As I said in my last deer hunting post,there is no substitute for boot leather in the field,you have to get out there and scout,you have to locate bedding areas,water sources, food sources,and deer trails.
You also have to plan ahead because ag fields get harvested,and the summer/early fall food sources change. What deer are feeding on now,and in the opening weeks of bow season will change as soon as local ag fields are harvested.
Once acorns drop-that's the primary food source,deer will eat white oak acorns above all other foods in fall. Apples are a close second. In NE Ohio,the crabapple becomes a food source when other foods aren't available.
When you pick your stand/blind sites,you have to consider multiple things,first are bedding areas and water sources,then food sources,then comes trails leading to and from these areas.
You have to be able to get to your stand/blind without spooking bedding deer,there are two ways of doing this,first is to get to your blind long before deer return to the bedding area-which means in the dark,at least an hour before legal shooting light.
Second is to locate your blind/stand far enough away from the bedding areas,that you don't spook deer.
This approach is best for afternoon/evening hunts,as the idea is to catch the deer leaving their bedding areas to drink water and feed.
You may have to go to your blind on one trail,and leave on another to avoid spooking deer-figure this out now.
It's best to pick several sites,so you can hunt no matter which way the wind is blowing.
If you are hunting on a ridgeline/rise in the land,remember that in the morning,as it warms up,air moves from low to high,it does the opposite in the evening,so pay close attention to the wind direction,if it's parallel to the ridge/rise it's okay to hunt,if the wind is blowing at your back-pick another place to hunt,wind in your face means the wind will carry your scent over the ridge,and it will go to the bottom behind you,and not the bottom if front of you,so you're good to hunt that site.
Same with any other blind site-keep the wind in you're face,so it's carrying you're scent away from any approaching deer.
While you are hiking through the woods now and in early Sept,take binoculars with you,and scan the tops and branches of the oak trees,find a few with more acorns than the rest,and use these trees to set up your stand/blind near.
Another great stand/blind location is what is known as edge cover- the brushy areas between woods and fields. This is where bucks make rubs year after year,look around and you should be able to spot last year's rubs. If there's a lot-put a stand/blind near the edge cover,preferably just inside the woods,where there are known buck trails.
Locate another stand right on the field edge,pick a spot where there's a few small trees with branches about the height of a deer's head,then pick a couple more so you can hunt the edge cover from either the field side or the woods side in any wind direction.
Once you've got your blind/stand sites picked out- take a small rake,a folding saw,and a pair of hand pruners with you into the woods. Clear any branches that you would brush against,or snag your pack,bow,or clothing on. then rake the leaves and debris from the trail. You'll have to do it again after the leaves drop,but it's much easier to rake the leaves away if you've already cleared your trails.
Do this now,or real soon,as deer notice changes in the woods.
Starting the last week of October,make a two or three fake scrape lines,pick small trees with a branch the bucks can reach that's toward the open area/field.
Rake away all the dead grasses,leaves and debris in about a 3' semi-circle under the trees,use a stick,or old deer antler to make marks in the dirt like a deer was scraping it's antlers to clear debris from the scrape.
Make a line of these,4-6 to a line,and either use a scent like Active Scrape,or drink a lot of water before you head into the woods and piss in the scrapes yourself-I've done it for years,and it works just fine.
Starting the last week of October/first week of November,hunt the scrape lines every evening hunt.
I'll start hanging scent wicks with doe in estrous scent near the scrape lines starting the first week of November. I do not leave them out-I use bottles with a wick that can be re-capped and reused all season,you just have to add more estrous urine every so often.
These are what I use...
Tink's reusable scent bottles
The whitetail rut in NE Ohio hit's the peak around the 15th of November every year,breeding starts around the first of November. This is when you want to hunt for a big buck,if that's what you're after.
The last week of Oct. until the last week of Nov. is the time to rattle and use a grunt tube and estrous bleat call.
Pay attention to the rut,because any does not bred in Nov. will cycle back into estrous 28 days later-in Dec. then in Jan. there's a much smaller period of breeding.
I'll do a post on rattling and using grunt tubes doe and fawn bleats and estrous bleats before the rut hits.
The guys who get a deer every year are the guys who get out there and scout,get their hunting spots picked out/set up long before the rut hits,and stay in their blind/stand once they get to it.
So get out there,find your stand/blind sites,get your shooting lanes cut now,clear your trails to and from your blinds now and you'll be way ahead of most deer hunters.
Showing posts with label deer hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deer hunting. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Deer Archery Season Less Than a Month Away in Ohio- Some Deer Hunting Basics
First-
Now's the time to step up your target practice.
I go from my 18-36 arrows a day all summer,to shooting 36 arrows twice a day,morning and close to last legal shooting light,which is one half hour after sunset here in Ohio.
You have to go by the ODNR's sunrise-sunset tables-not other sources,their tables are the legal hunting times,if you use the times in the newspaper,or online sources,then you may be off by several minutes.
That could lead to large fines and/or suspension of hunting license/right to hunt.
Plus,if your hunting privileges are suspended in Ohio-they are also suspended in the rest of the U.S. except for two states-New Jersey and Nebrasaka- due to the Interstate Wildlife Violater Compact
Your blind or stand should be already set up if you hunt private land,shooting lanes cut,and blind/stand "brushed in" using the branches you trimmed for your shooting lanes.
Now is also the time to start putting out corn if you feed the deer where you hunt.
You should have had mineral blocks out since early spring,as it helps with antler growth,and provides deer nutrients that are lacking in the natural foods available.
I keep blocks out all year,in spring I put out one of the "rack rock" type blocks made for antler growth. In fall,I put out apple,sugar beet, and acorn scented blocks. Once the rut is over,I add blocks as needed,but switch to stockman's blocks available at your local feed store-or farm supply,Tractor Supply,etc. This helps provide the newly pregnant does with a boost in nutrients.
If you put out corn,and don't use a feeder,spread it out,rather than make one big pile,as it will help prevent deer from passing diseases to other deer when spread out. If you just dump corn in a big pile,the deer can transmit diseases to other deer.
I hunt a 70 acre or so private property,and we do mange the deer as much as possible,which is why we put out food and mineral blocks. Over the years,there have been some monster sized deer taken there,both in body size,and antler size. There's only 4 people who regularly hunt the property,and another 4 guys we let hunt gun season. Usually it's no more than 4 people hunting on any given day of the season.
The property is surrounded by ag fields-most years it's about half corn,half soybeans-this year for some reason,it's all soybeans.
That's good for us-the beans will be off the fields before the rut kicks in,and there will be no standing corn during gun season.
I also put out apples from the time they start dropping off the trees,up until the end of muzzleloader season in Jan. since I get them for free from a neighbor. If you have local apple orchards,ask the owners,they'll usually give you extra or bruised,wormy,etc apples for free or a really reduced price.
I freeze a bunch for use later in the season,the deer still eat them,and when there's snow on the ground,some apples spread around 30 yards or so from your blind will draw hungry deer in from all over the area.
I hunt a lot on public land,where you can't put out any kind of bait,no corn,no apples,no mineral blocks.
No big deal,deer travel the same trails all the time,the key to finding deer on public land is to find the major trails,then find the bedding areas,the water sources,and the food sources. Deer have to drink water at least twice a day,usually soon after they move from their beds,and again after feeding.
When you find the trails,anywhere from 5-15 yards from the main trails-you will find smaller,less used trails.
These are the older buck's trails,yearling bucks usually still travel with the does up until the rut begins.
Find a spot near a water source,a food source,or on the trail the deer use to get to the bedding areas.
Deer feed all night during hunting season,if you set up near a bedding area,and are trying to get a deer heading to bed-you have to be able to get to your blind long before first light,and do it without spooking deer.
I usually use the opposite approach-I set up far enough away from the bedding area that I can get to me blind any time during the day,and try to get the deer as they move out of the bedding area.
If you find the food source,pick a spot that's either still back in the woods a little,or right at the edge of a field.
When there's a lot of acorns on the ground,deer aren't going to eat much of anything else,so concentrate on water sources and trails to and from bedding areas.
The single most important thing you can do is get out in the woods,and see what the deer are doing where you hunt,there's no substitute for scouting-none.
I don't use trail cameras,because unless you own a huge farm/property,and have dozens of cameras,all you'll find out is where the deer were,not where they are,where they're going,what they're eating,where they're bedding-which are the things you need to know to be where the deer will be after you get in your stand/blind.
You have to pay close attention to wind direction-and have more than one stand or blind set up so you have another choice if the wind is not blowing towards your stand or blind. I have 4 locations,so I'm covered every day I hunt. The public land that I hunt-I also hunt different spots when the wind is from different directions. The best public land was hit with a severe EHD outbreak in 2012,we didn't see a single deer hunting that gun season at the Ladue public hunting area,and we hunted it for 5 days. This year should be good there,as the 2013 fawns will be 3 1/2 now,2014 fawns 2 1/2. Next year will probably be better at Ladue,as there should be plenty of 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old bucks.
I'll probably hunt there at least 2 days of gun season this year,just to see what the deer numbers are like.
Deer can smell you from a long ways off,unless you are hunting in an area where they are used to people-like the suburbs-they aren't going to come within bow range if they smell you.
Use the wind to your advantage,I also will take a trash bag into the wods with me a couple weeks before hunting season,and pack it full of leaves and twigs from the area I'm going to hunt.
Then I put the leaves into paper bags,and put them in plastic bins with all my hunting gear.
I've been doing this for years-it works,I've had deer walk right by me when I'm in an ground blind and the wind shifted so it was blowing at my back-and they still didn't smell me.
I don't use the scent control clothing or products-my method has worked just fine for over 40 years-why change it now?
I would rather spend the $$$ I save by not paying extra for scent control clothing and products on new broadheads,arrows,and crossbow bolts.
Wear camo that matches your surroundings-wearing solid earth tone colors is better than wearing something like woodland camo in Ohio in November.
Either wear some kind of face mask,or use camo face paint-deer recognize the shape of a human face-so hide your face.
Don't hike around the woods during the day once deer season starts-stay put. As long as you picked a good location,the deer will come to you. If you are hunting public land,there's enough people moving in and out of the woods to push deer right to you,another reason to sit still,stay in your blind.
Pack enough snacks plus a lunch,bring plenty of water,and if you're like me-pack a thermos of coffee.
Make sure you have some surgical gloves,hand soap-I use an empty one of the 99 cents at the qucikie mart hand sanitizer bottles filed with Dial antibacterial hand soap-plus hand sanitizer,and a towel/washcloth to wash your hands after to field dress your deer.
Either buy a deer drag,or make your own-I just use an 18" piece of 3/4" oak dowel rod that I tie my rope to,makes it much easier to drag the deer.
Ohio deer hunting regs/info...
The statewide bag limit is six deer. Only one may be antlered. You cannot exceed an individual county bag limit.
No more than two deer may be taken from a two deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. Both deer need to be tagged with an either-sex permit. The antlerless permit is not valid in a two deer county.
No more than three deer may be taken from a three deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. The antlerless permit is not valid in most three deer counties. Check the antlerless permit map on this page to determine if the antlerless permit is valid in the county where you hunt. One deer may be tagged with an antlerless permit in specific three deer counties, and two deer may be tagged with either-sex permits. The antlerless permit is not valid in specific counties after Nov. 27, 2016. Three deer may be tagged with either-sex permits if the antlerless permit is not valid or not used.
No more than four deer may be taken from a four deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. One deer may be tagged with an antlerless permit and three deer may be tagged with an either-sex permit. The antlerless permit is not valid in specific counties after Nov. 27, 2016. Four deer may be tagged with either-sex permits if the antlerless permit is not used.
I'll do a post on stand/blind site selection in the next day or two.
If you haven't been out in the woods yet,get out there,boot leather in the woods and fields equals venison in the freezer.
Ladue should have decent deer hunting this year for those of you around here...
More info on Ladue here
Now's the time to step up your target practice.
I go from my 18-36 arrows a day all summer,to shooting 36 arrows twice a day,morning and close to last legal shooting light,which is one half hour after sunset here in Ohio.
You have to go by the ODNR's sunrise-sunset tables-not other sources,their tables are the legal hunting times,if you use the times in the newspaper,or online sources,then you may be off by several minutes.
That could lead to large fines and/or suspension of hunting license/right to hunt.
Plus,if your hunting privileges are suspended in Ohio-they are also suspended in the rest of the U.S. except for two states-New Jersey and Nebrasaka- due to the Interstate Wildlife Violater Compact
Your blind or stand should be already set up if you hunt private land,shooting lanes cut,and blind/stand "brushed in" using the branches you trimmed for your shooting lanes.
Now is also the time to start putting out corn if you feed the deer where you hunt.
You should have had mineral blocks out since early spring,as it helps with antler growth,and provides deer nutrients that are lacking in the natural foods available.
I keep blocks out all year,in spring I put out one of the "rack rock" type blocks made for antler growth. In fall,I put out apple,sugar beet, and acorn scented blocks. Once the rut is over,I add blocks as needed,but switch to stockman's blocks available at your local feed store-or farm supply,Tractor Supply,etc. This helps provide the newly pregnant does with a boost in nutrients.
If you put out corn,and don't use a feeder,spread it out,rather than make one big pile,as it will help prevent deer from passing diseases to other deer when spread out. If you just dump corn in a big pile,the deer can transmit diseases to other deer.
I hunt a 70 acre or so private property,and we do mange the deer as much as possible,which is why we put out food and mineral blocks. Over the years,there have been some monster sized deer taken there,both in body size,and antler size. There's only 4 people who regularly hunt the property,and another 4 guys we let hunt gun season. Usually it's no more than 4 people hunting on any given day of the season.
The property is surrounded by ag fields-most years it's about half corn,half soybeans-this year for some reason,it's all soybeans.
That's good for us-the beans will be off the fields before the rut kicks in,and there will be no standing corn during gun season.
I also put out apples from the time they start dropping off the trees,up until the end of muzzleloader season in Jan. since I get them for free from a neighbor. If you have local apple orchards,ask the owners,they'll usually give you extra or bruised,wormy,etc apples for free or a really reduced price.
I freeze a bunch for use later in the season,the deer still eat them,and when there's snow on the ground,some apples spread around 30 yards or so from your blind will draw hungry deer in from all over the area.
I hunt a lot on public land,where you can't put out any kind of bait,no corn,no apples,no mineral blocks.
No big deal,deer travel the same trails all the time,the key to finding deer on public land is to find the major trails,then find the bedding areas,the water sources,and the food sources. Deer have to drink water at least twice a day,usually soon after they move from their beds,and again after feeding.
When you find the trails,anywhere from 5-15 yards from the main trails-you will find smaller,less used trails.
These are the older buck's trails,yearling bucks usually still travel with the does up until the rut begins.
Find a spot near a water source,a food source,or on the trail the deer use to get to the bedding areas.
Deer feed all night during hunting season,if you set up near a bedding area,and are trying to get a deer heading to bed-you have to be able to get to your blind long before first light,and do it without spooking deer.
I usually use the opposite approach-I set up far enough away from the bedding area that I can get to me blind any time during the day,and try to get the deer as they move out of the bedding area.
If you find the food source,pick a spot that's either still back in the woods a little,or right at the edge of a field.
When there's a lot of acorns on the ground,deer aren't going to eat much of anything else,so concentrate on water sources and trails to and from bedding areas.
The single most important thing you can do is get out in the woods,and see what the deer are doing where you hunt,there's no substitute for scouting-none.
I don't use trail cameras,because unless you own a huge farm/property,and have dozens of cameras,all you'll find out is where the deer were,not where they are,where they're going,what they're eating,where they're bedding-which are the things you need to know to be where the deer will be after you get in your stand/blind.
You have to pay close attention to wind direction-and have more than one stand or blind set up so you have another choice if the wind is not blowing towards your stand or blind. I have 4 locations,so I'm covered every day I hunt. The public land that I hunt-I also hunt different spots when the wind is from different directions. The best public land was hit with a severe EHD outbreak in 2012,we didn't see a single deer hunting that gun season at the Ladue public hunting area,and we hunted it for 5 days. This year should be good there,as the 2013 fawns will be 3 1/2 now,2014 fawns 2 1/2. Next year will probably be better at Ladue,as there should be plenty of 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old bucks.
I'll probably hunt there at least 2 days of gun season this year,just to see what the deer numbers are like.
Deer can smell you from a long ways off,unless you are hunting in an area where they are used to people-like the suburbs-they aren't going to come within bow range if they smell you.
Use the wind to your advantage,I also will take a trash bag into the wods with me a couple weeks before hunting season,and pack it full of leaves and twigs from the area I'm going to hunt.
Then I put the leaves into paper bags,and put them in plastic bins with all my hunting gear.
I've been doing this for years-it works,I've had deer walk right by me when I'm in an ground blind and the wind shifted so it was blowing at my back-and they still didn't smell me.
I don't use the scent control clothing or products-my method has worked just fine for over 40 years-why change it now?
I would rather spend the $$$ I save by not paying extra for scent control clothing and products on new broadheads,arrows,and crossbow bolts.
Wear camo that matches your surroundings-wearing solid earth tone colors is better than wearing something like woodland camo in Ohio in November.
Either wear some kind of face mask,or use camo face paint-deer recognize the shape of a human face-so hide your face.
Don't hike around the woods during the day once deer season starts-stay put. As long as you picked a good location,the deer will come to you. If you are hunting public land,there's enough people moving in and out of the woods to push deer right to you,another reason to sit still,stay in your blind.
Pack enough snacks plus a lunch,bring plenty of water,and if you're like me-pack a thermos of coffee.
Make sure you have some surgical gloves,hand soap-I use an empty one of the 99 cents at the qucikie mart hand sanitizer bottles filed with Dial antibacterial hand soap-plus hand sanitizer,and a towel/washcloth to wash your hands after to field dress your deer.
Either buy a deer drag,or make your own-I just use an 18" piece of 3/4" oak dowel rod that I tie my rope to,makes it much easier to drag the deer.
Ohio deer hunting regs/info...
White-tailed Deer Hunting
| Species | Opening Date | Closing Date | Daily Bag Limit | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 24, 2016 | February 5, 2017 | The statewide bag limit is six deer. Only one may be antlered. You cannot exceed an individual county bag limit . Refer to the Deer Hunting Section for details on zone and bag limits. | |||
| Deer Youth Gun | November 19, 2016 | November 20, 2016 | ||||
| Gun | November 28, 2016 | December 4, 2016 | ||||
| December 17, 2016 | December 18, 2016 | |||||
| Muzzleloader | January 7, 2017 | January 10, 2017 | ||||
The statewide bag limit is six deer. Only one may be antlered. You cannot exceed an individual county bag limit.
No more than two deer may be taken from a two deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. Both deer need to be tagged with an either-sex permit. The antlerless permit is not valid in a two deer county.
No more than three deer may be taken from a three deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. The antlerless permit is not valid in most three deer counties. Check the antlerless permit map on this page to determine if the antlerless permit is valid in the county where you hunt. One deer may be tagged with an antlerless permit in specific three deer counties, and two deer may be tagged with either-sex permits. The antlerless permit is not valid in specific counties after Nov. 27, 2016. Three deer may be tagged with either-sex permits if the antlerless permit is not valid or not used.
No more than four deer may be taken from a four deer county during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season. One deer may be tagged with an antlerless permit and three deer may be tagged with an either-sex permit. The antlerless permit is not valid in specific counties after Nov. 27, 2016. Four deer may be tagged with either-sex permits if the antlerless permit is not used.
- OR - Up to three either-sex permits. |
- OR - Up to four either-sex permits. |
||
I'll do a post on stand/blind site selection in the next day or two.
If you haven't been out in the woods yet,get out there,boot leather in the woods and fields equals venison in the freezer.
Ladue should have decent deer hunting this year for those of you around here...
More info on Ladue here
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Ohio deer hunters increase take over last season
The increase came even as the state lowered bag limits
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio wildlife officials say good weather and other factors led to an increase in the number of deer killed by hunters this past season.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says hunters checked 188,335 white-tailed deer dating back to the opening of archery season in the fall. That’s up from the 175,745 deer checked during the 2014-2015 season.
The increase came even as the state lowered bag limits and eliminated antlerless permit use in most counties. Coshocton and Licking counties produced the most tagged deer.
The state says that until recently deer populations in nearly all of Ohio’s counties were well above the wildlife agency’s goal. In the last few years, the population in most counties has been brought down to near the goals.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Ohio Deer Harvest
According to the ODNR,the 2015-2016 deer season harvest is up slightly...
Up by 3,742 over last year,however,the deer season was changed,there was no
Oct. doe only muzzleloader season
plus there's an extra two days of gun season,tomorrow and Tues.
The muzzleloader season is a week later than last year as well.
Jan. 9th-12th is this year's muzzleloader season.
We hunted 5 of the 7 days of gun season,and never saw a deer in gun range.
We hunt in Ashland county,the harvest there is almost the same as last year,
there's an eight deer difference.
The ODNR apparently listened to us hunters at the meetings they held last year,
when we said there were way too many does being harvested,and deer numbers
were way down from the year before,and have been dropping for the years-as
antlerless permits were only sold in ten counties.
2015/16 Deer Harvest Totals
The 2013/14 and 2014/15 deer harvest totals here
There's still plenty of time to get a deer,and get some venison in your freezer,
we have the 2 days of gun season,the four days of muzzeloader season,
and the archery season is open 'till Feb 7th.
What's important to deer now is food and cover,they need more food because
it's colder,and the bucks are still recovering from the rut.
For morning hunts,set up so you can catch the deer coming back to the
bedding area,for evening hunts,set up so you catch them going from
bedding area to food source. If there's a water source between the bedding
area and the food source-that's the perfect spot ot set up-as the deer will
drink water on their way to the food source and on their way back to the bedding area.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT.
Up by 3,742 over last year,however,the deer season was changed,there was no
Oct. doe only muzzleloader season
plus there's an extra two days of gun season,tomorrow and Tues.
The muzzleloader season is a week later than last year as well.
Jan. 9th-12th is this year's muzzleloader season.
We hunted 5 of the 7 days of gun season,and never saw a deer in gun range.
We hunt in Ashland county,the harvest there is almost the same as last year,
there's an eight deer difference.
The ODNR apparently listened to us hunters at the meetings they held last year,
when we said there were way too many does being harvested,and deer numbers
were way down from the year before,and have been dropping for the years-as
antlerless permits were only sold in ten counties.
2015/16 Deer Harvest Totals
The 2013/14 and 2014/15 deer harvest totals here
There's still plenty of time to get a deer,and get some venison in your freezer,
we have the 2 days of gun season,the four days of muzzeloader season,
and the archery season is open 'till Feb 7th.
What's important to deer now is food and cover,they need more food because
it's colder,and the bucks are still recovering from the rut.
For morning hunts,set up so you can catch the deer coming back to the
bedding area,for evening hunts,set up so you catch them going from
bedding area to food source. If there's a water source between the bedding
area and the food source-that's the perfect spot ot set up-as the deer will
drink water on their way to the food source and on their way back to the bedding area.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT.
Friday, December 25, 2015
12 Reasons Why Your Venison Tastes Like Hell
Is your deer meat tough, dry and
gamey-tasting? It shouldn't be. Check out this list of 12
deer-butchering sins to find out why your venison tastes bad -- and how
to make it better
I’m often amazed at the
people, deer hunters included, who tell me they just don’t like venison.
That statement is usually followed by a qualifier: it’s tough; it’s
gamey; it’s dry. And so on.
In warm weather, deer should be skinned and quartered ASAP. I’ve eaten a lot of good deer meat. But I’ve eaten some really bad deer meat, too. I’m only a self-trained butcher, but I process five or six animals each fall, and have been doing so for a decade or more. I’m no Scott Leysath, either, but my wife and I do eat venison in some form two or three meals per week, year-round. I think we eat pretty good.
Some things consistently make venison really tasty. And some things will ruin the flavor, too. Here are a dozen of the worst offenders.
1. Poor Field Care
In the real world of hunting, things happen. We all make bad shots on occasion. And while we know not to “push” a deer that’s been hit marginally, realize that the longer it takes for the animal to die and the farther it runs, the more adrenaline and lactic acid builds up in the animal’s system and muscles. Ever had a glass of good-tasting acid? I didn’t think so.
The faster a deer hits the ground and can be field-dressed, the better the meat will be. Some of the best-tasting deer I’ve ever had have been shot in the head with a gun. The animal is killed instantly, and the meat is uncontaminated by blood and entrails from the chest cavity. That said, head shots are risky. The lungs remain the best place to aim.
2. Failure to Cool Quickly
Internal bacteria rapidly takes over after death, expelling gases and causing the animal to bloat. That’s the first step in decomposition. This process is accelerated in warm weather. Learn how to field dress a deer, and get to it ASAP. Removing those organs is the first step in cooling the animal down.
On a cold night—in the mid-30s or lower—a deer can be left hanging skin-on overnight. In especially cold weather, some hunters like to age a deer in such a manner for several days (more on aging in a bit). I live in a warm climate, and most of the deer I shoot in a season’s time are during early bow season, so I don’t have that luxury. When I find my deer and get it field-dressed, I plan on having it skinned, quartered and on ice within the hour.
3. Shot the Wrong Deer
Modern deer hunters are in tune with deer herd management. We’ve learned of practices that contribute to the health of a herd, including which deer to shoot. Given the chance, most of us want to shoot a mature buck with big antlers. Me included.
Old bucks are perfectly edible, but rarely the best. Muscles get tougher with use and stringy with age. An old buck that’s spent a full autumn fighting, rubbing, scraping and chasing does will be lean. Expect chewy steaks. Same thing goes for an old doe that’s burned all her summertime calories producing milk to nurse fawns. I usually make hamburger, sausage and jerky out of such animals.
For steaks, you can’t beat a young, crop-fed deer. Deer that spend a summer munching on corn and soybeans have an easier life—and more fattening food sources—than those that spend a lifetime wandering the big timber in search of scattered mast and browse.
Field dressing is the first step in cooling a deer down. Get to it fast, especially if the weather is warm.
4. Failure to Age / Purge I’ve been told that aging venison on ice is a mistake, but I don’t buy it. The mercury rises above 50 degrees on most days of deer season in my area. That’s too warm to let a deer hang, so icing them down is my only option. I line the bottom of a cooler with a layer of ice, add my deer quarters on top of that, and then cover them with more ice.
I keep the cooler in the shade with the drain plug open and on a downhill incline. That’s very important. The idea is to let the ice slowly melt and drain from the cooler. This not only keeps the meat cold, but purges an amazing amount of blood from it. Do this for at least two days, checking the ice a couple times per day in especially warm weather. (Note: if you do this without a drain plug, you’ll get the opposite effect; deer quarters that are essentially marinated in bloody, dirty water. Does that sound tasty? Didn’t think so.)
5. Dirty Knives and Power Saws
A deer’s legs are held together just like yours: with ball-and-socket joints and connective tissue. Learn where these are, and you can cut an entire skinned deer apart within minutes with a good pocket knife. Laying into a deer’s legs and spine with a power saw puts bone marrow, bone fragments and whatever mess was on the saw blade into your venison. Would you season your steak with bone fragments and wood shavings? Didn’t think so.
I keep three sharp knives handy when I’m cleaning a deer. One is for field-dressing. This one will be a stout knife with a drop point for prying through bone. Another is for skinning. Though a skinning blade with a gut hook is nice to have, I’ve been using a long-bladed fillet knife the last couple seasons, and it works beautifully. These knives can be honed to a razor’s edge and quickly re-sharpened. Other than quickly dulling a knife’s edge by slicing through hair, skinning is not taxing on a knife’s blade, so a flexible fillet knife works fine. Finally, I swap over to another knife—again, with a heavier blade—for my quartering. The point to take from all this is to keep your knives separate so you reduce contamination of the meat with blood and hair.
6. Poor Trimming
Unlike beef fat, deer fat does not taste good. Neither does the sinew, membranes and other connective tissues holding the various muscle groups together. Venison, whether destined for steaks or hamburger, should be trimmed free of anything that’s not rich, red meat.
For great deer burger, try blending the ground venison with a little cheap bacon.
7. Burger is Too Lean Ironically, because fat needs to be trimmed away for the best flavor, venison often becomes too lean for hamburger purposes. Patties made for grilled double cheeseburgers often fall apart soon after hitting the hot grate. The solution is to add some fat, either beef or pork, when you’re grinding venison. We use cheap bacon, mixed at a rate of 5:1 (5 pounds of venison per pound of bacon). It makes our patties stick together, and the bacon adds a great flavor.
8. Used a Cut-Rate Processor
Some commercial deer processors do a great job. But some do not. I once took a deer to a processor, filled out my paperwork and watched him disappear to the freezer room. He weighed my animal and returned with a corresponding amount of packaged, frozen venison. “We mix all our meat together and package a lot of burger at once,” he said.
For all I knew, the deer I was getting could’ve been gut-shot, left to hang in 90-degree heat, and then dragged along a black-top road en route to the processor. No thanks. That was the last deer I ever took to a processor. Insist on getting your own deer back when you have processing work done. If that’s not possible, I’d advise doing business elsewhere.
9. Marinade Problems
“First, soak for 48 hours in Italian dressing …”
It’s enough to make a venison-lover cringe.
Good venison needs to age a few days. One good way to age is in a cooler of ice with a drain plug open and pointed down-hill. This purges blood from the meat.
10. Cooked Too Cool, for Too Long Venison recipes, especially grilled recipes, often call for removing the meat after a couple minutes per side. For many, the result of that is, “this is raw and gross.” And so they place it back on the grill. After a while, it turns gray, chewy, dry … and still gross.
Grilled venison is best when eaten with a medium-rare interior, but the outside needs to be cooked. In order to do that, your grill needs to be hot enough to instantly sear the meat surface and lock in those flavors and juices. Flip your venison steaks one time. If you don’t have nice grill marks after three or four minutes, the grate isn’t hot enough.
11. Improper Packaging and Freezing
Freezer burn doesn’t help the flavor of ice cream or anything else, deer meat included. Modern vacuum packaging systems are handy and save on space, but I’ve used some that resulted in freezer-burned meat after a few months. If you’re buying a vacuum-sealing unit, get a good one.
We package our deer the old-fashioned way, first wrapping our portion in clear plastic wrap, and then covering that with heavy-duty freezer paper. Each package is clearly labeled, not only so we know what cut of meat is inside and when it was killed, but also which deer it came from. If one animal proves especially tough, we know to use that meat for slow-cooking recipes.
12. Getting too Fancy
There’s no big mystery or secret to cooking venison. Treat it as you would treat very lean beef, and you’ll get outstanding results day in and out. We substitute deer burger for beef hamburger in virtually everything—chili, tacos, sloppy Joe’s, burgers on the grill, spaghetti and who knows what else. We never plan on a “wild game night” at the house. We just plan to cook dinner, and that usually means wild game by default.
In warm weather, deer should be skinned and quartered ASAP. I’ve eaten a lot of good deer meat. But I’ve eaten some really bad deer meat, too. I’m only a self-trained butcher, but I process five or six animals each fall, and have been doing so for a decade or more. I’m no Scott Leysath, either, but my wife and I do eat venison in some form two or three meals per week, year-round. I think we eat pretty good.
Some things consistently make venison really tasty. And some things will ruin the flavor, too. Here are a dozen of the worst offenders.
1. Poor Field Care
In the real world of hunting, things happen. We all make bad shots on occasion. And while we know not to “push” a deer that’s been hit marginally, realize that the longer it takes for the animal to die and the farther it runs, the more adrenaline and lactic acid builds up in the animal’s system and muscles. Ever had a glass of good-tasting acid? I didn’t think so.
The faster a deer hits the ground and can be field-dressed, the better the meat will be. Some of the best-tasting deer I’ve ever had have been shot in the head with a gun. The animal is killed instantly, and the meat is uncontaminated by blood and entrails from the chest cavity. That said, head shots are risky. The lungs remain the best place to aim.
2. Failure to Cool Quickly
Internal bacteria rapidly takes over after death, expelling gases and causing the animal to bloat. That’s the first step in decomposition. This process is accelerated in warm weather. Learn how to field dress a deer, and get to it ASAP. Removing those organs is the first step in cooling the animal down.
On a cold night—in the mid-30s or lower—a deer can be left hanging skin-on overnight. In especially cold weather, some hunters like to age a deer in such a manner for several days (more on aging in a bit). I live in a warm climate, and most of the deer I shoot in a season’s time are during early bow season, so I don’t have that luxury. When I find my deer and get it field-dressed, I plan on having it skinned, quartered and on ice within the hour.
3. Shot the Wrong Deer
Modern deer hunters are in tune with deer herd management. We’ve learned of practices that contribute to the health of a herd, including which deer to shoot. Given the chance, most of us want to shoot a mature buck with big antlers. Me included.
Old bucks are perfectly edible, but rarely the best. Muscles get tougher with use and stringy with age. An old buck that’s spent a full autumn fighting, rubbing, scraping and chasing does will be lean. Expect chewy steaks. Same thing goes for an old doe that’s burned all her summertime calories producing milk to nurse fawns. I usually make hamburger, sausage and jerky out of such animals.
For steaks, you can’t beat a young, crop-fed deer. Deer that spend a summer munching on corn and soybeans have an easier life—and more fattening food sources—than those that spend a lifetime wandering the big timber in search of scattered mast and browse.
The tastiest venison I’ve ever eaten came from a 1 ½-year-old fork horn shot through the neck near a picked corn field during early bow season.That young deer had nothing to do all summer except get fat. Am I saying to forgo everything the QDMA is teaching and whack every young buck that walks by? No. But I am saying if a deer for the freezer is your goal, young bucks from the early season are usually good eating, and have more meat than does to boot. If you want to shoot one and it’s legal, go for it. You don’t owe anyone an apology.
Field dressing is the first step in cooling a deer down. Get to it fast, especially if the weather is warm.
4. Failure to Age / Purge I’ve been told that aging venison on ice is a mistake, but I don’t buy it. The mercury rises above 50 degrees on most days of deer season in my area. That’s too warm to let a deer hang, so icing them down is my only option. I line the bottom of a cooler with a layer of ice, add my deer quarters on top of that, and then cover them with more ice.
I keep the cooler in the shade with the drain plug open and on a downhill incline. That’s very important. The idea is to let the ice slowly melt and drain from the cooler. This not only keeps the meat cold, but purges an amazing amount of blood from it. Do this for at least two days, checking the ice a couple times per day in especially warm weather. (Note: if you do this without a drain plug, you’ll get the opposite effect; deer quarters that are essentially marinated in bloody, dirty water. Does that sound tasty? Didn’t think so.)
5. Dirty Knives and Power Saws
A deer’s legs are held together just like yours: with ball-and-socket joints and connective tissue. Learn where these are, and you can cut an entire skinned deer apart within minutes with a good pocket knife. Laying into a deer’s legs and spine with a power saw puts bone marrow, bone fragments and whatever mess was on the saw blade into your venison. Would you season your steak with bone fragments and wood shavings? Didn’t think so.
I keep three sharp knives handy when I’m cleaning a deer. One is for field-dressing. This one will be a stout knife with a drop point for prying through bone. Another is for skinning. Though a skinning blade with a gut hook is nice to have, I’ve been using a long-bladed fillet knife the last couple seasons, and it works beautifully. These knives can be honed to a razor’s edge and quickly re-sharpened. Other than quickly dulling a knife’s edge by slicing through hair, skinning is not taxing on a knife’s blade, so a flexible fillet knife works fine. Finally, I swap over to another knife—again, with a heavier blade—for my quartering. The point to take from all this is to keep your knives separate so you reduce contamination of the meat with blood and hair.
6. Poor Trimming
Unlike beef fat, deer fat does not taste good. Neither does the sinew, membranes and other connective tissues holding the various muscle groups together. Venison, whether destined for steaks or hamburger, should be trimmed free of anything that’s not rich, red meat.
For great deer burger, try blending the ground venison with a little cheap bacon.
7. Burger is Too Lean Ironically, because fat needs to be trimmed away for the best flavor, venison often becomes too lean for hamburger purposes. Patties made for grilled double cheeseburgers often fall apart soon after hitting the hot grate. The solution is to add some fat, either beef or pork, when you’re grinding venison. We use cheap bacon, mixed at a rate of 5:1 (5 pounds of venison per pound of bacon). It makes our patties stick together, and the bacon adds a great flavor.
8. Used a Cut-Rate Processor
Some commercial deer processors do a great job. But some do not. I once took a deer to a processor, filled out my paperwork and watched him disappear to the freezer room. He weighed my animal and returned with a corresponding amount of packaged, frozen venison. “We mix all our meat together and package a lot of burger at once,” he said.
For all I knew, the deer I was getting could’ve been gut-shot, left to hang in 90-degree heat, and then dragged along a black-top road en route to the processor. No thanks. That was the last deer I ever took to a processor. Insist on getting your own deer back when you have processing work done. If that’s not possible, I’d advise doing business elsewhere.
9. Marinade Problems
“First, soak for 48 hours in Italian dressing …”
It’s enough to make a venison-lover cringe.
Look, Italian dressing and BBQ sauce taste fine, but you’d better be a ravenous fan of them if you’re using them to soak venison steaks for two days. At the end of those two days, your steaks will taste just like … Italian dressing or BBQ sauce.There’s nothing wrong with a little splash of flavor enhancement, but try lighter flavors that complement, rather than mask, the flavor of deer meat, and keep the marinade time short. My usual maximum is three or four hours. A favorite marinade for grilled venison steaks is a mixture of olive oil, a spoonful of balsamic vinegar, a spoonful of Worcestershire sauce, some minced garlic (with the juice), a squirt of mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
Good venison needs to age a few days. One good way to age is in a cooler of ice with a drain plug open and pointed down-hill. This purges blood from the meat.
10. Cooked Too Cool, for Too Long Venison recipes, especially grilled recipes, often call for removing the meat after a couple minutes per side. For many, the result of that is, “this is raw and gross.” And so they place it back on the grill. After a while, it turns gray, chewy, dry … and still gross.
Grilled venison is best when eaten with a medium-rare interior, but the outside needs to be cooked. In order to do that, your grill needs to be hot enough to instantly sear the meat surface and lock in those flavors and juices. Flip your venison steaks one time. If you don’t have nice grill marks after three or four minutes, the grate isn’t hot enough.
11. Improper Packaging and Freezing
Freezer burn doesn’t help the flavor of ice cream or anything else, deer meat included. Modern vacuum packaging systems are handy and save on space, but I’ve used some that resulted in freezer-burned meat after a few months. If you’re buying a vacuum-sealing unit, get a good one.
We package our deer the old-fashioned way, first wrapping our portion in clear plastic wrap, and then covering that with heavy-duty freezer paper. Each package is clearly labeled, not only so we know what cut of meat is inside and when it was killed, but also which deer it came from. If one animal proves especially tough, we know to use that meat for slow-cooking recipes.
12. Getting too Fancy
There’s no big mystery or secret to cooking venison. Treat it as you would treat very lean beef, and you’ll get outstanding results day in and out. We substitute deer burger for beef hamburger in virtually everything—chili, tacos, sloppy Joe’s, burgers on the grill, spaghetti and who knows what else. We never plan on a “wild game night” at the house. We just plan to cook dinner, and that usually means wild game by default.
(Editor's Note: This Retro Realtree article was originally published in October of 2012)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Long Range Hunting Newsletter
StarvinLarry
The cover image this month was taken of me by Robb
Wiley of Non-Typical Outfitters on a hunt together this year. It
demonstrates the use of an Ultrec Saddle Rest on a front tripod plus the
use of some stacked up rocks for supporting the right arm and elbow.
Both are taught in the LRH-NTO Shooting Classes which we'll be offering
again next summer.
I had fun this month writing the article on "What's
In Len's Backpack”. It refers to the stuff I typically have with me on a
solo DIY "boots-on-the-ground” hunt for mule deer in the western
states.
It turns out that when they are counted, 51 items (a
crazy number) find a place in my pockets, around my neck and in or
lashed onto my backpack. And a reader already pointed out that I forgot
to list toilet paper.
Read the rest here
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Whitetail Deer Hunting After the November Rut
As the month of November draws to a close,the rut has passed-(at least around NE Ohio)-bucks seem to vanish.
The bucks are exhausted from the rut,as they've spent a couple weeks acting like horny teenage boys with a non-stop supply of horny teenage girls wiling to do the deed.
They don't vanish,they do rest a bit more,but the big bucks are still on the move-they have to drink water at least twice a day,and as it gets colder,they have to eat more not only to stay warm,but to replace the weight and muscle lost during the November rut.
The key (s) to finding bucks now is food sources and bedding areas.
Set up on a trail near a food source,either one going in for afternoon/evening hunts,or a trail going from a food source to a bedding area for an early morning hunt.
Something a lot of hunters don't concentrate on are the two secondary ruts.
The first begins 28 days after the peak rut in your area,as around 10% of does do not get bred during the main rut.
These does go intro estrous,and get bucks chasing after them-just like the main rut-but a much,much smaller version.
Once you figure out the approximate date of the peak rut,you can begin using doe in estrus scents,estrous bleats,and grunt tubes 28 days later.
The buck I got last year came in to a combination of doe bleats and grunt tube calls.
I did have some scent wicks out-but he came in from the wrong direction to have been able to get wind of them.
That buck didn't have much of a rack-he was a big bodied deer,and likely the dominant buck in his area,judging by how busted up his rack was,and the newly formed scars he had.
The buck began the season as a high-racked 6 point,by the time I shot him on Dec. 6th,he had a broken brow tine,3 points on one side,and two on the other.
He went down after a 30 yard or so shot from a .45caliber 240 gr Hornady XTP mag jhp bullet in a .50 caliber sabot-pushed by 2 50gr Triple7 pellets. I prefer the .44 cal 240 gr XTP's in a .50 cal sabot,as they are much easier to load,but my brother and I had split a box of 20 of the .45 cal XTP mags.
My preferred load is the .44 cal XTP pushed by 95-100 grains of Triple 7 FFFG,as it's a higher velocity load,and accurate out to 150 yds.
Okay,back to late season tactics-after the 10% of does that didn't get bred in the peak/main rut have been bred-usually in early to mid December,depending on timing of main rut-there a third,but extremely small percentage of your local deer herd that go into estrous around the first or second week of Jan.
That very,very small third rut-( maybe 2-3% of the local deer herd)- is generally yearling does coming into estrous for the first time.
This very minor rut coincides with Ohio's January muzzleloader season.
I've had success during this period using estrous bleats and a grunt tube sparingly.
Some stuff I've learned about whitetails over the years...
Bucks use grunts,and does use bleats a lot more than most of us realize-several years ago,I had a 2 year plus long series of surgeries done on my leg,in the nice weather,I would sit on our deck most of the daylight hours-hell,I couldn't do a whole hell of a lot during the first year and a half of that period of torture-(see pic on sidebar of landing page @ starvinlarry.com).
During that time,I watched does with newborn fawns,does with fawns as they grew up their first summer,bachelor groups of bucks,bucks making rubs and scrapes,bucks chasing does,and bucks and does during the rut.
As I watched the steady procession of deer emerge from the woods that are the Cuyahoga Valley National Park,what I heard was almost constant vocalization,bucks grunt all year 'round,does and fawns bleat all year 'round.
After the bucks have rubbed the velvet from their antlers,sparred with the others in the bachelor groups,and the bachelor groups have broken up-their grunts change.
They get louder and longer,there are more snort-wheeze challenges made when bucks spot other bucks,and then the bucks start fighting in earnest.
Once the pecking order has been established,and the dominant buck has beat up on all challengers,the bucks start making scrapes and rubs in earnest.
Most scrapes will be made under a tree at a field edge,or where thick cover turns to small trees.almost every scrape has a branch hanging down that the bucks can reach-they lick the branch,and rub their heads on it-(there's scent glands in the buck's head).
As I've said in other posts about deer hunting-make a fake scrape line-and be sure there's a branch hanging within the buck's reach over the scrape.
All you have to do is clear all the leaves,branches and other debris in a half-circle/oval shape under the tree-make a bunch-I usually make a line of 6-8 fake scrapes.
**** Great new technique****
Something I tried for the first time this year is using the branches I cut when I cleared shooting lanes-tying some OD color paracord between trees that had no branches hanging down that a buck could reach,and zip-tying the branches to the paracord.
Holy shit-the bucks tore those branches up-I'll be using that again next year.
You can use scents such as Active Scrape-(or just piss in the scrapes yourself-but be sure you're hydrated so your piss is clear),or add some doe urine in the early fall,then a few drops of estrous doe urine starting around the first week of November-don't use estrous scents any earlier-or you'll spook the deer,they know that's not normal.
Then as the leaves turn colors,and nights get colder in late October/early November-the first does start coming into estrous,and the bucks are on their feet chasing those first estrous does for much of the day-and all of the night.
This goes on for about two weeks most years,despite weather,the peak rut remains fairly consistent year after year.
In Ohio,there's probably more deer killed the second week of November than any time except the week-long gun season.
For the best chance at a late season buck-get out and hunt the really old days,hunt the days a low pressure system is moving in,hunt in the rain,if it's not cold enough to snow.
Other than the rut (s),I've taken most of my big bucks on days with a cold drizzle or light rain.
After that,the day before a big snow hits is always a good day,as is just after a big snow.
The bucks are still there-it ain't rocket science to find 'em-know the deer trails in the areas you hunt-the big trails are almost always doe trails-look 10-15 yards to either side of the doe trails,and most of the time,you will find a much less traveled trail-these are the trails the bucks use.
Know where the bedding areas and food sources are-never try to hunt a stand or blind near a bedding area in the afternoon/evening-you'll get busted-the deer will see and/or smell you.
They choose the bedding areas for a reason-they can see any danger approaching from a long ways off. Hunt near bedding areas really early in the morning-get in to your stand/blind well before daylight,and you have a good chance of catching a buck coming back to his bedding area after feeding all night.
Those who live in areas with large stands of mature timber,and huge hunting areas can take big bucks by tracking them in the snow-search for Larry,Lanny,and Lane Benoit-an entire family of some of the best deer trackers who ever lived.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do More P.T.!
Friday, November 13, 2015
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Making Fake Scrape Lines to Get Big Bucks
I wrote about this last year Here and Here and Here
*since I wrote those posts last year,I’ve seen 8-10 bucks raking antlers on branches above their scrapes-was too busy hunting to write up a new post on the subject during last year’s rut.*
I’m putting lots of hunting info up long before deer season gets underway.
It’s now September 12th-Ohio’s archery season for deer starts on September 26th-that’s two weeks away people-get out there and get set up,only a month or so away from the time to be making fake scrape lines-so read up on it…
Via Field & Stream Here
Minnesota whitetail nut Billy Jerowski is a fair-minded, modern husband—one whose manhood isn’t threatened by doing dishes or hanging laundry. But he never imagined his domestic experience would improve his deer hunting. That is until after he’d been watching numerous bucks work scrapes, when it dawned on him that the licking branch doesn’t have to be parallel to the ground. “I realized that bucks love getting their antlers up into anything—a deadfall or a vine—whether it hangs vertically or horizontally,” he says. “That got me to thinking.”
The Scrape Line
Always ready to experiment, Jerowski drove to his hunting area and strung a wire tightly between two trees, like a clothesline. To this wire, he hung short lengths of rope, a green tree branch, even a section of grapevine. “I roughed up some dirt below the wire to start the scrape,” he says. “But I doubt I needed to. The bucks just hammered those overhanging ‘branches.’ When I came back to check my experiment, the little scrapes I started under each had been hit so many times they’d melded into one giant scrape.”
Jerowski feels his technique trumps the standard mock scrape for several reasons. “First, I can put it wherever I need it—no need to find the right tree, with the perfect overhanging branch,” he says. Second, hanging several different “branch” materials seems to ensure that a buck will become interested in at least one. “Bucks are curious, and once one starts getting his antlers up into one branch and pawing the ground, it isn’t long before other bucks are in on the action, and hitting all of them.”
Hang Tight
When it comes to constructing this mock scrape line, the keys are “tight and strong,” says Jerowski. Bucks can pull down a light line easily, so use strong wire, cable, or a stout rope. Stretch it tightly between two trees, and tie it securely. “To attach the hanging vines or branches, I use zip-ties and I make sure they’re cinched down tight or bucks will pull them off,” he says. “You can scrape up the ground to get bucks started, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Once they start working those hanging ‘branches,’ the scraping comes naturally. In a couple of weeks you’ll have a super scrape right where you need it to be.”
Sit Tight
Where you hang your “scrape line” should be determined by the best possible stand location. Start by picking a tree that offers a good combination of cover and shooting lanes. Then look for another similarly good stand tree nearby that will allow you to hunt a totally different wind. If you position your mock scrape line so you can shoot to it from either tree, you’ll have a buck magnet you can hunt in almost any breeze, and one that’ll stay hot right through the start of the rut.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT !
*since I wrote those posts last year,I’ve seen 8-10 bucks raking antlers on branches above their scrapes-was too busy hunting to write up a new post on the subject during last year’s rut.*
I’m putting lots of hunting info up long before deer season gets underway.
It’s now September 12th-Ohio’s archery season for deer starts on September 26th-that’s two weeks away people-get out there and get set up,only a month or so away from the time to be making fake scrape lines-so read up on it…
Via Field & Stream Here
Minnesota whitetail nut Billy Jerowski is a fair-minded, modern husband—one whose manhood isn’t threatened by doing dishes or hanging laundry. But he never imagined his domestic experience would improve his deer hunting. That is until after he’d been watching numerous bucks work scrapes, when it dawned on him that the licking branch doesn’t have to be parallel to the ground. “I realized that bucks love getting their antlers up into anything—a deadfall or a vine—whether it hangs vertically or horizontally,” he says. “That got me to thinking.”
The Scrape Line
Always ready to experiment, Jerowski drove to his hunting area and strung a wire tightly between two trees, like a clothesline. To this wire, he hung short lengths of rope, a green tree branch, even a section of grapevine. “I roughed up some dirt below the wire to start the scrape,” he says. “But I doubt I needed to. The bucks just hammered those overhanging ‘branches.’ When I came back to check my experiment, the little scrapes I started under each had been hit so many times they’d melded into one giant scrape.”
Jerowski feels his technique trumps the standard mock scrape for several reasons. “First, I can put it wherever I need it—no need to find the right tree, with the perfect overhanging branch,” he says. Second, hanging several different “branch” materials seems to ensure that a buck will become interested in at least one. “Bucks are curious, and once one starts getting his antlers up into one branch and pawing the ground, it isn’t long before other bucks are in on the action, and hitting all of them.”
Hang Tight
When it comes to constructing this mock scrape line, the keys are “tight and strong,” says Jerowski. Bucks can pull down a light line easily, so use strong wire, cable, or a stout rope. Stretch it tightly between two trees, and tie it securely. “To attach the hanging vines or branches, I use zip-ties and I make sure they’re cinched down tight or bucks will pull them off,” he says. “You can scrape up the ground to get bucks started, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Once they start working those hanging ‘branches,’ the scraping comes naturally. In a couple of weeks you’ll have a super scrape right where you need it to be.”
Sit Tight
Where you hang your “scrape line” should be determined by the best possible stand location. Start by picking a tree that offers a good combination of cover and shooting lanes. Then look for another similarly good stand tree nearby that will allow you to hunt a totally different wind. If you position your mock scrape line so you can shoot to it from either tree, you’ll have a buck magnet you can hunt in almost any breeze, and one that’ll stay hot right through the start of the rut.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT !
Start Shooting More Arrows-and More-Archery Deer Season is Only Two Weeks Away
Ohio’s archery season starts in two weeks.
That means you’ve only got two weeks left to target shoot.
You should be shooting at first and last light as much as possible,and wearing the clothes you will wear hunting.
Get out in the woods,check your stand/blind set-ups-you picked your stand/blind locations and cut shooting lanes back in August right?
You already cleared debris and sticks/branches from the trails to your blind/stands right?
You already know the distances to the most likely areas the deer will approach from right?
You can already put all 6 arrows into 6″ or less from those distances,right?
You already know where all the food and water sources and bedding areas are in relation to your stands/blinds,right?
You know what stands/blinds to hunt depending on wind direction right?
You know which stands/blinds you can NOT hunt in early morning or late evening because the sun will be in your eyes,right?
Where it’s legal,you already have salt/mineral blocks out right?
Where it’s legal,you have corn in feeders already setup and filled,right?
You already planted fall/winter food plots with a variety of grains and brassicas right?
You already washed all your hunting clothing and let them hang outside for a day,right?
Then you put said clothing in a clean plastic bin(s) with some pine cones,and pine,oak, or cedar branches in several small paper bags spread out among the clothes in the bin(s),right?
Your early-season hunting boots are in the same bin,right? Already waterproofed and aired out for a few days,right?
Your day pack is in the same bin(s) too,right?And your rain gear?
Got a map of the area you plan to hunt,a compass,fire starting kit,first aid kit, etc. in your day pack right?
Along with all the stuff I wrote about last year in this post,right?
If for whatever reason,you made a bad shot on a deer,you do know how to track a wounded deer,right? If not,read this I wrote that last year also.
You know how to process your deer like I wrote about Here, and Here ,right?
Get out in the woods-scout your hunting area,find all the deer trails,water and food sources,bedding areas,and the trails between bedding area and water source,food source and water source,food source,water source and bedding areas. Pay attention to what the deer eat at what time of year,plant winter food plots where legal-and you’ll have a shot at a late season buck as his body is seriously nutrient depleted from the rut,and he’ll be drawn to high quality food after the rut has ended. The same food plot will attract does as well,so you have no excuse for not filling your freezer with venison this year !
If you want the local deer herd to remain at optimum numbers of deer-shoot every coyote you see during deer season-shoot enough of them,and the furs will cover your hunting costs for the year!
Fewer ‘yotes mean more deer,studies have shown coyote predation can kill up to 90% of whitetail fawns in areas with a lot of ‘yotes-eastern coyotes are an invasive species,as such,they need to be extirpated.
If there are feral hogs in your area-shoot every one of those you see as well-they eat many of the same foods deer eat.
Feral hogs are an invasive species as well-extirpate them-look at them as bacon on the hoof !
Get out in the woods,get your blinds/stands ready,clear debris from trails you use to and from your blinds/stands-shoot arrows every day,make sure your broadheads are razor sharp,use a safety harness if you hunt from a treestand!
Hunt safely,hunt smart,know your quarry’s habits-if you want to take a big buck,you have to get out in the woods and work for it-it ain’t like the hunting shows on the tee-vee!
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT!
That means you’ve only got two weeks left to target shoot.
You should be shooting at first and last light as much as possible,and wearing the clothes you will wear hunting.
Get out in the woods,check your stand/blind set-ups-you picked your stand/blind locations and cut shooting lanes back in August right?
You already cleared debris and sticks/branches from the trails to your blind/stands right?
You already know the distances to the most likely areas the deer will approach from right?
You can already put all 6 arrows into 6″ or less from those distances,right?
You already know where all the food and water sources and bedding areas are in relation to your stands/blinds,right?
You know what stands/blinds to hunt depending on wind direction right?
You know which stands/blinds you can NOT hunt in early morning or late evening because the sun will be in your eyes,right?
Where it’s legal,you already have salt/mineral blocks out right?
Where it’s legal,you have corn in feeders already setup and filled,right?
You already planted fall/winter food plots with a variety of grains and brassicas right?
You already washed all your hunting clothing and let them hang outside for a day,right?
Then you put said clothing in a clean plastic bin(s) with some pine cones,and pine,oak, or cedar branches in several small paper bags spread out among the clothes in the bin(s),right?
Your early-season hunting boots are in the same bin,right? Already waterproofed and aired out for a few days,right?
Your day pack is in the same bin(s) too,right?And your rain gear?
Got a map of the area you plan to hunt,a compass,fire starting kit,first aid kit, etc. in your day pack right?
Along with all the stuff I wrote about last year in this post,right?
If for whatever reason,you made a bad shot on a deer,you do know how to track a wounded deer,right? If not,read this I wrote that last year also.
You know how to process your deer like I wrote about Here, and Here ,right?
Get out in the woods-scout your hunting area,find all the deer trails,water and food sources,bedding areas,and the trails between bedding area and water source,food source and water source,food source,water source and bedding areas. Pay attention to what the deer eat at what time of year,plant winter food plots where legal-and you’ll have a shot at a late season buck as his body is seriously nutrient depleted from the rut,and he’ll be drawn to high quality food after the rut has ended. The same food plot will attract does as well,so you have no excuse for not filling your freezer with venison this year !
If you want the local deer herd to remain at optimum numbers of deer-shoot every coyote you see during deer season-shoot enough of them,and the furs will cover your hunting costs for the year!
Fewer ‘yotes mean more deer,studies have shown coyote predation can kill up to 90% of whitetail fawns in areas with a lot of ‘yotes-eastern coyotes are an invasive species,as such,they need to be extirpated.
If there are feral hogs in your area-shoot every one of those you see as well-they eat many of the same foods deer eat.
Feral hogs are an invasive species as well-extirpate them-look at them as bacon on the hoof !
Get out in the woods,get your blinds/stands ready,clear debris from trails you use to and from your blinds/stands-shoot arrows every day,make sure your broadheads are razor sharp,use a safety harness if you hunt from a treestand!
Hunt safely,hunt smart,know your quarry’s habits-if you want to take a big buck,you have to get out in the woods and work for it-it ain’t like the hunting shows on the tee-vee!
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT!
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Full-Velvet 200-Inch Kentucky Giant
Via Field& Stream Here
by Dave Hurteau
If you’re following the Rut Reporter posts, you know that I’m hunting the opening week of bow season with Cabela's Outdoor Andventures at Whitetail Heaven Outfitters in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Last night, I climbed out of my stand when I saw my driver approaching the field in his truck. He was barreling through the alfalfa, crazy fast, and hardly slowed down when he reached me. Owner Tevis McCauley stuck his head out the window and yelled: “Hang tight. We’ve got a 200-incher on the ground!”
Later back at camp, 40-some hunters and family members and guides and cooks gathered in the driveway, watching the Ram 2500 pull up in the pitch dark, honking its horn the whole way. Hunter Buddy Deville, from Denham Springs, Louisiana, stepped out of the truck grinning, dropped the tailgate, and showed us all this colossal velvet buck. He jumped up into the bed, like it was a stage, and told us all about it.
Buddy hunted the same stand for four days, and never even picked up his bow last night when a 150-inch 10-pointer came in. It was a good call; this giant taped out at 202-1/4. (The buck in the background was no slouch—a 147-inch 9-pointer that Daniel Wilson of Tennessee 10-ringed at 50 yards. John Draper with the NRA also brought in a old, big-bodied buck with very cool nontypical rack.)
We’ll have much more about this great buck, including video, on the Rut Reporters page soon. For now, I figured you might want a look.
(The photo above is courtesy of Whitetail Heaven guide J.C. Hall, who by the way has arrowed three 200-inchers himself.)
by Dave Hurteau
If you’re following the Rut Reporter posts, you know that I’m hunting the opening week of bow season with Cabela's Outdoor Andventures at Whitetail Heaven Outfitters in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Last night, I climbed out of my stand when I saw my driver approaching the field in his truck. He was barreling through the alfalfa, crazy fast, and hardly slowed down when he reached me. Owner Tevis McCauley stuck his head out the window and yelled: “Hang tight. We’ve got a 200-incher on the ground!”
Later back at camp, 40-some hunters and family members and guides and cooks gathered in the driveway, watching the Ram 2500 pull up in the pitch dark, honking its horn the whole way. Hunter Buddy Deville, from Denham Springs, Louisiana, stepped out of the truck grinning, dropped the tailgate, and showed us all this colossal velvet buck. He jumped up into the bed, like it was a stage, and told us all about it.
Buddy hunted the same stand for four days, and never even picked up his bow last night when a 150-inch 10-pointer came in. It was a good call; this giant taped out at 202-1/4. (The buck in the background was no slouch—a 147-inch 9-pointer that Daniel Wilson of Tennessee 10-ringed at 50 yards. John Draper with the NRA also brought in a old, big-bodied buck with very cool nontypical rack.)
We’ll have much more about this great buck, including video, on the Rut Reporters page soon. For now, I figured you might want a look.
(The photo above is courtesy of Whitetail Heaven guide J.C. Hall, who by the way has arrowed three 200-inchers himself.)
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Illinois and New Jersey Wildlife Officials Warn of EHD Outbreaks in Deer
There have been EHD outbreaks in Ohio
recently as well, usually in dry summers,the outbreaks can decimate
local deer populations,as the 2012 outbreaks did in northern Summit and
SE Geauga counties. I was talking to a couple of ODNR game wardens in
2012 at the Ladue public hunting area,and they told me they had counted
30 dead deer along a 1 mile section of the Cuyahoga river,farmers in the
area that I talked to told me they had dead deer all around the streams
and ponds on their farms in 2012. The deer numbers around the Ladue
public hunting area appear to be back up-according to a friend who lives
next to part of the hunting area.
The Summit county outbreak was in the area around our home.The deer populations are just now getting back to near where they were,northern Summit county deer are having a harder time gaining numbers due to coyote predation,with high ‘yote numbers,and very little private land on which to hunt or trap ‘yotes.
From Illinois and NJ-
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is asking the public to be aware of any white-tailed deer that may be affected by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD, and to report any suspected instances since outbreaks typically begin in August.
Although EHD is not a public health issue, it is the most important viral disease that affects white-tail deer in the United States according to the
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife reports that the state has experienced seven outbreaks of the disease since 1955. The virus is transmitted by a type of biting fly, commonly known as a biting midge, but have also been called sand gnats, sand flies, no-see-ums, or punkies.
The last outbreak of the disease in Sussex County came back in 1975, while parts of Morris and Warren Counties have had confirmed isolated cases of the virus show up in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
According to the University of Georgia, an easy lesion to spot where EHD could be expected is an erosion of the dental pad. Any deer with growth interruptions in their hooves or chronic lesions of the first part of the stomach, or rumen, by a hunter can suspect there was exposure to EHD.
The university noted that the geographic range of the disease year-by-year appears to be expanding. The division hopes that any deer exhibiting the symptoms of the disease will be reported to the Office of Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics or the Bureau of Wildlife Management.
The signs of the disease this time of year are difficulty standing, drooling, foaming from the mouth or a carcass with no apparent wounds near water.
Another closely-related disease to EHD, named “Bluetongue,” or BT, was detected in deer for the first time in New Jersey last year. For New
Jerseyans and Sussex County natives, it is important to be aware of the disease because EHD can effect livestock, mostly cattle, while
Bluetongue is a disease of concern for all ruminant livestock, including sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas.
The public is not at risk to contract the disease and cannot be infected by handling infected deer, being bitten by infected midges or eating infected
deer meat, although the latter is strongly advised against. Dogs and cats are not susceptible to the disease either.
Unfortunately, there are no current strategies available to prevent or control EHD in the deer population. But, any livestock owners who believe their animals have been inflicted with the disease should contact a veterinarian for appropriate assistance.
Source
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is asking Illinoisans to be on the lookout for signs of a disease fatal to deer.
According to IDNR, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is a virus that causes high fevers and kills deer hours of days after it’s contracted. Small insects called midges carry the disease and transfer it to deer by biting. Midges live and breed near water sources such as ponds, lakes, or creeks. Deer often contract the disease while drinking and die nearby.
The disease has no known effect to humans or domestic animals but can kill off localized deer populations in high numbers, according to wildlife ecologist Eric Schauber with Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
“It’s a big deal because we get these occasional periods and places where we can get these occasional periods and places where you can get fairly heavy mortality and it can kill off a substantial fraction of the population,” Schauber said.
Most cases are reported during drought years, Schauber said. He said there are several cases in the Southern region each year but most cases are reported in the central part of the state.
“In general, in terms of the Southern part of the state it doesn’t seem to have a big impact on the population as it potentially could in the central part of the state where the habitat is mostly along waterways,” Schauber said.
Schauber said deer that have contracted the virus often exhibit odd behavior such as walking aimlessly, having no fear of people, panting or sticking its tongue out, and having a swollen face or body.
The last major outbreak of EHD in Ill. was in 2012, according to IDNR. 51 counties had reports of deer being killed because of the virus.
The IDNR is asking anyone who thinks they may have spotted a deer infected with EHD to contact their local IDNR biologist or the Wildlife Disease and Invasive Species Program.
Source
The Summit county outbreak was in the area around our home.The deer populations are just now getting back to near where they were,northern Summit county deer are having a harder time gaining numbers due to coyote predation,with high ‘yote numbers,and very little private land on which to hunt or trap ‘yotes.
From Illinois and NJ-
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is asking the public to be aware of any white-tailed deer that may be affected by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD, and to report any suspected instances since outbreaks typically begin in August.
Although EHD is not a public health issue, it is the most important viral disease that affects white-tail deer in the United States according to the
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife reports that the state has experienced seven outbreaks of the disease since 1955. The virus is transmitted by a type of biting fly, commonly known as a biting midge, but have also been called sand gnats, sand flies, no-see-ums, or punkies.
The last outbreak of the disease in Sussex County came back in 1975, while parts of Morris and Warren Counties have had confirmed isolated cases of the virus show up in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
According to the University of Georgia, an easy lesion to spot where EHD could be expected is an erosion of the dental pad. Any deer with growth interruptions in their hooves or chronic lesions of the first part of the stomach, or rumen, by a hunter can suspect there was exposure to EHD.
The university noted that the geographic range of the disease year-by-year appears to be expanding. The division hopes that any deer exhibiting the symptoms of the disease will be reported to the Office of Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics or the Bureau of Wildlife Management.
The signs of the disease this time of year are difficulty standing, drooling, foaming from the mouth or a carcass with no apparent wounds near water.
Another closely-related disease to EHD, named “Bluetongue,” or BT, was detected in deer for the first time in New Jersey last year. For New
Jerseyans and Sussex County natives, it is important to be aware of the disease because EHD can effect livestock, mostly cattle, while
Bluetongue is a disease of concern for all ruminant livestock, including sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas.
The public is not at risk to contract the disease and cannot be infected by handling infected deer, being bitten by infected midges or eating infected
deer meat, although the latter is strongly advised against. Dogs and cats are not susceptible to the disease either.
Unfortunately, there are no current strategies available to prevent or control EHD in the deer population. But, any livestock owners who believe their animals have been inflicted with the disease should contact a veterinarian for appropriate assistance.
Source
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is asking Illinoisans to be on the lookout for signs of a disease fatal to deer.
According to IDNR, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is a virus that causes high fevers and kills deer hours of days after it’s contracted. Small insects called midges carry the disease and transfer it to deer by biting. Midges live and breed near water sources such as ponds, lakes, or creeks. Deer often contract the disease while drinking and die nearby.
The disease has no known effect to humans or domestic animals but can kill off localized deer populations in high numbers, according to wildlife ecologist Eric Schauber with Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
“It’s a big deal because we get these occasional periods and places where we can get these occasional periods and places where you can get fairly heavy mortality and it can kill off a substantial fraction of the population,” Schauber said.
Most cases are reported during drought years, Schauber said. He said there are several cases in the Southern region each year but most cases are reported in the central part of the state.
“In general, in terms of the Southern part of the state it doesn’t seem to have a big impact on the population as it potentially could in the central part of the state where the habitat is mostly along waterways,” Schauber said.
Schauber said deer that have contracted the virus often exhibit odd behavior such as walking aimlessly, having no fear of people, panting or sticking its tongue out, and having a swollen face or body.
The last major outbreak of EHD in Ill. was in 2012, according to IDNR. 51 counties had reports of deer being killed because of the virus.
The IDNR is asking anyone who thinks they may have spotted a deer infected with EHD to contact their local IDNR biologist or the Wildlife Disease and Invasive Species Program.
Source
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Processing Your Own Deer
The first thing you absolutely must do to insure great tasting
venison is to quickly field dress your deer,being careful not to
puncture the stomach or intestines,and prop the chest cavity open to
help speed cooling. Do this even in cold weather,as the faster you cool
the meat,the better the end product will be. Also be sure to remove the
deers anal canal-they make a tool called Butt-Out that greatly
simplifies the task-or just cut it out with your knife.
Carry a few gallon sized ziploc bags with you if you like the liver or heart,and place those in the bags,along with the two tenderloins that run along the deers backbone on the inside of the body cavity you made when you gutted the critter.
The second thing is you must either allow the deer to hang in a cold place-below 38 degrees,or skin and quarter the deer,and age it in a couple of coolers by placing the deer quarter in a plastic trash bag,filling the cooler part way with ice,then placing the bag of meat on the ice. You can also use game bags to age your venison, but most of us hunt deer close enough to home and/or a hunting camp that there is no need for game bags unless you live in the south,where flies and other insects are an issue. The only time I use game bags is when hunting the mountain west,where it can be several days before I get back to “civilization” and the meat must be hung in a tree to keep it away from bears,coyotes etc.
Having hunted and processed my own game for over 40 years,I have found that as long as the weather cooperates,I let my deer hang for 7 days,then skin and process it.
When I have to use the coolers and ice method-I give it 10 days before processing.
The third thing,and I’m only putting it as third,because it’s the third step-is at least as important as allowing the meat to cool quickly.
The third thing is you must remove every bit of fat from the venison,venison fat is one of,if not the nastiest tasting things I have ever tasted-and I have tasted some things that are pretty gross to most people-Haggis comes to mind,tripe,”mountain oysters”,raw clam cocktail that I demanded to order in a restaurant as a kid-and was told in no uncertain terms by my dad that if he was paying for it I was damn sure gonna eat it-almost puked on the table it was so nasty!
I’m not going to get into the hang your deer head up or head down argument-I hang mine head up,because I find it easier to butcher the deer that way, as I start with the neck and shoulders,which take more time to bone out than the hind quarters.
Skin the deer carefully,being careful not to cut through it except to split it at the neck and legs,and remove the meat from the tail. If you plan on tanning the hide-be extra careful to not leave any meat attached to it,as you will just have to remove it later.
If you shot a trophy that you plan on having mounted-leave about 6″ more hide on the head/neck, or neck shoulders if getting a shoulder mount than you think the taxidermist will need.
I start at the neck,removing the larger muscles ,saving them to grind. Next,I remove the “backstraps” which are really the loins that run along and on either side of the spine-this is prime meat,use it for steaks. Start at the top of the backstrap just above the shoulder,run your knife along the backbone,going around each vertebrae,when you reach the end of the backstrap,take your knife,and run it along the bone from the other side of the loin-or you can cut so far on one side,then cut the same length on the other,and the loin will just peel away from the bone as you go, with minimal knife work. Either way works,just a matter of preference.
Next,I bone the shoulders out,separating the muscle groups,after that,the hind quarters,same thing,just remove the meat by muscle groups,there’s really nothing to it,it’s very easy to do.
Once I am at this point,I rinse all the meat to remove any stray hairs from it,then sit at a table to start cutting it into roasts,and chunks for stew and grinding.
You will notice as you begin to separate the muscles into roasts that there is a clear membrane-get all that off and toss it in the trash bucket you have next to the cutting table.
You will also notice a silvery colored “skin” covering parts of the muscles-this is called siverskin and is what makes the clumps of “gristle” you sometimes get in ground beef.Remove this with a boning knife or filet knife-carefully cut under it,then take your knife blade pointing away from the meat,and run it along the silverskin-repeat this until you have removed all of it.
As you trim your roasts,toss the larger chunks into a pile for stew meat,the smaller into another pile for ground meat. I sometimes grind one shoulder into ground meat,and will also grind the smaller roasts from the hindquarters as well-depends on how much ground meat you want to end up with.
One piece of advice-buy a good grinder-I have both a hand-crank that’s so old my great grandmother used it,and a 1 1/2 hp electric grinder I bought from Cabelas years ago.
The grinders will come with at least 2 plates that have holes in them-these determrine the size of the grind you get when you grind the meat.
Whichever type of grinder you use,always grind the meat,grind the fat,then mix the two together,then grind a second time. Ground venison is best when ground to a medium or coarse grind-we prefer coarse grind,so I use the same plate for all 3 steps. If you prefer a smaller grind,grind meaqt and fat with the larger plate,mix the two,then grind using a plate with smaller holes.
The roasts from the hindquarters are more tender,and look just like the same roasts cut from a beef cow. I’ll use the shoulder roasts for crockpot roasts,and the roasts from the hindquarters get treated the same as a high quality beef roast.
My wife likes to use the bags with the seasonings already in them,she puts potatoes,carrots a little celery and onion in the bag with the roast-cooks according to directions on package-and venison roasts made like that rock! Just had one for Christmas dinner.
I make jerky from a couple of the roasts,and all the trimmings from the hindquarters are used for stew meat if big enough pieces,or get tossed into the grind pile if small pieces.
To make the best tasting ground venison,you have to add some fat,what kind is up to you,some use pork fat,some use beef fat,some grind bacon into their ground venison.
I use beef fat,it’s readily available,even from today’s grocery stores that don’t really butcher meat,they just cut up boxed large cuts,and it’s inexpensive-I just paid $4.99 for 5# a couple weeks ago.
Beef fat makes ground venison taste more like ground beef-and it makes ass-kickin good burgers-just be careful not to overcook it!
Venison is best cooked to medium rare-if making your burgers inside-I use a cast iron skillet,get it nice and hot,then cook the ground venison burgers,lightly seasoned with just salt and pepper for about 3 minutes per side,flipping only once. Let the cooked burgers rest for a few minutes as you get your fixin’s ready,put it on the bun and enjoy-best burgers you’ll ever eat.
Those of you who like liver-yuck-venison liver cooks way faster than beef or calf liver-so you have to cook your onions halfway first. I’ll start the onions in one skillet,then dredge the liver pieces in flour that’s been seasoned with salt and pepper,and cook in a cast iron skillet that’s good and hot and has a 50/50 mix of butter and cooking oil in it-lightly brown the liver,when you turn the pieces over,add the onions from the other pan,the onions will finish cooking as the liver cooks-remove the liver pieces when browned,place on paper towels to drain any oil,then put on plates,and top with the now fully cooked onions-enjoy-the wife and kids won’t eat beef liver any more-they can’t wait for fall and that first venison liver now.
Hope that helps…
One other thing-expect to get about half of what your deer weighs after field dressed in meat when you process it-make sure you have freezer space already cleared when you start processing.
Any questions-just ask in the comments-or e-mail me @gamegetterII@yahoo.com
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do More PT !
It’s the holidays and you’re eating and drinking way more tha
Carry a few gallon sized ziploc bags with you if you like the liver or heart,and place those in the bags,along with the two tenderloins that run along the deers backbone on the inside of the body cavity you made when you gutted the critter.
The second thing is you must either allow the deer to hang in a cold place-below 38 degrees,or skin and quarter the deer,and age it in a couple of coolers by placing the deer quarter in a plastic trash bag,filling the cooler part way with ice,then placing the bag of meat on the ice. You can also use game bags to age your venison, but most of us hunt deer close enough to home and/or a hunting camp that there is no need for game bags unless you live in the south,where flies and other insects are an issue. The only time I use game bags is when hunting the mountain west,where it can be several days before I get back to “civilization” and the meat must be hung in a tree to keep it away from bears,coyotes etc.
Having hunted and processed my own game for over 40 years,I have found that as long as the weather cooperates,I let my deer hang for 7 days,then skin and process it.
When I have to use the coolers and ice method-I give it 10 days before processing.
The third thing,and I’m only putting it as third,because it’s the third step-is at least as important as allowing the meat to cool quickly.
The third thing is you must remove every bit of fat from the venison,venison fat is one of,if not the nastiest tasting things I have ever tasted-and I have tasted some things that are pretty gross to most people-Haggis comes to mind,tripe,”mountain oysters”,raw clam cocktail that I demanded to order in a restaurant as a kid-and was told in no uncertain terms by my dad that if he was paying for it I was damn sure gonna eat it-almost puked on the table it was so nasty!
I’m not going to get into the hang your deer head up or head down argument-I hang mine head up,because I find it easier to butcher the deer that way, as I start with the neck and shoulders,which take more time to bone out than the hind quarters.
Skin the deer carefully,being careful not to cut through it except to split it at the neck and legs,and remove the meat from the tail. If you plan on tanning the hide-be extra careful to not leave any meat attached to it,as you will just have to remove it later.
If you shot a trophy that you plan on having mounted-leave about 6″ more hide on the head/neck, or neck shoulders if getting a shoulder mount than you think the taxidermist will need.
I start at the neck,removing the larger muscles ,saving them to grind. Next,I remove the “backstraps” which are really the loins that run along and on either side of the spine-this is prime meat,use it for steaks. Start at the top of the backstrap just above the shoulder,run your knife along the backbone,going around each vertebrae,when you reach the end of the backstrap,take your knife,and run it along the bone from the other side of the loin-or you can cut so far on one side,then cut the same length on the other,and the loin will just peel away from the bone as you go, with minimal knife work. Either way works,just a matter of preference.
Next,I bone the shoulders out,separating the muscle groups,after that,the hind quarters,same thing,just remove the meat by muscle groups,there’s really nothing to it,it’s very easy to do.
Once I am at this point,I rinse all the meat to remove any stray hairs from it,then sit at a table to start cutting it into roasts,and chunks for stew and grinding.
You will notice as you begin to separate the muscles into roasts that there is a clear membrane-get all that off and toss it in the trash bucket you have next to the cutting table.
You will also notice a silvery colored “skin” covering parts of the muscles-this is called siverskin and is what makes the clumps of “gristle” you sometimes get in ground beef.Remove this with a boning knife or filet knife-carefully cut under it,then take your knife blade pointing away from the meat,and run it along the silverskin-repeat this until you have removed all of it.
As you trim your roasts,toss the larger chunks into a pile for stew meat,the smaller into another pile for ground meat. I sometimes grind one shoulder into ground meat,and will also grind the smaller roasts from the hindquarters as well-depends on how much ground meat you want to end up with.
One piece of advice-buy a good grinder-I have both a hand-crank that’s so old my great grandmother used it,and a 1 1/2 hp electric grinder I bought from Cabelas years ago.
The grinders will come with at least 2 plates that have holes in them-these determrine the size of the grind you get when you grind the meat.
Whichever type of grinder you use,always grind the meat,grind the fat,then mix the two together,then grind a second time. Ground venison is best when ground to a medium or coarse grind-we prefer coarse grind,so I use the same plate for all 3 steps. If you prefer a smaller grind,grind meaqt and fat with the larger plate,mix the two,then grind using a plate with smaller holes.
The roasts from the hindquarters are more tender,and look just like the same roasts cut from a beef cow. I’ll use the shoulder roasts for crockpot roasts,and the roasts from the hindquarters get treated the same as a high quality beef roast.
My wife likes to use the bags with the seasonings already in them,she puts potatoes,carrots a little celery and onion in the bag with the roast-cooks according to directions on package-and venison roasts made like that rock! Just had one for Christmas dinner.
I make jerky from a couple of the roasts,and all the trimmings from the hindquarters are used for stew meat if big enough pieces,or get tossed into the grind pile if small pieces.
To make the best tasting ground venison,you have to add some fat,what kind is up to you,some use pork fat,some use beef fat,some grind bacon into their ground venison.
I use beef fat,it’s readily available,even from today’s grocery stores that don’t really butcher meat,they just cut up boxed large cuts,and it’s inexpensive-I just paid $4.99 for 5# a couple weeks ago.
Beef fat makes ground venison taste more like ground beef-and it makes ass-kickin good burgers-just be careful not to overcook it!
Venison is best cooked to medium rare-if making your burgers inside-I use a cast iron skillet,get it nice and hot,then cook the ground venison burgers,lightly seasoned with just salt and pepper for about 3 minutes per side,flipping only once. Let the cooked burgers rest for a few minutes as you get your fixin’s ready,put it on the bun and enjoy-best burgers you’ll ever eat.
Those of you who like liver-yuck-venison liver cooks way faster than beef or calf liver-so you have to cook your onions halfway first. I’ll start the onions in one skillet,then dredge the liver pieces in flour that’s been seasoned with salt and pepper,and cook in a cast iron skillet that’s good and hot and has a 50/50 mix of butter and cooking oil in it-lightly brown the liver,when you turn the pieces over,add the onions from the other pan,the onions will finish cooking as the liver cooks-remove the liver pieces when browned,place on paper towels to drain any oil,then put on plates,and top with the now fully cooked onions-enjoy-the wife and kids won’t eat beef liver any more-they can’t wait for fall and that first venison liver now.
Hope that helps…
One other thing-expect to get about half of what your deer weighs after field dressed in meat when you process it-make sure you have freezer space already cleared when you start processing.
Any questions-just ask in the comments-or e-mail me @gamegetterII@yahoo.com
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do More PT !
It’s the holidays and you’re eating and drinking way more tha
Bowhunting is Only a Month Away-Time to Up Your Practice and Get Blinds and Stands Set Up
Here in Ohio,bow season starts Sept.29th,other states have similar starting dates,most by mid Oct. at the latest.
Ohio deer seasons-
More info @ http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/hunting-trapping-and-shooting-sports/hunting-trapping-regulations/deer-hunting-regulations
W. Va deer seasons-
Archery-Sept 26th-Dec 31st
More info-
http://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/Regs1516/Deer_Season.pdf
Pa deer seasons-
DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Sept. 19- Nov. 28 and Dec. 26-Jan. 23, 2016. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. One antlered deer per hunting license year.
DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Oct. 3-Nov. 14 and Dec. 26-Jan. 9. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.
More info @ http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=576240&mode=2
*Archery: Oct. 1 – Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 – Jan. 1
More info @ http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10363-312005–,00.html
Kentucky deer seasons-
More info @ http://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Deer-Hunting-Zones-and-Seasons.aspx
Indiana deer seasons-
More info @ http://www.eregulations.com/indiana/hunting/deer-seasons-licenses-equipment/
That covers Ohio and surrounding states. The rest of the country has similar hunting seasons-some start earlier,some start later-but they all start in the fall. You should have your blind/stand locations scouted out,shooting lanes cut,and your trail in and out raked clear of leaves,sticks,branches,etc. with any overhanging branches trimmed,along with any low branches from small trees,and briars and berry bushes that protrude onto the trail cut off at ground level.
Save all that stuff you trim to brush in your blind or stand. If it’s legal in your state-put out fresh mineral blocks and salt blocks now.
Increase the number of arrows you shoot each day,because as the season starts,you’ll be in the woods,and not practicing as much. I shoot a minimum of 6 groups of 6 arrows a day now,and at least 3 days a week,I shoot 12 groups of 6 arrows-6 in the morning,6 in the evening. At least 2 days a week,I shoot my 6 groups of arrows at last legal shooting light-(half hour after sunset here) Everyone needs to do this-because if there’s any issues with your sights – it’s better to find out now,and have time to fix the problem than it is to find out when you draw your bow on that big buck-and you can’t see shit.
If you hunt private land,and can get your stand/blind set up now-set it up-that way the deer get used to it,and don’t see it as a threat.
If you use trail cameras-you should have had them up in July. If you don’t have them up-get ’em up now.
I know I bring this up a lot-but until more deer hunters get it-the deer herds will continue to shrink many areas-
Shoot every coyote you see-more ‘yotes= fewer deer,in some areas,fawn predation is as high as 90%. That means the ‘yotes are killing 9 out of every 120 fawns born. Shoot the damn things-they’re not native to the eastern U.S.-they are an invasive species-plus eastern ‘yotes have a considerable amount of wolf DNA that they picked upon their way east in Minnesota,Wisconsin,the U.P.of Michigan,and parts of Ontario.
The second problem animal affecting whitetail deer are feral hogs-they eat the same foods as the deer,and while deer can have twins,even triplets,hogs can have 3 litters of 6-8 piglets-(sometimes up to 10 per litter)- per year,sometimes 4. The only way to remove a feral hog family-called a sounder-is to kill or trap every single one of them.If you leave just two,a boar and a sow-within a year,there will be 60-100 hogs in the same area,as the piglets from the first litter will be able to breed and have piglets within 6 months.
The sounders are territorial,so if you take one out-it will be at least a year before another moves in.
Feral hogs have been around from the Carolinas to Florida,and Florida to Texas along the gulf coast since the Spanish explorers in the 1500’s released pigs in every new place they came to,because the pigs could fend for themselves,and be hunted for food when needed.
It’s impossible to eliminate feral hogs from the southeast,but it is possible to remove them from the surrounding states where they are a problem. The best the southeast can hope for is to limit the billions in crop damage by removing individual sounders.
Unless you want to see the deer herd in your are crash-start killin ‘yotes and feral hogs-remember-you gotta get the whole sounder-all of ’em- to get rid of the hogs.
Get out in the woods.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT !
Ohio deer seasons-
White-tailed Deer Hunting
| Species | Opening Date | Closing Date | Daily Bag Limit | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 26, 2015 | February 7, 2016 | Refer to the Deer Hunting Section for details on zone and bag limits. | |||
| Gun |
November 30, 2015 | December 6, 2015 | ||||
| December 28, 2015 | December 29, 2015 | |||||
| Muzzleloader |
January 9, 2016 | January12,2016 | ||||
W. Va deer seasons-
Archery-Sept 26th-Dec 31st
More info-
http://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/Regs1516/Deer_Season.pdf
Pa deer seasons-
DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Sept. 19- Nov. 28 and Dec. 26-Jan. 23, 2016. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. One antlered deer per hunting license year.
DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Oct. 3-Nov. 14 and Dec. 26-Jan. 9. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.
More info @ http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=576240&mode=2
- don’t forget-Pa has elk hunting!
*Archery: Oct. 1 – Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 – Jan. 1
More info @ http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10363-312005–,00.html
Kentucky deer seasons-
More info @ http://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Deer-Hunting-Zones-and-Seasons.aspx
Indiana deer seasons-
|
Archery Season – Oct. 1, 2015 – Jan. 3, 2016
|
2 antlerless deer OR 1 antlered and 1 antlerless deer (AND bonus antlerless county quota)
|
|||||||
That covers Ohio and surrounding states. The rest of the country has similar hunting seasons-some start earlier,some start later-but they all start in the fall. You should have your blind/stand locations scouted out,shooting lanes cut,and your trail in and out raked clear of leaves,sticks,branches,etc. with any overhanging branches trimmed,along with any low branches from small trees,and briars and berry bushes that protrude onto the trail cut off at ground level.
Save all that stuff you trim to brush in your blind or stand. If it’s legal in your state-put out fresh mineral blocks and salt blocks now.
Increase the number of arrows you shoot each day,because as the season starts,you’ll be in the woods,and not practicing as much. I shoot a minimum of 6 groups of 6 arrows a day now,and at least 3 days a week,I shoot 12 groups of 6 arrows-6 in the morning,6 in the evening. At least 2 days a week,I shoot my 6 groups of arrows at last legal shooting light-(half hour after sunset here) Everyone needs to do this-because if there’s any issues with your sights – it’s better to find out now,and have time to fix the problem than it is to find out when you draw your bow on that big buck-and you can’t see shit.
If you hunt private land,and can get your stand/blind set up now-set it up-that way the deer get used to it,and don’t see it as a threat.
If you use trail cameras-you should have had them up in July. If you don’t have them up-get ’em up now.
I know I bring this up a lot-but until more deer hunters get it-the deer herds will continue to shrink many areas-
Shoot every coyote you see-more ‘yotes= fewer deer,in some areas,fawn predation is as high as 90%. That means the ‘yotes are killing 9 out of every 120 fawns born. Shoot the damn things-they’re not native to the eastern U.S.-they are an invasive species-plus eastern ‘yotes have a considerable amount of wolf DNA that they picked upon their way east in Minnesota,Wisconsin,the U.P.of Michigan,and parts of Ontario.
The second problem animal affecting whitetail deer are feral hogs-they eat the same foods as the deer,and while deer can have twins,even triplets,hogs can have 3 litters of 6-8 piglets-(sometimes up to 10 per litter)- per year,sometimes 4. The only way to remove a feral hog family-called a sounder-is to kill or trap every single one of them.If you leave just two,a boar and a sow-within a year,there will be 60-100 hogs in the same area,as the piglets from the first litter will be able to breed and have piglets within 6 months.
The sounders are territorial,so if you take one out-it will be at least a year before another moves in.
Feral hogs have been around from the Carolinas to Florida,and Florida to Texas along the gulf coast since the Spanish explorers in the 1500’s released pigs in every new place they came to,because the pigs could fend for themselves,and be hunted for food when needed.
It’s impossible to eliminate feral hogs from the southeast,but it is possible to remove them from the surrounding states where they are a problem. The best the southeast can hope for is to limit the billions in crop damage by removing individual sounders.
Unless you want to see the deer herd in your are crash-start killin ‘yotes and feral hogs-remember-you gotta get the whole sounder-all of ’em- to get rid of the hogs.
Get out in the woods.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT !
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