Daveboone

Venison saurbratten with fried noodles, my lasagna soup,

On a rare occasion....My 45-70 is a telephone pole of a Browning falling block. HEAVY and LONG. the round is great, my rifle, just too damn big and heavy to tote much. I have shot 4 bears with it. I have to haul it in, but then I was sitting still in a shack or blind for about 8 hrs after, so the length and weight were immaterial. Be aware that the round is loaded in a number of intentions...traditional arms, relatively historic low pressure, some for mid strength modern rifles, usually lever actions, and the full house rounds that are designed for modern single shots. Any of them will kill a deer well enough, but the milder rounds actually are more than enough for anything but western bears, African critters, etc. they have a rainbow trajectory, so know what it does at a variety of ranges.

I used to carry my Super Blackhawk. I decided to carry it one day to slowly work across a cedar swamp up north. Just after I started, I saw the largest buck I have yet to see sneaking through the browse toward me. I thought to myself...I am about to shoot my best ever buck, the first day carrying this....at that point the buck snorted, saw me, elevated 12 feet into the air and about faced, didnt touch down for about 300 yards. At that time I looked at the Ruger and said knowingly to myself..."If I had any of my long guns, i would have had him...." well, maybe... At any rate, I decided then and there that if I was serious about this sport, I should be using what I shoot best, and havent carried a handgun hunting since. At one time I carried either the blackhawk or my model 28 but decided there was absolutely no reason to carry all that extra weight.

Outstanding!huge kitty. who needs a mountain lion with bobcats that big around?

Even a modest enclosed hut gives the leeway for a portable heater and a nice thick wrap on the legs/ etc, and a thermos of coffee. I have a small enclosed hut about 7 foot off the ground with an easy access ladder/step into it, just for the real sloppy stuff, so I at least have a reason to still get out if it is otherwise too nasty.

Thirty years ago sit until nine or so, then coffee and a sandwich, do drives until about 3 then tree stand time again. If we knew another group was driving nearby or saw walkers, we hung tight...let them do the work which was even better. At that time, we primarily hunted the fingerlakes, West shore of Seneca. Rolling hills, hedgerows and gullies, vineyards and corn. We rotated who pushed, and usually it was very productive. Since then, most of the land has changed lands and gone to different useage. Boy, did we learn how to make a pump gun sing!

I cant speak specifically about your areas mentioned, but there are many areas including the Tug HIll regio, that once snow starts you would have miles of area to cruise in. Nowadays, darn few folks more than a hundred feet from the road.

Is the question asking if the .44 mag round is a good brush cartridge, or if a rifle in it would be a good brush country rifle? I have read many studies that emphasize that there is no such thing as a "brush buster", so as far as the .44 goes as a brush cartridge, one. Although the .44 like many cartridges is certainly capable of taking a deer, I choose a round that is designed for the purpose. I would say I typically hunt "brush" consistently, as my maximum clear shot in my woods is probably only about 40 yards. Not how far I can see, but how far a clear shot would average. My ideal brush gun for many years was my 18 1/2 " bbl .308.

I guess you would call my sound a "blaaaat", more like a sheep, but I hve heard does do the same approx. sound, and have stopped a fair number of deer with it over the years.

No opportunities yet, but then again I have only been putting half hearted effort into it. I don't have a doe tag for my main area (southern Jefferson county) and if I shot a buck this early, I would be heart broken not to have a tag to keep going out.

Nice trophy right there, though probably not so good eating! Perhaps you would be further ahead setting a couple more stands up in the area and do some calling, thin out the coyotes a bit. the area sounds like a good idea for a trapper to work, too if you knew any.

Ditto above, but just as importantly is knowing what shot you can make and what you cant: positioning, brush, branches, wind, visibility, fatigue, etc. Sometimes the best shot you can take is to not take one....goes for bow or firearm.

Like PT Barnum is credited with saying..." A sucker is born every minute" ( I think it was him, anyway...). I cant recall the number of times I have had deer in touching range when I was mainly a ground hunter esp. bow hunting. I have had bears within feet of me probably four or five times. Blend, watch the wind and be still. I am sure being totally relaxed does help too.

I used to enjoy them backpacking too, and brought a few tins for lunch while moose hunting. A coworker brought me in a tin of smoked eel...I haven't tried them yet, waiting for an occiiasion. She tells me that even though they are canned in China, the eels themselves are caught in North Carolina, where she is from.

What a great trip! I have long wanted to go on a US lion hunt. I was talking for a few years with a guide in Idaho. Winter hunt. I don't know if I could handle it anymore, but it still is a great thought. Also, simply don't have much room to properly display the kitty. What do you think you will do with your cat?

Most “experts” I run into usually smell pretty juiced.

I used to sit all or most of the day, but hip pain prevents me....now I can work up to 2-3 hrs or so.the more you are there, the more you see

Make sure you are ALWAYS hunting with the wind in your favor. use one of the little windicator puff bottles to be sure...alot of the time wind on the ground appears to be moving in a different direction from where it is 12 feet up. Make sure you blend in with your trees/ branches. Do not sit out like a bump on a log. Make sure you are not being basked in light , that it at least is behind you, better yet in shadows. One year when I had a bum hip that hurt, I hung camouflage burlap around my stand to cover my butt wiggling. Make sure your face and hands are covered...white skin stands out. and if you get busted once....i figure the stand is done for the season. Some might think it that is an excessive mindset, but it seems once one deer sees me, all of them know about me!

Hmmm, If you are a "chef", I understand your particulars with these details. Many a restaurant is put out of business due to poor sanitary standards. I myself am a health care professional and need to deal with infection control continuously on a daily basis, but I guess my outlook and teachings ON THIS MATTER are from a different viewpoint. Foremost when field dressing, we are not in a sterile controlled environment, we are, from the time we shoot the critter not to mention opening the body cavity, contaminating it thoroughly. The need is to expeditiously cool and clean the carcass. Once it is cooled to the likely fall/ early winter temps (heck, I don't even want to shoot one until the temps are in the thirties or less) the bacterial threat is dropped like a falling rock. Then expeditiously get it processed asap. The entire takeaway from this is that it is bad to not clean the carcass and worse to not cool it.

Two different...very popular, butchers in my area made a point of commenting on my rinsed carcasses...I asked them if that was a good thing, and they were very verbal yes, but nobody ever does it, which surprised the hell out of me. LIke someone else mentioned, any butcher shop is going to rinse a carcass out...be it beef, pork or deer. Not only that, it helps cool it. At the very least if I am in the woods and there is no ready water, I scrub the carcass out with snow, and have been known to pack the cavity. The water certainly isn't going to introduce any bacteria that wasn't already there and will help minimize it. Even if it is just blood, don't we rinse the blood off our cuts? Do we wash our hands before preparing food (and cutting up our meat?) No such thing in food preparation of being too clean.

Get the esophagus, etc. all out when you initially gut it...you just have to reach up in under the sternum. This is where it pays not to have too big a knife, you almost have to do it by feel. Be sure to rinse the body cavity out asap. Plan ahead for a good clean place to work. I do my butchering in my garage, not the cleanest place, but I cover my work bench and table saw with plastic, and set up my cutting boards and knives there, keeping my plastic tubs and several new plastic bags nearby to but the quarters, etc. in as I separate them to keep them cool. Everything slices a lot nicer if you can give the meat a good deep chill ….not quite frozen, in a freezer first. You get better with practice. Don't be in a hurry, and remember, no matter how it turns out, it will still be edible.

I don't add anything. I love a nice medium rare venison burger steak. I season it with some Bucks and black pepper, sear it in a good hot iron fry pan and enjoy it like a steak often with breakfast. If you cook it to well, it will be dry and not very tasty. Mmmmm, hungry just thinking of it...

Well, got it straitened around. I found a new but never used inexpensive 4x shotgun scope, (Field and Stream...but the "B" label inside the adjustment cover makes me think Bushnell?) which I decided to give a try. It certainly wasn't Leupold optics, but it held a zero like a rock, and in 1/2 dozen shots I had an inch group established at 75 yards, which is what my .308s are usually sighted for due to the woods hunting I do. Another quick shot at both 100 and 50 yards to be sure where everything was going, and I am happy for the season.

ouch.....

Grumble grumble grumble!!!!!! wheres the dog when you feel like kickin one? signed, curmudgeon