New Mexico Spring Bear

[Xemorales2020]

Hello!

So I'll just start right off with it. I've never hunted bear. I've hunted small game and deer, but never bear. This year, I've managed to draw a spring bear hunt in NM (any legal weapon). I'm not going to ask for any general advice (though I wouldn't refuse it) just because I'm sure I can find that information somewhere on my own.

What I am wondering, though, is what to do with the carcass (assuming I'm successful). What do you like to do with the meat? I would never waste it, and if I didn't plan on eating it, I wouldn't have put in for the tag. Again, I'm thinking I can find info there too, but any direction or secondary info would be great.

And then there's the hide. I have no idea on this one. I'm not opposed to anything here, but my budget isn't huge, and I'm not totally decided on what to do with it yet. I'd hate to harvest, then be unsure of what to do.

If there's anyone who actually has experience with bear (or any other) taxidermy in NM, that would also be appreciated, as I'm not familiar with any in the area.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

That taxidermy shop next to Ron Peterson guns in Albuquerque does good stuff. You could get a hide tanned or rugged for relatively “cheap”.

 

[Felix40]

Treat the meat just like you would any other animal. Just don’t cook it rare when you get home. Sausage, bbq in the slow cooker, oso bucco are all great.

You can get a hide tanned to hang on a wall (not a rug) for $3-400 depending on size.

Keep in mind that packing out a bear hide and all the meat can easily add up to more weight than an elk. It’s a lot of work.

 

[meta_gabbro]

I know it's getting pretty close to the season, but if you are in or around Santa Fe and still don't have a taxidermist you could head over to Evangelos and as for their downstairs bartender Kiki. She's been apprenticing as a taxidermist for a while and last I heard she was taking on projects for cheap-ish.