Bear Bums - Bear Hunting » Bear Hunting Gear

Hunting Boots – Good for Hunting Bears – Boot Treatment

Jed — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:45:43 +0000

In response to a BearBums reader I thought I’d talk for a minute about specific hunting boots I like.

Thanks for the comment! I do have my favorite hunting boot for vigorous hunts and have tried many that are good. Those of you with bad feet require extra effort in satisfying our feet’s complaints. In the early 1990s I had a desert sheep hunt in Utah and used a pair of Vasque Leather Boots. I had been warned the toes would wear out if I didn’t try and stop it so I coated the toes with a rubber covering. These shoes were light yet rough and the coating over the toes saved my feet. I’ve worn those shoes out over the years.

Vasque Leather Hunting Boots

My most difficult sheep hunt was with Glen Wilsie in Alberta and once again it was a tough hunt. Here I had a pair of Meindl’s I got at Cabela’s. I’m still wearing this shoe. They’re stiff, hard toed and heavy and great for the rocks of serious sheep hunting.

francisco san ca coumadin clinic

Big black bear hunting is different. There can be a lot of walking but not much in comparison to sheep walking. Here I like lighter boots, like Danner Trophy 600G

Hunting Boots, Vasque or a tough canvas shoe like they use in Africa. The Russell shoe/boot hit this role.

Danner Leather Hunting Boots

double dagger divx movie online

You’ll see it repeated a lot, but remember, a good boat is only good after you’ve broken it in. I often find myself feeding the horses, changing irrigation water and just going on made up hikes with a pair of new boots.

Boots will become your good friend faster if you treat them well. They seem to very much enjoy attention. I’m a fan of Sno-Seal as a leather treatment. Rub the stuff on good and thick then cook it into the leather with heat like that of a stove or the good old outdoors….blow dryers work too.

poltergeist download free

Sno-Seal Leather Treatment

Remember to have the boots broken in well prior to the hunt, having good socks, and plenty of band aids. Every single night after a hunt, get the mud and moisture off them and oil them up, a lot!!

On the wet hunt like our Prince of Wales Island, black bear hunt this fall we know it will be wet. We plan to dry out all the boots each night. When dry they’ll get a thick coat of the sno seal.

Hip Wader Shoes and Patch Kits – Bear Hunting Strategy

Jed — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:26:34 +0000

Since we have already discussed the type of rain gear and hip waders to wear, let’s move on to the type of shoes that I’m thinking about. Cabelas’ Ultralight Wading Boot is very appealing to me for a few reasons:

-very lightweight.

-more inexpensive than others we researched.

-one of the top selling brands according to Cabelas’ experts.

As I’ve discussed, I’m not a fisherman, so I don’t want to spend a ton of money on a felt soled shoe that I won’t use very often. At the same time, I need a shoe that will last and not leave me in a bad situation on the bear hunt. The Ultralight Wading Boot seems to provide what is needed!

By the way, I forgot to mention in a previous post that if it can be avoided you shouldn’t wear jeans under the Hip Waders because of heat problems, and they tend to bunch up and be uncomfortable. Wear something like sweats, long-johns, or under-armor.

cadillac breast enhancement soma moustache handlebar

We will each carry a Wader Repair Kit; it gets good reviews and seems to be very easy to apply. It would be bad to be stuck in the river with a hole in your waders. If you are going on any type of self guided hunt like this make sure you have a repair kit whether it is this type or not.

Depending on the plan for the day when we head out bear hunting and fishing every morning we will carry different items in our pack. For example, if we know we are going to be spending the day on Salmon Lake fishing and spotting bear than we won’t need to pack additional clothes or boots for hiking. On the other hand, if we are headed down Karta River and possibly to Thorne Bay, we will definitely have to pack extra boots or pants to change into when it is time to get out of the river and out of the hip waders.

Here is a small map of the area so you can get an idea of where I’ve been talking about:

Skinning a Bear – What Knives to Use

Jed — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:54:03 +0000

I’m definitely old school (carrying a pocket knife in my pocket at all times) so this topic seems odd.

Once the bear is down it has to be skinned out before the hair has a chance to slip or fall out. This is within hours if it’s hot or max over night if it’s cool. Most times bears are skinned for a bear rug mount or a life size mount which can be accomplished with the same technique. For me a bear is one of the easier animals to skin, life size.

The knife used has to be very sharp and will not stay sharp for the entire bear. This requires a resharpening or another sharp knife. I like small bladed knives and there seem to be hundreds of good brands. I’ve personally been impressed with the Canadian Grohmann knives

buy nexium

and the good old Schrade Old Timer #152 (I’m not sure the Schrades are still made in the same place). Other good knives include knives of Alaska (cub bear), Buck, Gerber and the list goes on.

Don’t wait to learn your knife or how to use it until the bear is dead. When skinning, my hands and fingers tire easily so stopping 2-3 times to sharpen my knife or knives is a good break. Your buddy can hold bear parts for you as you skin or he can sharpen knives, but be careful.

I also carry scalpel blades I get from a veterinary supply or from my friendly MD connection. Be aware that most human use size scalpel blades are too little. Use blades approx 1 inch long or longer. The blades are disposable but I have a handle I keep. Mostly I end up using the scalpel blades back at camp on the fine stuff like the face, fleshing, doing lips and ears. I don’t think you can learn how to do a good job on a finished bear without doing it, but this stuff will help. Out at the harvest scene the finished product still has the skull and feet in it and the hide is fleshed poorly. Again I do the tiny stuff back at camp with good light and time.

I like two kinds of field sharpeners and I use only one type for camp or at home. At home I use the Lansky System (and so should you). In the field a small fold out diamond sharpener like a Diamond Machining Technology inc. sharpener or the round EZE LAP DIAMOND pocket stone is slick.

If you’re the guy with the cheap blade, no blade, or you don’t know how to use them you’ll end up missing out on this fun part of the bear hunt (or any hunt). If you’re the guy learning, remember, muscle help is great help also.

On our 2006 self guided black bear hunt four of us rough skinned out two big bears in about 90 minutes with the sun leaving and the tide coming and it was windy cold and very wet. I’d rather take 3-4 hours and have fun and talk a lot. Either way it’s important to do a good job—the bear deserves it.

Follow this link to see a step by step outline on skinning a bear (pictures included). Very helpful!

Below are the pictures of my favorite Bear Skinning Knives. Hover over the picture to see the name: