Wild Northerner Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 50

BY SHANE YANDON

For Wild Northerner

There are months and weeks you put in scouting the area where you plan to hunt, setting up trail cameras to pattern your game and planting food plots or baiting.

You have practiced for weeks with your weapon of choice to make sure your sights are on because, as a hunter, it is your responsibility to ensure your weapon is on the mark, whether gun or bow, and that the animal will not suffer. The day comes when you take that anticipated shot on the animal you have been hunting, and you have to be successful in harvesting that animal. You made a great ethical shot, now what?

First you have to locate the big game animal you just harvested. This is done by tracking the blood trail to where you can physically see the animal. Approach the animal from their back side, ; slowly make your way up to the animal, while watching for breathing or body movements. Once you are close enough to make sure the animal you shot is deceased, take your weapon and poke the animal two or three times at its hind quarters while watching the animal’s eyes and body. If there is no blinking or reactions from the animal after it has been poked, you are now safe to tag your big game.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act,

1997, S.O. 1997 states that you must, immediately after the kill and at the kill site, securely attach the game seal to the animal in the manner described on either the instruction panel attached to the game seal or found on the back of the game seal.

This means that before you move the animal for pictures or to gut it in a better area, the animal must be tagged . Next step is to gut the animal. This takes about fifteen to twenty minutes. If the weather is warm, you are going to want to remove the guts as quickly and safely as possible to cool down your meat and carcass. If I am alone, and the animal is big, and it is warm outside, I may start butchering it, normally in quarters, for the hike or ATV ride out, which might take several trips.

Some people choose to wrap the quarters in cheese cloth or use plastic garbage bags to protect the meat from dirt and debris while they are packing it out of the bush. Remember, you and your family and friends will be consuming this, so, the cleaner the better.

Unless the kill was close to your vehicle, this is going to be a long day or a late night, especially if you are hunting alone. If your game is properly taken care of in the field, the next step, having your animal butchered, will go a lot more smoothly.

I butcher my own game. The tenderloins and back strap are cut into steaks. Most of the front quarters become ground meat as these tend to be tough. The hind quarters are made into a combination of steaks, roasts and stew chunks. These are then wrapped in freezer paper, vacuum sealed, labelled and dated. The trimmings from the remainder of the carcass are added to the meat to be ground. Once the carcass is cleaned of meat, then the grinding begins. Ground meat can be used for, pepperettes, hamburgers, sausage, spaghetti sauce and anything other dish that you can think of. Then the good times begin with the eating of protein. The best part is having your mind at ease knowing exactly where it came from and how it was handled.

There is a lot more than just the kill shot that goes into becoming a hunter.

Showing respect for mother nature, following the laws that have been set, having a professional courtesy for other hunters and land owners, scouting, practicing to become proficient with the weapons you will be using, field gutting and meat preparation, and butchering your harvest in a fashion that it will be all consumed and not wasted due to spoilage or lack of field preparation make you a hunter.

Remember, every pro was once an amateur and every expert was once a beginner, . Introduce someone to hunting, take a child in the bush, and share your knowledge and tips with beginners.

We are one big hunting family, : there are enough activist groups to pick hunting apart, ; we don’t need to pick apart each other that love, and have a passion for the outdoors and enjoy hunting.

From trail to table with respect