By Timothy Fowler

“Be yourself! Everyone else is taken,” said the sign in front of the shop where I get my oil changed in my pick-up truck. In some ways this is a ridiculously simple statement, in other ways it's profound. It's simple because it's obvious that you can only be yourself. But it's also profound––in a life-changing way-––you are free to be yourself: who you are, how you roll, and your life goals.

 

Let me explain.

 

Last week I was hunting with my good buddy, Peter, in the boreal forest of Alberta. For background, my freezer was full, in fact three freezers were full. This means, in some ways, it was kind of sad (and at the same time it was straight-up glorious) for an Alberta-based hunter with two mule deer tags, three Whitetail tags, an elk tag, and two bear tags left from the spring hunt. And all of this was before the gentleman's agreement in place to share a bull moose if one of our crew of four was successful. Let's just say there was not a lot of pressure on me to punch these tags. We took a couple of grouse and a hare while scouting for deer and bears. My youngest son was coming for the weekend with his young family. As it turned out, his freezer was empty. Josh was clear with his hunting goals, “I want a good, fat black bear for lard, ham, confit for cassoulet, and some charcuterie. If we can find one, I'd like a tender Whitetail for the freezer. And if I get a grouse or two and maybe a rabbit, that would be a bonus. And I want a good bear hide for the tent.” He was able to concisely articulate his own hunting goals for the season and wasn’t fussed about what other people’s goals were.

I’ve seen monster bears in Bear Hunting Magazine and wondered if I would ever kill a beast like the ones featured here (I have killed 12+ bears, a couple have been decent sizes). I’ve seen Clay Newcomb’s Instagram posts about the pinnacle of hardcore bear hunting: a blind dug [1] into the ground covered in logs. He intends to take a bear with traditional archery gear including an arrow with a stone point one day. I cannot imagine a more difficult hunt. And I cannot imagine Newcomb setting the bear hunt bar higher. Clay Newcomb is doing Newcomb. And, while I admire Clay’s efforts and process, it is just not me. I want a good bear for baked beans, soup, charcuterie, and bacon. And I took one in the spring—see the molasses cure and bean recipe in this BHM edition. 

Friday evening, Josh and his family arrived at the campsite adjacent to mine and set up their tent. William, the two-year-old, announced at 5:30 a.m. the following morning, “Outside.” Josh dressed William and headed out for an early morning drive to check for game and let mama and William's older sister sleep a few more hours. Two hours later, he was home with a grouse and a story of how he passed on a white-tailed deer because he wasn’t certain he would be able to simultaneously pack William in and the deer out of the bush. He passed on the shot. The bear Josh took that afternoon was lying down and eating clover that was up to your knees. That bear didn't travel a bow shot from where he was hit with a hand loaded 162-grain Hornady SST from a 7mm Model 700. It took two hours to skin the bear, leaving thick white fat covering the legs and loins to cool in the trees before loading the quarters and hide in the sled. We dragged that sled load of game across the muskeg back to the truck. Not even 15 minutes later, Josh spotted a deer 500 yards down a powerline right-of-way chocked full of knee-high clovers. I waited while he stocked. There was a shot and then a second shot. In the space of three hours, Josh tagged the perfect bear for his needs, a mature doe, and her fawn.

“Uncle Pete says antlers are tough no matter how long you cook them,” said Josh as we loaded the two BBQ-perfect prime Whitetail in the truck alongside an already chilled bear. Josh still had three deer tags, an elk tag, a second bear tag, and a moose tag left. And it was just opening day. Many of the Bear Hunting Magazine readers would've passed on this bear, holding out for a bigger bear and maybe the same thing for the deer, but these animals were exactly what Josh wanted. He was doing Josh.

At home, Josh butchered and packaged two deer with the help of his patient wife. The bear fat was rendered and the four legs were stacked in the fridge for a couple of days before his dad (me) could help with the curing and smoking. He achieved his hunting goals. The cured and smoked ham shanks are tasty and moist and will make a perfect addition to a future French cassoulet, as will the bear confit. The quick-cured, spicy Tasso ham he finished on his stick smoker will make a tremendous addition to jambalaya and anything else he wants to add a hammy kick to.

We should all be doing ourselves. Do take inspiration from those top-tier hunters that lead the way, but don’t feel you have to make excuses for being you and doing you. Just be yourself out there in the wilderness! Everyone else is taken.