Feedin' the family

[smylee grouch]

Taylor, your moose looks very much like my first moose. The game check people said that its weight was around 750 lbs.  Best eating wild red meat IMHO.

[bob in the woods]

Moose liver is the first camp meal !!!  We marinate in a bit of milk, then fry up ,and serve with bacon and onions. My mouth waters just thinking about it   

[Vomitus]

  In a ten mile radius,not a soul around,this fall while hunting,I swear I smelled peppered moose steak cooking! That's as close as I got to a moose this year.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Tom, I hit this guy a little too high, and he took off running.  He disappeared from view, so I waited twenty minutes, and then went to where he'd been standing when I shot.  Lots of blood, but no moose to be seen....not quite true, there was a cow and calf feeding about four hundred yards from there, without a concern.  We have a policy when we hunt with Michael Schneider, and that is to leave tracking to his scent hounds.  So I returned to camp, and after lunch, we let the 15 mo. old pup do his thing.  He had never had a successful track, so this one was important for him and his handler.  I stayed well back to give the dog room to work, and within fifteen minutes, slowly following the moose's scent, he found him down in this long marsh grass, about 70 yards from first contact.  How he got through a mess of shin-tangle mortally wounded, I cannot imagine.  they have amazing stamina.

Next time you're over, LB, I'll have a nice parcel for your freezer.

[Osprey]

Congrats, nice bull!

Had moose once and thought it was tremendous.  Was on a fishing trip in Quebec and the lady at the base camp fixed up Canadian surf and turf, grilled moose tenderloins and fried walleye.  Mmmmmm.

You can have the innards.  They stay in the gut pile, those stinkin' bald eagles gotta have something to eat.   

[axelp]

a friend gave me  several pounds of ground moose a few years back. I used some for burgers and it was a tad too lean---would have been better to add some other fattier meat to it. But it wasn't bad.

I also made a huge pot of chili with it and now that was downright delicious!  It also made a good spaghetti sauce.  Wish the friend still lived nearby to gift me more wild game.

No moose in my woods. Just scrawny blacktail deer that have so far eluded me.

K

[Majorjoel]

I have never hunted moose but have enjoyed the meat that was given me from an uncle's Canadian hunt several years ago. I do enjoy the liver harvested from young white tails and find it much tastier than calves liver. My wife taught me how to cook it, fried in butter along side a large thin sliced vadalia sweet onion. I do have one requirement that accompanies any liver and onion meal.........ketchup.  Ya, I know that any self respecting  French chef would be chasing me out of his kitchen with a butcher knife!  As a young boy, I remember eating heart and tongue meat that had been pickled and served cold out of a jar. From memory, it was very good.  I surely would harvest the heart from a downed white tail, but my shooting habits have always pretty much destroyed that piece of meat.  Congratulations Taylor on your successful hunting adventure and thank you for sharing your tale with us!      Joel

[Dphariss]

a friend gave me  several pounds of ground moose a few years back. I used some for burgers and it was a tad too lean---would have been better to add some other fattier meat to it. But it wasn't bad.

I also made a huge pot of chili with it and now that was downright delicious!  It also made a good spaghetti sauce.  Wish the friend still lived nearby to gift me more wild game.

No moose in my woods. Just scrawny blacktail deer that have so far eluded me.

K

If beef or pork fat is added it then just tastes like beef or pork fat.

Dan

[hanshi]

Hanshi, you only eat outards?  What are those exactly, hooves, hide and ears?  Every thing else is inside the hide!  Hearts are just one nice piece of muscle which roasted and sliced thin is my favorite sandwich meat.  Venison liver is much better than beef (calves) liver.  I just can't see throwing away such good meat just because someone named it "organ meat".  Bet you don't like Scrapple either? 

Kind of needs a little explanation, I guess.  First of all I'm a pescatarian which means I do not eat meat, only fish.  My reason for eschewing meat doesn't really fall into a category that needs discussing on the forum; but suffice it to say most people would call me a vegetarian (which is incorrect).  Furthermore, I only eat fish on occasion.  There is an exception in that I have no problem with fair chase game although I can't even remember the last time I ate any.  So, yes, there is the rare backslide.  I seldom consume animal protein. 

Yep, you're correct; everything on an animal IS on the inside of the hide (thank goodness).  Just so there is no confusion I will say I eat no liver, heart (sometimes I'll eat my heart out, but that's another story), brains or any organ meat.  Yuk!  Moose chili sounds great as to deer chops, etc.  But I don't miss animal flesh even though it is tasty.  I prefer to donate any game I kill (which ain't much, believe me).  I'm a great and prolific hunter, just not an effective or successful one .

[Maalsral]

Was this a guided moose hunt? If so can you share the particulars such as location, cost, etc.

[bob in the woods]

I believe a logical transition would be to go back to your musket next year, then use your long bow the following year     Having used my 10 bore to successfully bring deer,bear, turkey,goose,and ducks to the table, I am now absolutely obsessed with getting a moose with it.   This is a dangerous passion, since I feel compelled to attempt to convert other hunters to my smoothbore ways 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Yes, this was a guided hunt.  The outfitter is Michael Schneider and I'll get some details for you later this morning.  I guided for Michael for several years, and we made a trade for the hunt.  Below is a picture of my guide caping out my last year's bull.



...and here she is again bring out this year's.



As I said before, I shot the first bull I found.  I spent the remainder of the eleven days hunting grouse, and taking pictures of game.  Here are a few of the other bulls I saw on this trip...all were under 100 yds.







To recap, I hunted eleven days, shot my bull on day three, and saw in total 45 moose, 13 of which were bulls, and only one that was not a make-able shot with my Hawken.  I also shot 25 grouse and saw two grizzlies on separate occasions.  It was indeed a memorable time.

[smallpatch]

Nicely done Taylor. Those that have never eaten Moose, are missing out. Moose and caribou are the mildest, least gamey, of all the game animals I'm aware of.
Love the idea of the steak and kidney pie/casserole. Sound delish!!!,

[Robby]

Thanks for the pictures Taylor. It sounds like a real special time, I can only imagine.
Robby

[Steve-In]

Way to go, nice moose.  I talked to a Canadian guide at a sports show and asked how tough the shots were.  She pointed to 50 HP outboard and asked if I could hit it, if I could then I should to be able to hit the vitals on a moose.  I don't know how true that is.  I do not like liver but I love venison liver.

[galamb]

I stopped hunting moose 5 or 6 years back because the toughest part of the moose hunt is getting to where they are.

Every year we hunted about 50 miles south of James Bay (which is too far north for most US maps). It was a days drive to the train station in Cochrane, Ontario, then 6 hours on a freight train which dropped you off at a "mile marker" at the side of the tracks with a "date" to pick you up again at the same spot a certain number of days later. Then you slept in a tent, in the cold and stomped around rocky, marshy ground to find them (and I loved every minute of it).

Once you have them down you have to "hump" upwards of 1000 pounds at least to the point where you can load it into some kind of vehicle - and if there is a "worst place" for them to finally lay down, they will find it

Now either age has given me wisdom, or turned me into a "pussy" so my moose hunting has kinda gone by the wayside - at least any "do it yourself" future endeavors.

To hunting them - they are not generally skiddish like other game you may be used to hunting. They will generally let you get pretty close (I have taken one with my recurve bow at about 17 yards - from the ground). In many cases, they (the moose) may have never seen a human.

If some of my rambling sounds negative, it's not meant that way. Moose inhabit some of the prettiest country you will ever come across, and if you are used to seeing deer or even elk the sheer size when you get up close can be slightly overwhelming.

But I'm sure any moose hunter would echo - if you ever get the chance, it's something you will never forget and if you use the services of a respected outfitter/guide, someone else will take care of your comfort to boot...

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Anyone interested in learning more about the outfitter for my hunt, goggle United Guide and Outfitter.  Michael Schneider is the outfitter, and he has two guiding territories in some of the most beautiful parts of central British Columbia.  Check it out.

[WadePatton]

i forgot where i left my beer goggles...

Absolutely love the idea of the train ride out for moose. (TROM).

But am old enough to appreciate more the services of professional guide.  I'm putting this on my list.  (Probably get meat back to TN for only several dollars a pound! but could have pics, tastes, and memories for less).

[Daryl]

Here's one of Taylor's hunters, with him and the moose he called in - 28 yard shot IIRC I have it listed as 2008,


Bit larger than a Whitetail.

[blaksmth]

That is a nice moose, I have to agree with some of the guys about the liver, its part of the Guts, My wife loves liver, I have tried a lot of times to eat it and I have to admit that I have not found a good way yet. The first elk I killed I ate a big piece raw, and it was far better than cooked.

I guess that's why God made raisins is for people who need the same viatamins
 
 The tongue and heart are great(Elk, Beef).

 I had some moose steaks when I was a kid, if I recall correctly the meat is real sweet, am I correct? and no wild taste.

 I have never shot a moose but I am putting in for a tag for the ones we have in Colorado. ONE DAY

[whitebear]

, but you have to cook the !$@! out of 'em!  Ha. 

That sounds like cooking chitlins.  Put them in a pot of boiling water and cook the s**t out of them.

[Hungry Horse]

 The best sauerbraten you'll ever eat is made from venison. Deer, elk, moose, its the bomb. The vinegar, wine, and salt, make it tender, and keep it moist. The brining for a couple of days, tenderizes it as well. I use a recipe I got off the web, but add a couple of tart apples sliced up, during the cooking from my long lost grandmothers recipe ( its the only part my dad could remember).

                 Hungry Horse

[hanshi]

, but you have to cook the !$@! out of 'em!  Ha. 

That sounds like cooking chitlins.  Put them in a pot of boiling water and cook the s**t out of them.

I'm Georgia born and bred and know chitlins.  That's why I prefer "stump slung" over "hand slung".

[whitebear]

Yeah stump slung does seem to do better with very little loss in flavor!

[koger]

Man this is on my bucket list to do! Where did you hunt at? I was in Maine for my first ever bear hunt this fall and connected on a nice on, saw tons of moose while there.