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Roasted Grouse With Mushrooms

Make your own cream of mushroom sauce (and add bacon and whiskey) for this classic grouse recipe

Ask any deer camp old-timer for a foolproof recipe, and you’re likely to encounter a lot of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. There is a reason for that: Mushrooms plus cream plus game meat adds up to a perfect trinity of flavors. This recipe chucks the can, and all its high-sodium gloppiness, while retaining the earthy comfort that made mushrooms and cream the go-to sauce for generations of hunters.

Ingredients

Grouse:
4 grouse
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
8 strips bacon

Sauce:

2 Tbsp. butter
20 oz. cremini or wild mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin (morels, chanterelles, or a mix of wild and cultivated would be good)
1 shallot, minced
1 cup rich chicken stock (or defatted drippings from the pan)
3 sprigs thyme
12 cup cream (or crème fraîche)
(or)

1 Tbsp. bourbon
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. ROAST THE GROUSE: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse the birds, pat dry, then smear each with a tablespoon of softened butter. Generously salt and pepper, inside and out. Wrap 2 bacon slices around each grouse, then set them in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven until the grouse is browned, about 25 minutes. Remove to a plate and let rest, covered loosely in tinfoil, while you make the sauce.

2. MAKE THE SAUCE: Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and about 1/2 tsp. salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms release a lot of moisture and begin to smell fragrant, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot. Sauté until soft, and until most of the moisture has gone out of the pan, about 4 minutes. Add the stock (or defatted drippings from the roasting pan) and thyme sprigs and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Pour in the cream and bourbon and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3–5 minutes.

3. TO SERVE, spoon the sauce onto four plates, and rest a grouse in the center of each. Sprinkle thyme over the grouse. SERVES 4

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Posted by Wawang Lake on March 15, 2016 in grouse, hunting, mushrooms, recipe, Wawang Lake Resort, Wildlife

Tags: grouse, grouse hunting, hunting, hunting at wawang lake, Ruffed Grouse, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort

Master the Moon Phases

14 Mar

We all understand that hunting or fishing near sunrise or sunset is almost always the most productive. Well, the same goes for the moon, along with its effects of overhead and underfoot periods. Just as the sun has its yearly cycle of 365 days, the moon has a yearly cycle as well, but in much less time of 29.5 days.

The effects the lunar cycle has on tides and weather is well documented, these effects carry over into wildlife movements as proven through record harvest studies.

Next time you hear about a big buck being taken at noon or the next time you’re looking at trail camera pictures of the one you’re after, the chances are it was during one of these times; moonrise, moonset overhead or underfoot.

Hunting Weather App

We are entering a favorite hunting time, waxing gibbous through full moon; 10 a.m. until noon and 3 p.m. until dark are your best times to hunt during this moon phase.

It will be especially good if weather factors you’re following on co-operate. Track the weather where you hunt and fish at ACCUWEATHER

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Posted by Wawang Lake on March 14, 2016 in Bear, bow hunting, gun hunting, hunting, trip planning, Wawang Lake Resort, weather

Tags: lunar, lunar hunting times, moon phases, solunar, solunar hunting times, Wawang Lake Resort, weather

Camouflage Won’t Help IF…….

12 Mar

You’re invisible. Or at least you think you are. After all, you’ve done all the right things: bought that pricey camo that matches your surroundings, painted your face with lots of greasy face paint, and you are even wearing camo boots. Now all you have to do is sit there, soak in a little sunshine, and wait for a big boar to show himself.

But when a bear does come in, he spots your position and blows out for the next county. The problem? You set up in the sunlight

A common mistake that has ruined plenty of big-game hunters’ chances is setting up where direct sunlight can reach them. Sunshine turns a camouflaged hunter from an indistinct shadowy figure into a glowing beacon. Dappled sunlight shining through a canopy of leaves isn’t usually a problem. But direct sunlight can reveal your whereabouts and end your hunt.

Camouflage clothing’s basic function is to break up our outline – tricking our prey’s eyes into passing over us in their constant search for danger. The human silhouette is incredibly distinct in the wilderness – there is no other form like it. To fool game, it is essential to reduce our human outline. The best camo patterns utilize starkly contrasting colors in their design, thus changing us from a human form into something indistinct and non-threatening. Interestingly, for those of you traditional hunters like me – a good plaid pattern like Fred Bear often wore can work almost as effectively as modern camouflage.

Remember that sunlight moves as the earth rotates. Set up your ambush in a location that allows you to remain shadowed as the light moves around you. If you are still-hunting or stalking, move efficiently through areas of sunshine and then pause to watch and listen when in the shadows. Set up in dark shade that offers good shooting lanes. Remember to keep your hands and face camo’d up as well – if left uncovered, they are a dead giveaway even in the shadows.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on March 12, 2016 in archery, Bear, black bear, Black Bear Hunts, bow, bow hunting, hunting, preparation, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: black bear, black bear hunting, black bear hunts, Bow Hunting, Guides and Outfitters, hunting, hunting at wawang lake, hunting equipment, hunting guide, outfitter, Trophy hunting, wawang, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort

Test your Accuracy with Ballistics Software

11 Mar

Ballistics calculators are indispensable tools for making hits on long-range targets, but they are only as accurate as the data they are fed. Many shooters fail to appreciate that some of the initial data input into these calculators are just good guesses and need to be tweaked based on trial-and-error experimentation in the field. However, spend time getting these four calculators dialed in, and you’ll be amazed at the improvement in your accuracy.

Field Firing Solutions
This sophisticated software program comes on an SD card and works with PDAs that run WM 5.0 or above. The program, called Delta V, can work with Bluetooth-enabled Kestrel units to incorporate environmental data at the shooter’s location. This is an advanced program that requires dedication to master, but it is the best on the market. ($395; lextalus.com)

Cold Bore
This software works on both Windows desktop computers and mobile devices running WM operating systems. This calculator doesn’t use a ballistic coefficient (BC) model, but rather one that employs a drag coefficient, which is more precise. The software can be purchased as a bundled package for both desktop and mobile, or individually for either platform. ($150, bundled; $85, individual; patagoniaballistics.com)

Applied Ballistics
This easy-to-use software was developed by Brian Litz, one of the foremost experts on long-range ballistics. It runs on both Android and iOS mobile devices. The calculator comes with a library containing hundreds of custom G1/G7 BC profiles for various bullets. ($30; appliedballisticsllc.com)

JBM Ballistics
This web-based ballistics calculator is both very good and very free. It has a comprehensive library of existing loads, and allows the shooter to tweak the inputs to generate accurate firing solutions. (jbmballistics.com)

How Wind Affects Bullet Flight
Whereas judging a bullet’s drop at long-range is a science, correctly calculating the effect of wind is more of an art. Unseen eddies, sudden gusts, and funnels created by the terrain can all come into play, and it takes practice to pick up on these influences.

Usually, we’re limited to taking a single wind reading at the shooting position. But if we can ascertain only one wind value, that is the one to have. This is because the wind nearest the shooter has the greatest effect on the bullet’s path. Why? Once the projectile starts moving due to the wind, it keeps angling in that direction, even if the conditions are calm down range.

Conversely, if it is only windy down range, the bullet will move less since there is less time remaining in the bullet’s flight.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on March 11, 2016 in firearm, gun hunting, hunting, hunting equipment, preparation, trip planning, Wawang Lake Resort, weather

Tags: Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

ID the Morel – Spring’s Best Mushroom

04 Mar

When the spring gobbler season and shed hunting is in full swing, you’ll probably spending a lot of time in the woods looking at the ground for antlers and turkey sign. Something else you ought to be on the lookout for is a weird little pitted thing that looks like a small, lumpy, brown brain. This time of year, that organism is most likely a common morel mushroom, a popular item of spring foragers. Here’s how to properly identify this delectable fungus.

ID a Morel
The common morel (Morchella esculenta) is a prized wild mushroom that grows in forests and shady areas, primarily in April and May. These mushrooms are usually 2 to 4 inches tall. The tan, gray, or brownish colored head with irregular pitting is well camouflaged against leaf litter. If you cut the mushroom completely in half, it should be entirely hollow inside. Look carefully for the cone-shaped head to be fully fused to the stalk at the lower end.

If the head is only attached at the top, and hangs like a skirt, you are probably looking at a false morel, which can be very poisonous. False morels (the genera Verpa and Gyromitra) usually grow in the summer and fall, which are great times to avoid anything resembling a morel. Another way to properly ID an edible morel is to make a spore print, which, for a common morel is yellowish. Here’s how do that.

Make a Spore Print
1. Handle your foraged mushrooms carefully, and assume that any unidentified mushroom is deadly. Get the whole thing if possible, but the cap is the part you need for spore prints.

2. Wrap each individual mushroom in wax paper or a piece of aluminum foil for transport. Plastic bags will make them sweat, and putting multiple mushrooms in a bag can create confusion.

3. Place the mushroom cap gills-down on a piece of white paper and set a cup or bowl over it. Allow it to sit several hours or, better yet, overnight.

4. Remove the cover and lift the mushroom cap. Observe the color of the spores that were deposited, and use that color for identification. Some mushrooms deposit white spores, which are hard to see on the white paper. Set a strong flashlight beside the paper, shining across the surface, to assist in your identification of pure white spores. Check this color against several guides, and double-check the mushroom’s structures against similar mushrooms to ensure that you have the right mushroom ID.

How is the morel hunting in your area so far this spring? Have you ever had a bad run-in with a misidentified mushroom?

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Posted by Wawang Lake on March 4, 2016 in cooking, do it yourself, hunting, mushrooms, northern ontario, Northwestern Ontario, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: Cook, diy, Food, recipe, survival, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Wild Plants to Cure the Flu and Common Cold

03 Mar

Can’t make it to the drug store right now? Whatever the reason, you do have some natural medicinal options in the winter season. Look for these three plants to lessen the symptoms and shorten the duration of your next case of the cold or flu. All you need is a sharp eye and a patch of wild growth to find these common and potent medicinal’s.

Mullein
Mullein is a native plant, which favors dry, rocky soil and full sunlight, and is found throughout North America. An easy way to spot patches of this plants in cold weather is to look for the chocolate brown skeletons of the second-year plants. Look for 4- to 6-foot-tall stalks, which often have branching flower heads that resemble the arms of a saguaro cactus.

The part you want for medicine are the velvety green leaves, which can still be found in winter growing in basal rosettes on one-year-old plants. Treat head colds by crushing the leaves into boiling water and breathing the steam. This medicated vapor acts as a decongestant.
Barberry
The little red berries of barberry contain a compound called berberine. This acts as an immune system booster, helping your body fight off viral attacks like the common cold and the flu. The bitter taste of the berries isn’t very inviting, but eating a handful each day you’re feeling sick can shorten the illness, much like elderberry and Echinacea will. Look for small bushes with small dangling red berries. The two native varieties of the shrubs will have thorns in sets of three growing all over the twigs. The introduced Japanese species will have single thorns growing around the twigs. All three species can be used medicinally. As an additional point of identification, check the seeds in the red berries. Each berry should contain dark, slender seeds—typically two per berry.

Yarrow
This non-native plant grows from coast to coast on sunny open ground, although it’s originally native to Europe. Its most common use is as a poultice for cuts and other wounds. But you can fight colds and flu with it by making a tea from the leaves. Chop up the fresh leaves and add one tablespoon to one cup of scalding hot water. Soak the leaves for 10 to 15 minutes. You can sweeten the drink if you need to, or drink it commando-style. The anti-viral compounds help your immune system through its battle, while the diaphoretic compounds will get a sweat going to help break fevers.

Just make sure you use a field guide or guidance from an expert for positive identification of these plants. The last thing you need to do is poison yourself while you’re already ill.

Rose Hip Benefits
A Rose hip is the fruit of a rose. The wild dog rose is the type of rose most often cultivated for their hips. This plant grows up to ten feet tall and bears a white, very fragrant flower. Once the flower has bloomed, and all the petals have fallen off, the hip is picked and used in a wide variety of preparations. Rose hips are the best source of vitamin C; they contain 50% more vitamin C than oranges.
A single tablespoon of the pulp gives an adult more than the recommended daily allowance of 60 mg. They can be eaten raw, after being put through a blender, or soaked in water overnight and then cooked in the water for about half an hour. Because of the high vitamin C content they are an excellent immune system booster, and are often used as a supplement to prevent or treat a cold. The pulp from rose hips may be used in sauces or made into jelly.

Have you made medicine from wild plants?

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Posted by Wawang Lake on March 3, 2016 in Camping, camping equipment, cuts, do it yourself, hunting, hunting equipment, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: barberry, diy, healing plants, mullein, plant medicines, survival, Wawang Lake Resort, yarrow

How to Make a Quick CAN Stove

29 Feb

If you suffer sticker shock after shopping for wood-burning camping stoves, you’re not alone. Why pay $60 to $100 for a titanium backpacking wood stove when you can make one out of a bean can for nothing. Sure, you could build a fire without any containment at all, but the low weight, efficiency, and minimal set-up time of a tin-can stove could make you a believer. And as long as there are sticks to burn, your stove will have fuel. Follow these easy steps, and you’ll have a lightweight bug-out-ready survival stove in no time.

The Gear List
To create a bean can stove, you’ll certainly need the empty can. You’ll also need a pair of tin snips. If you don’t have a pair in your tool box, borrow a pair. You’ll also need a tape measure, a pencil or marker, a drill with a ½-inch (or similar size) drill bit, and a file to remove sharp edges when you’re done. Gloves are a good idea, too, since you’ll be working with a lot of sharp metal.

The Procedure
Remove the can lid completely from a 40-ounce (or similar sized) food can. You could use a smaller can, but the 40-ounce size because one-quart water bottles will nest inside the finished stove. Next, make a mark all the way around the can about 1 ½ inches below the open top. Use your tin snips, spiraling in, to cut this ring off the top of the can, but before you start, determine whether you are using right- or left-hand snips. It will be easier if you cut in the correct direction. You could leave the can full height, but I wouldn’t recommend it. A shortened stove has better balance, and the last thing you need is for your stove to tip over.

Next, make four equidistant marks around the mouth. Each mark will be the centerline for the four “teeth” on the top of your stove. Mark a line half an inch on either side of each of the four centerlines and draw a line around the can 1 inch down from the mouth. Using the tin snips again cut out the lines, leaving four 1×1-inch teeth at the top of the can.

Next, drill eight equally-spaced holes around the bottom of the can wall. These will be the air intake vents. File off any sharp or rough edges from your metal work. Finally, before you start cooking food or boiling water over this stove, burn a few twigs for about ten minutes to get rid of the plastic can lining.

The Effectiveness
Once your stove is complete, set some tinder in the bottom and some broken twigs on the top of that. Place it in a stable, level spot and light the tinder through one of the vent holes. Place your cooking pot over the top of the stove and cook away. You will have to remove the pot every time you need to add fuel, but this is far better than trying to create stove doors for adding fuel. It also forces you to set the dangerously hot pot out of the way when refueling. This stove can burn twigs, paper, cardboard and any other solid fuel that’ll fit inside; and it boils one quart of water in about eight minutes. The finished stove weighs only 2 ½ ounces.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on February 29, 2016 in Camping, camping equipment, do it yourself, hunting, preparation, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: Cook, diy, hunting equipment, Outdoors, survival, wawang, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort

Stay On Track – Navigation Tricks

28 Feb

Getting lost is one of the primary reasons that people find themselves in a survival situation in the outdoors. It can happen to anyone, anywhere; but it’s much more likely to occur when someone fails to keep track of their location, or when navigation skills are lacking. Getting lost can be a preventable problem, if you take the right precautions.

To avoid getting lost on your next hunt or hike, put the following tricks into practice:

– Get a map of the area that you are traveling to and study it before going.
– Take the map along, and use it and a compass (or GPS) while you’re there. If you’re printing out maps from your computer, don’t use an inkjet printer. If the map gets wet, the ink will run and turn into a rainbow-smeared mess.
– Imagine what the terrain would look like from a “bird’s eye view” and where you are in that terrain.
– Look behind you frequently, especially if you are returning in that direction.
– Look for and use landmarks, if possible.
– Study and remember the landmarks that you use.
– When traveling off trails, use prominent, distant landmarks and/or a compass bearing to travel in straight lines.
– Account for declination when reading your map and compass. Any good map should tell you how much to add or subtract for True North.
– Watch out for gun barrels and other metal items, which can pull the compass needle off course and distort your bearing.

If you’re heading into the woods this weekend, good luck and stay safe.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on February 28, 2016 in hunting, hunting equipment, survival, trip planning, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: compass, hunting, hunting equipment, map, Wawang Lake, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

GROUSE Hunting Rates

25 Feb

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Posted by Wawang Lake on February 25, 2016 in bow hunting, grouse, grouse hunting, gun hunting, hunting, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: bow, bow hunters, Bow Hunting, grouse, grouse hunting, hunting, hunting guide, Wawang Lake, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Muzzle Affect Accuracy – With or Without?

24 Feb

If you hunt in rainy places, you probably know about electrical tape, the basis of vigorous debate in almost any camp.

The tape, stuck over the muzzle, is used to keep precipitation and debris out of the rifle’s bore. But many hunters argue that the protective layer throws off your bullet’s impact point. Others say the flimsy barrier won’t deflect the bullet.

Which is it?

After testing the accuracy of two bullet types fired from the same .308 bench rest rifle, first without tape over its muzzle and then with electrical tape covering the bore. The results of eight 5-shot groups: Tape does not significantly degrade accuracy. Just as important, the tape also did not shift the rifle’s point of aim.

If you tape your muzzle to keep out the elements, you needn’t worry about shooting through it.