Author Archives: Ed Hale

About Ed Hale

I am an avid hunter with rifle and Bow and have been hunting for more than 50 years. I have taken big game such as whitetail deer, red deer, elk, Moose and African Plains game such as Kudu, Gemsbok, Springbok, Blesbok, and Impala and wrote an ebook entitled African Safari -Rifle and Bow and Arrow on how to prepare for a first safari. Ed is a serious cartridge reloader and ballistics student. He has earned two degrees in science and has written hundreds of outdoor article on hunting with both bow and rifle.

Bear Meat – Eliminate Trichinella?

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I have been using Sous Vide water baths for cooking  game meat to a specific internal temperature. Below is the Sous Vide tool to heat water and food to exact temperatures. 

 

For example; my venison can be SV’d to 125F then sear on a grill for perfect rare venison. But now cooking bear meat to medium rare? How is that possible? 

 Bear meat, like pork has the possibility of containing Trichinella, thus for years, federal guidelines for cooking are at much higher internal temperatures usually 160ºF and higher. 

I read an article in Bear Hunting Magazine where the author now eats his black bear meat at 140ºF after using a Sous Vide (time and temperature technique in a water bath) perfected by Federal Government Food Safety Guidelines below to kill parasites like wild game born trichinella. See Table A1 for time and temperature in the website below to kill Trich.. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7033995/

The bear recipe article from Bear Hunting Magazine below.

http://www.bear-hunting.com/recipes?ID=8F8AB0C2-9C1E-49E2-AC48-B79ACA718A2C

I have not tried the Sous Vide method for Bear meat.

When in doubt cook to at least 160ºF internal temp. like in a stew. I pressure cook my bear for stew. 

Note; Steve Rinella of Meateater fame made a serious field cooking mistake in 2011 with Alaskan black bear meat. He cooked it over an outdoor fire but was not sure of its internal temperature. He and his hunt party ate it and came down with Trichinosis infection and all had to take antibiotics. It was no fun!

I don’t know what Steve was thinking but he already knew of the parasite issue?

He continues his bear hunts and eating bear but perhaps learned a very important cooking survival lesson.

If you have no way to accurately measure internal grilled bear meat temperature in the field, don’t eat it.

Many Indigenous people of North America  boiled or stewed bear meat. A few tribes roasted it on a spit but boiling long enough to stew and tenderize will kill both bacteria and parasites. See website below.

http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/mammals/bears/

Good Lesson!

 

 

Black Bear Taxidermy Thoughts

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I learned years ago to check in with taxidermists before the hunt for costs and mounting options when I hunted Africa years back. Some of my Africa mounts below in my office.

Black Bear mounts today are better than ever. I like the half bear mounts because they have animation, rocks and shrubs around them. They look alive, don’t they!  Examples below at Sterling Taxidermy. 

Bear Taxidermy

Clete's Taxidermy Studio | Bear mounts, Taxidermy, Deer hunting decor

Other options include a bear rug or perhaps a skull mount below.

If you do some homework, you can get cost and mount styles before the hunt. Good Hunting!

 

 

 

 

Why Hunt Black Bear? Food, Conservation, Fat, Fur and Skull.

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If you hunt in black bear rich habitat, such as Northern Maine, where I am hunting in September,  you are doing your part in conservation by control of the population. New Hampshire has bears too but a smaller, huntable, yet also growing population.

Hunters rely on biologists to determine the bear season. Maine has around 35,000 bears. Bear season typically begins in September. Check regulations for exact information. 

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting-trapping/hunting/laws-rules/index.html

https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/dates-and-seasons

But there has to be something that the hunter gets for bear hunting.

Among hunters and settlers, bear meat and bear fat has been a sought after commodity since the founding of America.

Bear meat, when cared for properly, is delicious. Bears need to be gutted and cooled promptly. Vacuum sealing the meat and freezing is one of the best ways to store bear meat.

Bear fat, when rendered, can make pastries, candles, lubricants, water proofing, and the fur makes a great rug. The skull can be sent out for cleaning and display the bears large jaw and teeth. 

Good Hunting!

Garmin Xero C1 Pro Doppler Radar Chronograph – Lets See How Easy!

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The new Garmin Xero C1 Pro seen below has features galore. It is very light, easily packed/stored, and is so easy to set up. Can link to your Iphone too. 

Garmin suggests you charge the unit batteries first. It takes a few hours and also comes with a separate larger battery. The tripod is detachable and the unit can be mounted on a long camera tripod as well.

So lets shoot three shots “right now” out of my 7mm Rem Mag at the range and see how easy it is.

On the top of the unit there are 4 buttons. One has the power icon. Push it. Below the screen displays  three options, New session, History or Settings. See the box highlighting the new session? We want that one, so on top of the unit push the OK button.

Next screen will come up and ask Rifle, Pistol, Bow, or Air Rifle. On top the unit has up arrow and down arrow keys. Since the screen box is highlighting the Rifle, just hit the OK button.

Next it displays expected speed ranges 1700 to 5000 fps or slower than 1700fps. Since the screen highlights the speed range for my 7mm, then hit the Ok button.

If you want to know bullet energy you can hit OK for Yes and enter the bullet weight. Skip for now.

 

Below this screen tells you the distance the unit must be from the rifle barrel which is 5 to 15 inches.

 

The next screen below has dashes indicating you are ready to shoot and record data.

Place the tripod unit on a bench near your rifle barrel 5 to 15 inches away.  

Next is to shoot three shots. See Below.

Hit the OK button and the Chronograph will calculate the number of shots taken, the average, and Standard Deviation. Some say 10 shots for a really accurate AVG and SD but three shots work for me.  

 

Wow! Time to set up is less than 5 minutes. Below, I shot my Ten Point Turbo S1 crossbow in just minutes with the Garmin to the right within 15 inches of the arrow. Thanks to my Weber Grill and My Death Grip tripod.

Below, I clocked the arrow/bolt speed at 359.1 fps with a 100g broadhead. Easy!

I bought a small hard case to put the unit in. 

Good Shooting!

Sizing Up A Black Bear Over Bait

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Seeing dozens of YouTube videos’ on hunting bear over bait is an excellent way to see  bears cautiously approach a bait site. My Maine fall bear destination below. 

https://www.foggymountain.com/

Brandon Bishop owner of Foggy Mountain congratulating a successful bear hunter

 

Bow and crossbow hunters are set up around 20 yards or less to a bait site. Rifle hunter are set up further away.

Your guides are real experts, listen up.

You will notice quickly that younger bears and cubs have large “Mickey Mouse” like ears, whereas adult bears have smaller ears when compared to the head. Your guide will also have marks on barrels indicating height of an approaching adult bears. A belly dragging the ground is a sure bet for a whopper. Or a bear that meets height markings on a barrel or is larger than the bait barrel. Holy Mackerel!!

If cubs or smaller bears arrive and then a larger bear is seen accompanying the cubs, then it is most probably a mother sow.

Take lots of pictures and video but hope that this  family of bears move on as the mother sow with cubs is not on a hunters menu.

Lone adult bears are what you are after.

Experts agree, the average size of harvested adult bears in Maine are around 150 pounds and can vary upwards to many hundreds of pounds like pictured above, though rare to see in daylight. Bear’s in the 250-300 pound or more range are real trophies.

The name of the game is being still, patience, scent control and timing/angle of your shot.

More so for archer’s. A fixed blade broadhead hit just forward of the bear’s midline and behind the shoulder will drop a bear in just 11 seconds.

A high broadhead hit to the shoulder scapula, is likely a lost bear due to lack of penetration. The scapula wounded bear will very likely heal but you, the hunter, may have some sleepless nights.

A rifle or pistol hunter has more shot options than the archer but the bullet must be placed in the heart lung area or head shot. Most opt for heart/lung.

It is best to shoot a bear with ample bullet penetration to get an exit wound and a bullet that opens up or mushrooms leaving an ample blood trail. 

Fast recovery of your bear is essential for quality meat.

Recently, I was given bear meat that was well cared for and vacuum sealed. It was absolutely tender and delish in my fall/winter stew. And don’t forget rendering the bear fat! It has many uses for making pastry, water-proofing shoes, lubrication and on and on. Mounting your bear? Call a taxidermist before you hunt.

Good Hunting!

 

 

Reflections of My October 2023 Newfoundland Moose Hunt

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It is 2024 now and near mid June. I took some time to reflect on my Newfoundland Moose Hunt.

Ed’s Moose taken Sept. 19, 2023

I was able to bring all 300 pounds of my frozen moose meat home on the back of our Subaru Ascent. On return home, we crossed over to Nova Scotia from the Port Au Basque side. An 8 hour Ferry ride. We had a ferry cabin, and 2 labrador retrievers with us.

I was hoping for a bull, but here along the Gander River, there were very few big racked bulls but never the less a decent quantity of moose live here. Given my senior age, I liked the hunt on the back of a Quad to get me close to bogs.

Cost of the hunt was in the $7000 range in total. Weather in October is storm prone, so be prepared.

So lets see, my moose meat costs $23 dollars a pound. Is it delicious? Absolutely the best! My wife goes bananas over the moose burger with a bit of pork mixed with it. This is my third moose and thoroughly enjoying the wild experience and the meat. We have shared meat with friends and family and still have plenty on hand. 

Below is the Moose hunt article.

Newfoundland Moose Hunt Sept 2023 With Gander River Outfitters

Good Hunting!

Next hunt is for black bear in Maine, in September 2024! 

Spring Old Town Fiberglass Canoe -Needs A Redo

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I have owned a 16 foot Fiberglass Old Town Katahdin Canoe for many years. This winter it fell off its saw horse perch and flipped up. Snow filled it and  we had powerful Northeasters and pounding rain. The poor canoe took a beating and filled with water demonstrating it was still leak-proof.

Our  Katahdin began its life as a bright red canoe and my sons and I used it greatly in Northern New Hampshire along the backwaters of the Androscoggin river and the ponds nearby.

Later, I spray painted it with camo paint for duck hunting but used it rarely as my sons flew from our nest.

Now, emptied of water, I need a new yoke and one web seat. But the camo faded and looks very sad.  Accordingly, I promised the canoe, a rebirth and a new professional camo paint job because I have 12 year old grandsons and a granddaughter to teach how to fish and paddle.

I went on-line and found my new birch yoke and web seat. But there is more… I found a camo spray paint kit and a kit of camo stencils to reinvigorate its life.

And the stencils too. All of these below in a plastic/ synthetic overlays with which to spray camo paint on.

Below is the new camo job on the canoe.

Good Canoeing!

7mm PRC Velocities Vary?

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Hornady’s new 7PRC owners are finding that the 175g bullet is not living up to its 3000fps advertising. Those that buy off-the-shelf 7PRC ammo have see a drop often of 100 to 150fps in lot to lot variation. Below is a video from “Big Game Hunting Blog” that helps to understand the variation.

In part it is due to powder shortages. Hornady’s use of different powders and lots of powder can cause measurable variation as well as rifle barrel length.

Hornady uses SAAMI 24 inch barrels. A 22 inch barrel will not cut 3000fps.  The key here is that the 7PRC was designed for long range accuracy, thus powders must deliver accuracy first. 

My Browning X-Bolt Speed in 7 Rem Mag achieves 3000 fps with a 175g Nosler ABLR bullet and a 26 inch barrel (9.5 twist) with RL 22 and Vitha. 560 hand loaded powder and sub-moa accuracy.  I did however, have to experiment with powder charges to safely optimize the loads. 

For 7PRC a lot of hoopla was made of improved faster barrel twist rate differences as well for heavier target bullets. The 7PRC rifle has a 1:8 Twist but my 7 Rem does equally well with 1:9.5 Twist with hunting bullets up to 175 grains. 

Good Hunting!

 

 

New Hampshire Commission To Study Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Farm June 3, 2024 UPDATE

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The NH Representative Commission meeting with  NEFSA New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association over the proposed Ocean Wind Farm in the Gulf of Maine needs 16 members for a quorum but only 13 showed up.

Gubernatorial Candidate and former NH Senate President Chuck Morse organized and attended in support of NEFSA. We all were very disappointed! Thank you Chuck for your support. 

https://www.chuckmorsefornh.com/

The unofficial meeting supposedly took notes from those that spoke but without the quorum the meeting was toothless for NEFSA to be heard.

I “suspect” perhaps politics played a part. 

But we were aggressive enough to make our disappointment known! Many spoke as did Jerry Leeman, Founder & CEO of NEFSA,  with his decades of fish knowledge to keep industry from damaging our ocean eco-system.

 Especially without independent scientific study which has never happened.

Thus, how many people want an unproven wind farm design and turbine cooling system ” to screw up the ocean ecosystem “we the local people” did not ask for.”

Many dead Whales have washed ashore and Biden’s BOEM blames fisherman? 

High temperature cooling water for turbine heat exchangers inject bleach and alter the water column ecology affecting every living organism and disrupt the fragile food web of consumers and fisherman, potentially contaminate the seafood we eat and the lives of millions of coastal families

This disregard of independent science reminds me of Minamata Disease of Japan where in the 1950’s methyl-mercury Chemicals from factories were discharged into the ocean. Human Poisoning and nerve damage occurred when a person consumed heavily contaminated seafood regularly from Minamata Bay. 

Early America used mercury in hat making and makers thus exposed coined the term “Mad as a Hatter.”

I believe if Trump wins the White House, the wind farm will be toast! And if Chuck Morse wins the Gubernatorial Race we will have a Win-Win. 

 

 

Republican Chuck Morse Joins Opponents of Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Project

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The Proposed Gulf of Maine Biden Wind Farm is full of Hot Air. NH Republican Gubernatorial candidate Chuck Morse joined New England Fisherman NEFSA to oppose the project.  The Biden proposal is poised for bids on blocks of the Gulf of Maine is a rush to get the wind turbines in place before year end without a full independent Marine Impact Study.  Biden’s Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management aka BOEM says all is ok? Do you believe Biden and Green Energy Democrats? Sounds more like the cart before the horse. Read more at NH Journal below.  

Morse Joins Opponents of Offshore Wind Project in Gulf of Maine