Uncle Nicky

I have seen them at Assateague, pretty sure they are on the other side of the island also (Chincoteague). I believe there is a drawing you can apply for to hunt them there. Everything I have heard is that they are very spooky creatures, and pretty much have to be baited to get them to come out of the marsh, at least in Maryland. I would love to get a chance to hunt them some time.

Yes, a lot. As i get older, my outlook on hunting has changed. I'm just as happy getting a new person or friend a deer or turkey as I am getting one myself. The memories of the animals you kill and the meals fade with time, but the memories spent helping others and time spent with relatives seem to stay with you (at least in my case). One of the best fishing trips I ever went on was last summer, not only because the fishing was very good, but because it was with a lifelong friend dying of cancer. We both knew it would be his last time fishing in the ocean, he could barely crank the reel and I had to pretty much hold his hand the whole time. But it meant so much to him and his family that I brought him with me, I was getting embarrassed at his funeral after a while with all the accolades that were coming my way. I'd do it all over again in a minute.

Because I don't care much about professional sports, and I have no interest in being a golfer.

Do you think it has anything to do with all the people planting food plots snd putting out minerals these days?

Just my $.02, but I've mentored and taken a LOT of people hunting in my life....and will still continue to do it. If I was there, I would have helped you for free, not all hunters are greedy or lazy. Good deeds have a way of coming back, hopefully today will be your day. Next time I would lay some ground rules out...

Steuben county 7 point. Big body deer, rack was broken up pretty good. I'm happy.

When it is no longer fun, or you can't physically walk/run/tolerate the weather conditions. My father was a hard-core small game & deer hunter; about age 60 he called it quits, mostly due to his move to Nevada, where there wasn't much to hunt in the desert. MANY guys I hunted with for years have given up (late 50's-early 60's), the reason being either health problems or change in perspective about killing. I also have a friend who was in his 90s who deep-sea fished and even tagged along on a hog hunt, sadly he's senile now but may reach 100; another older friend who is 75 and takes his oxygen bottle up in his tree stand to deer hunt every fall. While the game I try to kill has changed some over the years, I don't picture myself giving up fishing or hunting any time soon. I really don't have any other hobbies, and getting into the woods, especially with a dog or two, forces me to get some exercise, which is not a bad thing for me.

Tonight's protein came from the store, rather than the woods or ocean. Arroz con pollo, with sauted zucchini.

Opening day is supposed to be freezing cold....I'm shooting the first thing that shows up without spots. The sooner I can get my hands in a warm carcass, get out of the woods, and into a warm taproom, the better. Sunday and Monday I will be more choosey.

One night we will have haddock chowder. The other night we will have axis deer loin steaks.

Bringing a Model 99 .358 caliber & a Model 700 .30-06. Still haven't decided which will walk in with me.

Most of my driving days were in NJ & PA. The club I belonged to in Virginia was in a buckshot only county.

I have been involved with lots of drives. Sat on some and walked on some, everyone was doing it, I just went along under the assumption that if everyone else was doing it (including my father & uncles), then it must be OK. It was mostly done after the first couple days of gun season, "Deer aren't moving much, let's see if we can push them out". As I got older, I found new spots to hunt & new hunting partners, some of these drives struck me as dangerous, buckshot flying through the brush near me, guys arguing that shots were coming too close, crippled deer that weren't recovered. That is when my driving career ended. As mentioned, I'm not against them, just not something I'm interested in any more. I DID belong to a club in Virginia for a couple years, I joined for the the turkey hunting, but they had deer dogs, and they did a lot of drives with dogs. I'd do that again in a heartbeat, only negative being you have to round up 20 stubborn hounds after the drive is over.

Actually, we get in closer & shank them with a Bowie knife, the more squeamish guys stand back & use a spear. Good luck guys, hope you kill a pile. I'll be on state land this year in Allegany county opening day, sitting in a chair watching a ridgetop. Maybe you'll drive one my way.

I've done drives before, when I was younger. I never especially cared for the way they were conducted, and we mostly used buckshot & slug guns. A couple close calls ( at least to me they seemed close) cured me of any desire to do it again, and guys slinging lead with semi rifles sounds even more risky. I know it is tradition and often effective, and I'm not trying to convince anyone to stop doing it, just throwing out my $.02 on deer drives. I like chasing hogs & sticking them with a knife to finish them off, a lot of people think that's crazy & reckless. Probably shouldn't have even commented.

No thanks, too much confusion & chance of someone getting shot. If I want that kind of action I'd go down south & let the dogs move them around.

2 out of 10

I always thought they had a "nutty" kind of taste. A buddy in Texas says their squirrels taste like pecans, so seems like they take on the taste of their food source?

Not a whole lot, reminds me of eating blue crabs, a lot of picking, but the meat is tasty.

Yes, thanks to the internet, we have access to all the experts on not just deer hunting, but turkey hunting, duck & goose hunting, deer processing, & cooking as well. Stick around these forums & you will meet them all.

If there was some challenge involved, the meat tasted good, and it was legal, I might consider it.

No, not really. I ran a processing business, butchered literally thousands of deer in my life. Rinsing the inside of a deer carcass in CLEAN, cold water (garden hose or a couple jugs of tap water) will improve yield, and help eliminate any contaminants (urine, feces, broken intestines, dirt, leaves, mud, pine needles...I've seen it all). Again, there are a ton of old-wives tales out there about butchering & meat processing, this one probably started before refrigeration. I wouldn't recommend a rinse in a farm pond or local creek.

Honestly, I think the whole "water caused bacteria growth" theory is a throwback old wives tale back to when guys would wash their deer in a farm pond or polluted creek.... All meat is rinsed in a slaughterhouse. Cleaning off any hair, blood, or other smegma that may have accumulated is much more important than worrying about water promoting bacterial growth. Plus a good rinse DEFINITELY will improve your trimming yield. Just use common sense, clean cold water, let meat drain after rinsing, etc., etc......

I saw this video a couple days ago. I'm sure the lad wouldn't be so bold without Daddy to back him up. If that was my kid he'd get a chance to see what a bar of Irish Spring tastes like. I've been suburban hunting near my house for many years now (as well as rifle hunting in more rural spots). While I don't trespass or do anything illegal, I've found it's just easier all around to keep a low profile. Walk in to spots, don't flaunt your presence, don't shoot stray dogs or cats, learn to co-exist with the ATVers & horse people, only take high-success shots, etc. etc. Walk away when confronted by tree-huggers, and be on your very best behavior if law enforcement shows up. There is a state park near me, Evansburg that reminds me of this video....400k McMansions built on the edge of where Suburbia eases into the country. LOTS of deer & all public land, but the confrontations I've been in over the years don't justify the aggravation.

A little late to the party but.... A group of us were doing the Wyoming DIY thing for mulies & pronghorn about 15 years ago a few years in a row around Sheridan, WY. I shot one mule deer & more pronghorn than I can count. To me the pronghorn was edible, but had a "sagey" taste to it. It was a LOT of fun, & I have the mounts at home to remind me. The mule deer tasted a lot like a whitetail buck to me, but it was always early October, so maybe they weren't rutting yet? Another gang that started coming with us pretty much ruined it, they bought as many tags as they could & shot whatever moved, I don't see how they were going to eat 6 or 7 antelope each, but a couple years of pressure like that and the ranch wasn't the same, and I never went back. It is ABSOLUTELY correct that a rutting caribou isn't fit for coyotes. I'd shot them in September in Canada & in the winter, both times they were as good as moose or axis deer. The one rutty bull I shot in October in Newfoundland was horrible, I should have listened to the guide who suggested I leave it behind. It tasted like VERY old mutton.