Hunting with Friends - 2010 Deer Hunts

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Nice going spence. Bow season in Iowa opens Oct 1. Trying to make my mind up to do it this year or not. My freezers are about full from last year, meat specials at the stores, and a big batch of frozen sweet corn. Shotgun season comes in Dec, so gotta make some space by then.

If I do bow hunt, the daughter and hubby will get all the meat. Just means an extra day of work for me, after the hunt processing and wrapping meat! If I do it again this year, they get lessons and will help. Then next year, they get a field-dressed deer dropped off at their door. See if they still want a yearly deer for the freezer after that.

My son has cerebral palsy and only one good arm, so I guess he still gets one on me. He's not too helpful on meat cutting or wrapping.

So is this your one and only, or are you hunting for another? We can get God knows how many in my county, depending on the different hunting methods. Iowa even has quite a few meat lockers, where you can drop off a field dressed deer to donate the meat for the needy. I'm considering that as well. Have the fun and help the less fortunate with less work. I never pay to have my meat processed, so a Sat harvest, means a Sun of work here.

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Good start on the meat season. Too bad you ruined the heart and liver.
Muzzle loader starts weekend after next here. Bow season's been in a while but it's too darn hot and buggy to be doing that in south GA.

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

I'm SOOOOO MUCH, about ready to get back to hunting solo again! We have an average of 13 hunters and around 25 tags to fill. The guys keep buying the extra doe tags in our area, trying to thin the population. It's getting to be too much work and taking out the fun part. We hunt Sat and Sun to fill most tags. I take Mon as a vacation day, along with a few others to pick up the remains and fill them all. Of course, after the hunt, we quarter them all up and put the meat in plastic totes. Thank God, one guy has a walk-in cooler so they can rest until the next weekend.

The next weekend, we bone, cut, grind and package the meat. Takes both days, that's with electric saw and grinder too. Our wives come to help wrap. We all bring food, so it's a great social event, but you have no rest for two weekends. (in Iowa, you miss the weekends you should be Christmas shopping)

If I hunt alone, be it bow, handgun, shotgun or rifle, I have a rule. Thou shalt only slay a deer on Sat. Then I can cut, grind and wrap on Sun and have it a done deal. Don't have an electric grinder here, so it takes a little more time, but it cleans up easier too. I can knock a deer out in 3-4 hours and have it in the freezer. I just have one of the old fashioned hand grinders, the ones you see at antique stores now. :-[

I always try to get an approximate weight of the meat, that I wish to grind into hamburger. If I have 25 LBS of ground deer, I buy 25 LBS of cheap 73% lean hamburger. Run deer meat thru the grinder once. Mix deer and hamburger together 50/50 in 5 gallon buckets by hand. Then run mixture thru the grinder again. The hamburger fat makes the deer much better. By myself, I can make it a one weekend deal.

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Clubs or bare knuckle ? We just shoot em and get it over with

Got a couple of them hand grinders myself and my opinion is they belong in a museum

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Wow...I took a lot of deer back in Michigan. Usually would cut one up for steaks and chops and roasts, make summer sausage out of at least one more...and anything else I shot got ground into burger.

Me and my buddies would never think to mix beef of beef fat in with the ground venison. We like it just the way it is.

Must be a Michigan thing.

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Nah ,maybe a midwest thing. I never add fat to my ground game for my own immediate family. I enjoy the leanness and taste/texture.
I will hand mix some beef 50/50 when making a 'pot roast meatloaf' for the family members who don't like/ain't used to the game flavor...

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

I got to thinking, deer I've taken down south didn't taste near as good as our corn fed deer up north.

Maybe that's the difference?

That and all the feed we gave them in front of our blinds.

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Good writing Spence. Makes me want to get the stand ready.

And a spouse that'll work WITH you. Dang, you got it good!

GUNSMOAK.com

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

Clubs or bare knuckle ? We just shoot em and get it over with  

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Clubs are for use when they are asleep floating in the pond. It doesn't wake up the others...

 

Re: Fall in KTOG Land...

congrats on the nice looking deer spence.

 

Dismal Deer Hunting day !



I went deer hunting today, and all I saw were lousy elk !

 

Re: Dismal Deer Hunting day !

Cool! I have saw elk tracks around this pond that my stand is near but have yet to see her. At least I think it's a cow. Can you guys buy tags for the elk down there?

 

Re: Dismal Deer Hunting day !

Elk Hunting in TN started two seasons ago, and has been limited to quota hunts with 5 permits per year so far.

I will note this... I have had a few dozen encounters with them so far, and *none* of them are afraid of humans.  For now, it is mostly like shooting cattle.  Hopefully they will develop a fear of hunters.

Yesterday, My dad shot at a deer during a muzzle loader hunt.  An elk happened to be grazing in the same field.  The elk completely ignored the boom of the ML, and just continued feeding. It was back today ("Ethel", that's "Fred" behind her), and watched me all afternoon.


B.

 

Re: Dismal Deer Hunting day !

Elk meat is pretty tasty... Wouldn't be much sport in it from the sounds of things. Maybe once the herd grows a little bit and people start hitting them with cars then your state will open up more tags to the public. I bet it makes for some nice viewing though, having elk walk around your stand all day.

 

Re: Dismal Deer Hunting day !

Heck, what better way to make the deer feel safe than to have some elk kickin back and enjoying the scene? As annoying as squirrl can be, they atleast give the woods that "it safe now" sound, assuming they arn't fussing at you. Saturday I saw seven squirrl and on the way out, 10 turkey. No grey ghosts.