March is the perfect time to get out and hunt Snowshoe Hare (Lepus Americanus). 

It is mating season! And just like deer in the rut; The chase is on!! Many hunt the Hare’s with dogs. I grew up hunting them one on one in thick fir stands. Below is the  New Hampshire Wildlife Profile and Hunting dates and Units. In Canada, the Snowshoe Hare is a sought after food source. In Newfoundland for example over 1.5 million are consumed each year!

https://wildlife.state.nh.us/hunting/small-game-season.html 

https://wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/profiles/snowshoe-hare.html

As a teen it was relatively easy for me to bag a snowshoe hare with shotgun in the New Hampshire’s North Country but few in my family really knew how to prepare it. 

The German Inspired Dish Hasenpfeffer is a great way to prepare a delicious meal with wild hare/rabbit meat that you hunted and brought to the table. 

A recipe that I like is on website: https://honest-food.net/hasenpfeffer-recipe-dumplings/

The key to this recipe, I believe, is the Marinade. Follow the ingredients well. 

You can do the dumplings on the side or do what I do, use some wide egg noodles. The sauce uses sour cream. I make the sauce with some beef bullion and mushrooms, a rue, like Stroganoff. Wow! The hare meat should be very tender and almost fall off the bone.

Another side to try is German Spaetzle here… https://platedcravings.com/authentic-easy-german-spaetzle-recipe/

Good Hunting! Good Eating!

It was inevitable to shoot an arrow with a 3000 lb air blast ever since Lewis and Clark used a 45 cal Air Gun in their expedition. These air bows shoot an arrow at around 400 to 450 fps. What are they good for in hunting? Air Bows are not really bows at all they are rifles that shoot arrows instead of bullets. I like the innovation! In time you will see these used in urban areas where the deer and wild pigs are thick as ticks on a hound dog but … Today they are only legal in just a few southern states. Today they are a novelty and do not yet compete with the crossbow or compound. I predict that few states will allow them in archery season ever, but great for those with disabilities. They are very accurate because the air is jettisoned at the front of the arrow thus there is no “archers paradox” where the arrow bends.

More research for you at https://www.realworldsurvivor.com/2017/07/11/crosman-benjamin-pioneer-airbow/

Not for your average bloke!

Good Hunting!

Hunting and Fishing for me is a Way of Life. I roamed the woods in Salem, New Hampshire as a 6,7 and 8 year old boy. Robin Hood was my TV hero as was Davy Crockett played by Fess Parker. Freedom was grand! I was selling “shiners” at the age of 8 to local fisherman. In the late 1950’s there were beaver ponds everywhere. Wildlife was thriving behind my home and I wanted to be a part of it. The rules of life at that age were simple during the summer, go play and be home in time for dinner. I made my first bow and arrow at the age of 7 using maple saplings and string from the kitchen drawer.

Since then I have killed numerous deer with rifle and bow and had the duty to do the butchering too where I learned first hand where cuts of meat came from. In the same way, I clean and fillet my own fish!

You are what you eat!

Several years back I recall walking down the beef isle at the local grocery store when NAFTA ( a government run trade agreement) was in effect. There was a sign in the store that said the beef was from North America. That meat could have been from Canada, USA or Mexico. The quality of the meat in my mind was suspect if I did not really know where exactly the meat came from and what it had been fed including drugs and hormones. Questions in my mind arose long before this but I use it as an example.

I was always fishing and hunting and very happy with the God given natural food from field and stream. I trust it without reservation. Nature is Organic!

I reflect on my father was a simple man who liked to till the earth and grow his own food and harvest his own meat whenever possible. He was a child of the Depression in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He trusted himself, enjoyed the process of hunting and gathering. He passed the hunting gene to me in a much larger way. Ever since I shot, killed and ate my first deer taken in Northern New Hampshire in my teens, I have relished the though of providing naturally harvested wild meat and fish for my family but could not get enough of it.

Understanding were your food comes from at a young age is very important!

I understood it at a very young age that something must die in order for me to live was paramount. Beyond this, the culinary aspect of preparing your well earned harvest was of great importance. I learned to cook and eat very well.

Recently I fed some venison and wild boar to my very young grand kids and we talked about where food comes from. The kids reacted positively and enjoyed the meat.

PASS IT ON!

The PSE Thrive 400 Crossbow is seen as best in class by others besides me like “The Fearless Tactician” website below say it is best performer in its price class in the $400 dollar range. Having looked on the internet, the Thrive is still NEW out there but according to the article it beats nearly 40 other crossbow models below including some Barnett’s, Ten Points and even Excaliber’s. Wow! That is sayin’ a lot!!!

I have shot compound bows of all kinds since they became popular in the early 1970’s I can say they have come a very long way indeed especially in crossbow technology. I did a search for reverse cam technology employed in the Thrive and found that it increases speed yet keeps its accuracy. The string coming from the inside of the cam provides at least 2 or more inches of arrow acceleration. That’s big! I measured the bolt speed with my chronograph at 377 fps at 10 feet with a 400 grain bolt. In round numbers, at the face of the bow, I estimate 380 fps. I did not know how close to 400 fps I would get. That is about 95%. Fine with me!!

As a hunting weapon I tested the Thrive 400 on Wild Boar and it was simply fantastic in speed and accuracy. I could had taken a much larger boar and still got such powerful exit wounds with the 4 fixed blade 100 grain Muzzy.

Crossbows in general do not cradle well in ones arm but this crossbow was able to cradle in the crook of my arm sufficient to walk somewhat comfortable with its 32 inch length, 6.7 pounds in overall weight and 18.25 inches axle to axle.

It is camo’d in Kryptek Highlander and blends with surroundings just fine for its size and small profile as seen by game from the face of the bow.

I like the illuminated scope very much as it was designed specifically for crossbow use and is marked for longer ranges. I did not use the illumination feature but at dawn and dusk it will be used to the hunters benefit.

This crossbow on a solid front and rear rest, it can be used beyond 40 yards but in a tree-stand or on the ground in a hunting situation and no rest, I expect 30 yards or less to be max range for most shooters.

The Crossbow comes with four 400 grain Thunder Boltz bolts and a Heavy Discharge bolt. The arrow points are 100 grain threaded bullet points and the nocks are half moon. The point insert is brass for great strength.

On my recent boar hunt, I drove a broadhead through my wild boar and it stuck in a birch tree so deep that we could not recover the broadhead. The nock of the arrow popped off the shaft due to the tremendous remaining energy. I closely inspected the arrow for damage and you should too.

Energy for this crossbow delivers nearly 140 ft-lbs and would be great for elk and moose.

http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/crossbow-kinetic-energy-chart-calculations-hunting-requirements/

Canada, I believe does not allow crossbows last I checked, but rules may change. The PSE Thrive 400 is great and powerful Crossbow for those who do not compromise on speed and energy!! The bolt drop at 40 yards is also quite a bit less at these fast speeds making ranging error less a factor.

Good Hunting!

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