Moose time! (Warning! Pictures of dead animals)

[santaman2000]

That is the most normal way when hunting deer/bucks (?) here, and some are smarter than others I've heard many stories of animals just sneaking up on the hunter from behind to check if he is being played.
The dog breeds that are most popular for hunting moose here are Norsk Elghund or the Swedish Jämthund. When off leash they work by tracking the moose and keep the moose still by barking, until the hunter arrives. On leash they help track the moose and helps the hunters on foot to drive the moose to the shooters. Methods varies of course, and there are probably someone with more knowledge than me that would have a lot more info about that

That sounds similar to the way we hunt white-tailed deer here. One hunter with two or or more dogs will drive the deer through the brush toward the standers. We take turns who the driver is and swap out the dogs every couple of drives. Our most popular breeds are Walkers, Plotts, Beagles (large Beagles) and occasionally one of the coon hunting breeds or a cross. Normally whoever actually shoots the deer gets the skin, the trophy, and half the meat while the others in the hunbting party share the rest of the meat.

 

[santaman2000]

I missed a fourth North American subspecies:

Shiras Moose

A. a. shirasi

Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Montana.[SUP][65][/SUP] Smallest subspecies in North America, weighing about 230 to 344 kg (507 to 758 lb) at maturity.

 

[Arya]

Santaman, that looks correct So, I should really call our moose "Elk"? Maybe I need to change the headline on this thread then?
I learn something new every day. Thank you for the information I never knew there were so many sub species!

We also use dogs when hunting deer and venison (?), and use some of the same dog breeds you do. We are not allowed to use dogs larger than 41 cm to the withers on venison and deer, so Beagles, Dachs, Drever, Basset and smaller Spaniels are popular here.
I haven´t seen the dog breed Plott hound before, so I had to Google it. Nice looking dog!

 

[Arya]

I live in Management Region #7 in BC. The annual moose harvest is set at about 7,000 animals, both sexes and all ages
as adjusted by a lottery license system that we call "Limited Entry Hunting." Biological population management, not political.

Interesting! How does that work?

 

[TarHeelBrit]

Hmm Moose nice, one thing I miss about living in Alaska. Moose sausages, Moose burgers, Moose joint roasted. I've never hunted myself we just had plenty of friends who did and like to share.

 

[Robson Valley]

Arya. Within Region #7, there are about 40-50 smaller units which divide the landscape based upon lakes, rivers and ridges/mountains of land.
OK. You want to hunt moose within a couple of hours of my house. You will look in the guide for what's available in MU (Management Units) regions 7-3, 7-4 and 7-5.
You apply and hope you get a "tag", a license for some age class and sex of moose to hunt. This is all on line, you can see what we do.

I cannot help you as a foreigner. You are required to hire a guide/outfitter for a hunt. Your license fees will be 10X to 20X what us residents pay.
I'm retired so my license might cost me some $5.00 after all these years.

So what we do instead is "hunt" a side of 2-yr old bison at the end of November. I have replaced my Rem BDL700 .30-'06 with a cheque book.
You can have the head and hide to mess with as you please. I can arrange that.
In the meantime, we eat like pigs. I got the word out already to barter for moose/caribou/elk & deer.

 

[Robson Valley]

TarHeelBrit: Thanks for your endorsement of wild big game. We do eat well.
I'm getting so much better at bartering as I get older.
I ask my visitors/company what they want to eat.
They can't imagine the variety that's a phone call away.

 

[santaman2000]

Hmm Moose nice, one thing I miss about living in Alaska. Moose sausages, Moose burgers, Moose joint roasted. I've never hunted myself we just had plenty of friends who did and like to share.

I have a cousin there now. Last year she taught school at a Native Alaskan school in Napaskiak. This year she's an school district administrator in a different village. She also said when somebody makes a kill hunting or a good catch fishing they share with the village.

 

[santaman2000]

Yeah, some of our management areas down here also use a lottery system for the early hunt (the first ten days of the season) Likewise for some of the special youth hunts; I'm going to enter my grandson in the lottery for one such youth hunt. You fill out the applications and send them in. The wildlife agencies draw from that pool until the allotted number of permits is reached.

 

[santaman2000]

Santaman, that looks correct So, I should really call our moose "Elk"? Maybe I need to change the headline on this thread then?...

LOL. From what I've been able to gather, "elk" is a more ancient (in Europe) word of Germanic origin that spread through the rest of Europe. On the other hand, "moose" was of Native American origin and wasn't used in a European language until the early 1600s.

 

[RonW]

Looking good, Arya.
I noticed that you are not wearing any gloves. I was taught in huntingcourse to alwatýs wear those when handling meat, since the nr.1 reason for spoiling meat is the unclean touch of man. Spray some vinegar on the area you touched and you see why, no matter how well you clean your hands before.
I was allowed to join a local moose hunting group here 2 years ago and I was not impressed by their way of conduct.
Plus I'll never be hunting here myself. Unfortunately really....

 

[TarHeelBrit]

I have a cousin there now. Last year she taught school at a Native Alaskan school in Napaskiak. This year she's an school district administrator in a different village. She also said when somebody makes a kill hunting or a good catch fishing they share with the village.

She's right about that. When the natives go hunting and as you said a good kill or catch they share it with the village. Or in our case with us. We managed three apartment buildings in Anchorage and one of our long term residents and friend, Carol, her grandson went fishing when the Kings were running. He had a very good catch and we ended up with a freezer full of King. I still can't face Salmon to this day.

Forgot to ask. I assume she survived her first Alaskan winter? You're not considered Alaskan until you've survived an Alaskan winter. My first one there was a bit of a shocker. Anchorage got 30" of wet heavy snow in about 36 hours. Luckily it was our weekend so we put our boots on and went out and helped those daft enough to try and drive through the snow. Heck even a city road grader got hung up on a berm, that was embarrassing for the driver having to radio for a tow out.

 

[Arya]

Looking good, Arya.
I noticed that you are not wearing any gloves. I was taught in huntingcourse to alwatýs wear those when handling meat, since the nr.1 reason for spoiling meat is the unclean touch of man. Spray some vinegar on the area you touched and you see why, no matter how well you clean your hands before.
I was allowed to join a local moose hunting group here 2 years ago and I was not impressed by their way of conduct.
Plus I'll never be hunting here myself. Unfortunately really....

Well, they've been doing this since they were toddlers, and nobody got sick or died, so it can't be that bad. The eldest is a retired professional butcher on top of it all. All of the meat is also ment for further processing, not for eating raw.
It is a different matter out in the field, if you can't wash and sterilize your hands before working on the animal, gloves are encouraged.

To bad you had a bad experience with the conduct of the hunters. May I ask what happened?

 

[RonW]

May I ask what happened?

Nothing really. Just sitting on a stool, waiting for the right type of moose to trot by within the right range under the right angle. The hunter I joined picked of a calf within 30 minutes, field dressed that quite poorly and later, when slaughtering that, the ones doing the butchering did that so very crudely and with brute force under questionable hygienic circumstances. The general attitude toward people not belonging to their league (and within as well) is less than welcoming and heartwarming, so to speak. And those too are men who have hunted all their lives.

 

[santaman2000]

......Forgot to ask. I assume she survived her first Alaskan winter? You're not considered Alaskan until you've survived an Alaskan winter. My first one there was a bit of a shocker. Anchorage got 30" of wet heavy snow in about 36 hours. Luckily it was our weekend so we put our boots on and went out and helped those daft enough to try and drive through the snow. Heck even a city road grader got hung up on a berm, that was embarrassing for the driver having to radio for a tow out.

Oh yes. As I mentioned, she's a teacher and the school term is over winter. No roads to Napaskiak, only boat and bush plane access.

 

[santaman2000]

......Forgot to ask. I assume she survived her first Alaskan winter? You're not considered Alaskan until you've survived an Alaskan winter. My first one there was a bit of a shocker. Anchorage got 30" of wet heavy snow in about 36 hours. Luckily it was our weekend so we put our boots on and went out and helped those daft enough to try and drive through the snow. Heck even a city road grader got hung up on a berm, that was embarrassing for the driver having to radio for a tow out.

Oh yes. As I mentioned, she's a teacher and the school term is over winter. No roads to Napaskiak, only boat and bush plane access. She loved it.

 

[Arya]

Nothing really. Just sitting on a stool, waiting for the right type of moose to trot by within the right range under the right angle. The hunter I joined picked of a calf within 30 minutes, field dressed that quite poorly and later, when slaughtering that, the ones doing the butchering did that so very crudely and with brute force under questionable hygienic circumstances. The general attitude toward people not belonging to their league (and within as well) is less than welcoming and heartwarming, so to speak. And those too are men who have hunted all their lives.

I see What expectations did you have before you were able to join them? Silly of them to behave in a way that makes new people feel unwelcome :twak:

 

[RonW]

I expected mostly elderly men, driven by a common passion and lifestyle, with a wealth of knowledge, eager or at least glad to show, share and learn younger ones showing an interest in what they do.

 

[Leshy]

Hey Arya ,you're a busy lady hey?
This looks like a good day, learning the skills and experience and also taking food for the freezer!?
Win , win situation.

Glad to see a pretty lady not being squeamish or grossed out by raw meat and dead animals.

So what were the main differences between butchering the Elk that died peacefully and the one that died stressed?
Was the meat affected? Was it easier to cut either of them?

In my past experience , the cooked meat is tougher on the stressed animal but this may just have been bad luck , or bad cooking?! ...

Ive been to 3 or 4 day traditional events in Portugal where they have a few pigs getting fat for the chop all year round, but somehow ...(and nobody could explain why) the chosen pig for the chop on that day just knows his time is up! Running around and being very noisy even if nobody is chasing it!

The way the beast carries on , you would have thought someone was chasing it with an axe !! 😁 But no , it's just instinct I think... They just know that time's up!


Everyone there was pretty calm and tries to convey this to the animal but it takes a concerted effort to catch the pig and kill it ...

It would be interesting to know which of the Elk was easier to process and which tasted better or if there was no difference.

Either way, great post!
Thanks for sharing

 

[Robson Valley]

Years ago (late 1970's), there was a student who did a Master's Degree in Food Science at Texas A&M University.
The question was to find the very best post-kill process for the best taste & texture of venison.
So she got a whole bunch of hunters organized for the experiments.

Everything from drooped in their tracks to gut shot and chased a mile in 85F weather.
Some cleaned, some left intact for hours.
Then, all were butchered and cooked, nobody taste-testing knew which animal was which.

Only one thing really mattered: Gut and cool the animal as fast as is practical.

I'm a poor big game hunter but a whiz at dropping birds, ducks, geese & grouse.
Always hope to field dress and chill the birds in a matter of a couple of minutes.