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Page 8 � CLARION NEWS - 2019 HUNTING GUIDE � TUESDAY, November 19, 2019

Tips to promote hunting safety for everyoneBy: Bob Frye

These are not randomincidents. Not usually.And that’s the good

news.Hunting is a safe sport

and it’s one that’s gettingsafer all the time. Take the case of New

York. Thirteen hunterssuffered “shooting-relatedincidents” – accidents oth-er than, say, heart attacks– in 2018. That was downfrom 19 the year before,and tied the record forfewest ever.That’s reflective of a

trend, state officials said.“The number of

hunters is declining, butthe hunting incident rate(incidents per 100,000hunters) is falling muchfaster,” reads a report fromthe New York Departmentof Environmental Conser-vation.“Since the 1960s, the

number of hunters hasdeclined about 20 percent,while the incident rate hasdeclined almost 80 per-cent. The current 5-yearaverage is 3.1 incidentsper 100,000 hunters, com-pared to 19 per 100,000

hunters in the 1960s.”The story is the same

across the country.Minnesota’s Depart-

ment of Natural Resourcesreported 128 hunting acci-dents and 19 fatalities in1968. Fifty years later, in2018, it had 13 accidentsand three fatalities.Pennsylvania saw 27

hunting accidents in 2018,only one of them fatal.That marked the sixthstraight year with fewerthan 30 accidents, said theGame Commission.To put that in perspec-

tive, there were more than200 accidents across Penn-sylvania in 1981. So that’s all encourag-

ing.But things can get bet-

ter, and here’s why.According to

huntered.com, whichadministers hunter educa-tion training for states allacross the country, thereare – year after year,decade after decade – fourmain causes for mosthunting accidents. First is hunter judg-

ment mistakes, such asmistaking another personfor game or not checkingthe foreground or back-ground before firing.Second is safety rule

violations, including point-

ing the muzzle in anunsafe direction and ignor-ing proper procedures forcrossing a fence, obstacle,or difficult terrain.Third is lack of control

and practice, which canlead to accidental dis-charges and stray shots.And fourth is mechani-

cal failure, such as anobstructed barrel orimproper ammunition.Which of the four

issues is the biggest canvary from year to year andstate to state.But the Oregon Depart-

ment of Fish and Wildlifesays the first two – judg-ment mistakes and safetyrules violations – are themost problematic.Not surprisingly, then,

it recommends thathunters and others in the

woods in fall wear orangeclothing – whetherrequired by regulation ornot -- to avoid being mis-taken for game. “Nothingin nature” matches thebrightest orange clothing,it saysYet it’s largely unno-

ticeable to wildlife, it adds.“Because deer and elk

see blaze orange as grey,your hunting will not beaffected,” it noted.In Pennsylvania last

year, though, nearly two-thirds of all accidentsinvolved “unintentionaldischarges,” where some-one’s gun went off unex-pectedly. More often than not,

the person injured was thesame one carrying thefirearm. Fifty-nine percentof injuries were self-inflict-

ed.So a little more care

there, perhaps, would havedropped hunting accidentnumbers even further.Add it all up and that

means most hunting acci-dents, if not all, are pre-ventable. Sportsmen andwomen just need to be vig-ilant and accountable.How to do that?Huntered.com lists four

“essential” rules tofirearms safety. Treat every firearm as

if it were loaded.Always keep the muz-

zle pointed in a safe direc-tion.Be aware of your target

and what is beyond it.Keep your finger out-

side of the trigger guarduntil you are ready toshoot.Follow those simple

rules and times afield neednot end in pain, sufferingor even tragedy, New Yorkofficials said in lookingback on 2018. “Remember that 99.9

percent of the people whohunt have safe and enjoy-able experiences. Over halfa million-people hunted inNew York …and for everyincident listed, there arethousands of other hunt-ing stories of people whosafely and responsibly

took game,” it said.“Just as important,

even more passed up shotsfor the sake of safety, con-servation, and respect forwildlife.”Bob Frye is the Every-

body Adventures editor.Reach him at 412-216-0193 or bfrye@535medi-allc.com. See other stories,blogs, videos and moreat everybodyadventures.com.

Information on huntingaccidents and safety

Every state wildlifeagency makes huntingsafety a priority message.They sometimes deliver itin different ways, though.Here’s a good one.The North Carolina

Wildlife Resources Com-mission has a “Home fromthe Hunt” campaign. It’s anationally recognizedhunter safety program.Visitors to the commis-

sion’s website can watch avariety of videos coveringeverything from generalhunting safety tips toinformation specific to treestands and more. It’sworth checking out nomatter where you hunt,particularly if you’re intro-ducing a newcomer to theoutdoors.

CLOSING IN ON RECORD-BREAKING BEAR SEASONHARRISBURG, PA -

Pennsylvania has covereda third of the distanceneeded to set a staterecord black bear harvest.Through an early

archery bear season inselected Wildlife Manage-ment Units (WMUs), twonew October firearms bearseasons and the first weekof a two-week statewidearchery bear season,Pennsylvania hunterstook a preliminary har-vest of 1,540 bears. Astatewide four-dayfirearms bear season is setstart Nov. 23, and twoextended bear seasons ofvarying lengths in select-ed WMUs start Nov. 30.Last year, hunters took

a total of 3,153 bears –Pennsylvania’s 11th bestbear harvest – in an earlyarchery bear season inselected WMUs, a shorterstatewide archery season,the statewide firearmsand extended seasons inselected WMUs. Taking asmany bears in subsequentweeks would topple thecurrent record bear har-vest of 4,350 set in 2011.“Last year, was the

11th best bear harvest instate history, but it alsowas the lowest bear har-vest over the past 11years,” noted Game Com-mission Executive Direc-tor Bryan Burhans. “Badbreaks with weather onpeak hunting days heldthe harvest back.“But if Pennsylvania

has good hunting weatheron peak hunting days inthe coming generalfirearms and extendedbear seasons, and hunterproductivity remains as ithas been in recent years,the state’s bear hunterscould set a new staterecord.”Penn’s Woods has

maintained a substantialbear population of about20,000 the past four years,despite removing morethan 17,000 bears fromthe statewide populationover the past five years.That the average annualharvest over the past fiveyears has been about

3,500 bears suggests tak-ing at least another 3,000to set a new state recordin the ongoing archeryand coming firearms bearseasons is a realistic pos-sibility.“Surely it’s hard for

some to imagine Pennsyl-vania has such a vibrantblack bear population,”noted Matt Lovallo, theGame Commission’sGame Mammals SectionSupervisor. “But bears areincredibly adaptable; theycan fit in almost any-where that offers themcover and reliable food

sources. It’s why bearsare found in moreplaces in Pennsylvaniathan anytime in theGame Commission’sexistence.”Last year, bears

were taken in 60 of 67counties. Additionally,70 bears weighing 500pounds or more, includ-ing 20 weighing 600pounds or more andtwo that topped 700pounds, were part ofthe 2018 harvest. Andthe possibility of evenlarger bears remains.“Pennsylvania bear

hunters already have tak-en a few 800-pounders,and the odds remain goodfor it to happen again,”Lovallo said. “However,it’s no small feat for abear to reach that sizewhen you consider ittakes about nine years fora bear to reach 500pounds.”But when it comes to

record bears, it’s not allabout the weight. Penn-sylvania is No. 2 amongall states and Canadianprovinces in the numberof black-bear entries inBoone & Crockett Club

records, which are basedon skull size.For the second consec-

utive year, 27 bears,including five taken witharchery tackle, wereadded to Pennsylvania’sBig Game Records book in2019, according to BobD’Angelo, who coordi-nates the state’s program.All but 10 of those

bears also qualified forentry into Boone & Crock-ett Club records.A bear qualifies for the

state book if the combinedlength and width of its

See BEAR, Page 9

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Bear From page 8

skull is at least 19 inchesif taken with a firearm or17 inches if taken witharchery tackle.

Boone & Crockett Clubhas a 20-inch minimumentry requirement.

The black bear’s tenac-ity to persevere in a statewith 12 million residentsand amidst increasinghunting pressure is whatcompelled the GameCommission earlier thisyear to double the num-ber of statewide bear-hunting days, creatingthe state’s lengthiestbear-hunting opportunitysince the 1930s.

“It’s the largest suiteof bear-season changesever approved in a singleyear,” noted Lovallo. “Inmost of the state, we’regoing from 14 or 16 daysof bear hunting to 32,from three Saturdays toseven, and we startedhunting bears almost twoweeks earlier.”

Pennsylvania’s bestbear general firearmsseasons have been sup-ported by clear, coldweather, with a littletracking snow. Signifi-cant icing, rain or fog, ora good dumping of snowduring the season, canhold the bear harvest

down, because huntershave a harder time get-ting to or from theirfavorite hunting spots,the bears are harder tosee, and overall partici-pation generally drops.

“If you haven’t boughtyour bear license yet andyou’d like to be afield tohopefully help set thenext Pennsylvania bearharvest record, there’sstill time,” emphasizedBurhans. “It’s an extraor-dinary opportunity, achance help make history.Don’t miss it!”

Through Nov. 3,169,708 bear licenseswere sold. In recentyears, annual bearlicense sales have toppedout between 170,000 to175,000. In the 2018-19license year, 174,869 bearlicenses were sold. Therecord for bear licensesales occurred in 2015,when 175,314 were sold.

More bear hunters isalways good for bearhunting, because theirdrives and movementsregularly chase bearsfrom the cover in whichthey prefer to hide. Andonce they’re on the move,hunters have greateropportunity.

But bears are great at

sitting tight. It’s howthey manage to become sobig.

Pennsylvania’s hasbeen a premier bear-hunting destination fordecades. But in recentyears, its popularity hasgrown, given the size ofits bear population andthe size of the bearshunters are taking.

But make no mistake,bears are a hard speciesto hunt. Their densitiesrarely exceed one bearper-square-mile, andbear-hunter success ratestypically fall between 2and 3 percent.

The key to taking abear is tied to scoutingjust before season forareas with abundant fallfoods and fresh sign ofbear activity. Conductinghunting-party drivesthrough thickets also iseffective.

RequirementsHunters who harvest a

bear during the four-daygeneral season must takeit to one of the GameCommission’s check sta-tions within 24 hours.

A complete list ofrequirements, check sta-tions and their dates andhours of operation can befound on in the 2019-20Pennsylvania Hunting &Trapping Digest, whichcan be viewed online atwww.pgc.pa.gov. or pur-chased with a huntinglicense.

What you needTo bear hunt in Penn-

sylvania, a hunter needsa general hunting license,as well as a bear license.

Hunting licenses canbe purchased online fromThe Outdoor Shop at theGame Commission’s web-site, or issuing agents

located in every county ofthe Commonwealth. Butlicenses purchased onlinecannot be used until theyare received through themail, because bear licens-es contain harvest eartags.

Licensing agents canbe searched by county atthe Game Commission’swebsite, www.pgc.pa.gov,under the Hunt/Trap tab.

Bear hunters mustwear a minimum of 250square inches of fluores-cent orange material onthe head, chest and backcombined at all timesduring the four-day gen-eral firearms season. Theorange must be visiblefrom 360 degrees.

Don’t ForgetHunters are required to

carry photo identificationwhile hunting.

Plan your hunt andhunt your plan; it ensuressomeone knows where youare.

Carry a cellphone incase of emergencies.

Make sure you’vethought about how you’dremove a bear from thewoods if you take one.

It is illegal to use baitsand lures in beahunting. Ifyou find bait while scout-ing or hunting, report it tothe Game Commission.

Always carry a com-pass and map in the bigwoods.

How to bag more pheasants throughout fallBy: Bob Frye

Particular, that’s whatring-necked pheasants are.

They don’t require a lotof space to survive. Not onan individual basis any-way.

The average bird willlive its entire life – usually,a span of less than 12months – within onesquare mile. That’s just640 acres.

But that country mustbe special.

Unlike, say, white-tailed deer, which seem tothrive under any condi-tions, pheasants are whatwildlife managers callhabitat specialists. Theyhave definite require-ments.

According to PheasantsForever, that means securenesting cover above allelse. It should be made upof diverse grasses, lieundisturbed at least someof the year and offer pro-tection from predatorsattacking from the groundand the air.

Traditionally, that’sexisted most reliably onsmall farms.

Seen a lot of those late-ly?

Yeah, me neither. Thekind of country pheasantsprefer continues to shrinknationwide.

The U.S. Department ofAgriculture every fiveyears does a report titledthe “Census of Agricul-t u r e . ”(https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/) The mostrecent came out in 2017.

It revealed that farm-land – the kind pheasantsneed – is disappearing.Farmland nationwideshrank another 2 percentover 2012.

Some of the biggestlosses, percentage-wise,occurred in the Northeast.

So it’s no surprise that,outside of hotbeds likeKansas, Iowa, North andSouth Dakota, Nebraskaand Minnesota, pheasant

hunting is becoming morechallenging all the time. Insome states it’s beenreduced solely to chasingstocked birds.

Even that can still befun, though.

And it’s getting under-way right now.

Wildlife agencies havealready released birds inspots. They’ll go out inwaves hereafter, throughDecember in cases, to coin-cide with hunting seasonthat run through year’send or later.

Want to get in on theaction? Following these sixtips just might put you onmore birds.

Hunt where the birds are

Obvious, you say? Cer-tainly.

But there was a timewhen wildlife agencies –fearing accidents in theface of high hunting pres-sure – threw a veil overstocking specifics.

No longer. Small gamehunters are too few, andpen-raised birds too expen-sive, for that anymore.

Now, wildlife agenciesin states like Pennsylva-nia, New York and Massa-chusetts, to name a few,detail which lands getbirds, when and, often, howmany. Stockings locationsare often mapped out.

Use that information toyour advantage.

Go earlyNot all pheasant releas-

es are created equal. Gen-erally speaking, those ear-ly in the season tend to belarger, to accommodatehunters chomping to huntin October’s comparativelywonderful weather.

Yes, the competitionwill be high. According toPheasants Forever, evenstates flush with wild birdssee three quarters of theirhunting pressure in thefirst half of the season.

And those guys andgals kill a lot of birds. InIowa, according to someestimates, 30 to 50 percentof the entire season’s har-vest occurs on opening

weekend.So get out there while

the birds are, too.Get nasty

By nature, pheasants –even pen-raised ones –seek out thicker cover.Think wetlands, thicketsand swamps.

Being prey for so manyother critters hasingrained that into theirDNA.

So, when hunting them– especially if you areafield without a dog –forego walking throughopen fields to bust thebrush. Walk the thick,nasty cover that often sur-rounds them instead.

Be sure, too, to checkout edges like hedgerows,ditches, weedy fence linesand power line cuts.

Those are all placeswhere birds, especiallythose that survive the firstwave of hunters, like tohang out.

Stop and startThis is especially

important if you are hunt-ing without a dog.

Pheasants don’t like toflush and fly from dangerunless absolutely neces-sary. Their preference is tosit tight and let dangerpass.

Hunters who walkthrough good cover – whichmay have birds in it – too

quickly pass right bypheasants without know-ing they are there.

So meander. Take a fewsteps this way, then that.Stop periodically andremain still for a fewmoments, always on alert.

Often, pheasants thatin reality are unknown tohunters convince them-selves otherwise and flushto get away, presenting ashot.

Slow and steady reallydoes win the race.

Be differentOftentimes, the majori-

ty of hunters who chasepheasants at a particularlocation do so in pre-dictable ways.

They all park in thesame lots, enter fields fromthe same direction, workthemselves and their dogsin the same zigzag gridpatterns. So mixing thingsup can pay dividends.

Park somewhere newand be quiet about thingslike closing truck doors, soas not to alert birds to yourpresence. Consider walk-ing into fields from unusu-al angles, even if thatmeans having to circlearound a bit to get started.

Or, if you’re huntingwith a friend or two, postone or two where everyoneelse starts and drive birdstoward them from the

opposite direction.

Stay lateThis applies in two

ways.First, the last hour or so

of a day is often primepheasant hunting time.Birds that were feedingwill make their way backto cover for the night,potentially exposing them-selves.

So hunt when they fig-ure to be active.

Second, late seasonpheasant hunting can berewarding.

Wildlife agencies oftenrelease birds around theChristmas holidays, whenhunters – and especiallykids – are off work andschool. They supplementthe hardiest or wisest birdsthat remain from earlier inthe season.

The one thing largelymissing then is otherhunters. Once big gameseasons start, and especial-ly after they’re over, a lot ofhunters pack away theirshotguns for the year.That’s a mistake.

Some pretty good hunt-ing remains to be had.

Bob Frye is the Every-body Adventures editor.Reach him at 412-216-0193 or bfrye@535medi-allc.com. See other stories,blogs, videos and more

at everybodyadventures.com.

One last, and unusual, pheasant

hunting tip

Now here’s one piece ofadvice you don’t necessari-ly expect when talkingabout pheasant hunting:watch for grizzlies.

But officials with Mon-tana Fish, Parks andWildlife are warning birdhunters to be on the look-out for the big bruins. Griz-zly bears now roam placesthey haven’t in decades,meaning away from moun-tains and into the prairies.They often haunt the sameplaces as bird hunters.

“What puts bears inpotential conflict with birdhunters this time of year istheir search for food inanticipation of winterhibernation. Grizzliesoften follow streams andriver bottoms that offershade, protection and food.These are the same placeshunters target for birds,”the commission said.

That’s especially truethis year.

Mike Madel, the com-mission’s bear manage-ment specialist, said tworecent snowstorms elimi-nated a lot of the bears’natural foods, sendingthem to where the birdhunters are.

He advises pheasanthunters to avoid areaswith fresh bears sign, huntwith a partner, watch theirdogs, carry bear spray andbe ready to use it, andmake noise when huntingso as to avoid surprisingany bears. Unexpectedencounters like that mostoften lead to attacks, henoted.

It’s all timely advice, asalready this year a grizzly– the same or more thanone – attacked fourhunters in Montana. Allsurvived.

But Montana officialsare urging hunters not torun or yell if they see agrizzly. That can provokean attack, they noted.

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Page 10 � CLARION NEWS - 2019 HUNTING GUIDE � TUESDAY, November 19, 2019

HUNTERS HARVEST 89 ELK IN 2019 GENERAL SEASONHARRISBURG, PA -

Ninety-eight hunters tookpart in Pennsylvania’s 2019one-week general elk hunt,which closed Nov. 9. Mostleft elk country with a tro-phy.Eighty-nine elk were

taken by hunters during theseason. And for thoselicensed to hunt antleredelk, also known as bulls, thesuccess rate was 100 per-cent, with 27 of 27 tagsfilled.The 2019 harvest includ-

ed some large elk. Fourteenbulls were estimated toweigh 700 pounds or more.The heaviest bull, tippingthe scales at 800 pounds,had a 10-by-9 rack and wastaken in Gibson Township,Cameron County by CalebHostetter, of BoilingSprings, Pa.The second-largest bull

in the harvest was a 788-pounder with an 8-by-7 racktaken in Covington Town-ship, Clearfield County byWillis Humes, of Cheswick,

Pa.Official measurements of

bull racks taken in the huntcannot be recorded until theantlers have air dried for atleast 60 days after the ani-mal was harvested.There also were some

hefty antlerless elk taken inthe harvest. Ten of the 62cows taken by hunters dur-ing the one-week seasonweighed over 500 pounds.“Although we’re satisfied

with the overall general sea-son elk harvest – it’s tough

to top a bull harvest thatgoes 27 for 27, for the secondconsecutive year there wasa slightly lower success ratefor antlerless elk hunters ina few hunt zones,” said Jere-my Banfield, Game Com-mission elk biologist. “Butthere are no guaranteeshunting Pennsylvania elk.”Elk were taken across 12

hunt zones in the generalhunting season, whichdemonstrates just how sub-stantial Pennsylvania’s elkrange has become, Banfield

noted.“It’s a tribute to the

herd’s resiliency, the workbeing accomplished by theGame Commission andDepartment of Conserva-tion and Natural Resourcesand assistance from theRocky Mountain Elk Foun-dation and Keystone ElkCountry Alliance,” Banfieldexplained.Successful hunters with-

in 24 hours of harvest arerequired to bring their elk toa check station, where tis-

sue samples are collected totest for chronic wasting dis-ease, brucellosis, and tuber-culosis. To date none ofthese diseases have beendetected in Pennsylvaniaelk.To participate in the elk

hunt, hunters must submitan application, then must beselected through a randomdrawing and purchase alicense. The drawing annu-ally attracts more than40,000 applicants.

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Finally, good news on combating CWDBy: Bob Frye

Someday, perhaps, some-one somewhere will find acure for chronic wasting dis-ease, or CWD.That will be a happy day

indeed.But in the meantime,

here -- finally, at long last --is at least one bit of goodnews concerning the trou-bling ailment.Scientists with the

National Institutes ofHealth announced thatanyone who processes deer,elk and the like can ridtheir tools of the diseaseusing common householdbleach.That’s big news, and

timely.Right now, hunters all

across the country are pur-suing deer, elk and the like.Hunting seasons are under-way.Wildlife agencies from

Pennsylvania to Wisconsinand sportsmen’s organiza-tions like the National DeerAlliance say hunters shouldget the meat from any ani-mals they harvest in knownCWD areas tested beforeconsuming it.That’s a precaution.The U.S. Centers for Dis-

ease Control and Preven-

tion says that,to date, thereare no knowncases of CWDjumping thespecies barrierto humans.But, it

added, mon-keys fed CWD-infected meatin a lab diddevelop it. AndCWD is relat-ed to mad cowdisease, whichhas killed peo-ple.Disposing

of a deer con-firmed to haveCWD doesn’tn e c e s s a r i l yend a person’srisk, though,scientists withthe Institutesof Health said.CWD prionsadhere readily to stainlesssteel and can contaminateknives, saws and otherequipment.So they began experi-

menting.“Infectious prions –

types of proteins found inmammals that when mis-folded can cause disease –are extremely difficult toinactivate, which led thescientists to seek a practi-cal, low-cost CWD deconta-

mination method. Bleachhas been proven as a decon-taminant against othertypes of prions but had nev-er been tested againstCWD,” reads a press releasefrom the Institute.They put steel wires

coated with CWD prions ina solution that was 40 per-cent bleach. Those mimic-ked butchering knives andsaws.They let them sit for five

minutes. Finally, they

removed the wires and test-ed them.Scientists said they no

longer exhibited any conta-mination.The researchers did

their work at Rocky Moun-tain Laboratories in Hamil-ton, Mont. RML is a compo-nent of the NIH’s NationalInstitute of Allergy andInfectious DiseasesScientists used CWD-

infected brains from white-tailed and mule deer. They

tested vari-ous bleachconcentra -tions andsoak times tod e t e rm i n ethe mosteffective com-bination toe l i m i n a t eprion seed-ing.Notably,

they were notable todestroy theprions inbrain tissueitself withbleach. “Pieces of

CWD-infect-ed brainretained pri-on activityeven after a30 -m inu t esoak in 100p e r c e n t

bleach. Investigators notethat bleach fails to pene-trate tissues and should beused only as a surfacedecontaminant,” the releasesaid.But that’s a start in

dealing with this puzzlingmalady.CWD is an always-fatal

brain-damaging disease incervids – species in the deerfamily – for which there isno cure and no live-animal

test. Scientists originallydiscovered it in a captive elkin Colorado in 1967.The disease remained

largely contained to the farWest for most of the nextthree decades. But it’s sincespread to 26 states andthree Canadian provinces.There is, according to

the Quality Deer Manage-ment Association, no way totell if a deer is infected justby looking at it. They cancarry the disease for 18months or more beforeshowing symptoms.So any deer taken from

an area known or suspectedto have CWD should betested, the group said.And while awaiting

results, anyone who’sprocessed a deer shouldclean their tools beforeusing them again, saidresearchers at the Insti-tutes for Health.“The scientists hope that

public health and wildlifeagencies will consider thisstudy when making formalrecommendations fordecontamination of CWDprions,” the release said.

Bob Frye is the Every-body Adventures editor.Reach him at 412-216-0193or bfrye@535mediallc.com.See other stories, blogs,videos and more at every-bodyadventures.com.

Six health benefits of eating wild gameBy: Bob Frye

The alarm goes off in thepre-dawn dark and, rollingover, you touch the shoulderof your significant other.An affectionate yet sly

smile crosses your lips.“Shh,” you say. “Shh. It’s

OK. I’m just letting you knowI’m leaving.”“Huh? What? Where?” he

or she asks.“Hunting,” you answer. “I

know I promised to stayhome and rake leaves, cleanthe gutters, fold that pile oflaundry in the corner.“But I love you too much,

love the kids too much, forthat. I’m going to spend theday in a tree stand instead, orwalk behind the bird dog, orlook for a turkey under astand of blazing fall, acorn-heavy oaks.“Not for me, but for you. I

want to put good, healthy,eco-friendly meals on thetable.”Ever tried justifying a day

in the woods like that? Suc-cessfully?Yeah, me neither.But maybe we should get

a little more credit. Wildgame is, after all, incrediblyhealthful food. If you doubt that, consider

these six health benefits ofeating wild protein.

Less fatFat is not all bad.According to the Ameri-

can Heart Association, fat is anutrient needed for healthyliving. In the proper amountsand varieties, fats help keepus warm, provide energy, sup-port cell growth and more.

But, as is the case with somany things, too much is abad thing. And domesticmeats tend to be fatty. Wild animals are leaner

because of their lifestyle.They simply get more exer-cise and eat better.Penn State University

says a 3.5-ouonce cut of beef,for example, has 2.7 grams offat. An identical cut of veni-son from a white-tailed deerhas 1.4.For that same reason, a

cut of beef contains morecalories than a similar-sizedpiece of venison.

The right fatHarvard Medical School

says a proper diet willinclude both omega-6 andomega-3 fatty acids. In theright proportions, they pro-mote heart health, amongother things.The problem is that mod-

ern diets typically contain toomuch of the former and toolittle of the latter.According to research

done by Purdue University,steers fed grains have a 5-to-1, or even sometimes 13-to-1,ratio of omega-6 to omega-3acids.By comparison, the ratio

of s-called “caveman fat” is a

far healthier 2-to-1 in deerand elk.Eating that kind of meat,

the research says, lessensobesity, lowers cholesteroland decreases the chances ofthings like strokes.

MineralsIron is an essential min-

eral to a healthy diet, as ithelps transfer oxygen fromthe lungs to tissues.Yet iron deficiency is the

most common nutritionaldeficiency in the world. Someestimates are that it impacts25 percent of the people onthe planet. Likewise, zinc is critical to

good health, as it promotesimmune systems, slows age-related muscle degenerationand helps wounds heal.Wild game offers good

amounts of both. More, infact, than many domesticmeats.

Drug freeFarm-raised livestock –

and especially what’s beencalled “factory farm” livestock– is invariably subjected toantibiotics and growth hor-mones.That’s meant to limit dis-

ease and promote growth.The idea is to grow as many

fat, relatively healthy ani-mals as possible.But even with all that,

commercially-produced foodcan be tainted. A 12-yearstudy done by the Center forScience in the Public Interestsays common ground beefand chicken are among theriskiest foods to have in yourkitchen.And that’s to say nothing

of concerns that all those vet-erinary drugs might posehuman health concerns.Free-ranging, wild game

– from deer to squirrels --contains none of those drugs.It’s as natural as naturalgets.

Environmentalimpact

It takes a lot of livestockto feed the growing numberof people on this planet. Andincreasingly, factory farmsare producing it.The United Nations Food

and Agriculture Organiza-tion says large-scale livestockproduction – think industrialfacilities – is now the norm.There are implications tothat.Scientists say industrial

farming – at least potentially– impacts everything fromglobal warming and biodiver-sity to land and waterresources and human health.It’s no wonder the Envi-

ronmental Protection Agencyregulates such facilitiesmuch like they would, say, amill. In contrast, hunting for

wild game – or trapping orfishing for it – is eco-friendly.It involves no pollution. Andyou’ve got to track it down,which is good exercise initself. Plus, hunting is the tool

wildlife managers use to sus-tain game populations.

TasteMany people who eat

wild game for the first timerefer to its “gaminess.”What they’re tasting is,

well, flavor.Wild animals exercise

more than their domesticcounterparts, which boostsblood circulation. They alsoeat more varied diets andoften live longer. Add it all up and game

meat -- higher in proteinand richer in vitamins – just

generally tastes moreintense.That’s not a bad thing.

Far from it.That people might think

so is just reflective of a worldwhere blander foods are thenorm. Sure, preparing wild

game requires differenttechniques sometimes.Some cuts of wild game –though not all -- requirelonger, slower cooking meth-ods to make them tender. But far from tasting bad,

wild game tastes as good asit is healthy.

So the next time youhead afield, do it with asmile. You’re not just havingfun, but in your labors you’retaking one for the team byproviding healthy optionsfor the table. You can make the argu-

ment anyway.

Bob Frye is the Every-body Adventures editor.Reach him at 412-216-0193or bfrye@535mediallc.com.See other stories, blogs,videos and more at every-bodyadventures.com.