Rinella article.. CUT AND PASTED

[Hunt&FishCO]

Do yourself a favor and listen to Matt’s interview on the Blood Origins podcast. I did on the way home tonight. The last half is awesome entertainment. I really want to see his Hunt Purity Index. I have a feeling I wouldn’t make it over 5. He torches Rogan at the end. Great way to pass an hour drive in the snow.

This episode 144?

 

[RobertD]

This episode 144?

Yes

 

[Big Fin]

I think this "shoot only what you need" topic is worth discussing in the context of folks who have media platforms, including outdoor writers, TV show hosts, social media producers. Surely worthy discussion for anyone who hunts outside their home state where they could likely fill many freezers with whitetail does near home. Probably a worthwhile discussion, for anyone who hunts, for that matter, given we can usually get multiple antlerless tags in most states we live in.

I fit all of the above, so I follow discussions on this topic with a keen interest.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

@Big Fin’s response to the meat question when I asked it a couple years ago.

Post in thread 'Donating Meat - What are your thought?'
https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/donating-meat-what-are-your-thought.289664/post-2828788

Interesting thread in general, definitely made me do some thinking.

 

[TOGIE]

The how much is too much discussion is tough because there is no one answer.

To a vegan one animal is more than anyone needs. To the “meat is unhealthy crowd” maybe 1 deer is good for food variety but more is unnecessary. To traditional eat eaters it depends on how big your family is - or is it just you?

Then considering that in perfect theory sustainability of the resource is kept in check by game agencies and proper game management in the form of tag allocation. So even if you shoot twelve deer across three states did you hurt the resource? In theory no. Does that make it right? Not necessarily. But it’s something to consider.

It’s a tough question with no one right answer.

 

[Irrelevant]

I think this "shoot only what you need" topic is worth discussing in the context of folks who have media platforms, including outdoor writers, TV show hosts, social media producers. Surely worthy discussion for anyone who hunts outside their home state where they could likely fill many freezers with whitetail does near home. Probably a worthwhile discussion, for anyone who hunts, for that matter, given we can usually get multiple antlerless tags in most states we live in.

I fit all of the above, so I follow discussions on this topic with a keen interest.

Man, I feel like this response comes from such a place of wildlife privilege that it's hard for me to be respectful.

It took me 5 years to draw a whitetail doe tag, bonus points, and during the 8 day season I saw three deer. None offered a shot. In my entire hunting career I draw 3 doe tags. The success rate for deer is that you might shoot one every few years. "Many freezers?" Gimme a freaking break

 

[Big Fin]

Man, I feel like this response comes from such a place of wildlife privilege that it's hard for me to be respectful.

It took me 5 years to draw a whitetail doe tag, bonus points, and during the 8 day season I saw three deer. None offered a shot. In my entire hunting career I draw 3 for tags. The success rate for deer is that you might shoot one every few years. "Many freezers?" Gimme a freaking break

No doubt it is a situation of privilege in this part of Montana and parts east of here. That is why I think so many perspectives are interesting, including yours.

I have not taken a Montana deer for three years. I didn't feel the need to do it in those years given what other meat was in my freezer. This year, if I wanted I could have bought another Region-wide whitetail doe tag in addition to the b tag I drew, and along with my A-tag, I could have filled them. Yes, that would be on private, as I never shoot does on public. But nonetheless, Montana hunters live an extension of privilege that gives us a much different perspective than folks who have a different situation. We are lucky as hell, even with negative trends we are seeing.

You provide the kind of different perspective that I seek. Your experience and what is available to you and your neighbors is much different. Guys in western Montana will have a different perspective, as they don't have whitetails living like rats in every alfalfa field. Hell, if I wanted to use a limited weapon, I could shoot a plenty of whitetails in the weapon restricted zone right here around Bozeman.

I don't say that as boasting. I say that to give some additional context to my original comment you quoted. Many "freezers full" is very possible here. In addition to the deer tags I could have filled, I had an elk A-tag and I saw a bull on public land. I have friends who always tell me I could come to central Montana and fill a b-tag for cow elk. If I decided to do all of that, it would be "freezers full."

I don't do it, but I could, as could others here and in other states. That is why I used that as some context to consider about people who shoot more than they need or travel to other states when they have so much abundance in their back yard.

Thus my original comment that this is a topic worthy of discussion, no matter which of the many situations apply to the person who is hunting. I learn a lot when it is discussed and why I follow that discussion with a lot of interest.

 

[Irrelevant]

The ethics or morality of hunting out of state vs in state to fill a freezer may be a worthy discussion for you some of you but it's not for me. If I want to consistently feed my family game meat I have to go out of state.

I have to go to places where they refer to deer as rats.

 

[SaskHunter]

@Big Fin’s response to the meat question when I asked it a couple years ago.

Post in thread 'Donating Meat - What are your thought?'
https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/donating-meat-what-are-your-thought.289664/post-2828788

Interesting thread in general, definitely made me do some thinking.

We have several orgs here that used to take whole carcasses pre-COVID, for food banks. Being in the Army, I've personally organized events, including this year, where I brought Army buddies home and we processed woldgame to donate the meat to local military families in need through my base Chaplain at Christmas.

I've personally donated an entire moose with my wife one year when we both drew moose tags. These tags are hard to come by and we felt like we didn't want to miss out on these special opportunities. The meat fed tons of people who needed it.

My feelings with this are fairly simple when it comes to hunting in my home Province. We have a well managed heard with proper tag allocation.

In my opinion, this is no different than aboriginal hunters who hunt year round and donate the meat to their elders who can no longer hunt. This practice is encouraged in their community as it is part of their heritage.

For me, looking out for my family and those in need is important. I understand that some have issues with it and that's fine. That being said, I wouldn't do this if I were in Montana or even eastern Canada where the deer populations are hurting. I am taking advantage of a system where the harvest of several animals is sustainable and in turn giving the meat back to family and members of my community.

But again, I get it, some people don't like it and I am truly blessed to live where I have such opprotunities. If I'd still live back home in Eastern Canada where the deer population have taken a huge hit and haven't recovered, I could very well have a different opinion on the subject.

 

[rjthehunter]

I could fill the freezer full of deer each year. But I hunt for more than just the meat. It's the time in the woods I seek. Or when out of state, it's the experience or challenge of a new place. I hunt because of the adventure and challenge. It's not a challenge to go out locally and shoot a bunch of does.

I want to plan a hunt to go diy Alaskan Moose in 2023. I'm not planning on shipping 500lbs of meat back. That's a lot of meat and an expensive task. Instead, I'd like to bring around 100lbs back and donate the rest to a place that's local to where I am hunting to give back. Lots of people can't or don't hunt but would still love to get meat. Why not get the adventure I desire along with some meat, but also help others in turn?

 

[rwc101]

I don't have any problem donating meat to friends, family, or charities. If you've wacked so many animals to create content *cough Working Class Bow Wounder* that you have to look for places to offload meat you're probably hunting for the wrong reasons.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Are we switching gears to a harvest what you need topic?

I have always wondered what the folks do that hunt and harvest in multiple states. I know how big freezers are and what a family of 4 needs to "survive" through the winter. I assume most of it would become donated, which I have zero problem with. I have done it many times myself especially when I was younger I do it almost never now.

I know some people will say they strickly "survive" on game. I got a hard time buying that in today's world. The comment of I take "x" deer and elk because it's cheaper than buying beef...... huh? Seems to be more of just a justification anymore. To each his own on the deal but I bet if one would average their costs out per year on what is actually spent getting out in the field and finally harvesting a bull elk. Those New Yorks would probably average out to about $500 per pound.

Since my bride has gotten into the realm of getting out and getting our kids involved I find myself harvesting less. We have a very unique and special opportunity and the good fortune to get a elk usually once a year. If that opportunity comes and she is able to fill our freezer, I'm done then. I have been getting into some different stuff with jerky, sausages, home processing etc. even smoking the larger bones of elk for the dogs. To try and utilize and consume as much as we can and with all the burgers, steaks, jerky, sausage on and on we still. Have a fair amount left come the next fall.

I'm not even sure I want to ever hear or know how much game meat is truly consumed and how much people waste come next season.

I got a hard time believing the guy harvesting 5 does and 2 bucks eats it all though.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I hunt Africa and it is pure trophy hunting. None of the meat can come back with me due to customs barriers. However, the context is different ... like backside of the moon different. There is no public land hunting in South Africa. What little govt land there is has been set aside as parks or preserves. Most of the private ranches (called farms there) were at one time solely devoted to raising domestic livestock - cattle, sheep, and goats. Some species of wild game were nearly exterminated to make room for livestock. During a 1950s disease epidemic many farms were ruined when meat exports dried up. Then many farmers discovered that getting into the safari business provided them with more opportunities. They can let the wild game flourish again, get paid to let people hunt, process the meat, and sell it on the market. As a bonus, they discovered game animals can handle the harsh environment better and much easier on it too. Most places I hunted were still running some livestock (mostly merino sheep) so their income base was quite diverse. The safari operations have survived the prolonged East Cape drought in better shape than some farms that are exclusively domestic animals. During the COVID pandemic the cattle and sheep operations were less impacted than safari farms. It's about diversifying and surviving. And it's not just the farm owners who are surviving better. These safari operations require significant staff, especially if they also are running domestic livestock. Just maintaining the fences requires mind boggling labour resources. My hunting dollars are keeping a lot of folks working. Very important to the local economy in many ways, not the least being a ready supply of environmentally friendly affordable protein.

 

[Nick87]

I'm not even sure I want to ever hear or know how much game meat is truly consumed and how much people waste come next season.

I've thought about that a lot, pretty sure I don't want to know either but I got a pretty good idea.

 

[Irrelevant]

Are we switching gears to a harvest what you need topic?

I have always wondered what the folks do that hunt and harvest in multiple states. I know how big freezers are and what a family of 4 needs to "survive" through the winter. I assume most of it would become donated, which I have zero problem with. I have done it many times myself especially when I was younger I do it almost never now.

I know some people will say they strickly "survive" on game. I got a hard time buying that in today's world. The comment of I take "x" deer and elk because it's cheaper than buying beef...... huh? Seems to be more of just a justification anymore. To each his own on the deal but I bet if one would average their costs out per year on what is actually spent getting out in the field and finally harvesting a bull elk. Those New Yorks would probably average out to about $500 per pound.

Since my bride has gotten into the realm of getting out and getting our kids involved I find myself harvesting less. We have a very unique and special opportunity and the good fortune to get a elk usually once a year. If that opportunity comes and she is able to fill our freezer, I'm done then. I have been getting into some different stuff with jerky, sausages, home processing etc. even smoking the larger bones of elk for the dogs. To try and utilize and consume as much as we can and with all the burgers, steaks, jerky, sausage on and on we still. Have a fair amount left come the next fall.

I'm not even sure I want to ever hear or know how much game meat is truly consumed and how much people waste come next season.

I got a hard time believing the guy harvesting 5 does and 2 bucks eats it all though.

We eat 3 deer a year or a little more than an elk, assuming there's some chicken and pork intermixed. But I usually share quite a bit with family and friends too

 

[SaskHunter]

Are we switching gears to a harvest what you need topic?

Derailing threads is kinda what I do!
*finger guns*

 

[jlong17]

The problem with being 9 pages late to a thread is that I want to contribute/join the conversation, but not derail the direction this thing is naturally going.
Having said that, may ask a quick question: Has anyone intentionally “unfollowed” any instahunters or influencers as a result of Matt’s article?

 

[TheJason]

I live off the chukars I kill.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Derailing threads is kinda what I do!
*finger guns*

Series of thoughts;

Right now there is a Netflix doc about, climbing all 8000m peaks, kayaking, free soloing, etc. I think hunting needs to have well done shows. It’s important to normalize it and explain it to people for otherwise we risk losing hunting.

Every time meateater drops a season people bitch that it’s too short, and immediately ask when the next one will be released. People demand content.

People complain about episodes that don’t end with a dead animal. Multiple posts on the forum have said they find ‘kill-less’ episodes boring.

Thus the meat aspect of hunting shows/pro hunters seems like a bit of a catch-22.

Splitting meat with the crew/donations to food pantries IMHO seems a very ethical and reasonable solution. If someone is paying to have animals butchered and then donating the meat I don’t have issue with it.

 

[SaskHunter]

I think hunting needs to have well done shows. It’s important to normalize it and explain it to people for, otherwise we risk losing hunting.

We can all do our part to normalize hunting and wildgame consumption. From quality shows to simple acts, we can all do something about it. As much as I've stopped watching MeatEater and following Steven Rinella, I've also seen the positive the show has done. Tons of non-hunters have come to me and said they watched MeatEater and it gave them a better understanding of the sport and in turn made them allies.

For me, normalizing our sport involves bringing in people who have never consumed "real" wildgame, commercial elk burgers you ate at a resto don't count, and show them the why and how. Giving them some meat and talking about my crazy hunting adventures. I have tons of friends who don't hunt ask me about my various trips and are genuinelly intersted, the same way I listen to their stories about their own hobbies with interest.

I think we can all do something to impart a postive spin on hunting; be it not posting gory grip and grin pictures, severed heads on bloody tailgates, driving around town with an uncovered carcass strapped to the hood of your Corolla, dumping carcasses and hides in ditches, etc. Creating quality hunting content that shows the "why we do it" is well beyond most of our abilities and I prefer leaving that to the pros. But every one of us can do simple things to help our sport and not make us look like a bunch of blood thirsty greasy rednecks.

Having a discussion about normalizing the consumption of real wildgame and having the opportunity to donate some of that well prepared meat to those who need it is a great opportunity, IMO. My ancestors started arriving in NA in the 16th century and have thrived on this land for centuries. What used to be normal, ie eating game, has now become a strange thing to most. My goal isn't to turn everyone to hunting, but to normalize what we do and how we chose to live our lives.