Magic Mare

I couldn't agree more. 'Hunters' who hire a guide for thousands of dollars are only interested In killing the best genetic example of the species, which removes it from the gene pool. It's not for food... The statement is... I slaughtered the best of the best, with my guide, my assault quality weapon, and home comforts to keep me comfy cozy on the trip. The Alaskan substincence hunters are far more interested in which gender was the best tasting and best fat producer at various times of year. I've never heard any of the cast rave about the points on the animals rack. Again, everyone's first concern seems to be body fat for good eating. And they work for it, rain, snow, frigid, day or night. When I was a kid, my little brother had serious medical bills. Money was tight, but my folks wanted to give us family time. Our summer fishing vacations to freshwater lakes did that but also helped subsidize the cost of our summer family break. And frankly, the lake did have some trophies. But those could be gamey tasting fish Instead we fished for white bass (actually a kind of perch) that was delicious and had a high daily limit since the lake was plentiful with them. I recall how happy my mom (the family accountant) was when ended our vacation with loads of packages of average sized frozen fillets to eat thru the rest of the year. We weren't looking for the show fish. Just healthy ones, and we had fun being a part of the supply process. I did have to kill those fish so I could fillet them but knowing they would feed our family completely erased any regrets.

Thank you Medicine Crow. What I don't understand is how some people here think that killing animals in order to feed a meat dependent society need be done in a way that maximizes the animals escape options. Can you imagine telling your village that you had two options for your village hunt? One was in the river that guaranteed you harvest the maximum meat for winter. The other was on the open tundra that would make it hard to approach unseen. So to be fair to the animal, you opted for the open tundra!? And so you only managed to harvest a third of what you could have. From what I've read here, without 3-5 pounds of meat fat per day, Alaskans can become very ill.

It's troubling to see just how many people think the Hailstones, and others, harvest of meat is somehow cruel, greedy or unnecessary. You use the word 'unsportsmanlike'???. Since when is killing better as a SPORT than it is as supplying food for survival? You weekend warriors who want some sport? Meet the animals on their own terms... with your bare hands. Now that's sporting boys! Oh wait...Glen, Chip, Andy all have chased something down and stomped it to finish it off. Have you? And Chip, Agnes, Andy, Sue etc.) don't meet with your shooting criteria? They don't have the option of cancelling the trip if weather conditions aren't ideal. Sick or healthy, they have to chase meat and stockpile whatever is legal and is palatable ( not trophys) They use guns that have been doused in fresh and salt water, frozen and thawed a thousand times, dropped, tweaked, repaired and rebuilt. They shoot after hours of stalking in sub SUB zero conditions. And finding Caribou swimming is a godsend because they can select the best, kill efficiently, and waste nothing. Just how many meat bearing animals would you need to kill in a year to feed your family, extended family, and elderly, disabled folks in your town. You are clueless. Unlike shopping thru a butcher supply house, there is no guarantee that the moose, caribou, salmon, you catch will be readily available again, that week, month, or perhaps that year. Remove the supplier and then tell us how you would go about surviving? To anyone who has ever earned a living based on performance, such as realtor, lawyer, doctor, waitress, mechanic. Does a great week of work, lots of clients, patients, tips, mean you should lay back the rest of the month? No. I'd put up as many animals as legal just as I earned as much money as I possibly could. Greedy? No...SMART. What about Humane killing? Jam thousands of cattle into a feedlot. No freedom for months on end. They have no natural life, and no way to survive. They stand in shit, and are cycled toward an eventual end of a life they never lived. There is no chance for any one of them. On LBZ species compete, ambushing each other, fleeing, escaping, getting caught and or successfully killing other wildlife, humans, sled dogs, fish. Even the terrain kills, beast and man. When was the last time you drowned in the seafood department. Whether LBZ individuals shoot, club, ambush, harvest eggs, harpoon, or trap an unwary prey, it is so much more fair than these holier than thou hand wringing Folks who pay someone to do the dirty work...no details please. Next time you toss the leftovers out, of that miserable hog that lived in a stinking void so you could eat a porkchop, understand that in subsistence living, that leftover would be bait, compost, a second meal or extra food for the disabled tribal member. And he would have had a chance to NOT become a porkchop. Quit talking about LBZ like it's some hobby hunting program where the poor species are pets and tribal hunters who help feed large numbers of people are savages. We're all savages. You just don't butcher the flesh you consume. LBZ is a way of life where goods don't necessarily require funds. Where cash doesn't always block out the reality of our survival. Vegetarian....old Eskimo word for lousy hunter.

LBZ producers have done a very good job of representing different lifestyles. I wish there would be one more family LBZ would represent. A townie or townie family, with a non substance lifestyle. Maybe a local teacher, shop owner, undertaker, or whatever. I'd like to compare their lives, life below zero trying to start the car at 40 below. Dressing the kids for winter school. Social life in the dark times. How much does food cost when someone else kills it, or when shipping costs five times as much as the food does. How much do they make doing the same thing as someone in Chicago, Boise, Miami? I think LBZ does a fine job of showing the exception ... the non conformists, but my guess is that even everyday living in say Fairbanks (larger city closer to the arctic circle) would show those of us in the lower 48 that the colder areas of the last frontier are different regardless of how you work to survive.

To see Chip flown off to prison was rough. Pre law encounter, he was a great hunter / exceptional shot who got meat for so many others beyond his immediate family. A verbal altercation with a trooper cost him his right to use a gun. And jail time. Five years less time applied means 15 mos. left to go. Chip is a laid back guy but when Agnes' son got into it with troopers, and his daughter got grabbed by the trooper in what Chip perceived to be inappropriately) while verbally defending her brother, things went downhill. Chip accused the trooper of 'improprieties'...and felt the guy was baiting him while physically holding his daughter. That cost him his living, his voice, and his freedom since he can't or won't say more. Personally, I doubt he has much more to lose. Chip committed no violent crime...his voice being his only crime. I hope he doesn't get hurt or worse in prison. This thing seems over the top. Everyone has a hot spot. With Chip, it's obvious his life centers on his wife and kids. This is an example of a non violent guy believing there was a physical threat to his kid. That accusation 'mistake'? cost him everything. If anyone knows of a fund to appeal for this non violent man to get his gun rights back, after serving time, I'm on board. In the interim, my heart goes out to Agnes and the kids. Their life of contentment has been shattered.