wolc123

I couldn’t review until today, but I would rate this past deer season as my best ever. A big part of that was getting to meet you, and a several other forum members. Sharing that warm cider with my family, during the hurricane near-miss out on Long Island, meant a lot to us, and is something we will always remember and be thankful for. Goose set me up with a fine double tree stand, at a very reasonable price. I haven’t killed one from it yet, but it was very comfortable, the two times that I hunted from it, and I am sure that a day will come when I will. Patrick set me up with a fine deer heart, after he read on here about my distress over the one that I lost up in the Adirondacks last October. I probably lost 5 pounds, walking up and down that steep mountain looking for that heart. Larry replenished my supply of t7 pellets and primers, when the supply in the local stores had dried up completely and I was running low mid-way thru the Holiday muzzleloader season. And then there were those glorious rule changes that the NY state DEC enacted this year, and which helped keep me safe (orange hat or vest law), and directly contributed towards each of the (4) deer in our freezer. Most importantly of all, the Good Lord blessed us with plenty of meat to make it thru another year, without too much store-bought chicken. My wife is extra thankful for not just one, but two of her favorites (button bucks). I was very happy to finally get the old Adirondack doe, that has eluded me for several years. Special highlights for me last season, were finally getting a nice buck on my grandpa’s old farm, with his old shotgun, and breaking a 5-deer slump with my in-line ML, with two consecutive DRT kills. I may have had a better season, but I really can’t remember when. Here’s to hoping we all have seasons like that, or better this year.

Probably, it’s his hair.

One of my best friends, who passed away a few years ago, was really into drives. I went on a few with him where multiple deer were killed, but I was not at all comfortable hunting like that. Had it not been for a “near miss” that I experienced, a few years prior, I would have felt different about them, I suppose. If you ever get the chance to feel a 12 gauge shotgun slug pass by your face, before you hear the gun go off, and you still like to do deer drives, then you are a lot braver than I am. These days, I prefer to hunt in the Adirondack mountains, and far from all others. On the flat lands around home, where there might be other hunters around, I prefer to be hunting from a position that is 4 to 10 feet above ground level, and safely out of the cross fire: Two of the three deer in our freezer, from last year, and soon to be one from yesterday, were taken from this super comfortable perch, 9 feet up. The other was taken near the top of a very remote Adirondack ridge, while I was seated in an extremely comfortable tree hammock chair. The older I get, the more comfortable I like to be while hunting, and there is no substitute for a comfortable chair. I spent $ 8, at a barn sale up in Alex bay last summer, on the fancy, padded, adjustable office chair that I shot three off of (from the blind in the picture up above).

I am sorry and I meant no offense. I agree that some of the others are overreacting a touch. I only asked about the tenderloins, because several members here have mentioned that they are not overly fond of that cut. I usually find them to be the best-tasting part of the deer. The only ones, that I wasn’t thrilled with, were those from a probable 5.5 year old plus doe that I killed up in the Adirondacks last October. One of those was so tough, I could barely chew it when cooked the day after she was killed. The other was still a little chewy, after 6 days in the fridge. I go to extra lengths, to make sure those tenderloins taste as good as possible. Step one is a quick, clean kill. Step two is to get the guts out ASAP (butt out helps with that). Step three is cut the pelvis with a folding saw and make sure the channel is wide open and clear of all piss and shit. Step four is rinse them good with clean blood from forward of the diaphragm. When I get the gutted deer hung up, I dry them off with paper towels, cut then out, put them in a zip lock bag, then into the fridge in the house. If they are from a button buck, they can be eaten right away. If they are from an older deer, they are better after a few days, so that the rigor mortis can pass. These from the 3.5 year old corn-fed buck that I killed this year were about the best tasting and textured ones that I can recall, after 6 days in the fridge. I think the reasons most have not liked the tenderloins is: first, they are eating them near the state of maximum rigor-mortis, which peaks 6 to 8 hours after the kill. Second, they are tainted with piss, shit, or gut-juice. Congrats on that beauty of a buck, that you killed at the buzzer this year. Hopefully, you get to enjoy his tenderloins and they taste real good. This was the tough old Adirondack mother: I had the rest of her ground up there (except for the back straps) and we have not started eating any of that yet. Hopefully it’s not as chewy as the tenderloins were. Many folks talk about pursuing a particular buck, but that old doe outwitted me more times over the last 3 years , than any buck that I have chased.

Thanks, I appreciate your kind offer, but my wife usually has plenty, with 3 or four a year. Unlike my grandmother and mother, my wife does the job of preparing them somewhat reluctantly, and is a little grossed out by it (especially the slicing up part and the skinning of the tongues). The beef tongues are actually my favorites, but they seem to gross her out more than the deer hearts. The Valentine’s Day cooking date works out well for our annual President’s day weekend ice fishing trip, up to her parent’s place, in the Adirondacks. Her folks think the tongue is gross, so she keeps the hearts separate for them (they really like that). Most of what I end up eating is the beef tongue (deer tongues are too small to mess with). We raised beef cattle when I was a kid, and the pickled hearts and tongues that my grandma and mom made were some of my fondest childhood memories. From the time I started eating solid food, the pickled tongue has been my favorite. It’s funny you mention saving around 10. One of my best friends, at my first job, after I graduated college, would save about that many for me every year. He and his friends hunted deer with big drives down in the southern tier, where he had a camp. My mom never minded making that many for me.

Do you eat the tenderloins after leaving the guts in overnight ? How is their flavor ?

The Holiday hunt was my favorite of the new changes that the NY state DEC blessed us with this year, and the fourth, that put meat in my freezer (early September antlerless gun, Adirondack antlerless ML, and 1/2 hour past sunset were the others). I hope that all of the changes will continue in future seasons. Belo’s poll really shows the overwhelming support of hunters for the Holiday season in particular. One thing FSW and I agree on, is that there should be full inclusion of crossbow during archery season. I would prefer that archery season be split between “traditional” from Oct 1-14, where only longbows and recurves could be used. October 15 thru opening day of gun should be “modern”, where compounds and crossbows could be used. In my opinion, as a pure meat hunter, the changes that the DEC gave us this year are way better than full inclusion of crossbow. Without those changes, my soup would very likely have 7 of those little green paper tags in it right now, instead of just 3.

I secured a 4th deer heart tonight, so my wife should be good to go on Valentine’s Day.

I found my “empty” tonight, the missing link for my new “antler” ornament. That helps balance out the lower jaw on the other side.

Don’t pick on him Bill, he means well.

That’s what I usually do. I didn’t reload after the deer I shot went down tonight, because it was clearly down for the count. After reading of several misfires on here this year, I wasn’t 100 % sure that the gun would go off. I had loaded it a couple weeks ago, at the start of the normal late ML season. When I finished hunting each day, I just pulled the primer and locked the gun up out in my unheated barn. Fortunately, the (2) 6 year old, 50 gr. t7 pellets touched off just like they are supposed to. I was running low on those but LAWD came thru with 88 more for me this week. That’s the third time that I unloaded for the season on an animal (the other two were a red fox (Biz probably remembers that one), and a grey squirrel, that just happened to show up at the right time. All the other times, I remove the breech plug and push out the bullet and powder. I then reinstall the plug and spray in sone foaming bore cleaner thru the plug using the little plastic tube. I can skip the breech plug removal step tonight, thanks to the timely appearance of the button buck. Forky didn’t show up tonight. I’ll be after him again this November, with my crossbow, if he doubles his point count in the off-season.

This bb (sorry FSW) came out 2 minutes early tonight (4:18), and will soon be reunited with his twin brother (taken during the early antlerless gun season in September), on the third shelf of the freezer. 33-1/4” chest girth.

Unloaded

Don’t look up was kinda of funny at times, but mostly pretty lame.

Light rain falling now and I am trying to keep my powder dry.

Hopefully, forky will make one final appearance for me this afternoon. If he does, it will be the first time I will try to kill him. What better place could there be, for him to spend the winter, than in my freezer with his daddy and his little brother ?

It was time to upgrade the knife and 3/16 screen on that grinder this year ($ 30 from Amazon). Years ago, there were a few guys around who would sharpen them, but all that I knew have passed on.

If you can locate an old, construction-style truck cap, they make the best blind toppers. The side doors fold out, making fine sun and rain shades, when you are inside. The best feature, is an open topped upper deck blind, built up on the ladder rack. The view is completely unobstructed from up there. This one is my favorite, and I have taken quite a few deer from each level, including a nice 3.5 year old buck from up top with my crossbow, a few years ago, and a good 2.5 buck a year or two before that. So far, just does and a button buck from the lower enclosure, but it sure is nice on the fowl weather days. The best feature of the two stories is, as soon as the weather breaks, you can go upstairs. I can’t use the upstairs in that one right now, because the big wind storm a few weeks ago, snapped the top on that dying ash tree on the left. It fell onto the white oak on the right, and is completely blocking my south view. That’s part of the reason why I am up in one just like it over at my parents place right now. It’s almost time for me to pull the plug on the morning hunt and take care of another downed ash tree over here: I have only killed one deer from this one (another 3.5 year old buck) but it was likely my largest, with a 43” chest girth.

Nothing out but a squirrel so far, down on the se corner of wmu 9F. My parents want me to cut up a tree later, that fell over an atv trail. I hope it’s not the leaner in the background on this picture. That one won’t be easy. There is plenty of room to drive a wheeler or walk under it now. I will probably stay in this stand until about 10, then go cut up what they want me to, before lunch. I don’t know yet if forky came out on the clover plot, on the edge of the woods yesterday, but he did the day prior. Hopefully, my chainsaw don’t scare him off today. I will bring along my tree umbrella, for the evening sit, because it might rain later and there is no roof on my cherry tree blind over there by the clover.

That’s one lesson that I learned the hard way. I am thankful that my kids didn’t find any of those little orange chips in their tacos. I threw away a pound or so of grind, after it grabbed and took off part of the tip, but I missed one little chip and I found it in my leftover chile at work. A hammer handle makes a much better grinder stuffer:

Happy New Year Chris. Maybe a vacation down in the sunshine or a little vitamin D would make you feel a little better. You still have about 10 hours today to work on those buck tags, are you going to give it a shot ? I am pretty sure that you could even use them on does if you wish, in any southern zone DMU.

I have not seen a deer on a morning hunt, since opening day of gun season. Only one moving on its own, just after sunset, since then, and three that I bumped from standing corn or heavy cover in the mid afternoon. Mom and dad saw one come out into a clover plot, 1/2 hour before sunset yesterday, if it does that again tomorrow, that will be its last meal. That adds up to about 10 consecutive deerless morning sits. That won’t stop me from trying one last time tomorrow. I definitely have way more confidence in the afternoon though.

I had baked St Lawrence largemouth bass and wife and kids had Upper Niagara smallmouth. Was delicious as always.

I was hopeful about tonight, because it was the first time in my last (3) attempts, that I made it to my back corn plot without spooking any deer. There must still be plenty of corn there, because the doves were all over it, but no deer showed up. That’s it for me deer hunting at home this season. My wife just told me she doesn’t want to go to the new years party we had planed on attending tonight, because she’s afraid of catching Covid. We are staying home and watching a movie instead. That means I will be able to make the early and the late hunt over at my parents tomorrow. Two more shots at a Holiday ML deer.

I would have traded you equal weight in backstrap for that heart.