As hunters, we’ve all probably encountered opposition from non-hunters at one time or another. What’s sad though is when we face opposition from within our own ranks. This type of prejudice is very well what could be our downfall one day. All the anti-hunters have to do is focus on these internal divisions and watch us tear ourselves apart.

Misconceptions my butt. They are EXTREMELY easier to use and are a lazy mans crutch. Nothing else.

The above comment was left on my Crossbow Controversies post I made nearly a year ago. It is a perfect example of the internal strife I mentioned above. Instead of banding together as hunters, many of us would rather argue the merits of one type of hunting over another, why one type of weapon shouldn’t be allowed, or what it means to be a true hunter.

I believe it’s safe to say that all hunters are prejudiced to their certain type of hunting or weapon of choice. That is only to be expected. There is nothing wrong with that, but what is wrong is when they let that prejudice get out of control to the point that they attack anyone that doesn’t agree with them.

The comment above could easily be transferred from crossbows to any of the other type of weapons used for hunting today. The modern compound bow with all the bells and whistles could be seen as a lazy mans crutch to someone that prefers to hunt with a longbow. High powered rifles could be seen as extremely easier to someone preferring to hunt with a single shot slug gun. It’s all a matter of personal opinion.

If we want to have tolerance for what we prefer to hunt with, then we need to show the same tolerance to others. And if we don’t, then you can bet that that will be the crack in our defenses that the anti-hunters will use to bring us down.

hunting, hunting sense, crossbows, weapons, hunters, prejudice

Since my post Hunting Prayers and Rituals, I have had a few inquiries from hunters wanting to know where to look for information so they could find prayers to say over their kills. I wish I could say I’m going to give a long list of resources on the web for them to look over, but I’m not. Why? Because they tend to be rather hard to find.

Rather, what I’m going to do is talk a little about how to come up with your own prayer. Personally, I think this is a better approach anyway, since the prayer should be something personal and intimate between the hunter and the animal. Though traditional, prayers you simply find, memorize, and recite fall short in that they lack your personal touch.

The single most important thing to remember when creating your own prayer is that Native Peoples held a great respect for the animals they hunted. Many of them believed that the animals gave themselves so that they may have food and nourishment. Some also believed that by giving thanks and honoring the animal for its sacrifice it would cause other animals to give themselves in the future.

So, with those things in mind, you can start looking into your own self and see what would be worthy of including in your own prayers. I have mine, one that only I know and I don’t share with anyone, not even my wife (which I get a hard time given to me over all the time). Below is an example of a simple prayer that you can use to build from.

I thank you for giving your life so that my family and I may have life. Through your sacrifice, we shall have nourishment and will honor you with giving thanks each time we sit down to eat the meat you have provided. May your sacrifice be noted and your memory live on.

hunting, hunting sense, hunting prayers, native peoples, hunting rituals

Hunters’ Hot Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

1½ pounds Ground Venison
1 large Onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Seasoned salt
1 pack Chili seasoning mix
1 pounds Can of tomatoes
1½ cup Cooked whole kernel corn drained
3¼ ounce Can pitted black olives drained
1 cup Yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon Salt
2½ cup Cold water
¼ cup Chopped canned pimiento
1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef in skillet, breaking up meat with fork. 2. Add seasonings and tomatoes; simmer 5 minutes. 3. Stir in corn and olives. 4. Combine cornmeal, salt and water; cook, stirring, until thick. 5. Add pimento. 6. Line greased, shallow 2-quart baking dish with part of cornmeal mush. 7. Pour in beef mixture and make a border of remaining mush around edge of baking dish. 8. Bake at 350øF about 40 minutes. 9. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

Check for more recipes here.

hunting, hunting sense, hunters, venison, venison recipes, recipes

I know that all vegetarians aren’t automatically against hunting or for PETA type animal rights, but a large majority are. How often do you go to a site dedicated to their lifestyle and find a link to ‘animal rights’ or ‘PETA’? A lot, as is the case with Living Without Meat.

If it’s a person’s choice to not eat meat, then more power to them. I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with are people who make their choice and then try to force that choice on everyone else. And even worse are those who do it and then add in the ‘animal rights’, ‘anti-hunting’, ‘PETA’ slant without actually educating themselves about things before doing so.

For a balanced diet, you need a certain amount of all the food groups. You can either choose meat substitutes or take vitamins to counter-act not eating meat, but it isn’t the same. Your body does not absorb vitamins and minerals the same way from pills as it does from actual meat. Still, that is their choice, so more power to them. I’ll just get what my body needs the right way.

Then there is the whole ‘animal rights’ ‘PETA’ issue. Most times, what they consider to be informed information is nothing more than turning a blind eye to the real facts. Facts like hunting is a necessary activity now more than ever in helping control a healthy and balanced wildlife population among many others I won’t even bother listing here.

Maybe some day, people will open their eyes to reality instead of living in their own little fantasy world.

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I was Googling hunting news this morning in hopes of finding an idea for a post, and I came across an article about changes to Alberta’s subsistence hunting license. Basically, it’s a hunting license issued to anyone in the province that relies upon moose, elk, or deer meat to feed them and their families and can be used anytime during the year. It got me to thinking.

Would the creation of a subsistence hunting license elsewhere help curb the cases of out-of-season poaching? Granted, some poaching isn’t for the meat to feed the poacher and their families. For those people poaching as a means to feed their families, though, it would provide a legal way for them to do so.

Off the top of my head, I can think of a few ways of how such a program could work.

One would be for hunters who need to supplement their families food throughout the year with wild game to apply for the license through their state’s wildlife agency. The agency would then verify that the hunter meets certain economic and financial conditions and would either approve or deny the application. Since financial conditions play a major factor in the need for the license, it would need to be priced reasonably as to be useful for the applicant.

Another way would be by making the license available to people seeking aid or assistance through any of the programs that offer food stamps or other nutritional programs for those needing help feeding their families. If anyone in an applicants household is a hunter and, if required, has a Hunter Education Card, or individual state equivalent, the subsistence hunting license would be issued as a part of the assistance program.

I’m sure there are other ways this could be incorporated, but that is a couple off the top of my head. I think it would be a win-win situation for those needing to feed their families and the wildlife agencies. What are your thoughts?

Read more about hunting issues, legislation, and news here.

hunting, hunting sense, hunting license, subsistence hunting license, poaching, hunters, food stamps

Ok, so this recipe has very little to do with hunting, unless you count hunting for apples, or it being a treat to take on a hunting trip, or…I don’t know how else. I do have a recipe section though, one that has been neglected quite a bit. And, this is one of my favorite cakes my Grandma used to make.

I recently got the recipe from my mom and since no one here besides me has had it, I made one today. Actually, me and my five year old son made it, since he wasn’t in school today. It gave us a desert for supper tonight and provided some much needed entertainment for him. And it never hurts for a boy to learn to cook as early as he can, right?

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Raw Apple Cake

3 C. flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 C. sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 C. cooking oil
3 C. chopped raw apples
1 1/2 C. chopped nuts

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well, then add apples and nuts.
Combine remaining ingredients, and then add to apple mixture.
DO NOT USE ELECTRIC MIXER.
Mix well, pour into a greased and floured angel food pan and press down with back of hand, and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Check after about 45 minutes as ovens vary.

You can make a powder sugar glaze frosting to top it, or leave it plain.

hunting, hunting sense, recipes, raw apple cake, holiday recipes, Christmas

Like I mentioned in this post, I’m from Oklahoma, where you’re more likely to get ice than snow. If you live anywhere in North America, since I’m in Canada and have, you’ve likely seen on the news that I wasn’t lying about that. If the name wasn’t already taken, Oklahoma would be better known for the moment as Iceland.

Oklahoma governor Brad Henry has declared a statewide state of emergency and President Bush has declared the state a federal disaster area in wake of the severe storms that covered much of the state in ice. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without electric from ice covered trees buckling under the weight of the ice. All in all, it appears almost like an arctic war zone.

All the coverage on the national news here in Canada seemed to concentrate mainly on the Oklahoma City area, so I gave my mom a call to see how Northeastern Oklahoma made out. They are in the same boat. She had been without electricity since 5:30am on Sunday, and said reports were that it may be up to ten days before it came back on. While I was on the phone with her, limbs were breaking and trees were falling after valiant fights against the ice.

She told me that if not for the devastation, it’s actually quite pretty, which I know is true in those cases. She also told me about when it was storming on Sunday night, with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning, that the sky was lit up with eerie blue bolts of lightning. It had to be a strange sight, and it was one that inspired the writer in me.

So, to all those in the state of Oklahoma, and anywhere else that fell in the storms path, my thoughts and best wishes are with you. To all those hunters who find themselves not getting to hunt, stay inside, take care of your families and loved ones, and lay plans for that big buck that’s eluded you so far for when the situation gets better there.

hunting, hunting sense, Oklahoma, ice storm, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Northeastern Oklahoma

Wouldn’t it be so much easier to shoot your line out into the water than having to cast it? Well, that is exactly what you can do with the Rocket Fishing Rod, pictured above. Now you can fish almost exactly like you hunt!

I saw a commercial for it while watching fishing shows with my oldest son over the weekend. While I definitely don’t see it being something for the entire family, I do see the benefit of it for the primary target user…the kids. In fact, being so close to Christmas, and knowing the kids want some fishing gear under the tree, I’m seriously considering this for all three of them.

All three love to fish, but all three get frustrated real quick because of the trouble they have casting their line. So, after just a little while, they either want to quit, or Dad is running back and forth casting lines for them. With this little jewel, that would be eliminated, and I think it would stretch the length of time they fish by allowing them to get their line out on their own.

Not only does it eliminate casting, but it also makes it a lot safer for them as well, since all hooks are cleverly concealed until they actually hit the water. No more worrying about a snagged hook in the head of one of their siblings. That alone nearly makes it worth getting.

Last year it was video games, Bratz dolls, and bb guns. This year it looks like it’s going to be the Rocket Fishing Rod. Just too bad it isn’t good for ice fishing. I guess they’ll just have to wait for spring to try them out.

hunting, hunting sense, fishing, Rocket Fishing Rod, Christmas, gift ideas, kids

One of the earliest types of hunting I got to do when I was young was squirrel hunting. In fact, a squirrel was the first animal I ever shot, if memory serves me right. It’s an excellent animal to break in new hunters on, since they are rather plentiful in most areas, and for the most part, not as hard to hunt as other small game.

Being from Oklahoma, I’m more use to seeing gray and fox squirrels. Here in Canada, the vast majority of squirrels I see are black squirrels, which was a rarity back home. I tease my wife, though, and tell her no matter the color, they still look tasty.

See, she finds it a bit strange that I eat squirrels. To be honest, when cleaning them and seeing how much they look like a rat when the skin is off, I find it a bit weird too. I guess for her it is a bit like rednecks and roadkill…it just doesn’t seem right to eat them. But damn are they ever tasty. Oops, I already mentioned that.

It takes a few of them to make a good meal for a family, but well worth it. Especially when you fry them up and serve them with mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits. Some really good eating. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever had them any other way except for a couple of times that we had them baked.

For those of you who may not know, here is a simple way to fry up a squirrel.

Cut the squirrel up, let it soak in salt water over night. Remove from the salt water, dip it in either milk or cream, roll in flour, and toss it in a skillet with plenty of oil to mostly cover it. Let it cook until golden brown, flip it and repeat the process. Simple, isn’t it? And hard to beat.

I have a few other recipes that can be here if you’re interested in them.

hunting, hunting sense, squirrel hunting, squirrel recipes, wild game cooking, black squirrels

The pendulum of political correctness is in constant motion and you never know where a word or phrase is going to fall on its varying arc of acceptability.

For years I’ve referred to the killing of deer as harvesting when talking to certain people. It isn’t a term I generally use when talking to close friends or other hunters. On the contrary, it is when talking to those people who I don’t know if they hunt or even what their feelings on hunting may be that I use the word harvest. Otherwise, I say kill or killed.

I know it is an acceptable description for the catching or killing of fish and animals, but how often do you actually hear the word come out of the mouth of your hunting buddies? “Hey, Joe! I just harvested the buck of a lifetime!” Sure, there may be those that normally talk that way, but I think it is much more likely to hear: “Hey, Joe! I just killed the buck of a lifetime!”

To me, it seems that the word is mainly used the way I use it for talking to those that aren’t into hunting. For some reason, I feel the need to lessen the impact of what I have done for them, which is killed something. And, for me, that has come as a direct result of the times I have been preached to because I like to hunt and how that is a bad thing because of killing an animal.

Does using the word really change anything, though? Does it paint a more acceptable picture of us in the eyes of non-hunters? Or does it just come across as a way of trying to gloss over the fact that what we do is kill? I honestly no longer am sure what it does. Do you?

If politically incorrect is more to your tastes, then read this.

hunting, hunting sense, political correctness, harvesting, killing, words

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