Makwa

No I saw it.............. it is not a matter of whether it is inconvenient for me or not, or whether it is a 'big deal'. I have never used that as the criteria for whether I vote to have more feel good legislation imposed on everyone. That attitude is why things are such a mess today and getting exponentially worse every year in so many facets of our lives. People don't give a rats ass about much of anything. Don't worry I am done. Time to go and check my traps............ without blaze orange, even though it is deer season, because I am somehow safer in the woods with just a trapping licence in my pocket.

I guess you missed the part where I said I live where it is the law to wear blaze orange so I already have to wear it. As usual almost everyone either misses the point or bypasses what I said about the fact that there are thousands of others out and about during deer season who just do not happen to have a gun in their hands. If it makes things safer, and since you all seem to think that everything safety related needs to be a LAW............. why isn't the blaze orange requirements mandatory for all people out during deer season? Because it is not in any jurisdiction I have hunted in that required blaze orange for hunters. Why should I, as a rancher, have to wear blaze orange to hunt on my own property where no one else can hunt without permission from me? And please don't give me some BS like someone could be trespassing. I could be out walking around checking my fences, not hunting and no gun in hand and I do not need to wear blaze orange. What is the difference? I have previously lived in two other jurisdictions where blaze orange was mandatory in years gone by, that did away with that regulation because a study of shootings accidents over a number of years showed it made ZERO difference. This is a no win debate as I have seen it a hundred times and advocates of blaze orange are rabid about it. Fine. The simple fact is that if it is so dangerous in the deer season, all people should have to wear blaze orange if it can be demonstrated it actually prevents hunting accidents. It is also just one more example of where everyone is so brainwashed that they believe every single thing in their lives has to be legislated to 'make everyone' do something they think makes things safer. Glad I grew up when kids could wander around on a farm shooting gophers with a .22 and some do gooders had not made it mandatory that I had to wear a helmet when I rode a horse, a helmet when I rode my bicycle or a host of other things. But that is the pervasive 'liberal' attitude.............. don't let people decide for themselves what is best, force them by law to do it. Any rational person who hunts in an area with thousands of people out at the same time is going to take safety precautions which probably would include wearing blaze orange...... or yellow or what have you. But does it really need to be mandatory............ and if so why. I personally know of several instances with hunters and even non-hunters wearing blaze orange and they got shot anyways. If you want others to wear blaze orange because you are afraid of making a mistake, then you should not be in the woods in the first place, because to make that mistake and shoot someone means you have chosen to disregard some of the most basic principals of safe firearms handling. If it is that bad where you hunt then I would not want to be out there with or without blaze orange............. cause apparently the woods are filled with idiots.

Why does everyone want to make everything a bloody 'LAW'? How about leaving it up to the individual and the game department just saying we recommend it. It is because of this way of thinking that the US is inundated with so many regulations that your average person is guilty of doing something wrong avery 5 minutes. You have to wear a helmet riding your bicycle, blah, blah, blah!!!! Where I live we have the blaze orange law during rifle season. I can't even hunt on my own farm without wearing blaze orange even if no one has permission to hunt on it. I can go for a walk, take my dogs for a run, ride a horse, dig in my garden, go out and sit and take pictures of animals from my tree stand, go birding or sit in the bush and pick the lint out of my navel without blaze orange.......... just a hunter has to wear it. When did the act of carrying the rifle make you suddenly more likely to get shot accidentally than if I am just out for a walk??????? You want mandatory blaze orange then it should be for everyone out there doing anything during deer season............... or don't they deserve the same miraculous safety of the blaze orange????? As for the 1/2 hour thing........ I agree. We have the shooting hours where I live from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset and there is still actually a lot of light. If it is cloudy and you are in heavy woods this would be the max extension of legal hours that should reasonably looked at as it does get pretty murky and definition is greatly reduced by that time.

Like all game, the quality and taste of bear meat depends a lot on how it is looked after once it hits the ground. What it is feeding on plays into this and there is also a difference between spring and fall bears. Like all game it needs to be dressed and skinned quickly and the meat chilled ASAP. Once it is cooled all of the fat should be removed as the fat will turn rancid fairly quickly. My wife and I prefer to kill a fall bear for eating as the meat is way better and the animal is on the gain, not stressed and losing wait. With a fall bear we cut off all of the exterior fat as soon as it is cool and then we render it for lard. The rest of the carcass we hang for a couple days and then process it. Like pork, it does not need to be hunt a long time. I will quite often brine and smoke the hams. Have never had a single individual that ate our bear meat not like it........... hunters and non-hunters. With respect to feed......... if you are hunting bears that eat a lot of trash and nasty rotten fish, carcasses or what have you, or eating at a dump........... I would not bother with the meat. Where we outfit and live the area is rolling mixed forest and agricultural land next to a national park. The bears spend all summer eating natural vegetation, alfalfa, oats, barley and wheat, plus berries in late summer. They are fat as ticks in the fall and the meat is excellent. Unfortunately there are a lot of hunters who do a very poor job of looking after game animals. I have seen them take absolutely prime game animals and end up with meat that my dog would turn its nose up at.

I read Field and Stream years ago but I never read it these days because I think it is really trashy now. There are actually very few hunting and fishing magazines that I routinely get these days. Some are too boring............... just the same stuff I have been reading for years rehashed over and over again. Must be my age. And still others are filled with fluff and are way too choppy with the content. Would read the piece you are talking about but even the magazine stand at the gas bar in the closest little town to where I live does not carry it.

Our bear hunts are conducted in southwestern Manitoba near a national park, an area that is well known amongst serious black bear hunters for producing big bears and Boone and Crockett heads come from our area every year. This is also a good area for colored bears and about 40% of the bears taken every year are color phase. The biggest bruin off of our baits for the 2012 season was 560 pounds and had a 21 ¾ inch skull. Smallest bear of the season was 310 pounds. Our 5 day, 2x1, hunts are $3,500 including taxes and your bear license. We offer both spring and fall hunts during May and September. Fishing is also available in several nearby lakes for walleye, northern pike and world class rainbow and brown trout. It is a small family run operation and my wife and I do all of the guiding. Combined, we have 55 years of guiding/outfitting experience. Hunt Includes: - services of an experienced guide - meals, accommodations and transportation during the hunt - field care and preparation of your trophy for transport - applicable federal and provincial taxes - Manitoba foreign resident black bear licence Not Included: - meals, accommodations or transportation before or after the hunt - alcoholic beverages - gratuities - airport pickup/return from James Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg ($200.00) We are currently booking for 2013 and 2014. We only have 3 fall hunts available for 2013 and openings for both spring and fall in 2014, although approximately half of our 2014 hunts are already booked. For more information please PM or contact us at [email protected] Kelly & Wendy Ross Skyline Adventures

Congrats. Nice bear. Life size mount will look great.

Glad to hear we are not the only ones with a bunch of early snow. We got about a foot a week or so ago from a storm that also hit the Dakotas. I never plowed last winter either and we have as much now as we got all of last winter. I hope this is not a sign of what we are in store for the rest of the winter.

Hello all. I live in Manitoba, Canada. I am a licensed guide/outfitter. My wife and I are avid hunters, anglers, trappers and reloaders. Have a ranch close to a national park and we outfit for BIG black bears. Like to talk to fellow hunters in other areas. Have a number of friends in NY and PA. Cheers!