I've only shot one bear..that was years and years ago when I still had my 'sporterized' Lee-Enfield...it worked just fine..

Some folks up there in the NC mountains say it tastes like pork, I guess because of the fat, (bears have an amazing amount of it) but I think it tastes more like beef...

One trick I have heard..and I am not recommending it, since it sounds an awfully like baiting which is illegal here, is to put a one gallon pot of honey on camp stove or slow fire and wait..the odor spreads..brings in the bear, ideally right past you...