When is it too much?

[Redmt]

One of the guys that puts on the opening deer season party gave me a call the other day. He starts off with do I want some elk meat? HELL YES! It seems that he is overloaded with elk meat. Sounds like a great problem to me. Anyway, he and his son hunted last year and both got a bull, then he went on another hunt and got another bull. He's going to New Mexico, I think, with his son in November. They usually get at least another one if not 2. He has no more room and they can't eat it fast enough! So,,,,,at what point do you pass on an elk hunt? When you run out of room? When you run out of friends to give it to? It just got me thinking when he asked how much meat I wanted.

 

[rjthehunter]

Honestly, it feels pretty dang good to share my harvests with family and friends. I've never had too much meat, as soon as I get close, I give some away!

1. That's a great friend to have.
2. I'd never turn down a hunting trip because I felt i had too much meat.
3. Meat makes great gifts.
4. I like to bring meat dishes to family get togethers. Just a couple of weeks ago we made bear and venison fajitas to share with a big group at the cabin.

I don't buy meat, just tags!

 

[Redmt]

I'm very glad that I have friends willing to share their elk meat. I always reciprocate with wild hog sausage and snak sticks. I know that when we have enough wild piggy meat that the boss threatens to hide my bullets.

 

[Mallardsx2]

We put 6 bucks, 1 hog, 1 elk and a bear in the freezer last fall. We have 1 deer and 5 packs of elk steaks left.

Carnivores, we are. lol

We rarely give any meat away.

 

[Redmt]

We have a 4x6 walk-in freezer. I wish it was bigger until my wife reminded me there's only two of us.

 

[WapitiBob]

Never pass on an Elk hunt.

 

[Redmt]

Never pass on an Elk hunt.

If I ever get a real opportunity, I won't!

 

[idelkslayer]

Sounds like they need to eat their elk meat more often. I would consider it a travesty if they're eating any beef while that elk meat is taking up space in the freezer.

 

[Redmt]

Sounds like they need to eat their elk meat more often. I would consider it a travesty if they're eating any beef while that elk meat is taking up space in the freezer.

They should be whipped and give me all the elk meat!

 

[mevertsen]

We don't eat a ton of meat. Just my wife, one daughter and myself.

Plus we raise pigs and chickens.

We buy beef and chicken as well.

This year, I killed an antelope and deer. That will be good to make the jerky my daughter and I want, plus 1 meal a week for a while.

We have about 2 meals a week of pork, 2 chicken, 1 beef, 1 game if we have it, and something like pizza or a vegetarian dish for the other.

An elk would last us 2 or 3 years minimum I think. So I'm really not interested in hunting them at this point. Deer and antelope going forward seems reasonable.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Montana recently had support for "regulating elk like deer" and pushing fwp to allow the number of elk cow tags a person can have to more than 3.

No idea how someone could even eat 3 elk a year without a substantial family.

 

[Redmt]

No idea how someone could even eat 3 elk a year without a substantial family.

I volunteer to help.

 

[Nambaster]

I don’t think the solution will ever be stop elk hunting if that is what you are hoping for…. Never going to happen.

 

[Redmt]

I don’t think the solution will ever be stop elk hunting if that is what you are hoping for…. Never going to happen.

Hah! That's an interesting interpretation! Pretty funny actually.

 

[DFS]

Good post. The people that run around and try to slam everything that breaths are a problem. Especially the dodo bird of the west, mule deer.

 

[Wildabeest]

Most states have various hunters for hungry programs where you can donate meat to folks who need it. WY proactively markets it when you get your tags. Tag allocations are (arguably) all part of healthy herd management so if you can fill your tag and help feed some less fortunate folks, it’s a win-win IMO. I don’t seem to have any problems either consuming or sharing with friends and family all the game meat I harvest. They aren’t nearly as impressed with the tag soup I serve up though.

 

[Dsnow9]

I have a 9, 5, and 1 year old daughter. Last year I shot 2 bulls, a cow, antelope buck, 1 white tail buck, and 3 white tail does. We had about a half a feeder left before going to Alaska.

The season before I shot a bull, cow, calf, muley buck, 3 muley does and we finished most of it before season.

Needless to say we eat a lot of meat but I would never turn down an opportunity to put more meat in the freezer. I don’t give much away but we have a lot of company over and always cook them game meat. If I had full freezers and shot another one I would be giving the meat away to friends that enjoy game meat but don’t hunt.

I also like keeping the freezers as full as possible. Because currently I have no tags and without the last minute Alaska trip I would be really nervous about meat this year.

You can always buy more freezers!

 

[SFC B]

My wife runs a Veterans Court here in the Springs. While those dudes are still in the program most don't have their firearms rights, so anything I have bonus I package and share with them. In IN I can also donate to HFH.....there, in a civilized state, the participating processors DON'T charge you to donate. Everything about processors, if you have to use one, in CO is an absolute rip off.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Good post. The people that run around and try to slam everything that breaths are a problem. Especially the dodo bird of the west, mule deer.

I don't blame the people that do it. They are participating in conservation. At least its easy to justify.

I blame the kind of ideas that infilitrate fwp and our state govt.

 

[nrpate05]

Ive never had the problem of having too much meat, but I am in a busy season of life so I really only focus on one or two tags. I can't blame anyone for legally acquiring tags and working to fill them. I do know some people who get way too many tags and don't have the time to actually hunt them (I used to be one...). That bothers me a bit because those tags could go to other folks.