Confession: I packed in waterfowl hunting for a number of years for a few reasons. First reason – the more I learned about appropriate practices around animal slaughter in general, the less it made sense to shoot a hundred+ pellets at any and all of the prime cuts of an animal, have it fall from the sky to bruise on … Read More
Episode 52 – Killam Waterfowl Outfitters
I grew up hunting geese and ducks southeast of Killam, Alberta. This summer, while shooting Episode 49, an outfitter that worked near that area asked if they could hire me to produce a video for their website. Default answer: yes. So down south I went to meet up with the outfitters, their guests, and many, many thousand geese and ducks. … Read More
Big Game Hunt Report
In 2006, I saw 67 moose in 2 days. This year, 1. That’s more than just a change of luck. That’s a 98.5% decrease. Their populations had already tanked by 2007, and this past winter’s ridiculously deep snow did them in again, according to locals. I’ll have to remember to mention what winter, or perhaps worse, the torture of ticks, … Read More
Ruffed Grouse: Before the Snow
I was lucky this year. I got up to my moose hunt only a day before the snow. Ruffed grouse , although well geared up with cool anatomy to walk on it [see photo below], they seem to go in hiding when it snows. If the trails and roads are bare, they’re often found simply standing about the side of … Read More
A sign of hope? Plucked late(er) season Mallard
Long, long ago, I wrote this post about my thoughts on wild goose and duck. Over time, a number of folks have weighed in to disagree with my feelings on the subject. One, whose opinion I respect, inspired me to reform my ways. So yesterday, when I had the opportunity to take a couple later-season mallards – I took it. … Read More
Goose Hunt I, 2008
Another successful goose hunt. Opening morning was warm [4C], calm, foggy, and it was just plain nice to be out in the stubble early in the morning. Once again, I’m very fortunate my uncle and his hunting partner are so kind to share their gear, company, and opportunities with me. To add to the luck, my brother-in-law was keen to … Read More
Canada Goose Pepperoni Pizza
So what does one do with many, many Canada geese? One use: Canada Goose pepperoni pizza. My goose hunting uncle gets large amounts of pepperoni made from the goose meat – and Yen and I were recently hooked up. My wife and I are currently on a pizza binge, as happens from time to time. We eat it lunch and … Read More
How to Butcher a Grouse
My dad showed me a really cool way to field-dress a grouse immediately after it has been killed – without the need for a knife. We used to step on the wings, and pull the feet to get a similar result, but this is cleaner and more consistent. By photo, left to right: 1. Ruffed grouse, head shot to protect … Read More
Moose & Elk Hunt 2007 – Day 1
Times have changed. Last year we were tripping on moose out here, and had a hard time finding elk. This year, the moose are scarce, and the elk are far easier to find. This is bad news as I have a calf moose tag. Filling it this year will be a challenge. Dinner in ‘camp’ tonight? Fresh cow elk tenderloin … Read More
On Wild Goose & Duck
I love domestic goose and duck – so fatty, rich, and delicious. Sadly, their wild counterparts are none of the above. So what do they taste like? How should they be prepared? Questions that I’ve had for a while, and despite efforts online and at the library, only experience is starting to provide some answers. In the past few years, … Read More