# Our weekend adventure



## pdswife (Sep 18, 2006)

*Our weekend adventure, Paul got a BEAR!!!!!*

Well, it's finally happened.  My husband is a HUNTER!!!

He shot a BEAR this weekend!!!!!  A big heavy one!!  

I am so proud of him!!

I'm going to try to post some photos in the photo section.
Tried to here but...they were too big.





Wow!  My hubby is a hunter man!


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## rickell (Sep 18, 2006)

have you posted them yet i didn't see them?

what are you going to do with it?   do you eat bear?

we were in canada about two months ago fishing the camp
we were at had a bear problem.  they actually shot one when
we were there, and another bear almost joined everyone in the dining
room for diner one night.  it was pretty cool.


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## pdswife (Sep 18, 2006)

I haven't posted... sadly... they are too big ( I'm out of room in my account)
I'll have to see if there is some way of down sizing them.  

We are going to eat the meat... Paul wouldn't shoot something that we weren't going to eat.  There's just something wrong with that.

Also... the pelt will be come a rug.  

It was a long hard day and our bodies hurt like heck today but... it was worth it!


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## cjs (Sep 18, 2006)

Congratulations!! We don't hunt anymore, but we sure did when all the kids were home. We ate well, that's for sure.


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## rickell (Sep 18, 2006)

never have tasted bear guess we will hear more about it at dc.

how about you have you had bear before?


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## kitchenelf (Sep 18, 2006)

Bears = scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  A friend of mine chased her dog who was chasing a 450 lb. bear at about 2:00 in the morning.  NOT ME!!!!!!  I wouldn't have opened the door for the dog to get out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I would have been sitting in the closet with a blanket, pillow, my dog, and a bottle (or 3) of wine - and well, maybe a gun but at least a broom with a REALLY long handle


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## Michelemarie (Sep 18, 2006)

Congratulations Paul and pdswife!  I hope you can find a way to post the pictures, I would love to see them! What does bear meat taste like? Again, congrats and enjoy that rug!


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## shpj4 (Sep 18, 2006)

Well I must certainly say that your hubby is a hunter.  You must let me know how the bear meat tastes?  It would seem quite hard to skin the bear but please let me know how it goes.

Have a very Happy Monday

Jill and Jolie


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## pdswife (Sep 18, 2006)

OH shpj4, it was hard to skin the bear!  It took hours and hours!  We'd never done it before though...so maybe next time it will be easier.

As for the taste... I'm not sure  
I remember having it as a child...but that's been a long long time.
I'll have to let ya all know.

Thanks everyone for the congrats!


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## pdswife (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks for the link KE... The site doesn't seem to be working right now..so the photo down sizing will have to wait. 

I'll try again tonight after dinner.


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

Paul figured out how to do the photos!


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

And one more!


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

Mr. Bear is now at the butchers and his skin is at the taxidermists.
Now that was an interesting place.  You should have seen all the animals.

Very cool!  Deer, cougar, bear, foxes, worthogs and many many others.  It's really a form of art.  

We ate the heart last night.  It was really good but, it tasted just like beef.  Nothing really special about it.   It'll be three weeks or a month before we get the meat back from the butcher, then I'll be begging the rest of you hunters for recipes and ideas.


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## MJ (Sep 19, 2006)

Great photos pds!  

How much did it wiegh?


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## wasabi (Sep 19, 2006)

I learn something new from this forum every day. Now I know that you can eat bear.


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

Well... we are not sure but...we weighed it at the butcher after gutting and skinning and it was 93 pounds so we are guessing between 150 and 200 pounds.

It felt much heavier though pulling it through all the blueberry and huckleberry bushes.  : )


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## FryBoy (Sep 19, 2006)

I find those photos incredibly sad.


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

I'm sorry Fryboy... they make me a little sad too... but mostly
they make me hungry.


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

wasabi said:
			
		

> I learn something new from this forum every day. Now I know that you can eat bear.



Yep!
Can't wait to try it.
We ordered a few roasts and chops
but mostly sausages and jerky.


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## wasabi (Sep 19, 2006)

I have to agree. My dad hunted wild pigs in his younger days and I always hated it when he came home with a dead pig across the hood of his jeep. I love animals, but I still eat meat............


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

I've always told Paul that I would have NOTHING to do with the dead animal.  Bring it to me wrapped in freezer paper and I'll cook it up for you but.. ya know what...?

I was so happy and so proud of him that
I forgot to be grossed out and sad for the bear.  It was exciting.

As you can see from the photo.. I was really in to it.  
Surprise surprise!  STILL... I am 100% sure I couldn't kill anything.
But, heck I'll certainly eat it.  I'll eat cows and chickens and they have a much worse life and death than this bear did.


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## FryBoy (Sep 19, 2006)

BTW, bear meat is a known and fairly common source of trichinosis. Check this link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1146849&dopt=Abstract

Be sure to cook it very well, as you would questionable pork.


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## pdswife (Sep 19, 2006)

Thanks Fryboy.  Paul read up on this before I cooked the heart last night.

And I always cook all my meat really well.  ( yes, give me my steak burnt please.  NO RED!!! YUCK!  lol!!!)


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## buckytom (Sep 20, 2006)

pds, do me a favor, if you will, and thank the spirit of the bear for it's sacrifice every time you have a meal of him. it doesn't have to be anything religious, but it's important, for you and the bear.


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## bethzaring (Sep 20, 2006)

Thanks for posting the pictures!.  For me, it made me nervous to see them.  The bear did not look quite dead and humans should not be that close to a live bear!  That's a big accomplishment to bring down an animal like that.  Did you take that bear in Washington?

And I agree with bucky.  I always have a spiritual moment with the animals we butcher, as we start the process.


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## XeniA (Sep 20, 2006)

He STARTED with a bear?! Where will he go from here?!

Then again, maybe in hunting you start with big targets and graduate to smaller ones? (Can you tell I'm not a huntress?!)


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

Beth... Believe me I was very nervous about touching it at first too!!!  It was a BEAR for goodness sake!  

Yes..Paul took it in Washington.. we were up in the Mountains right around Stevens Pass.   There was bear sign all around and he knew from the second we got that there that this was going to be his chance to get something.

I wrote Bucky a pm and told him that I did thank that bear before pushing him down the hill... also, I don't know if it's really spiritual or not but I will "FEEL" something while I'm eating this meat.  Something that I don't feel while I'm eating a cow.


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

Ayrton said:
			
		

> He STARTED with a bear?! Where will he go from here?!
> 
> Then again, maybe in hunting you start with big targets and graduate to smaller ones? (Can you tell I'm not a huntress?!)




Next on the list is 
a nice fat deer!  He drew a doe tag this year 
and he and my son are going hunting for a few weekends
in October.  Now venison is GREAT!!!  I hope they both
get big ones!

smiles, T


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## Chef_Jimmy (Sep 20, 2006)

Nobody has too many wild game recipes on their websites, that is why i put this one on mine.   Enjoy!

ROASTED BEAR



3 pound(s) , Bear Roast
0 to taste , Salt and Pepper
2 large , Garlic Clove
2 tablespoon(s) , Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon(s) , Paprika
1 teaspoon(s) , Dry Mustard
1/4 teaspoon(s) , Chili Powder
1/8 teaspoon(s) , Cayenne Pepper
2 tablespoon(s) , Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup(s) , Vinegar
1 cup(s) , Tomato Juice
1/4 cup(s) , Ketchup
1/2 cup(s) , Water
Instructions:Place roast in small roaster. Season with salt, pepper and garlic. Roast at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until well done. Slice into thin slices. Mix 1 teaspoon salt with remaining ingredients in heavy skillet. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add meat; simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.


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## Chopstix (Sep 20, 2006)

Poor teddy


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

Thanks Chef Jimmy!

I've copied and pasted this recipe and as soon as we
have our meat back I'll try it out!   Can't wait!!!!


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

Sorry chopstix...but we all gotta eat and this is going to be yummy!


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## Corkscrew (Sep 20, 2006)

Those pictures and comments are troubling. I have no problem with people hunting if they NEED the food (as opposed to simply wanting the thrill of eating something they've killed), or if the species has over-populated an area and needs to be culled for the good of the environment, or if the specific animal is either sick or has become a threat to humans. But killing magnificent animals for the fun of it is not something I can condone in this day and age. 

What sport is there in blowing a huge hole in a defenseless and clueless animal from 50 yards away? I note that the animal wasn't shot in the head, and apparently the heart was intact since they ate it (an odd first choice, IMO), so I suspect the animal simply bled to death from the wound. What did it do to deserve that fate?


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

I'll pm you corkscrew.


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## kitchenelf (Sep 20, 2006)

I understand some people have a problem with this thread.  That is fine.  If you have an issue with it please PM pdswife.  She will be glad to clarify and answer anything.  This is how some people eat - it's actually how people have eaten for a long time.  Take your issues to PM.  There have already been a couple comments made that have been removed.  If you have to come on this thread and make some back-handed comment you don't think we're smart enough to catch you are mistaken.


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## Chopstix (Sep 20, 2006)

pdswife said:
			
		

> Sorry chopstix...but we all gotta eat and this is going to be yummy!


 
Pds, I can only deduce that hunting and eating bear is not illegal.  While I can briefly set aside my pity for the death of that beautiful wild creature, and while I can understand your new-found thrill for the hunt, I'm a little unsettled by the uncontained excitement to eat the bear and even it's heart. Sure it's food, but somehow people don't normally get that worked up about eating chicken or cow right?  The open eagerness to eat the bear is troubling to me. You might say, it got to my sensibilities.  Sorry but that's just how I feel.


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## Corkscrew (Sep 20, 2006)

kitchenelf said:
			
		

> If you have to come on this thread and make some back-handed comment you don't think we're smart enough to catch you are mistaken.


My comment was direct and polite. PDsWife, Trish, is a big girl and can handle courteous disagreement, as she demonstrated in her PM response to me.

BTW, I've already received karma from five DC members and positive PMs for my reply to the thread, two of whom remarked on the "courage" I showed by posting what they believe but were afraid to post because of this sort of intimidation.


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

.... Well... I think the best way I can describe it chopstix is that

when I eat a tomato from the store it's just a dang tomato but... If I go out and plant the seed and watch it grow and the shoot comes up and turns in to a plant and then a little yellow flower appears and then a little green tomato pops out and then it starts to turn a pretty shade of red and the sun warms it and then I pick it and eat it it's a  TOMATO!!!!!

It's just different... it's better.
It's something that I did.  ( or in this case that my husband did)
Better...more real...more exciting...
Hard to explain.


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

P





			
				Corkscrew said:
			
		

> My comment was direct and polite. PDsWife, Trish, is a big girl and can handle courteous disagreement, as she demonstrated in her PM response to me.
> 
> BTW, I've already received karma from five DC members and positive PMs for my reply to the thread, two of whom remarked on the "courage" I showed by posting what they believe but were afraid to post because of this sort of intimidation.




Please post your opinions.  I may not agree... but as always I am 
interested in hearing them.   I know there are hunters on the site... and non- hunters.  Everyone has feelings good and bad about everything.

smiles, T

p.s.... anyone who can be intimidated by me makes me lol... I'm a whimp!!! lololol


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

Just some facts....



1,333 bears killed in washington last season
20,724 hunters hunted bears last season
Which means only 6.4 % of the hunters got a bear.
On average it took the hunters 129.4 days to shoot a bear.
There are about 30,000 bears in Washington state.  
Hunters are not allowed to use dogs to hunt bear.
Hunters are not allowed to use bait to hunt bear.


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## GB (Sep 20, 2006)

Personally, I would never be able to hunt. I would rather pick up my camera and take a picture than pick up a gun and shoot.

That being said, I have the utmost respect for people who hunt and eat what they kill. I think people forget where their food comes from sometimes. Anyone can walk into a supermarket and by some chicken breasts or ground beef or buffalo, some frozen turkeys or ducks, or any number of other animals. Why is it any different to buy those things than to go out and do it yourself?

And as for enjoying it, again I personally would not enjoy something like that, but for someone else to go out and hunt their own food, I can see how there is a satisfaction in that. I wonder if the same people here who are so upset about this get equally worked up at people who fish? What about people who kill the mosquito buzzing around their head?

What I do have a problem with is people who hunt for sport and let the animal rot. I find that horrible and think the practice should be illegal. JMHO.


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

Thank you GB.

Paul would never let anything he shot go to waste.
He's been hunting for 8 years now and this is his first kill and only 
the second shot that he's taken.  

Hunting is not an easy thing to do here in Washington.  I know in some places you can sit on the side of the road and wait for the animals to come to you but here... you walk for miles and work your butt off for hours and hours before you even see anything.  It is a sport ... but in no way is it a game.
It's hard hard work and worth every second.

I couldn't shoot anything with a face either... mostly because I don't think I could do it in one shot.  I can't aim well enough and I'm afraid that the animal would run and that I'd never find it.  

Like I said before though...that bear had it 100 times better than the cows, pigs and chickens most of us eat every day.


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## suzyQ3 (Sep 20, 2006)

pdswife said:
			
		

> .... Well... I think the best way I can describe it chopstix is that
> 
> when I eat a tomato from the store it's just a dang tomato but... If I go out and plant the seed and watch it grow and the shoot comes up and turns in to a plant and then a little yellow flower appears and then a little green tomato pops out and then it starts to turn a pretty shade of red and the sun warms it and then I pick it and eat it it's a TOMATO!!!!!
> 
> ...


 
I respect your point of view, even if it is not one that I share. I also appreciate your openness to those who might disagree. 

So I hope you understand my discomfort with what chopstix referred to as "uncontained excitement" in the pictures, as well as some comments that had a glib or almost cruel subtext that I'm sure you didn't mean. 

Having said that, I do not see any legitimate comparison between growing and consuming produce and killing animals for sport. I understand quite well that we have to kill animals in order to survive (although I guess the vegetarians among us would take exception to that opinion).  I just personally don't relish the thought nor think of it as some great achievement or badge of honor. Again, this is just my personal opinion.


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## FryBoy (Sep 20, 2006)

pdswife said:
			
		

> ...that bear had it 100 times better than the cows, pigs and chickens most of us eat every day.


Having spent time in a slaughterhouse, I can assure you that is not true. 

Mammals that are slaughtered for food in this country are first knocked unconscious by electric shock to the brain. Their jugular vein and carotid artery are then quickly cut, draining the blood from their brains and killing them nearly instantly. 

In contrast, death by shooting is slow and extremely painful -- for humans or for other higher animals. Unless the bullet destroys the brain or pierces the heart or a large enough artery to permit the near instantaneous loss of blood from the brain, the animal suffers the pain of the wound until there has been sufficient blood loss to render it unconscious and eventually dead. That seems to be precisely what happened to the bear Paul shot, which I understand took several minutes to die.


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## Alix (Sep 20, 2006)

OK, can we let this be now? pdswife, I am closing this thread, PM me if you wish, I will discuss it with you.


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