Bears and Beckers

there's a rumor someone dealt death to a bear with a Becker in self defense...

but we need datas
 
19-3ben said:
[superfan] Ok, so which animal is tougher on a blade. Da Bulls? Or Daaaaa Bears? What if Mike Ditka was holding a Becker blade?[/superfan]
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Ha - in reality, as far as I'm concerned, da Bulls (elk) are tougher on blades than Daaaaa Bears (black bears, anyway). Elk will flat dull a blade quick.
 
Good job - some friends and I leave for extreme northern Maine on Saturday for a week long bear hunt.
 
Used the 16 today to skin, cape, and fully butcher that bear today. It was interesting, worked very well, and I didn't once feel as though I was missing something by not having any of my other knives with me. I did have my Wilmont skinner, and I used it for some of the skinning. It's a great knife and I would have used it more, but ended up loaning it to a guy in camp with poor knife skills, and equipment to match.

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A black bear is not like a whitetail when it comes to taking them apart. Even the field dressing is different. A whitetail requires just a few well planned cuts, and you can free and remove the entrails. A bear requires cutting even when dressing. A deer's cape and coat fall off with a few cuts and some pulling. A bear's cape and coat require coaxing by knife every inch of the way. Fall bears have an abundance of Crisco-like fat. That fat must be removed, and is hard on the edge of your knife. How much fat? Here's the waste container, with the fat from two animals:

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They aren't the most difficult animal to deal with, but they are a good test of your knife. No knife can work a bear from the skinning line to the freezer without a touch up.

After the skinning was done, my 16 didn't escape that law. I cleaned it on a rag, and swiped it 8 or so passes on Sharpmaker fine stones. After that light hit, it could do this:

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I next went to work on turning the bear into table fare. The backstraps were first. Bear straps do not come out with a horizontal top cut, a zip along the spine, and then some gentle scooping. Instead, each individual "steak" is removed by cutting along the pronounced vertebrae. So you're scraping your edge along bone the entire way.

From there, the front quarters were removed and deboned for the burger pile. The 16 got another wipe and another few passes on the stones. After that, you're simply separating the muscle groups that make up the rear hams, and cleaning them up for roasts, steaks, or stew meat. Now, we're getting somewhere:

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After that, it's a matter of seeing what you missed, and slicing away anything you believe belongs in the grind pile. All done. The blade is dull again, but the condition was earned. Love the 16 as a hunting knife, and I find its all I need.

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Nice bear and write up. Have never got one before though have tagged along while others hunted for them and cleaned one before. That's alot of meat. I might go next year. I really don't like to kill things don't eat and I think 1/2 the time you get a bear that will taste like garbage but think if didn't taste great would make all meat into jerky to hide game taste. There are lots of black bear around here and tags are cheap. I think last year they were $5 in my home town.
 
Ulf Krogstad said:
Nice bear and write up. Have never got one before though have tagged along while others hunted for them and cleaned one before. That's alot of meat. I might go next year. I really don't like to kill things don't eat and I think 1/2 the time you get a bear that will taste like garbage but think if didn't taste great would make all meat into jerky to hide game taste. There are lots of black bear around here and tags are cheap. I think last year they were $5 in my home town.
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I'm not sure what a bear from your neck of the woods would taste like. Up here - they're good.
 
Hmmmmmm..... Hmmmmmm.... Bruin pot roast ..... Braised bear, stew of bear....ummm, ummm, ummm...... Bear shank..... Good......

Nice specimen ..... Did you render the lard?...... Makes the best pastry shortening ever.......

Glad the Sixteen worked for you..... Thank you for the kind words........

All best and Bon Appetit........

Ethan
 
Do you think it might be a better butcher knife if it were stripped. My grampa was a butcher, and he preferred well polished knives. He said the smoother polish means less fatigue on the user.
 
Nice bear...you should look at coming to Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada..we have lots of bear and moose.

Usually find fresh bear scat outside my tent every morning that I am in the woods which is a bit un-nerving but I am pretty sure if push came to shove and the bear came in the tent I can outrun whoever is with me :eek:
 
Ferahgo said:
Do you think it might be a better butcher knife if it were stripped. My grampa was a butcher, and he preferred well polished knives. He said the smoother polish means less fatigue on the user.
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Maybe, and I understand your Grandpa's point. He'd probably know more than I would about it. But I like having the coating and don't feel it hinders game processing.
 
wildnewfie said:
Nice bear...you should look at coming to Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada..we have lots of bear and moose.

Usually find fresh bear scat outside my tent every morning that I am in the woods which is a bit un-nerving but I am pretty sure if push came to shove and the bear came in the tent I can outrun whoever is with me :eek:
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I haven't checked moose off my list yet, but they're next. I'll have to look into Newfoundland!
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hmmmmmm..... Hmmmmmm.... Bruin pot roast ..... Braised bear, stew of bear....ummm, ummm, ummm...... Bear shank..... Good......

Nice specimen ..... Did you render the lard?...... Makes the best pastry shortening ever.......

Glad the Sixteen worked for you..... Thank you for the kind words........

All best and Bon Appetit........

Ethan
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Didn't render the lard on this one, but agree with you. Pie crusts made with it are the best.
 
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