26 replies to this topic

[mac]

Spoke with the txidermidst doing my bear that I shot Sept '06. Said he rcv'd it back from the tanner in Sacramento and it turned out really nice. He's working on the skull now and sending it out in 3 weeks to get the felt for the underneath.He kept saying in his vmail msg that "this is a really big bear".As a refresh - I shot opening day/first light of deer season in the D zone. It went at least 450lbs - my brother-in-law thinks it went 500lbs (he and his dad have been hunting bears for over 35yrs and they always tree 4-8 a year). That weekend we also saw 4 others in the same 5 sq mile radius. One other bear we saw probably went 400lbs as well - blonde color phase, but mine is black with brown on teh nose and the nice white diamond on the chest.When I finally get it back from him I'll take some photos and post them. Feeling pretty excited as this is the first animal (outside of just deer racks) I've had officially done. Now it's just getting general agreement as to where it will go in the house.  1.jpg   29.39K   7 downloads

[DEERSLAM]

Do you have any field photos of that beast that you can post?

[mac]

Do you have any field photos of that beast that you can post?

do these help?  1.jpg   30.7K   7 downloads  2.jpg   29.69K   7 downloadsone more..hide on the granitesorry the 2nd two pictures were takin from a Palm Treo...  3.jpg   26.01K   7 downloads

[DEERSLAM]

Boy that is a big ole bear! Did you have the skull measured? If so what did it score.

[mac]

Ya know, that was the one regret I have and I didn't get it done. I was in such a hurry to get it off the ridge and to the Fish & Game so they could validate the tag, then to the butcher/taxidermidst that I never did get a measurement. I think it would've been a big B&C score - maybe not a state record, but it couldn't been in the top 10 (maybe), because weight doesn't do this bad boy justice.Before last year everyone who had a bear tag had to have their kill validated..pull a tooth, etc and in some cases take brain tissue samples. Last year only odd numbered tag owners went through this pain - well, I was an odd-numbered tag owner - also it had to be validated at the regional fish & game office which the nearest to the Truckee area is Rancho Cordova - well, I didn't know this until after I went looking for the warden at the Forest Service office and then they called down to DFG and they said I had to high-tail down to Sac before 5:00pm, and by this time it was 3:00pm. I got down to Sac and when I showed up they told me the biologist decided to take the afternoon off - I was fuming! However, they were nice enough to validate but never took a tooth, etc.So, I have requested the skull from the taxidermidst so I can do an accuurate jaw & skull measurement which I should have done while the hide was on...oh well, I know where anoother big boar is for this year's hunt now only if I can ge the same 6 guys to help me pack it back out again!

[CoyoteHuntress]

Grats on such a trophy! Post lots of pics when you get it back

[DEERSLAM]

Well if you get your skull back from your taxi, hopefully you get YOUR skull back, if he hasn't done anything with it you need to have someone with dermestid beetles clean it for you, do not boil it! Then you can have it officially measured.

[Cranky Farmer]

I know a couple of guys with those dermestid beetles. Fantastic bear.

[mac]

Well, I can't really do anything with the skull except measure or extract the teeth. The finishing shot shattered the top of the skull and made brain soup. Not sure if I can get an accurate measurement -- oh well, another season, another bear...

[Camoghost]

Mac, that is a nice bear buddy! Every animal I shoot is a trophy to me. Thanks for the pics!

[mac]

Thanks CG. When I get that hide back I will definitely post many pictures...my kids are already giving me a bad time asking when Yogi's gonna be home ...I guess it's better than calling him boo-boo bear....

[DEERSLAM]

Well, I can't really do anything with the skull except measure or extract the teeth. The finishing shot shattered the top of the skull and made brain soup. Not sure if I can get an accurate measurement -- oh well, another season, another bear...

Take a pic of the skull from the top and one from the side and post em up and tell you if it can be offically measured.

[mac]

Take a pic of the skull from the top and one from the side and post em up and tell you if it can be offically measured.

the taxidermist said he think he still has the skull in his freezer, so he's going to provide it to me when I pick up the hide...we'll see what it looks like when I pick it up.

[mac]

I know a couple of guys with those dermestid beetles. Fantastic bear.

May need some help on the beetles...can I "ping" you when I get the skull back?

[OutdoorAviator]

oh well, I know where anoother big boar is for this year's hunt now only if I can ge the same 6 guys to help me pack it back out again!

Well if you need someone to tag along to help pack it out, you can count me in! I do a ton of backpacking, so let me know..

[A17Shooter]

Impressive critter. Congrats!

[Cranky Farmer]

Give me a shout when you get the skull back so we can talk about the beetles.

[mac]

Give me a shout when you get the skull back so we can talk about the beetles.

Ok Thanks!

[mac]

Well if you need someone to tag along to help pack it out, you can count me in! I do a ton of backpacking, so let me know..

Tel you what, I'm applying for X7a for this years deer season with my posse (brother, niece & nephews), but I plan to also get a 2nd deer tag for D zone, and another bear tag, so I will definitely be interested in putting together a bear hunt again. If you're interested we can do the bear hunt - you'll get a kick out of this area...our luck last year was seeing 5 bears in this nice canyon/ridgeline. Tough hunting but worth it. the year before that we only saw 2 bears in there -- it's kind of hit and miss.

[Cranky Farmer]

Mac, the guy I am going to refer you to for beetle work says to make sure you keep/get all the pieces of the skull where it was damaged from the shot. He thinks he can put a fair amount of it back together and make it look some what normal.

[OutdoorAviator]

Tel you what, I'm applying for X7a for this years deer season with my posse (brother, niece & nephews), but I plan to also get a 2nd deer tag for D zone, and another bear tag, so I will definitely be interested in putting together a bear hunt again. If you're interested we can do the bear hunt - you'll get a kick out of this area...our luck last year was seeing 5 bears in this nice canyon/ridgeline. Tough hunting but worth it. the year before that we only saw 2 bears in there -- it's kind of hit and miss.

Sounds like a plan.. Count me in! It's been a few years since I shot (or even saw a bear, for that matter) so I'll be looking forward to it. I'm guessing it will be a deer/bear excursion in D zone?

[mac]

Mac, the guy I am going to refer you to for beetle work says to make sure you keep/get all the pieces of the skull where it was damaged from the shot. He thinks he can put a fair amount of it back together and make it look some what normal.

ok. LOL at the "somewhat normal"...I'll see what the damage is.

[mac]

Sounds like a plan.. Count me in! It's been a few years since I shot (or even saw a bear, for that matter) so I'll be looking forward to it. I'm guessing it will be a deer/bear excursion in D zone?

Yep. Deer and bear excursion...

[Thumper Dunker]

Nice bear. did you eat any of it yet?

[mac]

I did...and brought some into work and also had some during a Superbowl party...ya' know you get the crowd that goes "ewww, you shot a bear?!?" we;ll, I did shoot it and they did eat it! haha! then they said..."this is really good"...a close friend made most of it up into summer sausage (just mixed it with seasoning...I still have to slow cook it) and then some pepper sticks...both turned out amazing.

[SpotandStalk]

Mac,That is an amazing black bear. I'm looking forward to your posts when the taxi man gets done with it.How many lbs of sausage etc. were you able to salvage off of the bear? S&S

[mac]

S&S, I can't remember the exact weight of the processed meat, but there was no meat ruined when I took him out. If I recall it was well over 150lbs...I still have 20 rolls (~14-16") of summer sausage and lots of pepper sticks in the freezer...plus some scrap meat for jerkey...