Bear Load?

[windriver68]

Hey guys. Let's not dismiss the mule deer as always bad tasting. I believe if you get one that tastes bad, it is either the way it was field dressed, processed, or cooked. I've shot mule deer in northern Colorado, eastern plains, and as far south as south central Colorado. Never had one taste bad. Whether prepared as hamburger, steak, or roasts, they were delicious. My wife marinates them in milk and when she's done, well, just great tasting. $#*!, she even made an antelope taste good and I used to only use antelope for jerky.

I thought you got rid of that flintlock and bought you an inline. I believe the inline would be a little bit lighter for you and easier to carry, However, the recoil might be a little stronger due to being a lighter weight. So, I'm not sure the trade-off would be beneficial. With your back problems, maybe a crossbow would be the answer. They have some great accuracy and range.

I also agree....elk and bison are delicious. Again though, field dressing, processing, and cook prep is most important.

Happy hunting gents.

[MuskratMike]

Windriver68: In a way I agree and in a way I disagree (typical of the "Muskrat"). I have lived my entire life in a state that mostly has mule deer and have hunted them my whole life. I believe they are kind of like antelope; it all depends where they are hanging out, age of the critter but mostly what they feed on. If they live out in the sagebrush, buckbrush and junipers there is a strong chance the meat will be a little "stronger" than an animal who comes down every night and dines on an alfalfa patch and has all the fresh water to drink out of. You did hit the nail on the head how you dress out, skin, and cool down your meat makes all the difference along with age of the deer. That's where the phrase "know the difference between fat cow and poor bull".

[Daryl]

I agree that the handling of the game is very important.
However, if you 'do' moose, elk, bear, whitetails and mulies all the same, yet it's the mulies which
are strong (not during the rut), yet ALL of the others are not, I tend to think it's the mulies.
Now, as Mike says, what they eat is also very important. A young fall "berry 'n oats" bear is excellent fare
as are elk, moose and whitetails.
I've shot mulies in Sept and October, yet all were strong tasting even spike bucks. The does, not as bad.
I've never shot one during the rut, but have had the displeasure of smelling a neck-swollen mule deer buck
steak in the frying pan - smelled like a tom cap pee'd up my nose. Buddy Keith cooked just such a steak in
the correction staff lunch room one night on graveyard shift. Yeeeoyyyyy - I had to leave the room. He said
"it's not too bad once it's well done". Yikes.

[okawbow]

Read “44 Years in the life of a hunter” By Meshack Browning. He hunted for a living in Maryland in the late 1700’s and into the 1800’s. He killed over 500 bear, over a thousand deer, and several panthers with what he calls a light caliber flintlock rifle. He continued to use the flintlock after percussion guns became available.