Weapon recommendations for use in the Bush

[Jeff Emler]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I couldn't agree more. I was raised with the same hunting ethic, "you shoot it, you eat it." If it doesn't contribute to your survival and isn't a threat to your well being, then what is the point of killing something?

That is the thing about wild game, they taste like what they eat. Southern California white-tail deer taste like the sage they eat, which tastes completely different from white-tail deer in Nebraska which feed on corn. I have never eaten brown bear, although everyone I know who has told me to avoid the experience. Normally, I like new experiences, but eating brown bear is one I think I'll pass on.

I had some home grown beef that had been eating a lot of ramps (greens) and wild onions before it was killed. We were kinda new to the game and had raised this animal from a calf the spring before. NEVER butcher a beef in the spring if it's been on spring pasture.

It didn't need a lot of seasoning.

[Barkingowl]

Is bear very fatty?

[snowpuppy]

I've heard there is a native custom that women are not to eat bear meat. True?

[rotorhead]

Depends on when you shoot one, but bears from the late summer and early fall are fatter than Rosie O'Donnel. Catch one just out of hibernation in the spring and it's a different story, but still fatty compared to moose and deer.

Keep in mind that it takes a lot of calories to sleep away the whole winter without eating, that's what drives a bears nonstop, obsessive hunt for food. Bears that aren't big and fat when they go into hibernation sometimes don't make it out, or have to wake up early when there's very little food around.

When you see a bear hide that's perfect and luxurious with no rub marks and all the long guard hairs intact, with a perfect set of long, razor-sharp claws, it's usually a spring bear just out of hibernation. They've had all winter go grow their hair and nails out, and haven't torn them up yet grubbing around for chow all summer.

You joke about panther liver, but believe it or not some of the very best tasting wild game meat I've ever eaten was mountain lion. A lot of the old-timer trappers will tell you that lynx is the tastiest thing you'll typically pull out of the trapline.