Daveboone

Hunting for what? What season? Fair weather or foul?

Nuthin for me this week. Saturday and sunday were down pours almost all day, but I was still out there. Monday pretty wet too, went home for some chores but came back for the evening. Tues. and Wed. were nice days...too nice. Too warm. I dont think it helps any with the full moon...the deer are more active at night,and not so much morning/evening. I got alot of chores done at the camp, at any rate. It is cooling off in a decent way now, hopefully a good frost isnt too far off. No doe permit for me this year though, and that is what I hope with for ML season.

Suggestion...whatever you shoot and have ammo for, is the caliber you should aim for with current supply issues prevailing

And we are off! I am heading up to my camp on the Tug today, having the next week off for ML season. Rain for tomorrow and sunday at least. Normally I love hunting the rain, and do not mind it much with the cap and ball rifle (Lyman Great Plains). My hope though is to use my flintlock this year as much as possible, and the damp makes them....shall we say, iffy. Monday looks ideal...cool at night, weather clearing and if I remember right, a new (no) moon.

I have never aged it, doing all my butchering myself. My biggest bears were 275-300 lbs. I didnt notice any difference in the quality of the meat. The recipes that both we and friends like the most cook it like a pot roast. Texture is identical, I put a cup of beef broth in with it. Treat it like any slow cooked beef /pork and you are good. A former hunting partner (sadly now departed) and his wife both loved thier bear. Every spring and fall they went on bear hunts (New Brunswick), both expecting to get one, and they usually did. Meat hunters. They had more rugs than a rug merchant. They went crazy for bear burger, and preferred them medium rare.

I beg to differ. I have shot and kept the meat from five bears, and everyone I have served it to has liked it. The problem usually lies in the field prep. Few hunters treat bear meat ...or the bear, as they would venison. The black coat soaks up sun quickly, and can affect the meat. Just like with venison, very promptly field dress and cool the meat, keeping it as as cool as you can and out of the sun...skin it quickly. Lots of dingbats leave the bear hanging to show it off, which is a horrible idea. Trim as much of the fat as you can. Bears can carry trichinosis, so you want to serve it well, like pork. For that reason most bear meat goes into sausage or roasts, but we get ribs, chops, and burger too. And I have to admit...I have cheated a few times and kept some nice steaks, cooking them as I would venison...serving a nice medium rare. Delicious. Luckily, no trichinosis for me....but I had to try it.

The problem with bears is they always die in the most godforsaken impossible to get to locations, and are a rolling flopping blob to get out of the woods. A tarp makes it much easier...

I have butchered several..really, same cuts as a deer. I would inquire with deer butchers local to you to see if they can do it.. Think more roasts and sausage though, as you want it cooked well due to trichinosis risk.

questions....how big a chunk of land and how many hunters a day do they take? Time of season? Invariably no matter where you go or for what, you always see a lot more small critters than big...its about patience and holding off. Call the place up /go to their website and look for references.

We did Canada (Newfoundland). No draw, license guaranteed through outfitter...mandatory guide.

A moose hunt was a life long dream...specifically a guided fly in hunt. After years of stashing extra cash away and selling off some unappreciated firearms, I was able to go to Newfoundland. Amazing. Weather was very bad, but I was lucky enough to take a young bull with palmated antlers. Three years later I went back..(sold more guns!). An even better time...better weather except it was hot, and moose do not liike hot. I shot a big cow, and was very pleased, but left with even more memories....finding indian petroglyphs, walked up on caribou, had a chance (and passed) at the biggest bear I will ever see in my life... Your antler is cool, but it is worth the effort to go.

I usually will leave the load in if weather is fair, but pull it if it will be in there more than a week OR if it is cold enough outside to get condensation or wet/damp/rainy. The wet weather shouldnt be much of a factore for hunting one or two days (I put electrical tape over the muzzle, and a piece of duct tape over the breech when outside). When you get back to the truck/cabin, paper towel it dry best you can with particular attention to the breech, but certainly err on the side of caution.

guaranteed headache: Welches grape juice concentrate, about two cups of water in a big old red wine jug. Fill with water, shake,put a balloon over the top and let it sit about 10 days. Guaranteed skull popper.

I used to love bow hunting, but didnt like compound. I loved recurve but couldnt shoot enough to stay proficient. I then went largely into muzzleloading. Cap and ball traditional ml for me, but as the weather gets really rotten I will tote my centerfire.

Just call your local permit office and ask them. I am guessing that you just take the serial # and model # information in once you recieve it and they add it (maybe the reciept?)