Before your next hunting trip, here are a few thoughts to ponder concerning the pursuit and care of large game....

For the novice hunter as well as an experienced bushman, on occasion, the pursuit of wild game can be both a physical and mental challenge that can seem like a frustrating and often futile attempt on the best of days. Whether you are actively stalking prey or sitting in a camouflaged tree stand, patience is a virtue that is greatly magnified once the target animal is first sighted. Quite often, a hunter only gets one shot to bring down his game animal before it slips back into dense cover, leaving him with the inevitable question: did I get it? If it is out in the open, it is relatively easy to keep an eye on it for any movement but if it has slipped back into dense cover, there are two choices to make: should I chase after it or should I wait and if I choose the latter, how long do I wait before leaving the tree stand?

There are no definite answers to this question and factors to consider in this situation include the present weather conditions (such as rain and snowfall) and the availability of remaining daylight if it were a late afternoon sighting. Finding and following a fresh blood trail can be an easy task under ideal conditions but we all know that this is a rare opportunity. Most hunters that I have discussed this with agree that a waiting time of 5 to 10 minutes in the tree stand before approaching the kill sight should be enough. If the animal only traveled a few feet, it will be in easy sight of that location. If you cannot see it, then you have to make a decision on whether to pursue it alone or return to camp and seek assistance from another member of your hunting party. For hunters equipped with compasses or GPS units, it is highly recommended to immediately take a reading before proceeding farther.

In either case, take note of the direction from which the animal left the scene and it is quite acceptable to flag a couple trees in that direction. Look for recent signs of activity such as deep tracks, overturned stones, disturbed moss and logs, broken branches or drops of blood on both the ground and vegatation. Whatever you find, take note of their location but do not disturb these signs by walking on them as you may have to back-track and pick them up again. The flagged trees will give you a general indication of the direction the animal was going and this often helps you to pick up the trail again. Very rarely will an animal attempt an uphill escape route as it is much easier to flee in a downhill direction that is relatively free of overhanging branches or other obstructions.

Continue to flag trees every so often to assist you in finding your way out of there and also to return back to the animal when others come in to assist in the removal of the carcass. If you have not caught up to your animal in fifty or a hundred yards, it probably can hear you approaching and will now do its best to lead you through the densest trees and deepest bogs it can find in an attempt to loose you. Remember, this terrain is its old stomping grounds and it knows the area quite well. In a case such as this, it is recommended to sit and wait an additional length of time before continuing the chase. How long is long enough? Again, there are no definite answers but a half hour waiting time is not an excessive amount under good conditions of weather and light. One thing is certain: animals never seem to wander back towards the road or lake that you started from and the farther and quicker you chase it, the farther you will have to retrieve it from after it is located. Once it is found, your vacation is over and now the work begins.

Every year, I am either a member of a group of successful moose hunters or I help other hunters preserve the work of their efforts so that their families can enjoy a taste of nature's finest meats, whether it be moose, bear or venison. Since we purchased this lodge in 1986 and assisted hunters every year with the retrieval of thier game meats, I have noticed quite a large variation in the amount of care that different hunting parties demonstrate in the handling of their game meat. Some hunters show great respect towards the animals they have just harvested and it would be comparable to the quality of meats found in any grocery store. Others just don't seem to care how much hair and/or dirt is left clinging to the meat nor how it is hacked up into pieces for ease of transportation from the kill site ... to their boats ... to their vehicles ... and finally to the butcher shop.

To the countless hunters that fall into the first group, congratulations! It is a pleasure to assist you with the cutting and wrapping of your game. To the small minority that fall into the second group, I'd like to offer a few suggestions that will definitely assist you in getting a greater amount of meat off of the animals that you have recently harvested.

I will assume at this point that you are aware that it is necessary to field dress (eviscerate) the moose as soon as possible. If the animal were harvested late in the day and close to sunset, skinning it (to allow the body heat to escape from the carcass) may not be possible to accomplish before darkness sets in. In this scenario, it is absolutely necessary to split both the pelvic and the breast bones and to remove the intestinal track in the pelvis as well as the windpipe and esophagus located in the throat. Use two lengths of 2 inch diameter living trees (birch, which is the best and strongest, spruce or poplar) of approximately five to six feet in length and a short length of rope or wire to make a tripod with the back leg and prop it up to facilitate this small but important task. Prop open the ribcage with another pointed living stick of approximately 2 inches in diameter that has been cut to a length that is just long enough to hold the sides apart (3 to 4 feet). This will allow heat to escape from the body cavity after it has been field dressed. Do not attempt to use water (lake or bottled) to clean the inside of the rib cage. Meat that has been in contact with water will tend to spoil faster. Instead, use a dry clean cloth to remove any blood that may be there ... then quit. Cut away any damaged meat that is around the entry hole made by the bullet or arrow.

Next, get your animal cooled down as fast as possible. Body heat, as well as the heat from the sun, will cause the meat to spoil rapidly. Never quarter an animal and wrap it in cheesecloth with the hide still on it as this will retain the heat in the meat! Instead, use a block & tackle or a chain fall along with a gambrel of approximately 36 inches in width that has been secured to a living large tree in order to hoist it completely off the ground (by the back legs) so that the hide can be removed and to allow the body heat to quickly escape from the carcass. I have found that living poplar or birch trees make an excellent choice as they are relatively free from small limbs and their smooth bark greatly reduces the amount of bark dust and other contaminants that can fall off the tree and onto the meat. A tree with a minimum diameter of six or eight inches at the point of contact with the chain fall is sufficient.

If sufficient daylight exists today, or as soon as possible the next morning, and while the moose is still laying on the ground and before you hoist it up into the tree, remove the hide from the top part of the rear shin bones (nearest the feet) and for a foot or so up onto the lower parts of each hind leg. Be very careful not to sever the Achilles tendon. Place the gambrel hooks through the skinned-out Achilles tendon on each back leg. Hoist it up into the tree and remove the rest of the skin. Any time that the skin has to be split for easy removal (e.g. down the legs), always move the knife in the direction of the hair growth (not against it) and always split it by inserting the sharp knife tip into and then under the skin and slice it "from the inside out". If you have ever used a "Wyoming Knife", you will know exactly what I am referring to here; if you haven't, I would suggest purchasing this inexpensive tool. This will allow the knife to slide out between the hairs as it moves along the line that is to be cut and this method will not cut any hairs that would certainly adhere to the exposed flesh if it had been cut from the outside in. Start with the back legs (highest in the tree) and work towards the head. This will allow the hide to fall down and ahead of the knife and eliminate the possibility of loose hair or dirt coming in contact with the wet carcass. The weight of the hide from a large moose can easily be between one and two hundred pounds. If you're not planning on having the hide tanned, don't carry it out of the bush. Yes, I know you can trade the hide in for a hat but if the moose is 2 miles from the closest boat or truck, is it worth carrying out that heavy hide just so you can claim the hat? Don't forget to leave a small amount of the genital skin attached to the carcass so that it can be used to determine the sex of the animal.

Note: If you are considering having the head prepared by a taxidermist, leave a large cape on the skin (well back onto the shoulders). The carcass can be skinned out up to the base of the skull so that the neck meat can be transported out of the bush but cut the hide off well back onto the shoulders. If it is too long, the taxidermist can easily shorten it to fit the desired mounting form. If the cape is too short ... well, you know what will happen in this case. When field dressing your moose, bear or deer, never, never, never cut the hide on the neck crossways to allow any blood to drain from the animal! If you still believe that this is a necessary cut and somehow you just can't see all the blood that drained out of the bullet hole, slit the hide lengthwise and then go inside and cut the artery crossways. This will make it considerably easier for the taxidermist to sew up. I should also mention that if the head is to be mounted, the taxidermist will require the measurement around the neck at the location nearest the skull. Most hunters don't carry a seamstress's cloth measuring tape to record the circumference of the neck but a shoelace can serve the same purpose. Take this measurement before you skin out the neck and then tie a simple round knot in it where the two ends of the shoelace overlap. You can then record this measurement when you return to camp.

After the skinning is finished, the carcass must be quartered to facilitate transportation. It must be divided exactly down the center of the entire length of the spinal cord before being cut crossways into smaller pieces. Several options are available; each with its own degree of finesse. Some hunters prefer to use a chainsaw to do this. If this is your choice, please consider replacing all the petroleum oil in the bar tank with edible oil (e.g. canola or any other vegetable oil). Oil from the chain will come in contact with the meat and petroleum oil would taint it and render it unfit for human consumption. Only operate the chainsaw from the outside of the body cavity to eliminate any exhaust smoke from collecting on the inside of the body cavity (rib cage) which would again taint the meat. Other hunters prefer to split the entire carcass with either a hand held meat saw or a hack saw. A meat saw has coarser teeth and will complete the job much quicker than a fine-toothed hack saw. Either will do an excellent job if the blade is new and sharp but remember that the spinal bones from the tail to the neck on a large moose can be up to six or eight feet in length and your arms will certainly be tired after the job is completed.

My personal preference in tools is a battery operated, cordless reciprocating saw. It is light weight, very portable, can be used from either the inside or outside of the carcass and it is easy to clean after the job is done. One member of the hunting party can retrieve it from the truck or boat while another person is field dressing the animal. It does a great job of splitting both the pelvic and breast bones while the animal is laying on the ground and it will still have sufficient power to split the entire spinal cord as well as removing the four legs below the knee knuckle (more on this later) once the animal has been hoisted into the tree. I've found a nine inch wood-cutting blade works well whereas a metal cutting blade's fine teeth becomes clogged up and is much slower overall. Keep a few extra blades in the carrying case in the event of breakage. And here's the best part ... reciprocating saws are not expensive; watch the sale catalogs and you can get a reliable one with a couple of rechargeable battery packs for under a hundred bucks. If your hunt camp has what is commonly known as a Honda generator that is light-weight and can be carried to the kill-site, a plug-in reciprocating saw will do the same work.

For the successful hunter that has access to an ATV and can drag the animal out of the bush to the road or boat, I'd like to offer a few suggestions on the proper way of accomplishing this next step. Never pull a carcass by the hind legs. First, you will be pulling against the direction of the hair growth and this only adds resistance to movement. Inside the animal, you are adding stress to the joint where the leg bone is attached to the pelvis (i.e. the hip socket). This causes a separation and bruising to some of the finer cuts of meat in that area. This is not good. Instead, wrap a short chain or heavy rope around the neck and pull the animal forward with the grain of the hair. Bring the front legs forward and secure them around this chain or rope. You will not actually be pulling on the legs; they are merely secured here and away from catching on any trees or rocks on the corners of the trail. If there is any separation of bones in this area, it will be right at the point where the neck meets the skull and this area has a less desirable cut of meat to worry about. Keep the animal as close as possible to the hitch of the ATV. If you have to drag it uphill, you might want to consider extending this chain under the entire body of the machine and hooking it to the front winch or bumper so that it pulls down on the front of the machine, Not only does this provide more traction, it also prevents the machine from flipping over backwards on the hill.

Removing the lower legs (below the knee joints) from the animal makes sense in that there will be that much less weight for transportation and it also reduces the possibility of snagging it on any trees that it would have come in contact with. Remove the hide well back of where you want to cut it off. This will eliminate any more hair from being cut by the saw and coming in contact with the carcass. Cut each leg off an inch or more below the knuckle. This leaves a solid joint and connected tendons above the knuckle. When each of the quarters is again hung up either by you or the butcher, this insures a secure location to insert the meat hook.

If it is a real large animal and the walking trail out is difficult, you might consider removing the front legs from each quarter. These leg bones on a moose are not connected directly to the rest of the skeleton and the entire leg can be easily separated from the rib cage. By holding the leg in one hand and moving it around, you will feel with your other hand where to make the cut with a sharp knife around the top of the scapula (blade bone). Lay the leg down on a clean piece of heavy plastic (that is a minimum of six feet square) to keep it off the ground and away from any contamination while it is being wrapped in several layers of good quality cheesecloth for transportation. If it is a smaller moose or you are close to your boat or vehicle, you can wrap each quarter with the leg attached. To divide each half of the carcass into quarters, start at the rib bone closest to the rear of the animal and count three ribs towards the head. In front of this rib bone is where you will divide the animal in half to obtain the best cuts of meat along the back of the moose.

I cannot stress enough the importance of this next bit of advice: Wrap each piece with several layers of cheesecloth. If you are buying your cheesecloth by the foot from a large roll, you will need at least 100 feet to wrap the four quarters of a calf. A larger bull or cow will require at least 200 feet to wrap four quarters and if you remove the front legs from the rib cage, add an additional 100 feet to wrap all 6 pieces. Cheesecloth is a single-use item and cannot be saved for another moose. There are "moose socks" available on the market that are a durable and stretchy cotton/nylon type of material that resembles a large sock or bag and will hold each quarter. Although they cost more, they can be laundered and used repeatedly. Don't forget to remind your butcher that you would like to have them returned.

Each quarter will now look like a mummy and you will be unable to see any red meat through the wrapping. This will ensure that there will not be contact between the meat and any dirt, leaves, pine needles or hair during transportation. Never wrap your meat in any material such as a plastic tarp, Saran Wrap, rolls of aluminum foil or anything else that does not allow it to "breathe". Most butchers charge an additional fee to cover their time in removing debris from your meat and you also risk the loss of meat that is too soiled to be cleaned properly. On a really dirty carcass, this can quickly add up to forty pounds of boneless meat .... or 10% of the finished product. Remember that most butchers will also weigh the animal on the way into their butchershop, not on the way out and that you are paying by the pound for cutting and wrapping services. Listen up guys ... this is not rocket science: you will pay twice for shoddy workmanship and still not have the meat when the job's finished.

Immediately after transporting it back to camp or to your home, hang the wrapped quarters up on meat hooks with sufficient air space between each piece so that the cooling process can continue. Do not remove the cheesecloth until it has been delivered to the butcher shop and is ready to be cut and wrapped. Keep it out of both direct sunlight and rain and leave it in a location that is as cool as possible. Meat that touches other meat (wrapped or not) or meat that is lying on a bench or floor will tend to spoil first. At this time, it is your call on how long you let it hang before being cut and wrapped. Some people prefer it to hang (age) for up to ten days before being processed. If it is in a refrigerated room with controlled temperature and humidity, this can easily be accomplished. A daily charge for this refrigeration service is common practice. However, if it's hung on the shady side of the barn, the meat will definitely decompose quickly and a severe loss of moisture, texture and taste will follow. Bloat flies, their eggs and their larvae are also something to be kept away from your meat. When the eggs that have been laid on the outside of the cheesecloth begin to hatch, the tiny maggots can quickly burrow through it and into the meat.

As for myself, I prefer to have it processed as soon as possible after the kill (i.e. the same day) so that as much moisture and flavor as possible will be retained in the meat. People who think that a moose has to hang for a week or more to "tenderize" it, have been watching too many John Wayne movies where cattle were driven on the hoof all the way from Calgary to Dallas. Of course those critters had to hang; they were too stiff to walk and the meat would have been as tough as shoe leather if it had been processed immediately. A moose, on the other hand, will live and die in about a 5 mile circle. With the exception of the rutting period, they never go anywhere or move fast enough to even work up a sweat, let alone get stiff muscles.

Shoot straight!

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From time to time, some of our guests are looking to either buy or sell hunting equipment and related items. When this happens, I try to help them with this by posting a note and picture on this website on the Items For Sale page which can be accessed from the top of this page. If you, or anyone you know, are interested in buying these items, please look here first.

Check-in times for weekly packages are after 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and check-out times are before 11:00 a.m. on the following Saturdays. For overnight packages, the same times apply for each day. Please inquire about any variations that can be made to these time schedules.

Responsible use of alcoholic beverages is allowed on lodge property. However, we are not a licensed outlet for the sale of these beverages.

Pets are always welcome.