I got tired of wondering about when I was going to get my hunt info, so I called the Delta Junction ADF&G office to see if I could get any information. Turns out, it was the right day to call as they had just finished "figuring all of that out". Here it is. (More for me than "you", so I have a place to look when I want to recall or pass on info.)

I am in "Group 2".
My fall start date is October 5th. (Hunt starts Oct 1.)
My fall period is October 5 through November 3.
My "spring" (I'd call it winter) start date is February 8.
My spring period is February 8 through March 8.

I will be sent the above information via email "within a week or two".

The paperwork package including the tag, maps, and information will be sent out in July.

ADF&G holds "orientation" classes in the Delta Junction office the day before every start date, so 2 pm on the 4th of October for me. I expect to attend that class. One SHALL either attend an in-person orientation class prior to the hunt, OR take an on-line class. I have already taken the on-line class and have the certificate, so I'm 'good to go', but I'm sure there will be information to be gleaned from the in-person class in Delta Junction.

So I won't be hunting "opening day", but I will be in the second wave. That's better than being in the 'last wave'.

If I understand correctly, there were 100 permits awarded: 45 were bull-only, and 65 were either-seks. (I have an either-seks permit.) The 45 bull-only hunters get start dates parsed from Nov. 1 through Nov. 15, and then once they start, they get to hunt every day until March 31.

The either-seks hunters get 30 days between Oct 1 and Nov 30, and another 30 days between Feb 1 and March 31. So if they let 11 of the 65 either-seks hunters 'in' every 5 days, that accounts for 30 days (11 into 65 equals 6, and 6 times 5 days equals 30). Since every either-seks hunter gets 30 days total in each of the fall and spring hunts, the last group would start on the 30th of October and their last fall day of hunting would be the 29th of November. The fall hunt officially ends on the 30th of November, so those 'calculations' sound about right.

When I get to start, there will be a potential of 21 either-seks hunters in the field, (11 from the first wave plus the 10 from the second wave - I'm not counting myself), plus however many bull-only hunters they have apportioned to the first and second wave. I assume that at least SOME of the first 11 will have been successful in their first five days, so it is unlikely that all 22 potential either-seks hunters that CAN hunt WILL be hunting at the same time as me, but it is possible. Then there will be the first and second waves of bull-only hunters added to that 22. I would assume the same 10-ish per wave. So that adds another potential 20 hunters for a potential total of 42 hunters in the field on the day I get to start hunting.

Each 5-day interval after opening day the number of hunters in the field will increase by 20-ish, but then there will be some leaving the field every day due to hunters filling their tags.

In terms of probabilities, "it is what it is."

Since I have an either-seks tag, I anticipate success in getting A bison within 60 days of hunting. However, I think that the probability of getting a 'mature' bull in that same interval is quite low.


Paul

So, how many days/hunts do you plan to commit to taking a bull only?
And won't the meat be in much better shape during the fall hunt?

At this point in time I intend to use the whole Fall hunt to take a bull. That may change once I get the lay of the land.

As for the condition of the meat: You are absolutely right. Since bison are bovids ("cows"), they are obligate "grazers" which means they can at least eat barley stubble. While less nutritious than fresh grass, it's considerably more nutritious than the 'browse' that moose (deer, and obligate "browsers") use. Moose essentially starve between November and May. The bison get SOME nutrition over the winter. To make 'things' worse, these are plains bison, the "wrong" species for AK. The knotheads didn't know the difference between plains bison and woods bison when the reintroduced them. As a result, these animals haven't thrived. A few years back, the Department planted about 100 wood bison. RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF "NATIVE LAND". Last winter, there was a "surprisingly" large "winter kill". If you believe that, I've got some swamp I'm selling that you would probably be interested in.

Paul

MMmmmmm,...  Well marbled Bison.
LOL


I've eaten domesticated Buffalo, but to my knowledge no one has ever offered bison of either variety.
And I'm sure I would remember if they had.

They must figure something out to complicate this further. How about no Bulls on Mon, Wed, and Fri/ no Cows after 2:15PM. :grin:

This is a VERY popular hunt,  and I THINK "they" are trying to prevent an 'stampede' on opening day. I'm not terribly bothered by the hoops I have to jump through. Keeping the number of hunters in the field 'down' at any one time is OK by me. I have other gripes that perturb me MUCH more than this rodeo.

Used to be in Alaska I NEVER saw a single other hunter when in the field. Nowadays, I NEVER DON'T see other hunters. It's the nature of the world these days.

I may get one of my pilot friends to take me on some aerial recon later this summer, AND maybe October 4th too.

Paul

Lots of folks 'rave' about the taste of bison relative to beef. Honestly, when it comes to domesticated animals I have a difficult time telling the difference. I have eaten some cow bison from this Delta herd. It was VERY good! I would REALLY like to get a BIG - meaning HEAVY - bull, but I'm expecting to get a 'good-sized' cow or a 2 to 3 year-old bull. ADF&G says you can only expect to get 675 lbs of meat off of a REALLY BIG 2000-lb bull. I'm not buying that. They give similar proportions for other big game in AK, and I ALWAYS get between 45 and 50% of live weight, of animals I personally butcher. You're lucky to get 25% of live weight if you take it to a local meat "processor".  The waste from "professionals" makes me NUTS! I NEVER have my game "professionally" processed since I took 127 lb of caribou in to one, and got THIRTY-FIVE POUNDS BACK! He said he had to cut off all the 'rind'. I could have strangled him! If I could get 3 to 4 hundred pounds (about 800 lb live weight), I'd be a happy hunter.

Paul

I've never taken game to a processor, except Canada geese to the commercial plucker/dresser shop in Tulelake, CA.  It cost $2.00/goose in those days and they looked like a turkey from the store when they were done.  Giblets, neck and all, no pin feathers either.

Removing shot was up to us.


But we always butchered game mammals ourselves and always did better than Fish & Game depts. say you do.
And even though we always ate much of the offal, like liver, heart and tongue, that wasn't counted in the weight.

Last year I was able to convince sakorick and his boys to try deer heart. They are now such 'believers' that there is a "no heart shots" policy at the sakorick farm. :D My next goal is to get them to try tongue. Tongue is my favorite piece of meat from a game animal. Unfortunately, deer tongues seem to be relatively smaller than the likes of moose, bison, and even caribou. I often don't 'trouble' with deer tongues because they are small. But... Pressure-cooked and then sliced into thin pieces, tongue makes for an excellent sandwich. Oh... Have you priced beef tongue? That stuff they couldn't GIVE away 30 years ago? Now it's $10/lb!

Paul

Yup, it's that way with all the old "poverty cuts."  The stuff butchers had trouble giving away 30 years ago.
I saw a package of "marrow bones" (shank bones) in the meat dept the other day for 2.99/lb!
For BONES!

Stuffed heart, Heart Stroganoff, Heart stir fry, it's all good.  But like most game meat, if you're going to overcook it, cook it until it's falling apart.

 When it comes to Tongue, I can never decide which I like more, dinner or the sammiches from the leftovers.

You can thank the frenzy over Mexican food for the price of Tongue.  "Lengua" is considered a Mexican delicacy apparently.  Even though they use it as just another taco filling.

But Flank, Brisket, Skirt, Tongue, Shank and Shortribs are all ridiculously priced these days.
I think Liver is the only one that isn't outrageous, and if it's young calves liver it's still pretty high.  And beef liver from a 2 y/o steer isn't even worth eating.

Speaking of which, we always enjoyed fresh venison or elk Liver in camp, or shortly after arriving home from the hunt, but I have never found a way to freeze it and have it not lose its mild flavor.
It always comes out of the freezer much stronger and with a grainy texture.

Does anyone know of a way to preserve it so it's remotely as good as it is when fresh?

QuoteDoes anyone know of a way to preserve it so it's remotely as good as it is when fresh?

Not I!

It was rare for me to shoot a sheep in a location where I considered taking ANY extra weight out of. Therefore, it was a rare event to get eat sheep liver in camp. However, on the sheep hunt I wrote about here: http://www.thehunterslife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15156, I was able to bring the liver down to camp. "Dan" didn't want any, and I dam near ate myself sick on sheep liver. It was THE BEST liver I have EVER eaten! Fresh  - meaning "never frozen" - liver is tough to beat. Ditto for several good foods. Like halibut, and mahi mahi to name just two.

Kidney is something I don't eat. Purely psychological. It's like eating cat or dog. I just can't get over the mental hurdle. I can FORCE myself to eat just about anything, but I don't enjoy things that don't 'seem' right. Like kidney. Intellectually, I know it's "good", but until you're starving, food isn't about "intellectual".

Paul

Quote from: gitano;153085Last year I was able to convince sakorick and his boys to try deer heart. They are now such 'believers' that there is a "no heart shots" policy at the sakorick farm. :D My next goal is to get them to try tongue. Tongue is my favorite piece of meat from a game animal. Unfortunately, deer tongues seem to be relatively smaller than the likes of moose, bison, and even caribou. I often don't 'trouble' with deer tongues because they are small. But... Pressure-cooked and then sliced into thin pieces, tongue makes for an excellent sandwich. Oh... Have you priced beef tongue? That stuff they couldn't GIVE away 30 years ago? Now it's $10/lb!

Paul

Two years ago with your help, we had 5 deer hanging so why didn't we cook those tongues? By golly it's on the menu this year!

We'll do it!

I prefer to pressure cook them.

Paul

I like to boil/simmer them with a couple medium onions and a Tbsp of pickling spices.  

That gives them plenty of time to get tender and pick up the seasonings.
Toss in some taters for the last 20 minutes or so.

A deer tongue, even if you're cooking 3 or 4 of them, still only takes about an hour and a half.


Beef tongue on the other hand can take 3+ hours before it's tender.

Or 20 minutes in a pressure cooker.

I like to pressure cook most game, big or small. ALL bear meat gets pressure-cooked. You can pressure-cook a bear roast and then put it in the broiler on on the grill, and 1) everything is "dead", and 2) it tastes just like it was broiled or grilled. AND it's tender!

A new-to-me recipe/process that I kind of discovered recently was a major revelation for me. I have always wrestled with the waste associated with the tendons of big game's lower legs.  I tried "grinding it up" with the meat, and I can assure you, THAT does NOT work. Anyway, I was pressure cooking a hind-quarter roast - the "heart" roast that has a large piece of fascia through the middle. The fascia "went away" in the pressure cooker. Hmm... I took some pretty serious "tendonized" meat and pressure cooked it. Not only did the tendons "go away", the resulting broth was EXCELLENT. Now, take this for what it's worth, but I'm telling you the truth, I've done it now at least 10 times with the same result. I take ALL of the lower leg meat INCLUDING THE TENDONS and cut it into about 2" cubes. Whatever portion you want gets added to whatever you would make "stew" with: carrots, onions, cabbage, potatoes, etc. It all goes in the pressure cooker for 25 minutes at 15 PSI. The pressure is allowed to reduce 'naturally' as the cooker cools. That takes another 20 minutes or so. When you open the pot, there is NO tendon, a MARVELOUS broth, and lots of TENDER chunks of meat in your stew. Honest to goodness, this is the most game-meat-saving process I have learned in 30 years. I now have NO waste - ZERO - associated with the meat AND TENDONS of the lower legs. The same goes for the tendons elsewhere on the critter - like those on the shoulder and neck. AND, what those tendons and fascia add to the flavor of the broth is difficult to exaggerate.

Paul