Fletch

Hot soap water, then my Otis cleaner, then a warm dry out by the stove then an oil patch.

I always ask them what they eat. They in turn say veggies. I say and how much forest land and wild areas are wiped out to grow all there veggies and what happened to all the wild critters that lived there? Then look at their clothes and usually see a leather belt or shoes or leather seats in their volvo. They have no idea what their choices in clothes, food, house site and house materials did to the "environment as well." Sometimes they are fun to mess with! A few years back we actually had a couple adults bring a dozen or so kids aged I would say 8 to 12 onto state land opening day to walk them around to mess up the hunting! I wonder if those kids parents new where they had their field trip that day! And none in orange. These people tend towards the not so sane.

My brother uses the sitka stuff. He is single lol! He has a new one this year for cold weather he loved but I am not sure which it is. My trick is a great wicking layer and keep it dry. Do not sweat going in or you are screwed. Then a mid weight layer next to that. Then I layer up depending on conditions but a real good tight weeved fleece is priceless. Then my outer shell. You lose most of your heat from the head and neck so two good hats and a neck /face wrap. Feet and hands are next. For feet do not have tight boots you need circulation then a wick sock and one wool. Hands in a muff. When real cold add toe warmers in boots and a hand warmer in the muff and a body warmer on back of neck or kidney area can keep me real toasty. As said above Camofire has good dicounts on Sitka gear.

This is about the only time all year I buy any beef. I got a 12-14 pound rib ready to go in for dinner tomorrow. No way am I putting up that amout of venison loin not even for family!!!!! Have a Merry Christmas!!

I am with you!! I cook 60% plus of my venison just mairinated and slapped across the grill. Maybe 5 minutes, I like a little blood in the middle!! I do enjoy lots of other things though and usually am always trying things with everything nut the steaks and loins. My kids really like venison tacos and you can not get much easier than that as well. Stews and soups.......mmmmm

Well pickled up one last night, thanks Culvercreek! Now to wait to taste it!!

I was thinking to myself man I eat a lot of venison! I had leftover venison stroganoff I had frozen for lunch yesterday. For dinner last night I shoveled out the grill and had grilled venison steaks. For lunch today leftover Venison steak sandwiches. And for dinner tonight some fried venison heart! Also a pound of ground in the fridge for venison tacos tomorrow. Good stuff!!

That sounds good but I would not use a backstrap for that that would be a sin!! ;D Use a poorer cut and save the strap for cooking on the grill whole. I will have to smoke one sometime like I do a pork butt or loin to do a pulled barbecue.

HounderEmily I will admit not knowing what Piri Piri sauce was, now that sounds good I had to go find how to make that! Piri-Piri Sauce Portuguese piri-piri sauce, which packs a gut punch of heat, is sprinkled into, smothered over, and smeared onto all types of dishes. Arguably, the most famous is Frango com Piri-Piri. So proud are the Portuguese of their potent sauce, it's been advertised as "Portuguese Viagra." At farmers' markets, old men in their bone hats sit behind tables covered with jars of neon-red homemade piri-piri sauce for sale. Some are nothing more than oil infused with the chile peppers, others contain a mixture of crushed fresh peppers and oil, and still others are a combination of oil, vinegar, peppers, and spices. This last version, the one given below, is what comes closest to storebought piri-piri, and I think the added ingredients give a nice acidic smack to the sauce. The recipe can easily be halved. Now, while I admire your commitment to making this sauce from scratch if you can't find peppers with the right punch, there's no shame in using a store-bought hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot or Tabasco brand pepper sauce. Atenção (Note) Piri-piri peppers are unavailable in North America, but the substitutions suggested below will give a similar wallop of heat. Whenever handling any types of chiles, wear latex gloves, and be assiduously careful not to rub your face, mouth, or eyes. If you do, it'll be a painful experience you're not soon likely to forget. 3 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup white wine vinegar 6 to 8 fresh red chile peppers, such as cayenne, tabasco, pequín, or santaka (see page 27), to taste, stemmed 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil Pinch of kosher salt 1. Mix the garlic and vinegar in a small bowl and let steep for 20 minutes. 2. Drop the peppers (including their seeds) and the garlic mixture into a food processor and pulse to chop. While the motor is running, pour in the oil, sprinkle with the salt, and whir until smooth. Pour the sauce into a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and let steep in the fridge for at least several days, preferably 1 week. 3. Strain the mixture, if you wish, but I never do. The sauce will keep for about 1 month in the fridge. Shake well before using. Read more: Recipe: Piri-Piri Sauce http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/cookbook/2010/portuguese-table/piri-piri.html#ixzz18sFhkM4h

jr. we do not eat to much hormone injected cow around here!! Lots of deer. Thanks for the tips I will make up a new batch next week.

Alright I got one in the fridge and one in the freezer. I should be able to sneak past the kids to pickle one! Somebody recipe me up!!

Nice! I get 10 to 25 pounds of sticks done. They are not pepper though milder like a summer sausage but same thickness as those.I am also gonna get some Keilbasa and maybe hotdogs and some other sausage this year. I think I have about 70 pounds or so to go.

Hope ya feel better soon bud!

I enjoy both alone and with friends and family. I really enjoy deer hunting with my brothers, Dad, cousin and uncles. We do not hunt next to each other but in the same area. We will drive together or meet up and set plans and head to separate watches. Then meet and have a bite and shoot the sheet and more hunting... It is great to be together when one of us gets a deer and everyone is there to help and share in the experience. I also love to go alone it gives me more freedom in my decisions and the time to really enjoy the peace. It is the same with small game with me. I love to go with company but if no one else can go I am not staying home! I have not done a lot in recent years but my son and daughter are getting older and that is the best company. I have never been in the least scared about getting lost. I always carry a small safety kit and a cell. I am pretty confident I can handle most situations. Now if I get mauled by a bear or have a widowmaker drop on my head what can you do? Freak things that could happen I can not worry about. Key thing is make sure someone knows where you are, or at least where you started/parked. That is key info for search and rescue.

I lived in Cicero for about 8 yearsand spent a few trips in that swamp. Overall I was not too impressed. It has deer but as others said it all looks the same. I am sure there are a couple of good spots and I also bet someone else is in them. It gets hunted pretty good.

1. Persistence pays off. 2. The more comfortable you are the longer you can sit still on watch and the better your chances are. This include you clothes and your seat. 3. Hunting is good for my health. Every year by the end of hunting season I am always at my lowest weight of the year and my stress levels are way down. The outdoors is good for us.

Finally got a crack with the ML. Had 2 nice does come by my watch at a bit after 4pm Sunday. Put the crosshairs on the bigger one at 60 yards and made smoke. She went 2 feet straight down. She goes around 120 dressed and little meat loss with the shot right where the neck meets the body.

That sounds like a lot of exccitement!! More deer in a day than I saw all Gun seasons! I always leave my muzzleloader out in the truck once I have a load in it. I read once about the condensation thing and I guess I know it is true now. He will be bigger next year!

12/19 Well was tired and sore from yesterday so slept in and played with the kids and made breakfast. Got going around 10 or so and headed to Tully. Got there around 11 or so and was happy to see only 5 or 6 inches of snow on the ground. I was planning on just still hunting for a while then sit back up on a ridge that I had seen some sign last week. I headed down an area I had not been in a while down a big ravine and after a while really got into a lot of tracks. I found a nice spot and sat for an hour. I decided I would hunt here on last watch so I was going back to the truck for a bite and put on some more clothes and heavier boots and my stool. Got back in around 2:45 and got settled in. About 20 minutes later I have a hunter go by behind me, he waved and kept on going. I was hopin he might put some deer up. At about 4 I catch movement about 80 to 100 yards in front of me right where it drops down into the ravine. I see just a few inches of the back of a deer. I put the scope on it and a head pops up and the the deer is just gone. After 10 minutes or so I figured it must have dropped down and went down the ravine. Then a few minutes later I see one coming up by me in the pines from the ravine, I guess she turned up. I am just putting the sights on her and see another following her and this one is a bigger doe. Once she clears some pines I put the scope on her and pull back the hammer and let her have it. BOOM All I can see is smoke and my ears are ringing! The smoke clears and there is nothing no sound but I think I can just see her on the ground. I reload and pack up my gear and head over and she dropped where she stood. I did not weigh her but guess her at about 120 pounds. Got her dressed out and started the drag. I was not looking forward to the ravine! It is like 80 feet down and across the creek and up the other side and then all uphill to the road. When I got to the creek the hunter that had passed me was coming down farther down and asked me if I wanted a hand getting her up the ravine. I told him "I am not turning that down!". He helped me the rest of the way and turned out we were from the same school and I graduated with his brother. I thanked him for the help heartily. I was very happy with this doe for a couple reasons. You all know gun season is not my favorite and the places I hunt the deer get scarse quick. This is the first deer I have shot with a gun while sitting on watch in 3 years at least. Also the first adult deer I have taken with the muzzleloader. And, I got a trifecta. One deer with each the bow, shotgun and the muzzleloader. I have again enjoyed logging my experiences and have enjoyed reading the other just as much. Good luck for those still going out tomorrow. Hope you all and your families have a great Holiday Season! And hope Santa brings you lots of hunting gear!! The doe:

12/18 Went out with my Brother in law today. We hunted behind the house in the am and did a couple small pushes now that the season is about over no harm there. We then headed to a spot of state to do a walk back to this island and see if we can kick something up. Well I know where I will be the next time it snows 12 plus inches!! We hit over 40 deer beds from a few days ago during storm #2 of over 2 feet. Unreal I have never seen that many beds before in one area all made within the past 3 days. And they were all gone back into the swmps when we were there. We then hit the hole for last watch and sign in there was about non existant, saw nothing.

I see that all gun season. Everyone gone by 1pm. In the late season I notice more movement in the second half of the day so I tend to sleep in and hunt afternoons. I got to the state lands at 11am Sunday. Trucks all over. I take a walk and come out and all of them gone.

12/17 pm 29 Well after walking through it the snow is about 24 inches deep! I headed towards one stand and by the time I got near it I realized nothing was working around it so headed back out around to the field with all the thick stuff. I have a ladder stand on my line here in a pine and it squeeks a bit getting in it but is fine after that. I get up and set up and after about ten minutes make out a horizontal line back in the brush in a thick spot about 60 yards out. I pull up and scope it and it looks like a deer back and hind quarter, pull down and turn up scope and look again and I am about 90% sure when it moves and determined that. It turned and was gone, I never could see the head so I could not shoot. Must have been bedded and heard me get in the stand. Sat for an hour and a half. Nice night was about 29 degrees, just a lot of snow and visibility is poor with it all on every branch.

Well I have been lazy and not gone out since Monday. Too cold and snowy I keep telling myself. I am headed out this afternoon and will be at it all weekend. Got about 20 inches of snow on the ground so we will see. Not sure where I am headed over the weekend, just hope to get a shot at a doe. Good luck to those still at it.

Yea I got this the other day as well. What a nice buck.

I would say 4.5 maybe even 3.5 the bases do not look huge. No way he is 2.5 and those sheds from last year 1.5!! A weight and more pics of the whole deer would help.