NYBowhunter

Nice pics..looks like perfect running/scenting conditions for the dogs. When we went it was ruff, had around 2ft. Of Snow and was using snowshoes to get around, we still managed to get alot of bunnies. Glad you guys had fun!!!

Thats good to hear, wish i would have known you were going i would have asked you to say hello for me to that ole mountain man. Petes a a nice guy and works hard for you. Post those pictures.

Sounds nice!!!

Good luck Biz. How much land we talking about?

If i remember correctly it was 3 of us and we laid down about 18 in 2 days.

Went with Pete Richardson out in Vermont years ago with a few friends and got a boat load of snowshoe hare, was lots of fast paced action. Had a ton of fun. I need to do that again real soon.

Pics from crossbow hunt and gun hunt with 2 of my boys. Time spent together is priceless.

HAPPY birthday!!!

Congrats

Not far from you, welcome.

L&B is good but overrated, if you want to try a great pie go to knapp street pizza and order a Grandma pie, its awesome!!!!

I use the electric digital masterbuilt, it takes the guess work out of smoking. Add water, place your chips, program the temp. and time and walk away, its that easy.

NP, let me know how it works out for you, the initial investment is alot but in the long run the equipment will pay for itself and the rewards of doing it yourself knowing what you put into it is priceless. Enjoy.

I will give you the ingredients/ process for making a 10lb batch, then you can adjust up or down depending on how many lbs. you make: 5lbs ground venison, 5lbs ground pork ( more fatty than lean). Mix those together very well, then add 1/2 cup cold water, 4oz. Non-iodized salt, 1/2 cup of soy protien powder ( this binds the fat to the meat), 2 teaspoons of prague powder #1 (this is the curing salt only use in the snack sticks not the sausage as the sausages are going to be cooked and dont require a cure),pinch of sugar, the following are added by eye : black pepper, crushed hot pepper, marjoram, fennel seeds (more fennel seeds in the fresh sausage than the snack sticks), garlic powder. Mix everthing together very well. Best to leave in fridge overnight before stuffing. For the fresh sausage i use hog casing and for the snack sticks i use 21mm collogan edible casings. Place snack sticks in smoker @160 degrees F for 12 hours and then for 2 more hours i like to up the temps. to 180 degrees F. In all should take 12-15 hrs. in the smoker, use a probe and internal temps of sticks should reach atleast 160F.

As for flavor, its a combination of spices that i put togwther and everyone seems to really like it. No specified amount of spices, i add my spices mostly by eye, things like the water, salts and cure are exact measurements. This batch of snack sticks was 20lbs as well with a 50/50 ratio of venison and pork.

The snack sticks are all smoked and cut up, boy are they good.

Thanks, the fresh sausage was excellent, tried some tonight and was very tasty. Snack sticks still have another 6hrs to go in the smoker before i can get a taste.

Yes extremely, was a huge undertaking to do 45lbs in one day, but we got r' done. Thank god i had the help of 2 of my boys. Gotta see my 7yr old crank that sausage stuffer, he was lots of help. Thanks.

Sorry for the sideways pictures thats not the way they showed in my saved photos.

Well got a new LEM sausage stuffer from santa and tested it out today, worked out great. Made 25 lbs of fresh sausage and 20lbs of snack sticks. Both were a 50/50 mix of venison and pork. Used hog casing for the sausage and 21mm collagen casing for the snack sticks. The snack sticks are currently in the smoker for 12 hrs and the sausage we cooked up some tonight to try and they were delicious..

Amen to that!!!!! Merry xmas to all, have a happy and healthy New Year. May God bless you and your families.

Can never have enough clover

And that small of an area clover is all i can think of that will bounce back quickly from overgrazing. If you decide to go with clover, go with a white Ladino clover, they are larger than other variants and can easily be found in most local agways or online. You may want to add in that mix Pasja turnips (no root ball), they are leaf heavy and grow back from grazing and will provide protection of your clover until they take root.

Funny an axe is what i wished for last year, santa got me a nice Fiskars hand axe. Got good use out of that puppy so far.

LEM 5lb sausage stuffer, snack stick size funnel for the stuffer, collogan and hog sausage/snack casings. Thats all for my wish list, hopefully Santa (the mrs.) makes my wish come true.