Bears are incredibly dense. My bear was pretty small about 220 lbs, but I thought it looked tiny on the ground. I don't think I have ever had a deer where you couldn't just grab one hoof and reposition it to start gutting. This thing felt like it was anchored to the ground. I dragged it only a few feet instead of making a real effort to put it in a good spot to cut it up.

My next bear I will keep the roasts and shanks. You have to cook it to 165F so I might just grind the chops and steaks next time. But those big low and slow braising cuts would be sweet.

I can't wait to get my rug from the taxidermist. I had the skull beatled, that will be cool when it is finished.

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I kind of screwed up the snack sticks. The "drunk mix" package is all the over cooked/burned/dried out ends.

I told my wife when beef roasts go on sale next I am going to get 5lbs and give the sticks another whirl. I would rather screw up beef than game meat.

I have a back strap in the freezer I want to do a wellington with.

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If I have any..ANY..chance of getting my wife to eat bear (populations are very high around here but still no guarantee) it's going to have to be by the grinding/sausage route.

Pro/Con to her enjoying the Meateater show with me: Pro - she is watching a hunting/outdoor pursuits show with me. Con - she has seen at least a few episodes where Rinella talks about getting trichinosis from under cooked bear meat.

If I get an opportunity this spring I will take it but candidly I'm hoping for a shot during the fall season as I hear that is the bear you want to eat when comparing spring/fall variants.

That brought back bad memories. I used to make venison jerky. One time I didn't dry it out completely. I took some with me on a 3.5 hour business trip. I had to stop right before I got to my destination because my bowels were about to explode. I was a bit more observant and careful the next time I made it.

Ha! there's a lesson in there somewhere :-)

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Steve

I never mention trich, only that the meat must be cooked all the way to 165 (what screwed up my snack sticks).

In Minnesota we only have a fall season, and the hunting is almost exclusively over bait. It is the only real feasible way to consistently see a bear in our dense flat woods.

I ended up feeding a lot of bears, I had a sow with 4 cubs, another sow with 3 and 2 more sows with twins hitting my bait. All that 1.5 hours from Minneapolis.

We are going to start having some major bear problems around here. Their population is flat or down in their core range, but booming along the southern edge of their range. To the point that the DNR has a place to report out of range bears. Bear in mind they should be hibernating right now and there are still sightings outside of their range.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/.../bear-sightings.html

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Yeah..you certainly are about to start having some major bear problems there...bizarre and I wonder what the leading theory is. I also wonder if this extends into SE Wisconsin as well (I'll google that later). I've spent a decent amount of time chasing German Browns through those miles and miles of limestone creeks in the Driftless area.

Since this is the hunting thread I'm wondering if you see much Chronic Wasting Disease up north in Minnesota? The numbers in SE Wisconsin are certainly picking up and causing a good deal of concern..can't imagine it is not an issue in your neck of the woods. Even here in Idaho it's starting to become more prevalent.

We have some "quarantine" zones. Some places the bones can't leave until the test clears. Some you just have to test, the zones I hunt don't have those restrictions.

I haven't heard of any deer testing positive this year. The MN DNR has been very aggressive, the biggest problems have been down in the driftless, Rochester area. Andystrongale has to deal with it, I think he even skipped hunting this year.

Where I shot my bear I do some deer hunting and the wolf population has really put the hammer on the deer herd. The DNR even culled a bunch because of the impact. I don't know why we still can't hunt them...

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I love the fact that you labeled it "Beary Hot Italian."
After deer season, everyone brings in venison snack sticks and I get my annual fill of them after 2 or 3, and I much prefer when summer sausage is available.
Which meat grinder did you wife get for you? We really enjoy making our own sausage and try to do it 3 or 4 times a year. A coworker brings over her grinder and it's on the wimpy side but gets the job done.

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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."

I'm relatively new to hunting since I started in my late 30's when moving back to Idaho but according to much more hunting experienced friends of mine the wolves have put a big dent in not only the deer population but also elk populations in north central/north Idaho. Speaking from experience I can tell you that we see wolf sign everywhere when out there. It's a big reason we see more elk/deer/moose closer and closer to populated areas and also why we have an overabundance of cats actually being seen. The food pressure on elk/deer/moose/cats must be immense as our wolves are not our native wolves but rather much larger/stronger/faster Canadian wolves.

The cats are what freak me out the most. A buddy of a buddy was heading back to his truck after solo hunting elk a month back and he kept sensing that something was behind him. After the 3rd or 4th turnaround he had a big ass Tom 7 yards directly behind him. Experienced guy so he had his rifle shouldered immediately and put it down while it was leaping over a log to get closer to him. The fact that this is only one example of cats not only being seen (rare) but also stalking humans is enough to keep my head on a swivel when out in the sticks. I can only imaging the food pressure they are experiencing to get to that point.

On wolves one of the spookiest experiences I've had so far is having a pack slowly work ridge by ridge closer to us when out in the St. Joe national forest bow hunting. Honestly we started heading back to the road once they started to sound like they were 1 ridge over (originally 3-4 away). Thankfully in Idaho you can put down up to 2 wolves (the past 3 seasons at least). I did not have that in mind when I was out on this experience but will act on it in 2020. That opportunity bothers a lot of non hunting/non conservation minded people but it's absolutely necessary for a number of reasons. If the opportunity presents itself I would personally consider it more doing a small part for conservation vs hunting.

We live roughly 5 miles from the border of ID/WA and the populations in WA are managed much like Minnesota - DNR. Frustrating model as those wolves are going to be culled anyhow it's just going to be on the back of tax payers vs enabling the hunters who are already out in the woods. I know I'm preaching to the choir but it's frustrating all the same.

The big cats are worrisome for sure.


You should listen to this:

https://www.themeateater.com/...6-hunting-with-teeth

Your wolves are no different than any other wolf. Wolf size is dictated by prey base, not unique sub-species etc.

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Thanks for this. Had a few hours on the road yesterday and listened to the entire podcast. I learned a ton about wolves and it seems I have clearly been spreading bad info. Never went down the "super wolf" route (that was a new myth to me) but had been under the impression that there were genetic differences between Canadian and "native" wolves to Idaho.

She did dodge the question around the differences between "our" wolves and Mexican wolves though. I think I caught her saying that there are genetic differences there (maybe breeding with coyotes?) but then she quickly stated that she would not discuss it further. Will likely give it another listen at some point to make sure I've got the history down pat.

Yeah I live near Sun Valley, Idaho, and we have been having a real issue with mountain lions this winter. Multiple one have been spotted (ring cameras and the like help here), and a handful of dogs and cats have been killed in people's yards. A ton of pressure has been put on them for sure.

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~Brad

I was just texting with a friend who lives on Moscow Mountain (just outside of Moscow, ID) and she has spotted 4 cats in the past few weeks around her property. Also pulled up the ID hunters reg book and learned that cat season runs to June up here. Picking up my ID sportsman's license later today and thinking I might go out with her next weekend to see if we can find some tracks.

Alright boys, fall is upon us and hunting season is calling my name. Bear baiting starts next weekend and opens 9/1/20. I am just finishing up last years bear (dang stuff goes faster than the deer meat).

Anyone have big plans for the season? Going to be a weird one this year, my step-dad isn't keen on staying at the shady motels we usually stay at so it may be a year of long one day trips. Opening ducks will be a leave at midnight home by 3 pm with a limit hopefully.

With a bird dog pup and one dog really starting to figure it out, pheasants and grouse will be the prime targets. We are visiting the in laws for the week of thanksgiving, depending on weather I might camp a night or two on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands. That late the prairie grouse might be a tough hunt.

Also plan on getting one other long weekend or two in South Dakota chasing birds.

Lastly, I finally got my bear rug from last season, dang covid even screwed up taxidermy.





ETA: Bear steaks, garden fresh green beans and garden fresh new potatoes. There is a lot of satisfaction in putting up you own meal from the garden and woods.

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Love the rug!

Plan was to get another one of my old war horses "on the board" with an opening weekend tag. The SMLE MkIII* has 3 deer to its credit, my K31 Swiss another pair, but the M96 Swedish Mauser hasn't been to the woods until now.

After a day and a half of backdoor frustration (i.e. every place I sat they kept coming in right behind me and never came around) this 9pt came straight down the hill across from me with 30min to go today. Bridgeport WI.



60yds give or take, with the granddaddy of my milsurp stable...production year 1900...6.5x55 Swede. NDT scout scope mount by BadAce, as my astigmatism prevents effective use of irons when it counts. Pictured below from zeroing day 5 wks ago.

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Carl Matson

I tipped over a cow elk in the last hour of the elk season. She was huge, great meat elk. Family processing day included 2 antelope (mine and my daughter's) and the cow elk. Might still hunt a late season deer with archery equipment, which would be an interesting mix of weapons. Antelope=crossbow, elk=rifle, deer=vertical bow?

I pulled the trigger on a bull elk with the crossbow only to have a nock failure. Arrow blew up and cut most of the string... Elk was unharmed but it was sure a bad way to miss out on an archery elk. The rut was late and somewhat weird/nonexistant this year in my area (and a lot of the Rocky Mtn region). Smoke? Heat?

The highlight of the year was my 13 year old daughter making a great shot to kill her first big game animal. That was one of those moments I hope I never forget.

Our deer season was odd with basically no rut activity too. I am in the black hills right now and the rut is full swing lots of bucks chasing.

Got out today for some good dog work, hoping to get the setter pup on grouse tomorrow.

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I was lucky enough to draw a Moose tag in MT. (Cow), shot an antlerless yearling, about the size of a cow elk. Super tasty. Got some upland birds with my dog too. Freezer is darn full. lean, free range healty stuff to go with the organic garden.

Yes!

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________