wolc123

Grinding is my favorite part of the butchering job. It is a lot faster and more fun than trimming all the meat off the bones. Bucks usually are not that bad, but trimming all the fat off the does usually sucks.

I am going to try some rain rattling this afternoon.

This is what I use. It has got to be almost 100 years old. My great grandfather made it from parts, back in the 1920's. He and and my grandfather raised hogs and cattle and likely put hundreds of those thru it , up until 1981. That was the year my grandad passed away and we got rid of the livestock. The year prior, the old farmhouse burned and this old grinder was in the cellar. It was submerged in water a week or so, until we pumped out the water, and fished it out, along with a bunch of other half burned up stuff. It sat out in a barn a few years, until our local burcher was not able to cut a deer up for me one year while I was in high school. The motor was seized up from rust, but I found another off an old table saw, or something my dad had. I struggled thru a dozen or so deer with it, but it would plug up often and was a chore to use. Around 1990, I ordered a new screen and knife for it from Bass Pro shops. Since then, I have put close to a hundred deer thru it, and it will still take the meat as fast as I can drop it in. I put the switch on it last year, and a new belt about 10 years ago. I am afraid to look inside that gear reduction contraption on the right. I always make sure to take the grinder section apart and clean it good after grinding a deer. We still have about a deer and a half left in the freezer, but I am looking forward to putting 3 or so more deer thru this old grinder this year. They dont build them like they use to, and I am certain that this old sucker will turn when I plug it in and throw the switch.

Back when I hunted with a side-lock, I used to do it, but never with an in-line. I have never had one of those mis fire or hang fire. With my T/C Omega, it is real easy to just roll down the hammer assembly, point the muzzle towards a light, and see clearly that the breech plug is clear. Absolutely no reason to ever waste a primer.

I am looking forward to hunting from it tommorow after church. They are calling for west winds up to 65 mph. It is well aligned for that. I will open up both side sliding windows (face north and south), and the back door, which faces east, towards a good looking clover plot. Hopefully, a deer or two will brave those conditions, but I ought to be comfortable anyhow. I have killed a few, from my other truck cap blinds, on days like that. The 8n is a 1951. I bought it from the widow of the original owner in 1990, and it only had 1200 hours on it. He only used it to work up a 1/2 acre garden each year. I have put that same number of hours on it, mostly putting in foodplots, over the last 30 years. With 2400 hours, it is just getting broken in. My favorite thing to do with it is plow, but it also works great on a 2-row corn planter and cultivator. Most of the time, it has that little carryall on the back, which has hauled out lots of deer. The only things it sucks at, is bush hogging, and front loader. I got another tractor for those jobs.

I was in the fields most of the day and didn't see anything until the last 10 minutes of legal light. It looked small, and was quite skittish. I assume it was a young doe. Tommorow, will be my last chance of the year with the crossbow. I will put on my rain suit and head to truck cap blind for the afternoon. I have not killed anything out of this one yet, but came close to a big tom Turkey this spring and a coyote last winter. I have been waiting for the right weather conditions to deer hunt from it (high winds, cold, rain), and that's what we are getting tomorrow.

This looks like a good week for hanging. If you leave the hide on, most of the meat does not dry out too much. Just remove the tenderloins first, or they will. I hang them for a week or so, if the temps are good, and usually remove the hide, the day before I process, to split up the workload a little. The meat dont dry out too much, after one day with the hide off. Most red meat like venison, is better, if aged prior to processing. If the temp dont cooperate , an old fridge works good, like that shown in the old thread you found, with the big 8 point hanging next to it.

I picked up a gallon on the way home from work yesterday and will be bringing a quart along tomorrow. It is always cheap and readily available at this time of year. On this same weekend, in 2018, a big 8 point snuck in from downwind, just as I was putting the shiny silver cup back on my cider thermos. He must have really liked the smell of that cider. He got away that day, as I was not able to get off a shot with my crossbow The following week, I was a little better armed, and I managed to do him in with my shotgun, as he came in again from down wind. I had moved my stand a few hundred yards from where he caught me the week prior. He was fighter, had busted off a couple of points that week, and was a down to a busted up 6 point. That saved me the expense of a shoulder mount, and I got away with a "free" power-washer euro. To have a better chance of getting them big bucks into crossbow range, I have wrapped the shiny silver cup on my Stanley cider thermos with black electric tape. I also try to keep it behind my blind walls, so they dont catch the movement.

I have an old Eddie Bauer goose down vest, that I wear over my bibs and under a jacket, and that helps out a lot. To keep your core warm, you got to control the heat loss from your extremities. A chemical handwarmer in a muff takes care of your hands. Mickey boots and wool socks takes care of the feet. A good, winter face mask and wool hat takes care of the head. A good wind break helps a lot. I have a few blinds that have solid walls towards the prevailing wind direction, but even a big tree will do the trick. One last warm up trick, that has a few side benefits (hydration, nurishment, deer attractant, cover scent), is a quart thermos of hot cider. 6 minutes on high on the microwave heats it plenty, prior to heading into the woods. I have also used a pot on the stove in my camper, at remote locations, to heat the cider before filling the thermos.

Young face & crazy mass. .

I surprised that anyone can't tell that is not a free range whitetail by one look.

Looks like a good one. Throw a tape measure around, behind the front legs, and see what he measures. Hopefully, you guys saved the liver from that one.

We will have to see how he does in his second term, after the Supreme court gives it to him. I will give him an A minus after his first. Obama gets a D plus from me thru two terms. Ike was my all time favorite, with an A plus thru two terms. I will bump Trump up to an A, if he can do away with Obama care. He may have already got the ball rolling there, with his latest SCOTUS pick.

Happy birthday.

The Brit with the metal detector is cool. Hopefully, he gets lots of "top pocket" finds this season.

Anything exciting happen in the 8th season premier last night ? I fell asleep about 10 minutes into it, but it is Dvr'd, so I can catch up later. Oak Island is the only thing I watch somewhat regularly. I probably wouldn't have started, if it were not for a personal connection with one of the regulars on the show. I will admit to being somewhat hooked now however. Most of the family thought my granddad's step brother was crazy when he went up there, in the late 60's, to look for pirate treasure. Now he is on tv almost every week. He gave one of his closer relatives a fancy pocket knife that I got to look at the family reunion, two summer's ago. He has been living on that island since the late 60's. I imagine he will have a much bigger role this season, seeing as how no non-essential border crossings are allowed.

Also remember the oysters if you kill a buck. Just don't forget to make a small slit thru the outer membrane, or they will explode in the frying pan. Plenty of pepper is the key ingredient for making them taste better than oysters from the sea.

Now that moog has shown where the spine is, can you see that there is about 4 inches of meat above it, and plenty of.room for more than haircut without touching a lung ? The spine drops down behind the shoulder and it sounds like you were getting it mixed up with the vertebrae, which runs just under the hide. A bullet passing thru that space, between the vertebrae and the spine, will often paralize the back end, due to the shock power, but an arrow relies on cutting, making that usually non lethal hit. Don's hit was below the spine.

I am pulling the plug on the morning hunt. The squirrels have been moving good for a while now, but no deer in the woods. Dad just drove back in his side by side and said mom has lunch ready. They watched a deer feed for a half hour or so, starting at 7:15, in the clover at the edge of the woods. He could not tell if it was a buck. I will be on my stand on that side for the afternoon hunt. Noon today marks the midpoint of my crossbow season this year, so all it will take now to earn my archery antered tag is a single 3 inch spike. Come on unicorn !

I can only recall smelling one, before I saw him alive the last time. It was 2016, the last year that I punched both my buck tags. I saw him and heard him prior however. I also got a stronger smell of his innards afterwords. A little 3 point appeared 5 minutes before I saw him. The little guy offered me a 15 yard broadside shot. I passed because the body and the rack were both very small. His older cousin showed up next, emerging from heavy cover at exactly the same place, about 75 yards away. Way bigger body and 8 point rack. He appeared to be at least 2x the size of the little "scout". The big guy did not follow the same path and give me the easy, 15 yard broadside, open field shot however. He detoured thru a corn plot, upwind of me. I could hear him munching on it as he moved closer. Just before he emerged from the standing corn, about 20 yards away, I got a real good whiff of that rutty/musty/pizzy smell. When he stepped out, he took my arrow behind the shoulder. He then turned and stumbled towards my pond, dragging a back leg. He had been quartering to, and my arrow exited his butt cheek, after passing diagonally thru lungs liver and guts. I watched him keel over about 50 yards short of the pond. That was one messy, smelly gut job. I used all the blood forward of the diaphragm on that rinse. The meat all tasted very good, and there was plenty of it. I guess you could say I used all of my senses on that one.

It is not always neat and clean like they show in the movies but it sounds like you took care of business about as good as possible. Congrats on breaking in the new blind. I always make sure I reload and am ready to fire before approaching a downed deer. I will take my safety off and touch the eyeball with my muzzle, or a stick. If there is no flinch, it is time to break out the knife. My god father learned that lesson the hard way, standing with knife drawn and gun leaning against a tree as he watched the biggest buck he ever saw disappear forever. Just because they are down, dont mean they are out. That said though, I have yet to have one flinch.

The first grey just came out to visit me. If he or another hangs around till lunch time, I may just send a bolt. I have one old one with a 125 gr fixed broadhead on it, to use as finisher if necessary. I am sighted in with 100 grain mechanicals. If he gives me a shot, I will hold about 1" high with my 20 yard crosshair.

The squirrels are not even playing by me yet, and these woods are usually loaded with them. It sure is comfortable with these temps though. I am currently thinking of a floor modification for my two story blind to improve the height of the crossbow/gun rest I will make the necessary plywood insert and install it on next week's hunt. It needs to be 2 arrows wide x 3 arrows longs made from 3/4" marine plywood, with treated 2 x 4 blocks screwed under one side. That will make the floor level and the rest just the right height.

Did you send one ?

Thanks, If and when I butcher another, I will get a picture along with my trusty tape measure. I know TF will appreciate that anyhow, because he always gets such a kick out of my chest girth measurements. That must be an older deer, because it looks like there is a bit more than 4 inches of meat above the spine.