- Joined
- Mar 12, 2010
- Messages
- 975
Hi All,
I've recently been presented with what is for me, a potentially life changing opportunity, but I need a little advice before I dive in.
I'm an enrolled member of the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, and when I was visiting with an 81 year old family elder last week, he invited me to hunt Black Bear with him this fall. The season for Black Bear on the reservation is from September 1st-November 30th, and last year he took a 650 pound monster. He said that with their diet consisting of a lot of berries on the reservation during the fall, the meat tastes like a slightly sweet prime rib... The fat is used for cooking, frying, baking, as well as for other traditional uses, and then of course the hide would have a myriad of uses. I'm explaining this, because the Menominee, myself included, are not trophy hunters. This hunt is for subsistence, and every usable piece of the animal will be consumed or put to use.
My biggest questions are about the rifle, as I'm not sure if my 7mm Rem Mag that I use for whitetail is the best choice for the size of bear I could encounter. 650 pounds is definitely not your average bear, but he says he's been tracking other bears that are close to if not equal size, so I'll need a caliber that can handle that. I was thinking about investing in a rifle that I could use for other big game in north america, such as elk and caribou. I've been considering a .300 win mag, but you also can't really to wrong with a good ol 30.-06. Such a versatile round. I'm open to suggestions from those that have hunted big game like this before. The distances I'm expecting from the bear hunt would realistically be less than 150 meters, although other big game could obviously be much longer distances. I will also be carrying my 10mm glock on the hunt.
Secondly, what kind of differences are there from a scent control standpoint? Where does the nose of a black bear stand vs a whitetail?
What else should I be taking into consideration?
I'm going to get a lot of advice from my family elder as well, but I've grown to have a lot of respect for the wisdom of this community, and I'm looking forward to what advice you all may have before I embark on this hunt...
JGON
I've recently been presented with what is for me, a potentially life changing opportunity, but I need a little advice before I dive in.
I'm an enrolled member of the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, and when I was visiting with an 81 year old family elder last week, he invited me to hunt Black Bear with him this fall. The season for Black Bear on the reservation is from September 1st-November 30th, and last year he took a 650 pound monster. He said that with their diet consisting of a lot of berries on the reservation during the fall, the meat tastes like a slightly sweet prime rib... The fat is used for cooking, frying, baking, as well as for other traditional uses, and then of course the hide would have a myriad of uses. I'm explaining this, because the Menominee, myself included, are not trophy hunters. This hunt is for subsistence, and every usable piece of the animal will be consumed or put to use.
My biggest questions are about the rifle, as I'm not sure if my 7mm Rem Mag that I use for whitetail is the best choice for the size of bear I could encounter. 650 pounds is definitely not your average bear, but he says he's been tracking other bears that are close to if not equal size, so I'll need a caliber that can handle that. I was thinking about investing in a rifle that I could use for other big game in north america, such as elk and caribou. I've been considering a .300 win mag, but you also can't really to wrong with a good ol 30.-06. Such a versatile round. I'm open to suggestions from those that have hunted big game like this before. The distances I'm expecting from the bear hunt would realistically be less than 150 meters, although other big game could obviously be much longer distances. I will also be carrying my 10mm glock on the hunt.
Secondly, what kind of differences are there from a scent control standpoint? Where does the nose of a black bear stand vs a whitetail?
What else should I be taking into consideration?
I'm going to get a lot of advice from my family elder as well, but I've grown to have a lot of respect for the wisdom of this community, and I'm looking forward to what advice you all may have before I embark on this hunt...
JGON