This book is a first person account by Ralph Flowers of his career as a professional bear hunter in Western Washington on the Olympic peninsula.  While Ralph worked for a private timber company, his experience in spot and stalk and hound hunting bears is a valuable lesson to the sport hunter today.  Ralph lived in a remote cabin, with his wife and family.  The black and white photographs included in the book are worth the purchase price alone.  I bought the book while in college for the hound hunting stories alone.  I never expected to glean so much first hand knowledge of bear behavior. 

The fact that Ralph professionally accounted for over 1000 bear kills shocks many readers.  In this area where bear densities were resulting in thousands of stripped trees, depredation was the only means available at the time. I found this comment below on the reviews section of the Amazon page and I thought it gave an interesting perspective about the person Ralph Flowers.

“ This man was my uncle. He is not long dead. He died only recently…. he loved bears so much that he is the primary reason bears are no longer hunted for killing trees. You see, he researched and developed a food that when put out in areas where the bears are a nuisance, it keeps them from harming the trees because they are full due to his food. He is only telling how things were back in his day when he was a professional bear hunter. This is how he clothed and fed his family. He was also an artist who loved to paint beautiful paintings of animals and also sculpted them out of wood. He traveled the world as an older man finding ways of conserving bears. I found his book very interesting for me because this is where I was raised and hearing about the early days of his hunting was very enlightening for me. It is early pioneers who pave the way for others to follow. If not for this gentle and extremely talented man, Weyerhauser would still be paying professional bear hunters to hunt them down and kill them. This book is very educational as to these methods that were used, but is also told very straight forward. He does not sugar coat anything. This is how he brought attention to the plight of the North American Black Bear.”

I think anyone who is a student of wildlife management should read this book as a glimpse into how our views of wildlife and their role in the ecosystem have changed.   It also pays tribute to the days when we were still “exploring” the wild parts of the West for timber and other resources.  The emphasis today has changed to a more “hands-off” approach to resource management rather than the “rough and tumble” ways of our grandfathers whose stories captivated us when they built the Al-Can Highway, the Alaska Pipeline, the Transcontinental Railroad.  They weren’t out to destroy the resource, but their focus was more on achieving a goal of building a nation.  Now that they accomplished that, we have the task of balancing nature and the wild with expanding development.

Education of a Bear Hunter by Ralph Flowers is 320 pages in paperback published by Binford & Mort Publishing. You may find it on Amazon.com or in a used bookstore near you.

I’ve had some run-ins with moose, but this AP story from Idaho sure beats anything I’ve ever experienced! It will continue as housing development moves into moose calving and wintering grounds.

Sep 6, 2007

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Anita Ovard moved to her small home in this town in the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains because she wanted to see more wildlife. But the view got a little too close when a moose decided to make itself at home in her front room.

Ovard spotted two baby moose in her yard when she pulled into the driveway Tuesday. She immediately started looking for the mother moose, spotting the massive animal just before it plowed through her storm door and front door.

“There’s a big gouge, and you can see where the whole front of the (moose’s) body went right through it. It broke the wood frame,” Ovard told the Idaho State Journal. “Try telling that to an insurance company.”

Hoping to stop the moose from doing more damage, Ovard opened the sliding glass door in the rear of the home to give the animal an easier exit and then ran away as fast as she could. The moose, also frightened, turned and ran back out the front door.

A Fish and Game officer told Ovard the moose likely spotted its own reflection in a window, and forced its way into the home because it thought there was another moose nearby posing a threat to its babies.

Ovard, who is accustomed to finding moose eating from the apple tree in her yard, is laughing about the incident.

“It’s their environment,” she said. “We’re building houses on their environment. They have no place to go.”

Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com

Following are two articles about a Grizzly bear mistakenly shot by a hunter in Idaho. This could mean big changes for Idaho Hunters in the Central Idaho area…

by Brian Danner on September-7-2007
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says a grizzly bear was found dead along the North Fork of the Clearwater River Friday. The bear was shot by a hunter who mistook it for a black bear. The bear was in the Selway-Bitterroot Recovery Area where grizzlies were believed to be extinct. The presence of the bear could have an impact on activities allowed in the area like hunting, logging, camping and road-building. Grizzly bears are still protected in the area under the federal Endangered Species Act as threatened. Earlier this year grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem that includes eastern Idaho were removed from threatened status and federal protection.

Grizzly shot in Selway-Bitterroot
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian
For the first time in decades, people venturing into the sprawling Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem are going to be told to keep their eyes peeled for grizzly bears.
That change follows the killing of a large grizzly bear in a roadless area of north-central Idaho, where the last confirmed sighting of the species came in 1946.
The grizzly was shot Sept. 3 by a Tennessee hunter near Kelly Creek, about three miles from the Montana border.
The hunter was on a guided trip hunting black bear over bait, which is legal in Idaho. The guide wasn’t present when the grizzly was shot.
The bear was a young 400- to 500-pound male that was between 6 and 9 years old, said Chris Servheen, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s grizzly bear recovery coordinator.
“It was dark-colored with golden silver tips,” Servheen said. “It was very visibly a grizzly bear. The hunter was very regretful. It was shot in a place where he wasn’t expecting to encounter a grizzly.
“There’s been no documentation of a grizzly bear there for more than 60 years,” he said.
It’s hard to tell where the bear came from or how long it had been there.
“The area is excellent grizzly bear habitat,” Servheen said. “The bear could have been there for a long period of time without anyone knowing it was there.”
Kelly Creek is in a 250,000-acre roadless area known as the Great Burn.
Wildlife officials have long thought grizzly bears would eventually repopulate the area on their own.
The bear’s DNA will be tested in an attempt to determine if it originated from either the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem or the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem, which includes Glacier National Park.
Servheen said it’s likely there could be other grizzly bears in the area.
“If one bear was able to make its way there, I think it’s very likely that others could, too,” he said.
That fact could change the way people use portions of the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem.
“The whole mind-set starts changing now that people may see a grizzly in the area,” he said.
Both federal and state wildlife managers are already making plans to let people know they might encounter a grizzly bear, and to emphasize that the bears remain protected under the Endangered Species Act in this area.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted Endangered Species Act protections for grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park this spring. But the dead bear wasn’t part of that population.
Officials say the shooting remains under investigation.
In the meantime, Servheen said signs telling bear hunters to take a good hard look at their target before pulling the trigger will be going up at area trailheads.
“Now that we have documentation, we’re making great efforts to ensure that people know that grizzly bears could be in the area, especially hunters,” Servheen said. “We will be widely distributing signs to make people aware that grizzly bears are here.”
Officials may look at other ways to protect grizzlies in the Selway-Bitterroot.
“I’ve already put together a two-page list of issues that need to be discussed,” Servheen said. “We’re meeting today to talk about some of those.”
The Friends of the Clearwater, a conservation group based in Moscow, Idaho, said the grizzly bear death was no surprise. In a letter to Servheen, the group said there have been reports of grizzly bears in the Bitterroot Mountains dating back into the late 1990s.
With confirmation in hand of grizzlies in the area, the group called on federal and state wildlife managers to take “swift action” to prevent further grizzly deaths from mistaken identity.
Its suggestions included requiring black bear hunters and outfitters using the area to receive training in bear identification. The group wants wildlife officials to inspect every bear killed in the area.
The group also wants the Fish and Wildlife Service to review Idaho’s black bear hunting regulations that allow for baiting and hounding of bears, spring and fall hunting, and a liberal “take” in the Clearwater Basin.
“The huge number of black bear permits, the long seasons, and the fact that baiting and hounding are allowed in hunting black bears makes it even more likely tragedies like this will happen in the future,” said Will Boyd, Friends of the Clearwater’s education director. “The Fish and Wildlife Service and Idaho Department of Fish and Game must change black bear hunting policies to make them friendly to grizzly recovery.”

Chuck and Patty Ann Sandberg are the owners and operators of Cowboy Free Range Meats in Jackson, Wyoming. Every year between 1,600 and 1,800 antelope, sheep, deer, moose and elk are handled by this couple and their skilled crew. Over the past 7 years my family has used their services for elk and deer processing after successful hunts in Western Wyoming. In addition to their wild game processing, the Sandbergs have expanded ther selectons to offer organic and free range meat headed up by Patty Ann. PattyAnn’s web site is
www.cowboyfreerangemeat.com

You may email them at patty@cowboyfreerangemeat.com

So with hunting season upon us, I thought that a Q&A session with Chuck about meat care would be helpful to our readers.

What common mistakes do hunters make in meat care when they bring animals to your facility?

There are several mistakes hunters make when they 1st get an animal
down.
1) So often hunters wait too long to begin dressing out their animal. They should get their pictures taken ASAP then immediately starting dressing the animal out….they can continue telling the story while they are doing this and enjoy retelling it after they have finished.
2) Too many hunters do not complete the dressing out process…a) they tend to leave the lungs and the esophagus (wind pipe) in the animal. They also tend to not remove the entire urinal track and all the manure from beneath the pelvic bone located between the hind quarters. Removing the wind pipe is critical especially in larger animals, re: elk, moose and buffalo. The enzymes in the wind pipe will cause the front half to spoil in only a few hours, especially if it is warm out. The front end of these animals retains so much heat that people don’t realize how quickly they can ruin 1/2 of their meat. Removing the wind pipe on deer and antelope is not as critical simply because they do not retain as much heat, however it is still wise to remove it so as not to take any chances. Still, leaving any of the entrails in an animal will effect the quality of how good your meat will taste.
3) Too many hunters let their meat get dirty, whether it be dust and dirt or grass and leaves. The dirtier your meat is, the more these outside influences seep into your meat and change the flavor. You also loose more meat because your butcher has to cut away more meat than on a clean animal. Dirty meat is very typical among hunters who “bone out” their animal in the field. Though they seldom have spoiled meat, I would say about 1 out 10 hunters know how to properly bone out an animal. Those who do know how usually are prepared with a clean tarp or blanket to do the work on and also with enough game bags to put the meat into when they are finished.
4) Never put your animal in a creek or water tank to cool it down. The bacteria in the water may cause who knows what to start growing on or in your meat. If you do wash your animal off with a hose (or clean water) the growth of bacteria is still increase and your meat starts breaking down much sooner. Butcher plants that clean animals this way usually have an additive in the water that will keep unwanted bacteria from forming on the meat.

Do you prefer to have the animal skinned when it comes to your facility?

Butchers prefer animals to come into their plants with the skin on the animal. Usually there is a skinning fee, but the advantages to leaving the skin on are numerous. First of all, the skin protects the animal when once it is dead similar to the way it protects it when it was alive. Primarily it keeps the meat clean and give less surface for flies and bees to get to.
If you are going to skin your animal yourself, be sure to do it where you can keep it clean and have as many game bags to put your meat into as soon as your finished. Too many hunters try to save a few dollars by skinning their own animal when they do not know how to skin properly or do not skin often enough to be proficient at the task of skinning. Many times, self skinned animals come in with huge knife cuts through out the animal. They don’t realize how much meat has to be made into hamburger rather than steaks because their animal is all hacked.

What is the best way to keep meat in camp cool during an early season hunt?

The best way to keep meat cool in camp during the early hunt (as well as the
later hunt) is simple….a) keep your meat out of the sun!, and b)hang it up, do not leave it laying on the ground or in the back of your truck! Again, the skin will protect the meat if it is properly and totally cleaned of entrails and wind pipe. If you are going to have several days in camp, you should quarter you animal…and leave the skin on the quarters. If you are going to have your animal mounted, you should cape it out at least up to the head. Do this by cutting from the middle of the back, straight up the backbone to the hump between the ears. Then cut around the middle of the body and keep your cut behind the shoulders. Then skin forward from there. This should be done immediately after you have “semi” field dressed your animal. By this I mean only cut it up the belly far enough to get the main mass of gut out. When you are finished skinning the front of your animal for your mount, you can also finish your dressing job by splitting the rib cage and removing the lungs and the wind pipe. If you field cape your animal be sure to have game bags to put your meat in. If you decide to skin any part of your animal or all of it be sure to have game bags…they will protect your animal just as leaving the skin on will.

What can a hunter do to make processing his meat faster and easier for you?

Hunters can make my job easier by bringing their game in ASAP, by keeping their meat clean and by trying hanging tendon on the hind quarters. When you cut the rear legs of your animal, there are too lumps at the knee joint…cut in the middle of the lumps “closest to the ground”. This will be the “lower” lump of the two and also the “smaller” lump. Too many times the hunter cuts the large lump because it is the main joint of the knee, but this also causes you to cut the joint that holds the hanging tendon to the knee, making it more difficult to hang your animal from the hind quarters.

Many hunters worry about getting their meat back, how do you keep track of who’s is who’s during the Fall rush?

Every hunter we get will definitely get their own meat back if they will take the time when they first come in to make sure we put their name of all parts of their animal. ( ie: If you a have 4 quarters we would put 4 name tags on). These tags stay on the animal until it is removed from the cooler to be processed. We only put one animal on a cutting table at a time and your name tags follow your animal clear through the wrapping process until it is put on trays with your name on the tray. We never put 2 different hunters animal on the same tray. Any hunter is welcome to take a tour of how we cut and keep track of each animal…you can spend the whole day if you like…but you will know you are getting your own meat and all of it if you
will take just a minute or two to come watch how we do things.

What should a hunter know if he wants his meat shipped to his or her home?

If a hunter wants to ship his meat home, he can take it on most airlines as excess baggage or he can ship it via FED-EX. UPS will not allow more than 4.4 lbs of dry ice, which is not enough to keep your meat frozen during the shipping process Shipping averages about $3.00 and up a pound. Remember an elk might yield as much as 230 lbs… of pure meat…on top of this is the cost of preparing your shipment. You would be buying 3 to 4 shipping boxes, plus putting 10 lbs of dry ice in each box for overnight delivery and 20 lbs in each box for 2 day air delivery. A large bull could cost over a $1000.00 just for shipping cost. Our suggestion is to drive and bring a very large cooler….usually a 140 quart will hold most elk….but a very large elk or a moose will probably require another cooler.

What services do you offer, what do they cost?

Our basic cost for processing is 85 cents per pound of the “hanging” weight. This means, no hide, no head, no legs. Elk usually weigh between 300 and 400 lbs. This includes making the hamburger. Adding beef or pork fat to your burger is a little extra. We also offer pressed and ground jerky, salami, summer sausage and polish sausages, however these items are not made from your animal. They are made from the trim designated by each hunter if they want some of these items. These are made at in bulk at around 200 lbs per batch. They are a mixture of antelope, elk, deer and moose. Thus they are “wild game” products. Because of the volume we must do it is impossible to make any of these items from your own animal. We also offer “breakfast sausage”which does come from your own animal and is made at the same time as the rest of your meat is being wrapped.

We also have a small retail store, where we offer buffalo, elk and organic
meat. These are farm / ranch raised animals and are processed at USDA
plants located in Idaho and Utah. Our store also offers unique gifts for
any hunter to bring home. These include unique wild game cook books, special
seasonings for wild game, huckleberry products and many other gift ideas you
would not find in most stores.

Where are you located, and how can a customer contact you?

We are located at 1655 Berger Lane (P.O. Box 1618) Jackson, Wyoming 83001.Turn west at the last stop like going south out of Jackson, which is the
“HIGH SCHOOL ROAD” take your next right which is “GREGORY LANE” and your next right which is “BERGER LANE”. Go 1 block and we are on the left hand corner. We have a large white and black buffalo sign located in front of our building and are easy to find.
Our phone numbers are 307-733-4026 or 307-732-0496. During the heart of theseason we get so busy with customers standing right in front of us that the
phones can be hard to answer, so please leave a message or try calling back
later. We do check are messages several times daily and will get back to
you ASAP.
We are open “every day” including Sundays at least from 8am to
6pm….usually later when we know animals are coming in.

Our motto is “YOU GET YOUR OWN MEAT AND ALL OF IT”. This means we use yourown meat for steaks, roasts, burger and breakfast sausage. We never keep any of your meat of give it to anyone else.

www.cowboyfreerangemeat.com
patty@cowboyfreerangemeat.com

A few days ago, I wrote a review about Idaho’s Greatest Mule Deer by Ryan Hatfield. One of the things I really enjoy in the book is the works of art by Leon Parson, who did the cover painting as well as sketches throughout the book. The other night I had the book out as a reference for the blog article and when I walked into the kitchen, both of my daughters were working away on their own versions.

Now I know all parents are proud of their kids, but I really think my oldest daughter may have a knack for wildlife art. I watched as she drew the bedded buck below with Leon’s drawing as a model. She handed it to me very matter of factly and said “Here ya go Dad.” like she wrote down a phone message.

I will let you all in on a little secret…These drawings by my daughters are my secret hunting weapon. I carry them with me, and I have luck. Each hunt requires it’s own drawing. So if you are in need of some mule deer luck. I invite you to print these off, so you can have luck this season too!

Create Your Own Countdown

I’m making final arrangements for my 2 weeks of elk hunting in Oregon and Wyoming.  I have given instructions to everyone at work that I will be out of the office from the evening of Sept 18th through October 2nd.  Upon my return, I will post bits and pieces of the daily journal I keep on the trip. 

Itinerary-

Sept 18th.  Leave Petaluma, CA no later than 5 minutes after 5:00 pm.  Head north on Highway 5 to Weed, CA, take Highway 97 to Klamath Falls Oregon, and then a bunch of back roads to Elk Camp.  Arrive in Camp the morning of Sept 19th, before daylight.

September 19th through September 23rd - Archery hunt Elk in Oregon.  Cell coverage in most places.

September 24th- Travel from Eastern Oregon through Southern Idaho to Western Wyoming.  Arrive in Jackson, Wyoming that night. Cell coverage most of the day

September 25th - Day before rifle season opens in our zone.   Possible Archery hunt opportunity if I purchase the $25 archery permit.

Sept 26-Oct 1 - Rifle elk hunt in Wyoming.  No cell coverage.  Satellite phone in case of emergency.

Evening of Oct. 1 through Oct. 2nd-  Travel home to Petaluma, CA making cell phone calls where coverage permits.

October 3rd.  Stumble into work by 8:00 am. 

If bucks like the ones shown above make your pulse race, then you will appreciate the hard work that went in to Idaho’s Greatest Mule Deer by Ryan Hatfield.  He has collected over 450 photos, along with the measurements of the top typical and non-typical mule deer bucks taken in Idaho. 

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Ryan has also pulled together some amazing statistics on the counties the most record book entries have come from and contrasted the early “Golden Years” from the 60’s and earlier with the modern days. The shift is alarming. Also included is a discussion about the habitat and life cycle of the mule deer, a must for any serious student of Western game management.

Idaho’s greatest Mule Deer is 412 pages in hard cover and may be ordered from the author at:
Idaho’s Greatest Big Game, Inc.
Box 2
Council, Idaho 83612
(208) 253-0002
idahohunting@hotmail.com

If you think Dodging deer on the roads in America is tough, imagine what some of these African pilots have to watch out for on approach.  Wonder what the trophy fee was on this?

“An archer doesn’t have to be a bowhunter, but a bowhunter must be an archer”
A wise bowhunter

When I started shooting archery, I told myself that I was in it just to bowhunt. I just wanted to be proficient enough to efficiently and consistently connect with big game animals at ethical distances. Soon enough I discovered the joy of practicing shooting. Before long, I was entered in a local 3d league and began traveling to shoots throughout the West. Check out the NFAA website for more information on what division you and your bow will fit into. I have found that competition has served to improve my hunting prowess through increased accuracy, better performance under stress and networking with other bowhunting archers. Don’t despair if you feel that your hunting bow won’t measure up to the fancy target rigs you see at the archery range. There are plenty of camo bows racking up wins in all archery venues.

Archery Competitive Venues
What does shooting at a 20 cm yellow, red and blue target at 18 meters(19.5 yards) indoors have to do with connecting with a big bull or buck? Well for one thing, going through the same motions drawing, anchoring, aiming and releasing an arrow builds muscle memory. In an indoor Vegas Round (10 ends of 3 arrows each) you have a repetitive analysis of your form. If you are inconstant in any aspect of your shot execution, it will show up in your score. Besides, what better way to spend the winter evenings when it’s raining outside? Many archery clubs and archery shops hold leagues in the months leading up to the World Archery Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For Archery shops and archery clubs in California, check out the California Archery Page.

Once the weather becomes more favorable the competitions move outdoors. Here the archer can choose marked distance shoots or take on the challenge of unmarked distance 3D. In California alone, there are at least 3 events each weekend throughout the state. The California Bowmen Hunters publishes a monthly newsletter to its members listing all of the upcoming events, as well as flyers and contact information.

Many archery clubs have field archery courses available to their members. Field archery is an outdoor course with marked distances in varying cover and terrain
Read this outstanding description of field archery by Randy Hinkleman on Archerytalk.

Archers are presented with uphill, downhill, side hill and level shots at distances from 3 yards to 80 yards. Here is where an archer learns to compensate for steep angles that can cause a hunter to shoot high when aiming for the straight-line distance to an animal. Shooting on a side hill also presents challenges to keeping the bow level through the shot. Wind, weather and lighting all vary from course to course and from target to target. The more a bow hunter can experience different shot scenarios, the better prepared they can be for that moment of truth.

I’ve made friendships while at the archery range that have spilled over into my hunting season as well.  I now have hunting contacts in Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona that I have met at Archery shoots.  We keep in touch via E-mail during the off season, and trade hunting stories when we meet up in person.  You can tell a lot about a person’s demenor while shooting with them in a competitive setting.  Seeing how they handle adversity and stress can tell you  quite a bit about what a week in hunting camp with them could be like.  It has been the best way for me to screen potential hunting partners.  

 So if you are looking to expand your archery horizons, hit an archery shoot in your area.  You might be surprised at what you can get from the experience.  I know I was.  

After busting brush this last weekend, I awoke Tuesday morning to a pretty good case of Poison Oak.  So I ‘m popping Benedryl, and applying Lanacane to resist the urge to scratch my eyes out.   My Right Eye is noticably swollen and I have the typical rash on the left side of my face between my ear and  Jawbone. Combine that with a good sun burn and I’m a red, blotchy, bumpy swollen  mess.  It ain’t pretty!  But I guess that is the price I pay for going where the bucks hang out!