Hunting and game posts

[RCW]

Black Bear back strap and sliders.

Saw a game-cam picture from a buddy today of a 300 +/- pounder at his deer tree stand.

I've never had bear....Some say it sucks; others say it's great.

That looks damn swell in my book...guessing it doesn't "taste like chicken."

 

[Magicman]

It looks good but to each his own. I had bear........once.

 

[NHSleddog]

Saw a game-cam picture from a buddy today of a 300 +/- pounder at his deer tree stand.

I've never had bear....Some say it sucks; others say it's great.

That looks damn swell in my book...guessing it doesn't "taste like chicken."

It really depends on the bear and what they eat. Personally, I have never had "bad" bear however I have heard of others that have. We only have black bear in our area.

This bear is the closest to beef I have ever had, not the least bit gamey.

 

[Lil Foot]

It really depends on the bear and what they eat.

Yup. Get a bear who has been eating stringy AZ jackrabbits, acorns, juniper berries, lizards, and roadkill and they will not taste like beef.

 

[bearbait]

It really depends on the bear and what they eat. Personally, I have never had "bad" bear however I have heard of others that have. We only have black bear in our area.

This bear is the closest to beef I have ever had, not the least bit gamey.

Same here, never had bad bear meat and yes a roast done right is every bit as good as your best beef roast.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Michigan made baiting illegal last year. I've never baited anyway, don't have to and the only bucks I've ever shot were destined for the wall, does taste much better and the meat isn't as coarse. No hormones to ruin the meat. Far as bear, mule deer or any game, they usually taste like what they forage on so. Nice thing here is most of them eat field corn so deer here are essentially corn fed.

Lots of bumper deer here too. Problem with a bumper deer is, it screws up your vehicle and generally, what is left of the carcass is no good anyway.

On bear meat, so long as it's prepared correctly, it's good but then so is Muskrat and squirrel, I've eaten them both.

Not going out west this year due to Covid. I'll be hunting locally, most likely handgun hunting. Either a Model 29 Smith 44RM or a 460 Smith XVR long barrel. Might use the smoke pole as well.

 

[bearbait]

On bear meat, so long as it's prepared correctly

At that my friend is the key and I don't mean as in the way it's cooked. When you get a bear the work begins. It needs to be taken care of right away and every bit of fat stripped off it ASAP. Here the bear season is fall only and the weather is really too warm. I've worked with outfitters here and if the hunter made a poor shot and the animal wasn't found until the next morning the meat was no good. As you're skinning it you can watch the meat turn bad in front of your eyes. Thankfully it only happened a few times while I was there.

 

[RCW]

bearbait - very true with most game. I’ve never taken a deer to a processor. Always did our own with good success, including the occasional road kill.
Many times I’ve spoken to hunters that don’t like various game animals. I think in many cases it’s a matter of care taken after pulling the trigger.

 

[Daren Todd]

Saw a game-cam picture from a buddy today of a 300 +/- pounder at his deer tree stand.

I've never had bear....Some say it sucks; others say it's great.

That looks damn swell in my book...guessing it doesn't "taste like chicken."

It's really greasy. But like anything else. It's really good if cooked and seasoned correctly

 

[SidecarFlip]

You guys need to try Muskrat and Squirrel too. Yummy.

 

[bearbait]

You guys need to try Muskrat and Squirrel too. Yummy.

Never had the opportunity to try Muskrat but got hungry when hunting a few times so shot squirrel for a taste. The kind we have here are the same as eating rabbit and more on them then what you'd think. Some salt and plum sauce and they'd be real good.

 

[Lil Foot]

I found squirrel to be pretty tasty, with one exception. We had shot & cleaned 4 in the field, cooked two on the spot, and they were great. Put the other two on ice and headed for home. The next day we cooked one, and he was good also. Later that day we cooked the last one, larger than the others, and much darker meat.
The longer it cooked, the worse it smelled. (gamey) In the end, we couldn't eat it, so we gave it to the Shepherd/Husky mix, (who normally eats everything) and he would not touch it either.
Other than being larger, (older?) we found no reason for the difference in taste.
All I have had before & since have been good.

 

[RCW]

I’ve had good luck with rabbits and squirrels. Good stuff.

Thing with rabbits is concerns for getting
liver fluke or tularemia while dressing them.....maybe both. Been too long.

I used to dress a rabbit in less than a minute, especially if I had a bunch to do.

There’s nothing better than a Ruffed Grouse breast, sautéed lightly with some garlic, salt and pepper.....yum.....

I’ve only gotten a few wild ducks (Mallards) or Canada Geese. They’re okay, but quite fatty. Standard for them anyway.

Someday I’d like to shoot a bunch of wild hogs..... used to pop about 100 woodchucks (ground hogs) in a year. Longest shot was about 575 yards. Sounds like some of the ‘hog hunting is similar.

I’ve got a .22-250 Remington 700 Varmint Special that hasn’t had much work in many years.....

 

[Magicman]

Longest shot was about 575 yards.

Wow, I have no where on my property where I can see 575 yards. Probably 250 yards max.
Here is a video that I made from my favorite shooting house:

Here is a video made from the same location. This is the only time that I have ever seen snow while hunting:

I'll add a couple of short videos showing a couple of small bucks:

And:

 

[bearbait]

That is one sweet setup!! Thanks for sharing Magicman.

 

[skeets]

Yes Sir that is a very nice set up, Im sure I could get a few hours sleep up there during the season

 

[SidecarFlip]

Yes Sir that is a very nice set up, Im sure I could get a few hours sleep up there during the season

Pretty much SOP when I go hunting in the winter up north. I'm all toasty and sleepy. I have 2 nice blinds on my property that I hardly ever use. I'm a ground hunter so I find a nice tree to sit up against and usually fall asleep. The blinds have heat and chairs inside and even pee tubes...lol. Kind of a PITA as I still maintain them though I don't use them. Handgun hunting so I don't need to worry about setting a long gun on a ledge. I use my knee as my pistol rest. The 460 is good to well past 150 yards anyway.

 

[bucktail]

I've had squirrels but not muskrat. Raccoon is on the list to try. Does anyone here not butcher their own deer? I've heard rumors that locker plants are booked out a ways.

 

[bearbait]

I've had squirrels but not muskrat. Raccoon is on the list to try. Does anyone here not butcher their own deer? I've heard rumors that locker plants are booked out a ways.

Yes I butcher my own however I just take the backstraps (tenderloins) for steaks then make burger and stew with the rest. Deer burger mixed with a little ground pork along with seasoning of choice, well you just don't get any better IMHO.

 

[NHSleddog]

...Does anyone here not butcher their own deer? I've heard rumors that locker plants are booked out a ways.

In the early season, if it is hot and the night won't be cool, I will just drop it off locally and have them take care of it. As soon as it is cold enough to hang a couple days, we will butcher everything.

My buddies and I have been talking about going in on an insulated shipping container that we would setup as a walk-in cooler using a CoolBot for a few months a year.