[David Gerard]

Im so glad  moose hunting season is over!   I spent many a morn before work and many an eve after work looking for a moose to harvest this year.  I neglect everything and everyone from aug 20th to Sept 20th..

We have very strict size regs. so when you do see a bull you must take your time looking them over.  Mistakes of shooting a sub legal bull are stiff and you must pack all the meat out and surrender it to ADF&G.

We did not get a moose this year but a friend got one way up north in Kotzebue.

I did see 6 or 7 bulls and countless cows.  We called one out of the thick timber and he put on quite the show of aggression for us.   They are fun to watch when they cowboy walk, posture while showing their rack and tearing up trees  raking.

Pretty exciting to hear CRACK!! in the silence of the woods when a bull is moving in.

I always cook all the ribs i have at once since it’s a lot of work, then we invite friends over for a feast and talk about the hunts.

Feels good to have salmon,  halibut , bear and moose all put up for the winter.

It costs about 100.00 per lb but so worth it..and Lisa is happy to have her kitchen back and smelling normal again.

Here are some pics from this year while hiking in or from my stand.  I have a video but will have to figure out how to load it.

[David Gerard]

After around 4 -5 hrs of cooking you have some of the finest ribs.

I par boil them in onions and Worcestershire sauce for 1.5 hrs then lather them in a cooler over night in sauce then bake for 3 hrs then finish them on the grill when the guests arrive.  A lip smacking good time!

PS, want to make your wife happy?  Paint her garage floor like a hotrod shop! HA!

I also store remnant SS in there too…ssshhhh!

[Lenny E]

Oh My God, you ate Bullwinkle! That’s OK, I ate the the cousins of his little buddy, Rocket J Squirrel, more than a time or 2. Bugs Bunny and Bambi be missing a few relatives too on account of me. Heck they almost had to cancel groundhog day in W Va because of the scarcity of groundhogs (me and my cousins fault).   

I never took down any big game like that though. Kudo’s!

Good Times David. Thanks for posting that. Ummm, Ummmm! That sure looks like some fine eating there. I know you most likely have your own “secret sauce” developed over years of trial and error. I know you put something else on there besides Worcestershire sauce and onions, but that’s OK, a true chef never tells!  Darn you, now I’m Hungry.

My wife still raves about the game you sent us. Thanks for that BTW.

Question 1, What do you use to bring those Moose and Bear down? Do you use that trusty 7mm magnum of yours? 

Question 2 : What is the proper plural term for more than one moose? For some reason I am kinda thinking it’s not “Meese”! 

[Tom M]

“Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a..” [BANG!]

$100.00 a lb.? I thought you hunted the Moose so that you would have a supply of cheap meat in the freezer.

[Lenny E]

Posted By Tom M on 30 Sep 2013 07:25 AM

“Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a..” [BANG!]

$100.00 a lb.? I thought you hunted the Moose so that you would have a supply of cheap meat in the freezer.

Yep Tom,

$100.00 a lb. I was wondering about that too but didn’t want to say.But now that you brought it up , I’d like tosee  a breakdown on that cost myself. I know there are hunting licenses, ammo, vittles and supplies for the hunting trip.Maybe rental of a hunting parcel.  The cost of the Rifle and Freezer, hunting clothes (hopefully amortized over many Moose), fishing pole, lures and bait for Salmon. Moose call and scent. What else? 

But I still can’t see 100 bucks a pound. Unless David is counting in lost time from the shop for staying in the woods! We hunted when younger to put affordable meat on the table. I fish today for the same reason. 

Maybe I’m missing something.

[David Gerard]

HA! I was being a wise a$$ on the exaggerated cost.       

I will say though, when it comes to putting up salmon I now buy it from the neighbor who commercial fishes.   This year I bought red salmon off his boat for the dock price of 2.25 per lb.  High graded large male red salmon 4 hrs old on ice the moment they left the net.   Way cheaper than driving 100 miles , fighting crowds and leaving work for a chance to catch fish, no guaranties.

When I hunt walking out my door moose meat it cheap.  This bull my friend shot in the picture was very expensive.

Commercial flight to Kotzebue…..1000.00

Multiple float plane trips………….3000.00

food and beer for 10 days……….600.00

lost wages…………………?

Memories and mind therapy………………………………………..Priceless!!

Cheaper to buy grass fed free range black angus from Scottland .

I had my wife looking out every week end morning and week day eve when I was down in the woods.  She spotted 2 different bulls right on our property.  Unfortunately they werent legal size.  She was so proud of herself though.

We joke about the cost of halibut as a boat owner.  You could buy fish off the dock for 8.00 per pound.

Way more fun to go catch it.  And its a chance to visit with friends while drowning bait.

It’s sometimes a dilemma when ones skills are so valuable along with the high cost of the fuel and equipment to harvest fish and game that you have to sometimes choose between “buy or catch”

your protein.  At least buying is guarantied.   

I do have to remind myself now and then why I moved here 32 years ago,  It pushes me to go out and sit in the moose stand in the wind and rain and take it all in.

The view from my stand.

[Andy Graves]

Oh boy do those ribs look delicious.

Don’t you hunt and fish for more than just the food, it’s a lifestyle. It’s like taking a vacation for me.

[Lenny E]

Oh That is a beautiful view David. Thanks for posting all this, I am really enjoying this.

They hunt in China too. Anyone up for alley cat or “Rat on a Stick”?

[David Gerard]

Andy, its definetley a lifestyle. We like harvesting and putting up food. There is Something about the draw to hunting too. When I was growing up in Conn. I hunted, fished and trapped. I bow hunted while in college in maine. I can’t remember since I started hunting ever sitting a season out. The urge to be ouift side is powerfully.
If I could sheep or goat hunt still I would. Something about walking ridge tops has a real draw as well. I’m not in shape to do that right now I’m afraid.
Even though the season ended for moose I may go out this week and see who of the bulls made up harams.

Lenny, on plural…….we say…….moose! Ha! But one must always say how many bulls or cows you saw.

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