Strategies for draws/putting the most meat in the freezer

[muirsy]

My goal last season (which was my first) was to simply put meat in the freezer - and I accomplished that on a general whitetail tag. Had some amazing days out in the bush with buddies who hunt as well and really gained an appreciation for simply 'being out there' even if I came home empty handed. We live in an amazing province and I definitely took it for granted for many years.

Anyways...



999'd last year just to build priority, but today I was wondering; what's the best strategy if a guys' primary goal is to simply fill his freezer with any kind of big game meat?

I'm not sure I understand the whole system enough yet to grasp some of the strategy to it. Maybe there is none and I'm wasting my time on here haha. Just curious.

Appreciate any and all replies!

J

[DiabeticKripple]

Depends how far you want to take it.

If you want meat, a bull elk and a whitetail buck should be plenty. Both are able to be had on general tags.

Mule does in most zones don't require much priority either.

[Slicktricker]

I've mainly looking to put meat in freezer log into my wild Alberta lol at previous years harvest it shows amount of what has been harvested and will also let you know how many years it takes to draw and how many licenses available for that wmu. Then if you want to scout that zone go and ask permission and learn area early so come opener you won't have to ask where to go or where the animals are

[Nyksta]

There's harvest animal reports and Hunter success rates along side those indicating number of days spent to fill a tag... also download the draw priorities results. If you find a zone close enough to you with decently low priority requirements with high numbers of harvest animals at a high hunter success percentage then that is the place to get to.

But for most people i have spoken to, the biggest obstacle to hunting is actually getting a consistent place to go to. Once you know an area, you will know where the aninals are and what tags to get.

[FCLightning]

Depends on how where you live an how much travel you want to do. In some areas cow moose are pretty abundant and accessible.

[Cottus]

It can take time, gas, money, and hard work, but it's simple to fill the freezer every year. It's not easy, but it's simple. Find the WMUs where it's general tags. Scout those areas lots through spring and summer. Build a plan for the hunt. Then hunt. A lot. My buddy gets a pretty large number of animals in AB every year but spring/summer he's out in the bush every 2nd or 3rd weekend. Come the start of bow season he's out every weekend until Dec. I know there are other ways to get the same success, but the basic formula is time spent = success.

[muirsy]

Thanks guys!

Those harvest reports will be my first step for sure - I guess with all the other stuff I had running through my mind in my first season I never really paid much attention to them.

I planned on a lot of scouting this spring & summer anyways but in conjunction with the reports will be even better

Cheers,

J

[calgarychef]

I do one draw hunt per year so I can have one nice hunt for an interesting species. THat leaves general whitetail and some supplemental deer tags for extra meat and hopefully a set of horns for the garage wall. We usually have enough Meat to give some away every year.

[Twobucks]

You can do very well with general deer tags and then sprinkle in the odd draw every year or two (cow elk this year, mountain does the last two). I live in the city, work full time but we still eat mostly wild meat in our family and that's been my strategy.

My only caution on draw tags is to be careful with zones that are too easy to draw in - make sure you understand why. For some the animals are only there for brief periods or under certain weather conditions. Others are all deep backcountry or especially tough to hunt. Based on your post, you're looking for a sweet spot of straight forward hunting and relatively low demand. It exists, but it takes time and effort to sort it out.

Good luck!

[Jay Kyle]

The trick is you get every member of your family into hunting, get everyone to apply every year for nearly every draw there is, then as the draws mature, one year you may pull it, next year your son pulls it - but you always have meat in the freezer. You plan the draws with the family for the areas, 999 the ones you're not going after that year - but you generally know if you'll get pulled based on the priorities and the draw percentages for an area.

If you don't have a family - do it with your good friends - share the catch - and be generous on the sharing as what go's around comes around.

Jay

[Phshrmn]

Certainly look at the draw numbers on mywildalberta to see what priority it takes to get drawn.

Meat is easiest if you take does. Plan your draws so you get a doe yearly. Alternate species.

As your skills and knowledge increase, you'll harvest wt bucks on a general tag.

Within 5 years you will start to gain enough knowledge to know where to get cow moose and cow elk. One of either will feed a family for a long time.

If you're young, get bull moose points so in about 15 years you'll be able to hunt it. Consider taking a cow elk in the prairies. Down south it doesn't take many points. But when you draw that tag, make sure you've done your homework so you know your odds of harvesting are very high.

Get every priority point you can every year. Don't draw too many in one year. Avoid drawing time - consuming hunts in one year. These include mule buck and bull tags. Antlerless animals are always easier to harvest.

Once you harvest your meat for every year, but your general tag for whatever animal you have time to hunt. I find wt buck is always the go-to tag of I want meat and is general license.

Find a mentor who will invest in you. In return, you help him or her haul their animal out of the deepest coulee.

Sent from my STH100-1 using Tapatalk

[koothunter]

Don't overlook bears! Many people are snobs and think they are gross, but they are delicious and there are plenty to be had. Fantastic sausage and hams!
**I do avoid garbage eating bears though**

[Jay Kyle]

Originally Posted by koothunter

Don't overlook bears! Many people are snobs and think they are gross, but they are delicious and there are plenty to be had. Fantastic sausage and hams!
**I do avoid garbage eating bears though**

I hear good things about bear - but have always been squeamish about the trichinosis risk. However a buddy of mine is a retired federal meat inspector who says they used to check pork muscle under a microscope for signs. I wonder if we can get that testing service for hunters - if so I'd eat lots of bear!

Jay

[muirsy]

Great replies on here, thanks guys,

As far as bear goes, I'm planning on going after one in the spring for sure. A buddy of mine killed one a couple years back and gave me some meat - it was awesome.

I believe if you cook it as you would pork (140F?) it kills any bacteria - so no worries there. A nice tanned bear hide would look good on a man-cave wall as well!

[3blade]

A bear or two and a whitetail will likely do you for the year and are easily available every year. Personally I do draws much the same as the guys have recommended above...mulie does every 2-3 yrs and the rest as they come up. One mistake I made was not putting in for everything when I started. Didn't know any better at the time. Highly suggest 999ing every draw you can (sheep and antelope are the wild cards, depends if you are interested), then scout for each species in the area you would like to hunt it.

I do go against the grain as far as a consistent area...no doubt it can be effective, but i enjoy exploring different terrain and find certain areas are more conducive to actually harvesting an animal even if the tags are less frequently drawn. Additionally this gives you backup plans in case of a fire, access closure, disease outbreak and whatever else can screw up a hunt. Something to consider...the most successful hunting cultures were very nomadic...there's a reason for that.

[Nyksta]

Originally Posted by muirsy

Great replies on here, thanks guys,

As far as bear goes, I'm planning on going after one in the spring for sure. A buddy of mine killed one a couple years back and gave me some meat - it was awesome.

I believe if you cook it as you would pork (140F?) it kills any bacteria - so no worries there. A nice tanned bear hide would look good on a man-cave wall as well!

i thought it was 160F for pork... 140F is pretty rare still.

but i just googled temp trichonosis. some cooking website says 143F for at least 15 seconds or something... also freezing for a few days will kill it apparently too.

[Pikebreath]

If you just want meat, forget about applying for antlered tags and go antlerless for everything. Wait times for mule does is "0" in many zones,,, and you can get drawn every 2 - 4 years for antlerless elk or moose in a lot of zones as well.

Manage your draws such that you stagger your antlerless moose / elk priorities and you should be able to draw either a cow elk or cow moose 2 years out of a 3-4 year cycle.

[Okotokian]

I guess it also really depends on your commitment to hunting and travel. My style and preference is for short hunts (daylong at most) within 100 km or so of home. That limits what species I can go after on what sort of schedule, what sort of game populations are within my area, and brings into play questions of access, etc. You can probably get a lot more meat in the freezer if you are willing to travel great distances, don't mind essentially trading gas and time for meat, and have people in the area who can pre-scout for you.

[petew]

A long time ago I stopped worrying about having to fill a freezer, or even fill a tag. Hunting is so much more enjoyable now.

[st99]

Originally Posted by petew

A long time ago I stopped worrying about having to fill a freezer, or even fill a tag. Hunting is so much more enjoyable now.

x2, you can't fully enjoy the time spent outdoors if you keep focusing on success

[3blade]

Originally Posted by st99

x2, you can't fully enjoy the time spent outdoors if you keep focusing on success

That is called going for a walk in the woods, usually to get away from the wife. Which is fine and often a good way to stay married, but I largely dislike the whole 'journey' mentality. The reason we are hunters and not granolas, is the goal of providing meat. The journey is not undertaken without a destination in mind. Cart and horse, etc.

the OP asked about draw strategies. So let's keep it on track.

[drake]

the best way is to round up a bunch of neighborhood kids, wives, non hunters......then take the online hunters ed course "with them" (for) them. Drive down to cabelas and get them each a wincard and start entering them in draws. The best is a moose draw (you can partner and legally shoot the animal). The only crappy part is you have to bring the uninterested/non hunter party with you. Hope this helps. The Alberta Government and FW are so stupid they will never catch on.....


This works really good for fishing....



react....

[muirsy]

Originally Posted by st99

x2, you can't fully enjoy the time spent outdoors if you keep focusing on success

I hike all summer and spend pretty much part of every weekend on a mountain in some way - so I have lots of appreciation for nature & simply being outdoors.

As I said in my original post though, hunting for me right now (as a total beginner) is probably more so about harvesting meat. That's not to say I don't enjoy simply being out there with buddies, but I never lose sight of my primary goal. With that said, even on days that I don't come home with meat I still have an incredible amount of fun out there observing nature and taking in the scenery!

[Pekan]

Does taste good. They're easier to find, especially in early season.
Put in for easy to obtain antlerless draws. If you are unseccessful with draws, head up to 412-417 areas and hunt whitetails off the cutblocks.
It you put in the effort, you sgould have some meat.

if that doesnt work, try golf as a hobby!