My first Bear!

On Thursday night I got my first bear. I shot it at 20 yards with my 70# Champion Tundra bow. I was using Ted Nugent signature 55/75 Gold Tip arrows and Gold Tip Gladiator broadheads. The arrow had a clean pass through and was nice and red upon inspection. The bear only made it 60 yards before she piled up. I estimated her weight to be 250 to 300 lbs. She had 4" front pads which is pretty big for a sow. Her skull measured 16 8/16" and her hide squared out at 7'5". I have fleshed and salted the hide and I am going to attempt to tan it myself with the help of a friend who used to do taxidermy. I shot the bear around 10:45 pm May 31, returned to the house around midnight finished skinning and cleaning the bear and made it to bed around 3:30 am. I then had to get up at 7:30 for a round trip to fairbanks (3.5 hrs one way) for a doctors appointment. It was a long couple of days. Here are some pictures of my bear in the back of the truck.

The flash from the camera makes it so the picture isn't blurry but it makes it appear darker outside than it really is. These pictures were taken around 12:30 am. The last picture was without the flash to show how light it was, but came out fuzzy because the shutter stayed open longer.

Note the nice red arrow in the center of the quiver :-D.

Note how big her claws are in this picture.

We had bear tender loins for dinner the next night and bear barbeque for the pot-luck at church on sunday. It is really good meat and reminds me alot of beef. It is a very fatty animal compared to deer, caribou, and other wild game I've eaten.