Unit8R

Getting gear ready for retro day... early 60s Sears 16GA armed with Sluggers. Shoots consistently six inches right at 25 yards so will apply Kentucky Windage should I get the chance.

Here's an old one! Would love to sit down and chat with her. Makes me wonder what percentage of whitetails die of old age

Funny how as the weapons get a longer reach I find myself hunting thicker places...

Just reviewed notes. I've been out in the woods for at least a few hours 30 of 50 days since Oct 1st - I'm retired so have the time. Missed a dead nuts shot on10/22 as did not get that kisser in place, another lesson. Of the 20 days missed, some were super hot, some rain, some dog tired (moved a hang on stand in the rain when quiet as camera showed no deer in first spot - that hurts a 65 year old). One day in particular I was slurping down pancakes while a buck walked under my stand on 11/9 as evidenced from trail cam the next day(ugh!). I had a buck almost walk into me in a ground blind one day, I was hand cuffed and he bounded off. I watched another buck walk under my stand on the 13th while in a brush blind nearby and texted how I am being tested this year but am keeping a good attitude. The next morning I was lucky enough to have had him rutting under that stand all night (via camera)and kind enough to get out of the way while I got up the stand and was rewarded. I knew I needed some hunter's luck and got it - two days of meat care. Various does, crows, squirrels, woodpeckers, foxes, house cats, owls and hawks kept me company. Besides some nice bucks, the most beautiful thing I saw was a torrent of oak leaves cascading down on a bright sunny day. I never see the action in regular season as in the early seasons given the rut, the colors, the weather, the lack of deer drives but hope is there always... any 5 seconds from now could be a lifetime memory.

Hopefully is doesn't turn out like the time I stunk up the house boiling elk parts trying to make hide glue during my make your own bow phase... an experiment that may had added to the pile of reasons for one of my divorces!

From my reading, the bear was revered by indigenous peoples for its fat, a very tough thing to find in the wild. I put out the fat from the top of cooled deer stock for the birds and nothing touched it all winter! But that show got me wondering so will give it a try - need that fat doe first though...

If I get a fat doe this season I'm gonna render it... If interested: https://www.themeateater.com/cook/butchering-and-processing/how-to-use-wild-game-fat

Kitchen day... finishing up deer stock from Saturday's deer, making bread and muffins for opening day and making donuts like Mom used to do for the hunters with Ye Ole Donut Maker...

Rifled Remington 870 12 GA with scope at my brother's property and crossbow at my lady's property as it's a bunch of 10 acre parcels and don't wanna make a racket.

Thanks for the replies. Learned about modern refrigerators drying the meat as opposed to very old ones. Ended up going the cool/cut//freeze route wrapping in plastic wrap before freezer paper (learn from Meat Eater TV show). I should mention that I use the gutless method as I have no ATV and have an uphill walk to the vehicle so aging with the hide on is really not an option for me however it sure makes sense in order to keep the crust from forming. So just over 48 hours after the kill I have most all in freezer and have just cracked the bones to roast for stock (as well as grabbed tarsals for Saturday's hunt). As an aside, I've spend most my life in Colorado where we would not only use gutless method but would bone then out as well as packing out elk in that country was very rough. I had an old Austrian friend there who would hang his meat until there was a green fuzz on it!

Please excuse, should have looked a bit further before posting found a great thread in the Processing topic

For those of you who do your own processing, I'd appreciate your opinions... I have done both and "think" aged is better but tough to compare one animal from another... you have the dried crust to shave off loosing a little bit of meat. I read that aging breaks down the enzymes but works better for beef due to higher fat content. Thanks!

Found this somewhere on the web a while back which gives the side view

Rainy day skull session... Last Season crossbow started Nov 1st as regular (3rd Saturday in Nov) started Nov17th. This year the opener for crossbow is Nov7. First scrapes I've seen this year are in the same 2-3 day period as last couple so I expect rest of rut to follow same general course. I think of bucks on their feet during daylight as the seeking/chasing phase and use Halloween to mid November as rough dates. Last year I had lone bucks walk by my ground blind on Oct 30, Nov 3 and two on Nov 10 (2md filled my tag). So this amateur moneyball tells me we will have a week less of prime walking buck rut time during crossbow season this year before lockdown starts in mid November. So keep practicing with your bow as Mr Big may come a callin!

FYI, local paper showed up today and front page article about almost 197 typical taken nearby. Article says it ranks 4th all time (gross) in NYS and top ten all time for Northeast. Net score of 174 ranks it in top 30 of NYS. https://www.chronicle-express.com/sports/20200122/no-title