wolc123

He was a stout little guy, probably had close to 60 pounds of boneless on him anyhow:

You left one out: Wolc, 2-7/8” Northern Erie, dmp buck

Our daughter’s boyfriend has expressed some interest, maybe grandkids some day. Preparing some tasty meals with the meat is always a good way to generate interest. The overemphasis on big antlers has done more harm than anything else, in my humble opinion. Nobody needs that, but we all got to eat.

Happy birthday TT.

It’s been over 10 years since I’ve killed a legally antlered deer with less than 3 points on a side. I aim to do something about that this year. Hopefully, a 3-1/8” spike will wander into range, before something bigger does. No more passes for me. I’d rather leave those big antlers for the folks who appreciate them more. Its all about the meat for me. I used to pass 1.5 year old bucks for two reasons, both of which are no longer a concern. First, prior to 2021, it was nearly impossible to fill antlerless tags around here after October first, because the local farmers picked off so many on their nuisance permits. Now, it’s a lot easier because I can have at them with guns in September. I can no longer use the excuse of holding out for a larger bodied buck, with my buck tag, to get more meat. Second, I always wanted to save my gun buck tag until Thanksgiving weekend, so that I could hunt the Northern zone then. Last year was the first of 12 seasons up there that I didn’t even see a deer, and I hunted (12) days. No sense saving a buck tag for that. I’ll be content with grouse and bear hunting up there from here on out. I will save my antlerless only bow/ML tag for up there though. That’s easy to do because I can always get (4) dmps for my home dmu.

In a single word, MEAT. I like eating it and I can’t think of a better way to get it than hunting. It’s a lot more fun than raising domestic animals or shopping in a grocery store. It’s also cheaper, now that the local deer population has exploded, NY state has loosened up on the antlerless tags, and hunter numbers have declined. A better question would be, Why don’t you hunt ? It certainly doesn’t make sense to me why anyone wouldn’t.

A tree butt:

The closest I’ve done to winter camping, was mid-October in my truck campers, up in the Adirondacks. I’m on my third one now, and each of them had propane heaters in them. The first one lacked a thermostat and many other modern conveniences. It had numbers one thru five on a dial. With that, it was always a little too hot or a little too cold, when I woke up to go hunting in the morning. The current one has a roof-top air conditioner, so it’s real nice for super hot weather summer camping. I’ve done plenty enough of it, to cure myself of any further desire to camp in cool weather, without a thermostat controlled heating system. That’s something best left to the folks who don’t know no better. For me, the best thing about “the good old days” is that they are over.

It’s a Ruger 10/22 carbine with a 4x Simmons .22 mag scope. I just missed a grey with it at about 50 yards over at my parents place. I aimed a little low and I guess maybe a I shouldn’t have. Hopefully, another one will come out a little closer before I got to go. Most likely, just deer will come out again. I seen quite a few of their tracks on my walk back and my parents have been seeing them come out in the turnip and clover plots again. It’s amazing how they seem to always know when the coast is clear and hunting season is over. I’m in the upper deck of my truck cap blind. I hunted the lower part one time during last deer season, on a rainy day, but have not hunted it here up on the ladder rack, until today. The bearings are froze or seized up on the swivel chair. Looks like I’ll need to replace or rework that during the off-season . I usually leave the chairs up until squirrel season closes. I’ve never taken a deer from the lower, enclosed part of this two story truck cap blind, but I did take what might have been my largest ever body buck from up top about 6 years ago. That was the year that I put a 3 ft barnwood wall around the upper deck.

I saw a black 3-4 times back in my woods while deer hunting over the last (3) months. Naturally, all I saw back there tonight was (2) antlerless deer at under 15 yards. I did pick up a fine “target of opportunity” on the walk back home though. Hippity Hoppity Easter’s on its way. Im going to try for squirrels again tomorrow evening over at my parents. There are a lot more greys over there but I never seen a black. Hopefully I’ll pick at least one up, then I’ll be able to do the crock pot bunny squirrel taste test. Squirrels usually win that battle but it takes more of them to make a meal.

I save all the hearts, but usually only save the livers from deer that are 1.5 years old or younger. They tend to be a little tough on the older deer. There’s not much better tating, than those from the 6 month olds, which are so tender that they almost melt in your mouth. The ones from 1.5’s are quite good also, but a bit chewier. The buddy at work threw in (3) 2 pound packs of beef liver along with the tongue, with the swap for the venison roast. I’ll be having some of that for dinner tonight. It’s not quite as tasty as whitetail button buck liver, but beef liver is usually very tender and pretty good.

I can relate to that, having gone thru a brief “trophy” stage myself, back before I was married and had kids. I bought a piece of land that was a smidge over 5 acres, about 1/2 way between our farm and my grandparents farm. It was in an area known for producing large antlered bucks. All went well for a few years, and it was especially nice having that other place, so that I could reduce the hunting pressure on the hundred acres on the other two farms where I had hunted all my life. Up until the year that I killed (2) “trophies” on it, one on opening day of bow and the other on opening day of gun. It was a narrow slice of land, that cut into a large hardwood forrest. Word got out, and the following season, neighbors put up (3) stands in sight of (and within 100 yards or so) of mine. I didn’t see a single antlered deer there the following year, but usually at least one hunter, every time I went. That’s the trouble with small pieces, no matter how good they might seem at first. Fortunately, the property had roughly doubled in value in the few years that I owned it and I was able to dump it for much more than I paid. I used that cash to buy a new tractor and to make improvements on our home farm. With a few extra hungry mouths to feed, deer hunting has been mostly about the meat for me, for quite a few years now.

Yes, apple cider vinegar. I am really looking forward to Valentine’s Day this year. I will only have (3) deer hearts but I just traded a vacuum sealed butt roast, from a big old buck to a buddy at work, for a fresh beef tongue. I found (3) other beef tongues in the freezer, while I was rearranging it last year, but I’m not sure how long they have been in there. I’ll toss them on my carcass pile out back for the coyotes, and I’ll get my wife to use the fresh one for this years mix. She don’t mind working with the deer hearts at all (boiling, slicing, pickling, etc.), but (1) beef tongue a year is about all I can get out of her. Even with that, there is always some complaining. Some times she has even gotten me to do the slicing.

My nephew (who has never hunted in the US) has done (2) South African Safari hunts. He said that the zebra was very good. The only thing he liked better was some small, antelope looking thing (maybe a “springbuck”). He didn’t especially care for the wildebeast. Unfortunately, they were not able to bring any meat home. They could only bring the mounted heads home. I have always wanted to try horse, which I bet tastes very similar to zebra, but it is illegal to serve in the US. If I ever get to Canada or Mexico again, I’m goin to try some.

Yes, in fact I’ve never pickled one that was not frozen first. I save them up all season and my wife pickles them for me every Valentine’s Day.

It’s even better with beef tongues. I only got three deer hearts this year, so there will be (3) beef tongues going in with them, on Valentine’s Day. We usually take it up North with us to the in-laws, when we go to there ice fishing on President’s weekend. They won’t eat the tongue, which means more for me. They do love the deer heart though. Too bad deer tongues were not a little bigger. I’ve pulled a few, but not worth the effort due to the few bites that you get out of them. Pickled moose tongue, using that recipe, was hands-down the best wild game meat that I ever sampled. Their tongues are even bigger than beef tongues.

Largemouth bass are my favorite, but it is imperative that they be handled correctly. If the fillets are still twitching when removed, they taste great. That means keeping them alive and cool, with plenty of oxygen. Those who say they taste bad most often have no clue how to properly care for the meat. If allowed to die naturally on a stringer or in a cooler, they take on a rotten, strong fishy flavor. If you keep them alive and in top condition, knock them unconscious, and remove the meat before they know what hit them, they taste great. If you dry the fillets with paper towels and then vacuum seal, they taste great after up to a year in the freezer. Also, bass have too much oil in them for frying, but that is the least healthy way to cook fish and fish oil is very good for you. Bass have just the right amount of oil in them, to stay moist during the healthier cooking processes, like grilling, broiling, or baking. My favorite way to eat their fillets is dipped in flour, then egg, then panko crumbs. Then sear quickly in a frying pan with hot virgin olive oil, remove quickly, then bake in oven at 400 F for 20 or so minutes. Tastes better than any beer battered fried fish and way better for you. Smallmouth bass are almost as good to eat that way, but a little harder to fillet. They do fight more than twice as hard, for pound though, making them hands-down my favorite fish.

Boiled in apple cider vinegar.

Moose tongue is #1, Corn/clover fed Whitetail button buck liver is #2, and Ruffed grouse breast is #3.

Grampa’s old 16 ga J. Stevens Springfield, choked I/C & mod does a fine job on them, with # 6’s:

I’ve always just cooked them in the crockpot on low with cream of mushroom soup, the same as I do squirrels. Wild cottontails are ok that way, but grey squirrel is considerably better. Starting next weekend; I’ll be getting out after them. I’ve never had tame rabbit, but I suppose I’d cook them up the tame (same) way. Maybe they would rival the wild squirrels a little more than the wild rabbits do.

I’d save those for the range.

Here is a real classy joint in central VA, where I stopped for gas last year. It reminded me of Cooter Davenport’s. I’ll have to check if there any gun shops in that neighborhood next time.

That’s why you got to drive a little further to find the best deals. Just north of the MD border is where the bargains are.

Will do. Last summers trip to Gettysburg, just in time for the barley harvest was great, now it’s looking like this years is going to be better. Maybe I will take our 3/4 ton pickup, so I can haul back a little more ammo.