cayugad

First the Bear ... this is really important. After you have killed that bear, you need to ASAP get that thing cooled down. I recommend getting that hide off and get it on ice, or in refrigeration quickly. Leave that bear hanging in a tree somewhere, and the meat will stink, and make you think your eating the worst thing in the world.

Also bear (were we live) have a lot of body fat on them if they hibernate in your area (which I am sure they do). When you butcher that bear cut every speck of fat off that bear you can find. If you have ever eaten bear meat that was not trimmed, you will have a nasty fat taste stuck to the roof of your mouth for hours. Cut all that fat off, and you will love the meat. Its better then the best beef you ever had.

When you cook bear, I like to cook it over a flame, whether a campfire, spit, or grill. That's because any fat you might have missed will drip off the meat. Also I don't like bear cooked well done. It has too good of a flavor to do that. I like to make bear steaks or a roast, cook that over a fire, and paint it with a good horse radish paste.

And when you slice the meat, never cut it straight down. Try to slice it at a angle. This crosses the meat grains and it will melt in your mouth. If cooked wrong, it can be a little stringy, but a bear steak on an open fire grill is really good if it was taken care of in the first place.

As for the forum, I am around. With my knee still in recovery I have not been shooting as much as in the past. Also I have not been posting the shooting results like in the past. That's because I have kind of beaten that horse to death. Most my rifles are sighted in. They shoot well. And I don't shoot 200 yards or even 150 yards. So normally my groups have not changed all that much.

I have not come across too much new gear to report on. So I am kind of just waiting for the hunting stories to come in..

MountainDevil54

Thanks for the info cayugad!! So dont let it hang? Just cut it up and pack it into an ice cooler? I may have to go buy a few big ones just to have them on hand.

UtahRob

I spend most of the time at the MML site . Also like other have said , other sites are easier to use . posting photos and i don't get kicked off ALL the time . Half the time when i post something here it logs me off .

UtahRob

I understand you have you do the same for Antelope and do not shoot one after its been running . Then they are some what eatable !!I Hope to find out in the next few years , if i get draw !! I found a area where there are some very nice bucks and doable for a muzzy . Big Rolling hills 100-150 yards apart and full of Antelope .

UtahRob

I don't care about range reports over 100 yards , Muzzle loader hunting is ( should be )IMO a close range sport and thats what i love about it . So when you post a rage report it's no dead horse to me !!!! I even love 50 yard reports because that the only good group i can get with my 1x scope is around 50 . My cross hairs cover up to much of the dot after that . I had a guy at our local gun shop say Inline muzzle loaders are as good as center fire rifles and you can shoot them out to 4-500 yards and they should be outlawed , I told him if he could take my encore and hit a deer target at 400 yards with his fist shot he could have it , he shut right up . He's never shot a inline only side locks . He also told me he could get 2'' - 3'' groups with his side lock at 200 yards .all day long LOL He a good guy just full of BS at times . So please keep up you range reports 10-100 yards ,all good to me !!

deer655

Cayugad; you made a statement once that one saw very few deer last year if any. I always thought Wisconsin was loaded with big deer and lots of them. I guess I have seen too many Buffalo county hunting shows.Also just curious; what does Cayugad stand for or is it your last name?

sabotloader

deer655

I can not give you a definite answer but he live lives near Lake Cayuga and then there is this fact... the Cayuga's were a well respected Native American Nation at one time and belonged to one of the strongest Native American Alliances 'The Iroquoi Nation'....

The Cayuga Nation (Guyohkohnyo or the People of the Great Swamp) was one of the five original constituents of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), a confederacy of American Indians in New York. The Cayuga homeland lay in the Finger Lakes region along Cayuga Lake, between their league neighbors, the Onondaga to the east and the Seneca to the west. One current spelling of the Cayuga name is Gayogohó:no’

deer655

thanks sabotloader,most folks nicknames are straight forward. i was just curious what his meant, thanks

spaniel

Well, you live in a state where centerfire rifles are legal for something besides coyotes. I hunt 600 acres that is almost entirely open except for a creek and some ditch lines, I've stalked up on a few but with a busy job, young kids and multiple freezers to fill each year, I find a ML shooting out to 300 yds the most efficient means possible when the next best alternative is a shotgun.

If I'm still hunting during the actual ML season that usually means I have already filled my meat tags, and you'll most likely find me carrying my Omega X7 with peep sights or even my old sidelock.

My latest project is even closer range, I just bought a Denali barrel to use in constructing a ML pistol.

I'm still here, but I post more than I shoot. I haven't had my ML out since I did the 500yd shooting in July. It's been a very busy year for me, travel and switching jobs with the company, and another baby coming in time for Christmas.

I'll be posting more around hunting season, as I'm going out to MT for elk/muley/antelope. I will attempt to take the antelope with my Omega but I won't be taking a ML for elk/muleys because it is a back country backpack hunt and if I can only take one gun it's got to be my 300WM.

I did just get back in from hanging some armor plate steel targets to shoot at 200 and 300 yds though

kb1