Uncle Nicky

With the summer sausage, it's not so much the diameter of the stuffer or tube...you just have to work with the casings, summer sausage & salami needs to be stuffed as tightly as possible. If you are using plastic or collagen casings, this shouldn't be a problem, they are almost impossible to tear. I always prick any visible air pockets also. I can't speak of ground meat jerky, but if it is truly chewy jerky you are after, try cutting muscle jerky instead. But it sounds like you are using too much heat, my smoker runs at about 130 when I make muscle jerky.

Brown some loose sausage, stir into a batch of polenta, maybe add some mushrooms. Great side-dish or breakfast. With casings on, I make sausage parm sandwiches, or sausage/pepper/onion sandwiches (usually in the summer). .

I always wanted to name a dog "Fido". Next male dog will get the name. Personally, I find it easier to let the wife name the dog, especially a hunting dog. It makes them feel like they are part of the whole process (because they are, even if they don't hunt with you).

It really doesn't work like that. With upland birds, you want a dog that will find birds and point them to you or flush them close-by. Duck & goose dogs retrieve downed birds. Hounds scent out game and you have to follow them as they chase. Beagle run rabbits around, hopefully in your direction. Squirrel and coon dogs run game up a tree, hopefully they keep it there until you arrive. My turkey dog finds turkeys and flushes them all wherever she finds them My father was one of the best dog-guys/small game hunters I ever met. He only had 1 dog at a time, sometimes a bird dog, sometimes a beagle, and he hunted upland birds & rabbits with whatever dog he had. The beagles flushed pheasants, sometimes too far out...we just did the best we could with what he had to work with. I've seen labs, English springers, & GSPs that could cross over from upland to retriever as needed, but that's about the best I've seen.

I feel your pain bud.....

Dogs taking up space on the bed.

Check your PMs, we did this 2 years ago.

I've killed quite a few wild hogs in my life, the meat is very good, but like anything, it's not for everyone. We usually cool it down first in cold water, then keep it iced up for the long ride home (usually in Georgia). Probably the ice & water for a few days leaches some of the wild taste away. I have heard that old boars are rank, I will say they are strong, but never had to toss anything out.

I have no agenda, but if I wanted to kill a very nice free-range whitetail deer I would head to Texas. Overall, there are more deer, higher deer densities, warmer weather, and good ranches are managed to breed quality bucks and keep doe ratios down. I've never come back empty handed, and a 150'" deer is very doable. Price would be about the same or lower as what you see in Ohio, and most ranches will let you shoot hogs, coyotes, bobcats, and maybe javelinas & turkeys also. Good luck!

Christmas Eve- gumbo, garden salad, cornbread Christmas Day- Apps- boiled shrimp, deer sausage & picking cheese, pineapple wrapped in prosciutto, cookies Dinner- roast wild turkey, vegetable lasagna for the millennials (don't ask) and fried catfish. Stuffing with deer sausage, au gratin potatoes, mixed vegetables, candied carrots, homemade cranberry sauce Desserts- pumpkin pie, my mother's fruitcake, and whatever else shows up. Diet starts January 2.

I have never hunted there. This sure doesn't look like a canned hunt to me, more like a pretty high priced opportunity to kill a very nice mid-western whitetail. There are a ton of reviews out on the www for this place, some great, some unhappy. I think it goes with the territory, guys drop big $$ to kill a mid-west slammer, and come back unhappy when they don't connect. Just my $.02, but it takes more than 5 days sitting to kill a deer like that in most cases.

I don't have the excitement for deer hunting that I used to, I mostly chalk it up to being too much work, and as I get older, not being able to sit still for long periods of time in the cold. But I still can't get it completely out of my blood. One day spent archery hunting, connected on a doe. Very short drag home. Hunted 4 days in NY rifle season, killed a respectable 6 pointer and a doe. An old buddy gave me another buck he didn't want this year. Hunted last week with friends in Georgia, multiple deer seen, but they are trophy hunters and don't want does shot this year. Passed on a few bucks that weren't up to their standards, it was interesting just watching deer & not shooting them. I stil have over a month where I can hunt in PA, I may get out once or twice after Christmas if it isn't cold, we will see. Enjoying the smoked sausage I made, I will try to make some "venison corned beef" if I get another one.

Yes, it's a win-win right there. The secret to the whole thing is self-control...as long as you don't go over your budget or overspend, the cash-back is a great option, it really adds up. AND ALWAYS PAY OFF THE BALANCE EACH MONTH!!! Most times I wait until I have about $500 in points built-up and then cash in.

Homemade mac & cheese with smoked venison sausage.

I went through something similar a few years ago, I'd just drop to the ground and black out for a few seconds, it was inner ear/vertigo related. Even worse was an attack while driving...scary stuff. The ENT doc gave me some shots of gentimicin in my ear, and I've been fine ever since. Hope your are on the mend soon Dan!!!

Just curious, what would be the benefit of having these trees on your property? There are a couple growing in the woods behind my house, but it already sounds like other members have got you covered.

Terriyaki sauce, save some to serve with your backloin.

Corned or cut it up into stew cubes.

There are a LOT of off the grid hillbillies in PA & NY also, they don't call it "Pennsyltucky" for nothing. It is all relative.

I went to college in NY (Poughkeepsie), and owned land there for a number of years. NY is one of the most beautiful states in the country...it has mountains, an ocean, 2 great lakes, and lots of farmland. If you catch the right weekend in October, the turning leaves & rolling hills make post-card quality pictures. When I bought my camp, I really expected to retire there (Allegany County). But the reality of aging, mostly due to high taxes, a 5-month winter with lots of snow, and liberal politics in Albany, has changed my mind. I'm headed south when the time is right.

I tend to agree with you. I don't think I'[ve ever tried using a call before, it was something of a desparation move that worked out. I will have to bring a couple quarters in my pocket next time to see if that produces any type of results.

Looks like neck and assorted trim to me.

A semi-auto shotgun, if I ever decide to get back into waterfowl. I've got just about anything else a man could ask for, other than space to store guns & ammo in my house.

No interest in any of this, but I do remember a customer I had when I ran my processing business. He claims to have spined a deer with his last arrow. He'd also forgotten his skinning knife, so he finished the deer off with his penknife. The deer beat him up pretty good in the process, but eventually he won. It may have been BS, but he told a good, but pretty gruesome story.