrapped the quarters in garbage bags and sealed them with duct tape, then we drove to the nearest creek and dunked those bags (along with our feet) in the creek for about an hour.  That quickly cooled off the meat.  We then unwrapped the meat from the garbage bags (so they could breathe) and brought it directly to the butcher.  The meat was in great condition and not spoiled at all.

Other advice is to shoot the bear in afternoon as previously mentioned which also helps. 

Finally, I have shot multiple bears very near snow fields.  If possible, we get the bear down onto that snow field as soon as he is gutted. It makes for a very clean surface to skin and bone out the bear and also helps get everything cooled down as much as possible.  I know that algae in snow that turns it red in the summer isn't good for humans so if you have a garbage bag to lay the meat/quarters on so it doesn't come in direct contact with the snow then that is good. 

Hope that helps!