New in 2020 The raw pelt with evidence of sex

[dmoua]

Yeah, but theyve been able to not comply with that, and still take besrs to the taxidermist.  Now with the hide sealing requirement, a taxi wont touch a non sealed spring bear.  So anybody who does want anything done with their hide will have no choice but to comply with the hide sealing.

I'm just curious as to why a taxidermist is not able to seal the hide for hunters. Makes it easier for everyone and WDFW still gets what they want.

[Bango skank]

Yeah, i dont know why not.  I mean part of it is sending the tooth in, so there is the age.  And im sure a taxidermist can be counted on to determine sex and whether or not an animal was lactating.  It would be nice if taxis could check in cats and bears. 
  I feel like part of it is that the wdfw wants to use the check in as an opportunity to screw with you to try to see if you did something illegal.  Checking in my cat in december i got the 3rd degree and a bunch of "trick questions" trying to trip me up, see if id poached it or something.  They seem to trust us almost as much as we trust them.

[dmoua]

Yeah, i dont know why not.  I mean part of it is sending the tooth in, so there is the age.  And im sure a taxidermist can be counted on to determine sex and whether or not an animal was lactating.  It would be nice if taxis could check in cats and bears. 
  I feel like part of it is that the wdfw wants to use the check in as an opportunity to screw with you to try to see if you did something illegal.  Checking in my cat in december i got the 3rd degree and a bunch of "trick questions" trying to trip me up, see if id poached it or something.  They seem to trust us almost as much as we trust them.

The biologist I dealt with didn't ask any questions besides which unit I shot it in when I checked in my 2018 Cougar. He did wish I didn't gut it out. I told him I can go get him the gutpile if he really needs it. He didn't reply lol.

[Bango skank]

Yeah, i dont know why not.  I mean part of it is sending the tooth in, so there is the age.  And im sure a taxidermist can be counted on to determine sex and whether or not an animal was lactating.  It would be nice if taxis could check in cats and bears. 
  I feel like part of it is that the wdfw wants to use the check in as an opportunity to screw with you to try to see if you did something illegal.  Checking in my cat in december i got the 3rd degree and a bunch of "trick questions" trying to trip me up, see if id poached it or something.  They seem to trust us almost as much as we trust them.

The biologist I dealt with didn't ask any questions besides which unit I shot it in when I checked in my 2018 Cougar. He did wish I didn't gut it out. I told him I can go get him the gutpile if he really needs it. He didn't reply lol.

Thats probably the difference, you had yours checked by a bio, i had mine checked by a game warden.

[Humptulips]

Yeah, but theyve been able to not comply with that, and still take besrs to the taxidermist.  Now with the hide sealing requirement, a taxi wont touch a non sealed spring bear.  So anybody who does want anything done with their hide will have no choice but to comply with the hide sealing.

I'm just curious as to why a taxidermist is not able to seal the hide for hunters. Makes it easier for everyone and WDFW still gets what they want.

Trappers used to have no choice except having their cats and otters tagged by WDFW. A few years ago we asked to allow fur dealers to be able to CITES tag cats and otters. It took a few years to convince them but now selected dealers can do it. I recently had some cats tagged on a Saturday, pretty convenient.
I see no reason you couldn't make the same argument for bear and even cougar sealing. Probably take a few years of arguing to make it happen but you have a proven successful system in CITES trapping for trappers to play off of.

[idaho guy]

People won’t even send in a tooth. They think guys are going to pack a wet hide out of the backcountry just to comply with the law? Sadly most wont. If they want full compliance they need to clarify the exact pieces of the hide they need to seal not the entire thing.

We should expect a drastic decline in reported harvests this spring. But I suppose that’s what they want..

Do you really think there are that many bear hunters that dont want to keep the hides?  I bet most do want them.  And just like cougar, a taxidermist wont take an unsealed spring bear hide now.  If you want to keep the hide, have it tanned, rugged or whatever, you will have to have it checked.  I really dont think the percentage of guys hunting spring bear that dont want to keep the hides is very significant.

The tooth thing is a bad comparison because a guy could always keep his hide, meat, skull and not send in the tooth, there was nothing to stop him from doing that.  But now if you want to take your hide in to a taxidermist, youll have to have it sealed or the taxi wont take it.

Absolutely and I’m one of them. Bear hunters tend to be guys who kill them on a regular basis and how many bear hides do you need? The guy who randomly kills a bear on a deer hunt once in his life is usually not the guy going on spring bear hunts every year. I have no interest in a bear hide at this point. Also I got my cougar rug last year. Further cougars would likely be for the meat and predator control same with bears. One bear rug one cougar rug one bear hide and one bear shoulder mount Is good for our house. My bear hide from last fall went into the garbage.

This rule needs clarified to specific portions of the hide if there’s any realistic compliance.

 

Threw hide in the garbage? If it’s a nice bear you could sell Moscow hide and fur for 100 to 200 dollars. At least your not wasting it. I have a bear rug a shoulder mount and at least 20 hides hanging on log type coat hangers I posted a pic on man cave thread. I have kept all my bear hides they don’t take much room hanging how I have them and looks pretty cool. I don’t care what anyone does with a hide but couple on here throwing in garbage is a little silly at least sell it. Whining about packing out a bear hide is a little woosie  :chuckle Idaho said leave the meat and have to take the hide this was mostly for the hounds men since you can end up in some pretty crappy places for a pack.

[Bango skank]

Id be willing to bet the vast majority of bears killed in the northeast units are killed within sight of a logging road, or damn close to it.  Just bring the damn hide out.

[hunter399]

Id be willing to bet the vast majority of bears killed in the northeast units are killed within sight of a logging road, or damn close to it.  Just bring the damn hide out.

I can be 10 -15 miles behind a locked gate and be standing on a logging road ,just cause there is a road doesn't make it a fun pack out.

[Bango skank]

So dont hunt that far back if you cant handle it

[hunter399]

So dont hunt that far back if you cant handle it

No worrys
I'll drag the hide out in the dirt ,mud,brush,and whatever else it get put through.But if you think I'm putting it in my pack your crazy .Take some paracord and a drag stick and just drag it along.
Meat goes in my pack first.
But since you sound like you can handle it,maybe you could offer to pack it out.
I may even sneak my ATV,or dirt bike back behind the gate and add an extra few miles if your ok with it.

[Bango skank]

I dont believe for a minute youre hunting bears 10-15 miles up a locked gate.  And if all you care about is getting meat, and youre doing that, youre an even bigger fool than i thought.

[hunter399]

I dont believe for a minute youre hunting bears 10-15 miles up a locked gate.  And if all you care about is getting meat, and youre doing that, youre an even bigger fool than i thought.

Not sure where I'm going to hunt yet.But you better believe I do know a few spots where you can follow the logging truck mile markers 20 mile in if you wanted.most go in on horse or bicycle.

I do get what your trying to get done.
I'm just surprised they need any extra info with so little spring bear harvest.And sure hope were not going down that road of adding this to fall seasons.

[dilleytech]

People won’t even send in a tooth. They think guys are going to pack a wet hide out of the backcountry just to comply with the law? Sadly most wont. If they want full compliance they need to clarify the exact pieces of the hide they need to seal not the entire thing.

We should expect a drastic decline in reported harvests this spring. But I suppose that’s what they want..

Do you really think there are that many bear hunters that dont want to keep the hides?  I bet most do want them.  And just like cougar, a taxidermist wont take an unsealed spring bear hide now.  If you want to keep the hide, have it tanned, rugged or whatever, you will have to have it checked.  I really dont think the percentage of guys hunting spring bear that dont want to keep the hides is very significant.

The tooth thing is a bad comparison because a guy could always keep his hide, meat, skull and not send in the tooth, there was nothing to stop him from doing that.  But now if you want to take your hide in to a taxidermist, youll have to have it sealed or the taxi wont take it.

Absolutely and I’m one of them. Bear hunters tend to be guys who kill them on a regular basis and how many bear hides do you need? The guy who randomly kills a bear on a deer hunt once in his life is usually not the guy going on spring bear hunts every year. I have no interest in a bear hide at this point. Also I got my cougar rug last year. Further cougars would likely be for the meat and predator control same with bears. One bear rug one cougar rug one bear hide and one bear shoulder mount Is good for our house. My bear hide from last fall went into the garbage.

This rule needs clarified to specific portions of the hide if there’s any realistic compliance.

 

Threw hide in the garbage? If it’s a nice bear you could sell Moscow hide and fur for 100 to 200 dollars. At least your not wasting it. I have a bear rug a shoulder mount and at least 20 hides hanging on log type coat hangers I posted a pic on man cave thread. I have kept all my bear hides they don’t take much room hanging how I have them and looks pretty cool. I don’t care what anyone does with a hide but couple on here throwing in garbage is a little silly at least sell it. Whining about packing out a bear hide is a little woosie  :chuckle Idaho said leave the meat and have to take the hide this was mostly for the hounds men since you can end up in some pretty crappy places for a pack.

I have also never saved a elk or deer hide. Was that wasteful? I guess so.. oh well I like bear meat and I like bear skulls. Anyone can say whatever they want like why wouldn’t you pack an extra 80# of garbage 6 miles? Really?

In regards to another post my last cougar was skinned and half frozen when I had it sealed. Bio didn’t have any issues with that. They did want to know exactly where it was killed which I did not care to share with them.

[Bango skank]

People won’t even send in a tooth. They think guys are going to pack a wet hide out of the backcountry just to comply with the law? Sadly most wont. If they want full compliance they need to clarify the exact pieces of the hide they need to seal not the entire thing.

We should expect a drastic decline in reported harvests this spring. But I suppose that’s what they want..

Do you really think there are that many bear hunters that dont want to keep the hides?  I bet most do want them.  And just like cougar, a taxidermist wont take an unsealed spring bear hide now.  If you want to keep the hide, have it tanned, rugged or whatever, you will have to have it checked.  I really dont think the percentage of guys hunting spring bear that dont want to keep the hides is very significant.

The tooth thing is a bad comparison because a guy could always keep his hide, meat, skull and not send in the tooth, there was nothing to stop him from doing that.  But now if you want to take your hide in to a taxidermist, youll have to have it sealed or the taxi wont take it.

Absolutely and I’m one of them. Bear hunters tend to be guys who kill them on a regular basis and how many bear hides do you need? The guy who randomly kills a bear on a deer hunt once in his life is usually not the guy going on spring bear hunts every year. I have no interest in a bear hide at this point. Also I got my cougar rug last year. Further cougars would likely be for the meat and predator control same with bears. One bear rug one cougar rug one bear hide and one bear shoulder mount Is good for our house. My bear hide from last fall went into the garbage.

This rule needs clarified to specific portions of the hide if there’s any realistic compliance.

 

Threw hide in the garbage? If it’s a nice bear you could sell Moscow hide and fur for 100 to 200 dollars. At least your not wasting it. I have a bear rug a shoulder mount and at least 20 hides hanging on log type coat hangers I posted a pic on man cave thread. I have kept all my bear hides they don’t take much room hanging how I have them and looks pretty cool. I don’t care what anyone does with a hide but couple on here throwing in garbage is a little silly at least sell it. Whining about packing out a bear hide is a little woosie  :chuckle Idaho said leave the meat and have to take the hide this was mostly for the hounds men since you can end up in some pretty crappy places for a pack.

I have also never saved a elk or deer hide. Was that wasteful? I guess so.. oh well I like bear meat and I like bear skulls. Anyone can say whatever they want like why wouldn’t you pack an extra 80# of garbage 6 miles? Really?

In regards to another post my last cougar was skinned and half frozen when I had it sealed. Bio didn’t have any issues with that. They did want to know exactly where it was killed which I did not care to share with them.

They do take it too far asking for location info dont they?

[Bango skank]

I do get what your trying to get done.
I'm just surprised they need any extra info with so little spring bear harvest.And sure hope were not going down that road of adding this to fall seasons.

I hope you do understand what im getting at, and that others do too.  Im not trying to be an ass.  Im trying to get better predator management for the sake of our herds.  This is a subject that is important to me, and i think changes to our bear hunting are a lot easier to get made than changes to lions, wolves, or getting legholds for coyotes.  Im going for the low hanging fruit first and foremost

What i want is to see as close to 100% reporting as possible on these spring bear hunts, and 100% compliance of hide sealing by successful hunters.  Really, if packing the hide out is too much of a burden, just dont put in for spring permits.

The only way we stand a chance at all of getting increased spring bear opportunities, whether that ends up being otc, or just additional units and increased permit numbers, is to prove that spring hunting doesnt result in a bunch of orphaned cubs.  This is why everybody needs to report, whether they even hunt on the permit or not, and all successful hunters need to just suck it up and pack the hide out to be sealed.  Its for our own good, to give us a chance at increased spring bear opportunity, and as a result help our deer, elk and moose recruitment.  If a guy cant just man up and go along with this, wait to hunt bear until august, its not that much to ask.