Yeah, when the guy next to me shot and then I heard what sounded like a freight training blast through the thicket not 25 yards from me I was waiting for a 500 pound very angry black bear to pop out and eat me. Fortunately the guy above me made a good shot and the bear didn't go far...
Hey Travis -- that is a neat story about the bears.
I'm just curious what you guys do with the bears after you shoot them.
As you know, I like a lot of different foods, but I don't have any fondness for bear meat, unless it is a cub or small sow. After that, boars by the time they reach puberty, can really stink up the kitchen.
Worse than that, cooking bear can threaten your health, as my brother and his friend found out the hard way when we were teens. My mother was ready to beat both of them very severely with her 12-inch cast iron pan, because late one night they used her favorite 12-inch cast iron pan to cook some boar bear. It ruined at least 50 years of seasoning in a pan her family brought from Finland when they emigrated.
I believe that is when my brother got the Finnish nickname "Satana Poika" -- translation: Satan Boy!
Some bear does taste better than other. As you said, smaller bears taste best. It's been my experience it tastes similar to pork. Not cutting into bone seems to help keep the stronger flavors out. Most bear meat is made into sausage. Our Mennonite friends will give us some the next time we see them.
A guy told me awhile back that it was not a good idea to eat bear. Is this true? He said that humans can get sick from it, but he made jerky out of it and could that have something to do with it. He couldn't tell me why this was, other than somebody else had told him this. I assumed that it may have something to do with them being carnivores(but not always). Just curious what others know on this.........Jim
Bears are omnivorous just like pigs. I've tasted bear and didn't love it or hate it. If I were cooking bear, I'd cook it to the same "doneness" level that I cook pork to.
Y’all PB I & II Conference guys remember Brandon Powers that captured an audience tyin” his famous deer hair bass bugs? He’s the best I know of and so good at it I don’t even try to tie ‘em!
Well, I’ve come across a pattern that I can tie that requires less skill that is a weedless/snagless bug that a friend of mine came up with - the reason for this post. Here's my version of "weedless" bass bugs:
You northern deer hunters can help me out on this - different deer hair from different parts of deer - y’all are all familiar with bucktail but hair for spinning/stacking comes from deer body or belly - that’s where I run into trouble. I need courser longer belly hair to act as a weed guard that is long enough for a 2/0 gape hook - deer hair is hollow and causes the hook to ride “hook-point-up”. Fabulous bass bug for springtime aquatic vegetation.
Northern deer hair is much better for this purpose than our deer because of the cold weather - I process Texas bucktail because I like the texture but I need a “patch” of long course northern belly hair.
I know that Nate, Cat, Scott and others process their own deer - I’ll swap a bug or so from any of you guys if interested. Take a piece or so of belly hide and dry it out in borax - I can bleach and dye….
PM if interested George Glazener
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
George, what about Elk hair? If luck is on my side I will be able to lay my hands on some a week from tomorrow.
Deer hair will be no problem. How big of a piece do you want, and where exactly do you want it from on the deer? I plan on taking 2 does and a Buck yet this year.
George, what about Elk hair? If luck is on my side I will be able to lay my hands on some a week from tomorrow.
Deer hair will be no problem. How big of a piece do you want, and where exactly do you want it from on the deer? I plan on taking 2 does and a Buck yet this year.
Scott, I know nuthin' 'bout elk hair but assume it has the same porous cell structue as deer hair that adds flotation and ability to "flare" when tied.
My research says deer belly hair is courser and longer than body hair but pick a patch or so from area that will work best for bigger bugs Patch of so that will fit in 8x10 envelope will last forever...
Really appreciate - I'll start tying when it gets too cold...
Originally Posted By: lassig
George,
You have it from the next deer I shot.
Really appreciate!!! PM sent
Last edited by george1; 11/30/1207:45 PM.
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
What happened to the hunting thread? I was loving the pics and comments and late season gets here and poooooff ! Everybody dropped it. Keep posting those deer guys ! and gals !!!
I took a trip out to Colorado for a Cow Elk hunt. Nada. Not even an Elk track in about 12,000 acres. One of the guys did bag a Mt. Lion. It seemed that a Female lion moved into the same canyon that the elk herd liked, and they didn't want to be sleeping and feeding in an area where they might become dinner. We think she came into heat, and somewhere between 4 and 6 toms also moved into the same canyon.
I'm not saying it's a tag sandwich yet, as the outfitter said that since our tags are good 'till end of day on 12-31, if any move back in he'd give us a call and we would make a mad dash back out there.
He fully expected all 6 of us to be tagged out by noon on the first day. Didn't happen. Another hunter, his wife and I stayed another day and nothing. Mule Deer? We could have had our pick. I'll throw the pics on Photobucket and transfer a few here.
Our deer season here ends Jan 6th, I plan on going out and putting at least 2 more in the freezer.
scott sorry to hear no kills on Elk hunt but bet it was still a great trip.
Here is your update. I normally kill a bunch of does with the bow and zero bucks. I haven't this year since success on nice bucks and a 300 lb hog. I want to get a couple and shot high on one and hit another in the neck. Not proud of that and still no idea what I did wrong. Last night however got this one. In metro ATL they have extnded seaosn until end of Jan so hope to get another for jerky.
Here's a right side and left side of a canyon that I kept watch over for any elk movement. Nada. The Elk were up in the high country to the right of the first pic. It was 705 yds down to the bottom of the canyon right in front of where the picture was taken, and right about 1400 yds across.
I was ready.....
Even tho the temp in the morning was 1°F, with the low winds and bright sun it was pretty comfortable out.
Rembeber the Mountain Lion? Here's a couple pictures of the smaller ones tracks: Size 11.5 boot
It took about 3.5 hrs between first cutting the cats tracks and finally getting the cat. Here's a couple of the the main players that were instrumental in getting the cat:
I was told that a Mountain Lion will kill a deer or elk every 5 days to eat. With somewhere from 5-7 lions in the area, it's no wonder why the Elk were scarce.
Here's what the deer looked like. They were in a different area than the cats and Elk, and they barely moved 100 yds in a couple of days.
I wasn't able to get any pictures of the largest Mulies - they disappeared into the brush when we crossed the 300 yd mark. The biggest one was a large very heavy beamed non-typical 5x6.
We ate well....... Those were the best steaks that I've had in a long, long time. Forget about using a knife, you could cut them with the fork. You could fit the steak and potato on the dinner plate only if you balanced the potato on the edge of the plate.
Awesome pics, Scott! I'd love to do a trip like that. One of my neighbors at the farm goes out west every year with his brother. They don't do guided trips, instead setting it up all by themselves. They brought home a beautiful elk a couple of years ago.
As for my contribution to this thread, I shot my first ever buck, an 8 point, this year. Unlike many here, I don't hunt real hard so I know not to expect much. We eat a lot of venison, so I prefer does and they are certainly more readily available at our place (other than today, that is!).
I shot this guy on the first Friday of the season after working on our pavilion all day. Right at dusk as I was driving out I spotted him along my main road and jumped out and shot him. It was a neck shot that didn't kill him but would have been fatal eventually. He couldn't get up and I didn't want to shoot him at close range with my .270, so I called a buddy who lives just up the road and he brought a .22 pistol as well as his step son. His step son has a thing for martial arts weapons and he had just gotten a spear, so they brought that, too! Turns out it was more desirable than another shot, so I administered the coup de gras with his new spear and immediately dispatched the deer, and that is why it's in the pic!
The deer doesn't look really big in this photo, but when it was hanging in my building with an 8 foot ceiling, its front hooves were just touching the floor and its back hooves were up into the opening to the loft. It was a big bodied deer that, had I let it go till next year (if it made it that far), would have probably been an exceptionally nice deer. The big question mark is an adjoining parcel of about a hundred acres that is hunted by a bunch of yahoos that shoot everything that moves and there was little likelihood of this guy surviving another year, so now he's mine and getting mounted by a local guy who does a lot of work for Cabelas. He's not a trophy like many of the beautiful deer posted here, but I am thrilled to a level only second to my son who can't believe he is finally getting a buck mount to put in his room!
Nice Deer. A trophy is in the eye of the beholder. I have a nice 6 point on the wall that most guys would never mount. Long story short, the deer was 7 and 1/2 years and had a long history with me and my cam. Its my trophy and no one else has to worry about it. He will live with me forever. Thanks for the additional post guys and gals, I love this thread.