Spring Bear with 32 Win Special

[Markopolo]

Pucker up baby...
241717

After processing oysters this morning....

241718

And bagging them up, my son and I decided to take the new to us 1949 Marlin 32 Win Special out for a dance near a muskeg on Sarkar Lake for Bears. We try to take 3-4 Spring eater bears every year. I was shooting a mystery Boolit around 180g that 6pt-sika sent me a couple weeks ago over 16.5g of 2400. Boolits were prolly around 12bhn and gas checked. I shot these boolits last week and they really worked well for the new to me Marlin 336.

So off me and the son went on a trek to find a young bear for spring bear burgers.. we headed out off the canoe lake, for an afternoon hunt. We were out looking for about an hour, and started to backtrack when we saw a perfect candidate for our famous bear burgers... he turned broadside at just about 100 yards, and I let the Boolit fly. Bear leapt up into the air and completely flipped, landed and twisted around once and was dead. Gutted, dragged him back to the road, loaded him up and he hangs in my shop..

Special shout out to 6pt-sika for providing the boolits that made my 32 win special a bear killing machine... thank you sir.. first bear of the year.

241720



Marko

[MT Gianni]

He should be the right size for good eating. Nice going.

[slownsteady22]

What a day, great hunt and story. Bear hunting is on my to do list. Thanks for sharing

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[Tripplebeards]

I am completely jealous!

[Bazoo]

Thanks for sharing, petty awesome. I've not taken a bear yet, but I hope to take many.

[Beerd]

"first bear of the year", I like the sound of that.
..

[Markopolo]

Usually try to get 3 or 4 young bears like this.. I never shoot the big ones.. and they get huge on the island. Lots of B&C bears come from Prince of Wales island. By taking the young eaters, the breeders stay breeding, and not so many young bears around causing trouble in the Neighborhood... and they are yummy. It works good for our tiny village.. each member of the household can harvest 5 between sport season and subsistence season. But lots of folks don’t eat them or hunt them. More for me... bear season is only closed for about 45 days a year here. I always keep a tag or 2 around in case a problem bear shows up while fishing or at the house.

Marko

[Bazoo]

Lots of folks don't eat them? Can't imagine not liking bear if it ain't been on fish or garbage.

[Markopolo]

Even if they been on fish, there are ways to fix that... best Brown Bear bacon I ever had was from a September killed on a salmon stream huge Brown Bear... takes special attention, but many parts are edible.

[Bazoo]

What if they been feeding on garbage? Any way to cook that out of them?

[dangitgriff]

Hey Marko—I don’t know a dang thing about eating bears, like is there any special way they have to be skinned/butchered, what parts are best prepared/cooked a certain way, etc...
Could you possibly start a separate thread when you have time to explain it all in more detail? I’m interested in learning, as we have just started hunting bears again here in Florida’s Ocala National Forest.
—Griff

[Markopolo]

Best way I know of to treat a bear that has been on fish, or garbage, is simple.. it’s like weight sorting 22 cal boolits. Simple, be Meticulous. Ultra meticulous. No fat, no gristle, no tendon of any sort can be included with the meat from a junk bear. Most folks don’t wanna go to the extreme to rescue a junker. But it is possible... the more white fat, tendon, or gristle, the worst it tastes. I don’t worry too much about a nice young bear... but if you wanna harvest a questionable bear, it requires incredible meticulous attention to the meat to make it edible. Clean kill, clean meat, meticulous detail makes for good eating.. I am lazy though. Young spring bear is automatically good eating.. good kill, good care, good bear = good burgers. Also good suet is a plus. I grind all my bear. I don’t even bother trying to do roasts and so on.. I have one purpose in mind.. bear burgers smothered in Bacon and onions on home made bread is the only way for me... and a fat bear is a total bonus. Baking, tallow, bullet lube... all good stuff.

[richhodg66]

I'm a fan of the .32 Special. Few years ago, happened upon one in a pawn shop that needed rescuing. This after I had sworn not to buy anything that I didn't handload and cast for already, so it was new dies, brass, bullet molds, etc., but I have a soft spot for old waffle tops. After some work, she turned out to be a good shooter and worked real well on a Kansas white tail with cast that year.

Bear sounds good. Don't have them here, doubt I'll ever hunt one. Four or five bears, I wish I could shoot four or five deer a year (I could, but it would require a lot of tags, not all of which I could use in my region of the state).I'd like to try some bear some day. You can keep the oysters.

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the info Marko.

I too would like a tutorial on bear processing. Roasts and steaks and stew meat are top on my list but burger ain't nothing to sneeze at either. Ain't had bear stew or burger yet.

We got blackies in the state here with a season in the eastern part. Me and a buddy been thinking on getting over there on public land and trying our luck. Also it's possible we could get lucky and get a no draw elk if one wanders outside of the designated zone. Man that'd be sweet.

[smoked turkey]

I give a big thumbs up for everything about this hunt. You made it sound so easy, which it is not. I suspect you and your son just know how to do it. I know that when I did a black bear hunt in Northeaster Canada a few years ago it wasn't easy. We hunted five days without seeing any and I finally got one on the 6th day in the afternoon. Congratulations to you and your son for such a nice story. My bear was a spring bear and it was absolutely delicious.

[RugerFan]

Very nice! Hoping our baits get hit soon.

[CastingFool]

A friend who went spring bear hunting in Canada told me he didn't bring any meat back. He said the guide told him it was not fit to eat, cuz the bears had just come out of hibernation. I thought it sounded fishy to me. Like the guide wanted the meat himself.

[swheeler]

Congratulations on the bear, enjoy the burgers. Those oysters look pretty darn yummy too!

[Texas by God]

That is outstanding!

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[fatnhappy]

everything in this story is about the good parts of life. From friends helping friends, to family feeding themselves. This is the good stuff.

I have a pre-war .32 special winchester. She's too beautiful to risk harm, I inherited her from my FIL's father.

[Texas by God]

I wish Texas had bears instead of pigs[emoji16]

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[Jedman]

Marco, Nice story ! Makes me jealous also. I have taken a couple of spring bear back when Ontario, would allow spring baiting back in the 1980's. Mine were taken a close range with a bow and arrow from a tree stand over bait. Mine were really good eating and I use to cook bear burgers and friends would never now they weren't beef.
I hope some day to visit AK and at least do some fishing but hunting would be even better.
Must be great to be able to hunt with your son.:-P

Jedman

[Markopolo]

You could always come fishing with me Mr. jedman... all it takes is a plane ticket.. I would put you up...

[Jedman]

Mark, Thanks so much for the generous offer, ( the second time ). I would love to come and could afford it but due to some health concerns don't see it happening. For more than any other reason I would like to see the different way of life you must have and love living on a small island in AK.
I have a nephew that's in his 40's and him and a friend went sea duck hunting a few years ago in Alaska. Where they went to hunt was a small island off the mainland and it took a sea plane to get to. They both said it was a dream trip and the scenery and the remoteness was the greatest part.
I am really close to my nephew because he had a insatiable desire to hunt and fish from A very young age and comes from a family that doesn't do either. He and I bonded when he was a young kid and did a lot together hunting and fishing and now he owns his own business and takes world class hunting and fishing trips yearly. He still invites me to go on some of his adventures but my old body just isn't what it once was and I have to decline but sure like to hear about them and see pics.

Thanks Again ! Jedman

[osteodoc08]

Fantastic story and a classic caliber. Look forward to hearing more about the bear processing

[Hamish]

Surprised no one has asked to see what the "mystery bullet" is!

[swheeler]

Surprised no one has asked to see what the "mystery bullet" is!

Me too, maybe something from the 8mm line up sized accordingly, maybe Marko will share a picture of the bullet, hope.

[Markopolo]

I been trying to get a hold of 6pt-Sika, but he must be out.. believe me, I would love to tell him thanks... and find out what mold it came from....


241800

Marko

[swheeler]

Let us know. Was it a flat point design or round nosed?

[Markopolo]

241801

This is where we are now with processing.. hide and such removed... claws removed, fangs removed for artsy stuff.. hanging by feet, will be boned out today, and ground up with some scrap bacon for fat. Only part I remove for other then grinding is backstrap...


See above.... you asked as I was posting....

[swheeler]

Kool, just may be the RCBS 32/170 mold or someones copy

[Markopolo]

Ok.. those that wanted a write up on processing, here you go....

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?381970-Spring-Bear-Processing-for-Bacon-Burgers

[jaysouth]

I wish Texas had bears instead of pigs[emoji16]

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Careful what you wish for. Think: feral pig that can climb trees.

[Markopolo]

Yea, no kidding.. just as fast, eats just as much or more, and might just be inclined to hunt you...

[RU shooter]

Good story and congratulations . And to think how many still think you need a "magnum" whatever to kill a black bear .

[Muskrat Mike]

241801

This is where we are now with processing.. hide and such removed... claws removed, fangs removed for artsy stuff.. hanging by feet, will be boned out today, and ground up with some scrap bacon for fat. Only part I remove for other then grinding is backstrap...


See above.... you asked as I was posting....

That's a picture of a bear? Looks like a nice deer!

[Markopolo]

Yep... it is what a bear looks like without clothes.

[DW475]

Congrats on the spring bear. I sure do miss Southeast Alaska.

[Markopolo]

Saw 5 different bears yesterday while steelheading.. all males and eaters.. 2-3 year olds. Looks like it is gunna be a short season for my family this year. These bears weren’t on the river, were all seen grazing on spring fresh grass on the sides of the trails and such

[Pioneer2]

Tried black bear several times no thanks. Hides and skulls good enough.

[Markopolo]

A nice young spring one is as good as it gets for red meat.

[swheeler]

Did 6pt-sika ever tell you what mold he is casting those bullets from?

[Markopolo]

Lol... nope.. I am figuring the RCBS 170, but not 100 percent sure.. I am not sure he knew.. just that he had some boolits for 32...

[swheeler]

They make meat that's a good thing, carry on.

[PhotoDominant]

that's a BABY where I live. and I do mean black bears.

Im outgunning ya with a .308 and I don't feel that's enough for what I have in my area.

[Markopolo]

We have pleanty of record bears here..in fact, many of the record book bears came from our island.. as I stated, I don’t shoot them. I target 2 year olds. They are feeder bears.

[Adam20]

If you check the size of nose, and body, I have that mold rcbs32-170 I also have a 8mm mold like it with a smaller nose. I use them in 32 Remington. I can send you some if you want
Adam

[Markopolo]

Thank you so much Adam for the very generous offer. I think I am good for now. I have a mould on the way, but completely appreciate it...

Bless you