shoot a spike every year

[2rocky]

One processor we used in Pinedale (no longer in business) has damn near ruined it for me in 2012. I killed my biggest bull to date on opening day and since we had another 5 days in the mountains I took it to a local processor. They didn't trim the grinding meat and all the ground meat had bits of connective tissue in it. Have you ever had tough hamburger? That just about ran the train off the tracks.

We killed our last freezer beef in 2005, and it has been wild game ever since. Much to my wife's dismay. Although she is a big fan of antelope. Not enough of a fan to get a license and shoot her own though.

 

[tim]

so this years bull was well taken care of, but a 6x7 herd bull is just not as tasty as a spike. Dang it, I want big racks and tasty meat.
marinades will be our friend this year.

 

[gonhunting247]

Field care still trumps bull age though.[/QUOTE]

I agree ^^^^

 

[kiwi]

It's great shooting meat animals. I shoot one on public land every month

 

[go_deep]

Someday I'll hold out for a good bull, I just have a hard time passing every time a delicious young elk walks out passing it up. My mind goes right to steaks, roasts, pastrami, and smoked sandwich meat, and the next thing I know it's half packed out. Lol!

 

[gonhunting247]

I love game meat, but I can't say I've ever passed up a big one to get a smaller one! They are all pretty tasty.

 

[mallardsx2]

Good to see there are people here concerned about feeding their families instead of looking at antlers. No shame in hunting for antlers or meat as long as you eat what you kill or at least donate it to a good cause (Which is hard to do these days unfortunately due to regulations...)

 

[Hilltop]

My wife and I shot an elk each last year- Mine a big, old bull, and hers was a big cow. My bull is head and shoulders a better elk to eat. Both were very clean fast kills and I did the same field care to both. I think sometimes it is just luck of the draw- all are great but some are truly better than others. I can say that I have never had a bad spike...

 

[coastalarms]

nothing better than getting meat into the freezer. That being said, its also nice being able to best a smart, mature animal.

 

[Timberstalker]

The bull I killed this fall is surprisingly good eating. It was a mature 6 point and he eats like a young bull, very tender. I typically shoot the first legal bull I see here in Oregon. I have passed on a couple spike over the years and each time I ended up with elk tag soup, not nearly as good.

 

[tim]

same field care for both animals. Both animals where quartered minutes after the kill. Last years spike was the best elk I have ever eaten. We had a package of steaks left over from the spike. we cooked up this years bull and than a couple of nights later tried the last of last years spike. Wow, what a difference, If it matters my wife and I eat an elk a year. I know how to take care of animals, I was just saying what a difference in taste when compared back to back.