As I contemplate my Russian Boar Hunt, my mind wanders to the “Table Fare” Issue. I love to cook my wild game, and many pounds of great wild pork in your freezer is heaven but equally pounds of tough overly gamey meat is not.

I went on the web in-search-of opinions and such among hunters. This bow hunt website seems to hold great promise for the meat as table fare. http://forums.bowsite.com/TF/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=399947&forum=17

Basically, they say that the flavor can vary as to what the animal was eating and how the game was handled after the kill…this is true for all game.   Giant size over 300 pounds may play a role perhaps in meat toughness if very old, I think but hunters say still very flavorful so if want a bruiser, then go for it.

Make more burger. I’d like both a respectable Boar and Very good eating so we shall see. Culinary masters are cooking up a storm on these boar like Emeril Lagasse see on Martha Stewart.com. Emeril video works up twin boar chops with his “Essence” on the grill and a blueberry balsamic sauce with onion and shallots. Wow! My mouth is watering.

http://www.marthastewart.com/937106/wild-boar-chops-part-1

Most say that well cared for, Boar meat is just delicious no matter the size. One wife says it is better than domestic pork. Lots of folks all like ground wild boar in chili or sausage but add pork fat. All agree meat is very lean.

You can go on YouTube and see lots of Russian Boar Hunts around the world. I am not one to sit and wait for dangerous game. I like the spot and stalk method best, because I can select the animal I am after. Many hunts here in the north in “high fence” for Russian Boar are in the deep snows of winter. Tracking and cutting a fresh snow trail of several boar is a likely a great way to begin a spot and stalk like I did with my 1000 pound Bison some winters back in 2 foot deep powder snow.  Fact is even the women  are getting into the hunt for Russian Boar. See  Below YouTube.

Below a young hunter gets adventure and a charging boar and comes home to tell about it. See this YouTube below. Shot placement is key, with sufficient energy to exit.

Below is a youtube of boar head mounts.

I am not hunting with these outfits, I will share my hunt and Outfitter if it all works out as planned.

Thanks to YouTube for the footage.

© 2016

It has come to the attention of many hunters over the past several years that Russian Boars have been brought to the USA in large numbers to high fence ranches. Corbin Park in New Hampshire was one of the first to bring wild boar for hunting. Russian boars are hairy creatures as old as the Pleistocene Period. Humans have hunted them for a Millennia for both sport and food. Russian boar commonly are in the 200 to 300 pound range and can continue to grow to huge sizes far beyond 300 to 400 pounds.

If you wish to hunt these animals on their own soil, there is a flight leaving for Russia. Or you can experience a hunt here in the USA.

So why hunt them, because; first, you like a challenging hunt, second they are very good to eat. Third, Adventure! They are not for the faint of heart as they are not an easy creature to kill, they can be dangerous if a Russian boar charges you and hooks you with his tusks your in for a serious Hospital Visit so most hunts are with a back up gun and guide. Boar meat is healthier for you than domestic pork.  Less Fat and very high in protein. No hormones and organic meat.

Most hunting is done with Rifles 243/6mm and above. Many are taken with Bow but here we can take a rifle like the 243, all the 30 calibers. Shotgun slugs are great! Muzzleloaders too.  Shots are less than 100 yards I am told. What is most important to me is the food value. After the hunt you may have up to 100 pounds of meat. It better be good eating, right? If cooked properly this is healthy delicious organic meat. Great Recipes below:

http://www.brokenarrowranch.com/Recipes/index.htm#Wild-Boar-Whole-Recipes

I a m hunting Russian boar this winter. We shall see…

The deer harvest looks very similar to 2015 says Fish and Game with Rockingham County following NHFG desire to lower the Deer numbers in Zone M with extra tags. What is missing here is the number of Deer Hunters and % Success but perhaps that will come later. Deer Harvest in my Zone M have dropped from 2000 just a few years ago to 1600 or so. I have hunted NH all my life and find that seeing deer during the season is hard enough. No snow makes it even harder. Congrat’s to those who killed their deer, I was not among them though. I was actually hunting bucks with calls and synthetic scents,  none responded this year. I saw Turkeys all the time however and they tore up acres in search of acorns. Next year if all goes well the Turkey harvest should be huge.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/hunting/deer-harvest.html

Yes I like the .270 Winchester, the 30-06 and the newer 6.5 Creedmoor which I own. But the .375 Ruger in a M77 Hawkeye African put a great big smile on my face as a reloader hunter of big game. You see, I came back from an African Safari having taken all my plains game (no big 5) with a Ruger .338 Winchester Magnum figuring if I came upon dangerous game the .338 would help. For all intent and purpose it recoiled just the same as the .375 with similar weight bullets in the 250g class. The .375 Ruger however developed more energy than the .338 and more bullet weight and sectional density when needed normally up to 300 grains and in Dangerous Game heads and Solid Tungsten heads as a back up for Dangerous game and will skewer them from one end to the other putting the lights out!

So I owned and tested the M77 Hawkeye African rifle in .375 Ruger as part of my Safari Book. Yes you can buy it here, the book I mean. In years hence, I have shot Moose and Bison with the .375 Ruger and then loaded it down for deer. Yes similar results with the .375 H&H Magnum, longer cartridge and belted for head space. The .375 Ruger operates in a standard action and has no belt. I killed a large Red Deer (a doe) with  a reduced 375 Ruger load and a 225 flat head very similar to the 38-55 which is the same caliber. The Red doe went 20 yards and fell dead, there was no recoil to speak of and no crack of the rifle.  She was broadside momentarily at 40 to 50 yards, but the bullet pierced the heart and exited.

Today there is talk about bullets that can drop a deer like that! Even “loaded down” the .375 can drop a deer “like that and bust brush along the way!” But you can use todays M77 .375 and it can reduce recoil so low and drop a deer so fast with a 250 grain head reduced load that you just need to own but one rifle. Loaded up you can kill Elk with a Nosler 260 grain AccuBond out to 500 yards and with new recoil pad technology it is fantastic. My muzzleloader shoots a 300 grain head and kicks about the same.

And when you are ready for a plains safari or a 2000 pound Bison Hunt or a Cape Buffalo you will have a Rifle in the closet ready for the task. They say Wild Boar in the USA can be dangerous. Shoot a Hornady 300 g DGX in one and you will tame the beast in a hurry. Same for really big bear, hit them in the boiler room and they go down in a hurry. So if you handload, and hunt, give the .375 Ruger a try, it will put a smile on your face, and drop your game in a hurry, not hurt your shoulder (if standing) or crack your ears. Note: I shot this Ruger rifle prone at 600 yards with a 3 1/4 inch vertical group.

© 2016

It was cold day when our families gathered to celebrate a first Thanksgiving in Plymouth Plantation. There would be little thanks without the hunter/gatherer to provide meat for the table.

The puritan hunter of the time I am told, harvested bounties from field, geese, ducks and the like but no Turkey at that dinner though there were turkeys in the woods. Note: the Blunderbuss with flared muzzle was  not used by Puritans in 1620 but came much later.

It was the Wampanoag Indians, they say, that provided venison for the feast. http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal

Image from website History.com above

The first smoothbore gun was the Matchlock which burned a cord infused with salt peter. When game was seen, the hot cord tip was levered to the touchhole and KABOOM!

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Matchlock+vs+Flintlock&FORM=IRIBEP

That gun was soon replaced by the Wheelock which sparked as it rotated against flint.

You can just imagine the problems that they encountered with damp powder, hence the term “keep your powder dry” and the name of musket parts that made a gun, e.g., “Lock, Stock and Barrel, terms that we use today in our lexicon. “Keep it under your hat” refers to keeping the matchlock cord under your hat in the rain. Also “Flash in the Pan” came from firing a flintlock where the pan held powder that was struck by flint.

How old are the first Muskets like the Arquebus? They first appeared in the 1300’s in Europe and were often very heavy to shoot without support.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You can add other items but here are essentials to keep you safe while hunting.

First Aid Kit with Aspirin and Ibuprofen

Water, at least 16 oz

Hunting Knife (Sharp)

Compass and Map

Flashlight or Headlamp with new batteries

Waterproof Matches and Lighter

A Candle for fire starter.

Toilet Paper, Mine is Orange colored.

Pen and pencil, Hunt License

Space Blanket and Whistle

Candy or Protein Bars and Apples to keep mouth moist.

Pack Lunch if out all day.

Phone All Charged and can work in your hunting area.

Medical info on you such as allergies, med’s you take. Who to contact in Emergencies.

Drag Rope

Field Dressing Kit with Gloves

Hand and Body Warmers

What is the best cartridge/caliber for Northern NH deer hunting with rifle and scope? Lets qualify some things first. Most deer are killed within 50 yards according to many and some say within 40 yards. Why? New Hampshire woods are thick and here in southern NH there is more woods than fields with lots of under growth saplings etc. to deflect and play havoc with your bullets path. Small caliber light weight bullets can kill a deer fine but if the bullet encounters a runaway sapling that you didn’t see in your scope, then color that deer gone and put a drag rope on the sapling you just mangled. I believe the .270 Winchester and like calibers in metric such as a 7mm are fine all around calibers for rifle country but strictly talking about thick woods the 30 caliber such as .308 and 30-06, and up is better because the bullet has better sectional density (mass in pounds divided by bullet diameter squared) at 165 grains and above weights like 180 grains. If it hits a twig on the way it will, more likely stay on track to the target and not explode.

But here comes the conundrum… Most hunters will hunt with the gun they “love” no matter the deer caliber(6mm,.270, 7mm), they just realize that it may have some limitations in heavy cover…and that is fine with me.  If you call it trusty, that is a good thing! I would shoot my trusty .375 Ruger Loaded down for deer in heavy cover. Shoots like a muzzleloader, slow and heavy.

Hunt with what you can shoot well!

So the answer is all of the above.

Love the gun your with… and know its limitations!

Practice how you are going to shoot in the woods!

© 2016

The use of urine based scents and lures have been used by hunters here in NH for more than a century with no ill effects to produce Chronic Wasting Disease. But F&G argues that the lure industry is not regulated and that CWD animals have appeared in penned deer who produce urine based scents for hunters. Yet no link has been clearly established by scent urine and CWD: See http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/cwd/index.html#lures

Meanwhile every hunting shop in NH has an isle full of these urine base lures because they remain legal…for now.

NHFG strongly advocates against use of these urine based lures to protect the Deer herd.

My preliminary research shows that some lure companies are on board with testing their urine based lures and have openly participated in CWD research and testing via the Archery Trade Association’s Deer Protection Program. https://www.archerytrade.org/news/ata-launches-deer-protection-program

“With help and advice from the nation’s top CWD experts and state wildlife agencies, the ATA spent the past two years working with its Scent Manufacturers and Urine Providers committee to self-impose protective restrictions on their products and the deer/elk facilities that provide urine for those products.”

Those that comply with the strict adherence to collection methods and testing are allowed to display the ATA√ logo .  Lure companies are a billion dollar industry but shrinking due to states that have outlawed the urine based lures.

What do I make of NHFG recommendation? It is simply a protective approach. Once the CWD label is put on a State it sticks forever.

Are there synthetic lures that are not urine based?  Yes there are several online but most hunters trust the real thing. You can go on line and look for them.  I will go the synthetic non-urine lure route if readily available… I went to two stores this morning who sell urine based lures. It revealed that there are few to none of synthetic Doe-in-Estrous lures on the shelves, however most urine based lures do participate in ATA Chronic Wasting Disease prevention and have the ATA√ Logo. That leaves little choice for synthetic unless you buy off the web. I have created awareness in my area regarding the NHFG position. I will have some Kirshner’s Synthetic Lure soon to try. I have been a fan of Silvertop Lure over the years and took a nice buck with it a long time back. It is now made synthetically with no urine. http://www.bobkirschnerdeerlure.com/ . I spoke with Bob Kirshner moments ago and his herd of deer are USDA HMP Herd Certified (No CWD). He does not believe the ATA logo is much to shout about and he has been in the business for decades. So lets try the Synthetic lure…

Shoot Straight, Shoot Often.

© 2016

Hunting after 12 pm was the ticket today. The weather was just fabulous as if late summer at 72 degrees, blue sky and crimson leaves on the maples and little wind. Like a slice of heaven for a few hours.

The bird release was in the morning, I think, with no hunters or dogs present.  Today the release official did his job safely and left. We hunters gathered like a gaggle of geese waiting for 12 Noon. The birds released were mostly in the woods. The grass in the release field was so short, I could almost play golf. The birds would be sitting ducks if they landed there. Dogs were aplenty but for me with no dog was funny as there were dogs everywhere around me, just not mine. A walk in the woods listening to the call of a cock pheasant drew me forward. These rascals were hard to put to flight but the dogs eventually put them up. Here I took my two beautiful cock pheasants for the day with my goose barrel on my 870 Rem. Pump.

I plucked them, gutted and saved the tail feathers. I halved each bird and will do final prep for cooking soon. If there is a chance for longer grass in the field during pheasant season that would be better to work the dogs and put the birds up but I understand that harvest of the most hay is necessary.

Tips for cooking I am told by some is to brine your meat for at least 4 to 8 hours as the meat can dry rapidly. I will use some whiskey in a salt/sugar brine.

Cook at 500 degrees skin-on, with 1/4 apple and or 1/4 oranges as stuffing and/or as a baste with some honey or maple syrup in the apple/orange juice. Garnish with apples and oranges and parsley. Watch the bird as it cooks fast.

For a fast savory stuffing use the best prepared stuffing like Pepperidge Farm and add your favorite mushrooms. If you have time make stuffing from scratch.

© 2016

New Hampshire Rifleman is offering  up to $100 to the winner of the Outdoor Hunter/Writer Contest. (New Hampshire Residents Only) It will run from now to the end of November 2016.

Rules:

1. There must be at least 5 New Hampshire student participants (grade school to high school) who write and publish an article in New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine to be eligible for up to $100. Four students published will be $80 reward for best article. Three articles will get $60 as reward for best article and so on.
2. The student must write about shooting or hunting as adventure ( kills are not necessary for the article) and the value it provides in their life and family e.g., gets me away from TV and Video Games, Love the Forest and fall colors, like shooting with mom and dad, or went deer hunting or duck etc.e.g.,  Maybe about your hunting dog too. What life lessons did hunting or outdoors teach you? How to stay warm? Standing still for deer is not easy. Hard to sleep when thinking about hunting the next morning. Describe the sun and sky at dawn in a Duck Blind, are examples.
3. The length of the article needs to be 200 words or more and must have pictures. It can be submitted via email to the Editor, Ed Hale at erhale@comcast.net as “NH Rifleman Contest.” Please provide your name, age, school attending, grade and phone number with parent permission name/email address.
4. Grammar is very helpful but less important than content and describing the adventure and your feelings and senses of the moment.
5. Winner will be chosen by the Editor by December 10, 2016 and a photo op presentation shortly after. There can be a tie, in which case the authors will split the prize.
6. Please begin the article:
7. My Name is__________, I am ______years old and live in _________town, NH. My parent(s) _______________, Phone # ____________has given me permission to write this article. I attend __________school in _______NH. The title of my article ( write it as a header) then body and any images. Good Luck!
8. Note: We dropped number of words to 200 or more from original 500 to increase participation. Please try to use software like MS Word or e-mail to write your article with images.