Hunting

[G-Dizzle]

I have noticed other hunters here, but no thread dedicated to hunting! I am a beginner hunter and typically go a few times per year, but it is something that I enjoy. Spending time out in God’s creation is a blessing.

Would love to see/hear about what you hunt in your area, what you hunt with, how you prepare your food, etc etc.

[Farmer X]

I've never been much of a hunter. Maybe one day I'll take it up (we have ample opportunities for it up in Michigan). And I'm looking forward to seeing how this thread develops!

[G-Dizzle]

I was blessed to be able to harvest my first two public land deer in as many hunts this year. I have hunted public land once a year give or take for several years and have had no harvests (on public) until this year. I am very thankful for the Lord’s provision this year.

I saw the first one of this year just as I was stretching and getting ready to call it a morning. It was about 11:00 or so. I was ground hunting a ridge/valley with a view of the opposite ridge across from me. I had already seen two bucks that morning and was not able to line up a shot on either of them. As you can see, it was difficult to get anything lined up with all of the trees and other growth.
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 As I was stretching I looked up and there was a good deer coming down from the ridge across from me. I hastily took a few steps forward, braced against a tree, and took a shot at approximately 75-100 yards (was to the left off screen of the picture above). I had lasered off distances previously but not after the fact. The deer ran down the rest of the hill and landed at my hunting partner’s feet. This is the best deer I have harvested to date.
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[G-Dizzle]

The second deer of this year was also on a public land open hunt. I lent my primary deer rifle to my brother, who joined us, and elected to use my M1 Garand. I was a little nervous about the irons, but a trip to the range beforehand to sight in improved my confidence.
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On this hunt, we elected to walk about 3/4ths of a mile deep from the dirt/gravel park road to a field that was located in a more remote area. This hunt was in mountainous terrain, possibly even more so than the first. After we arrived at the field, my brother elected to head back up the trail and hunt a different area where we had passed deer signs. Myself and the friend that I was with did some more scouting around the perimeter of the field. We ended up skirting the lower edge of the field and made our way up a steep grade and ended up coming in on the downwind side that was higher in elevation. We were able to observe a group of turkeys across the field when we first arrived. That was cool. Eventually, I found a spot and my friend headed across the field in search of another. I was ground hunting again. My spot was immensely comfortable for a ground hunt. Two mounds of earth, almost like a chair and ottoman, about 5 feet or so inside of the treeline with good visibility. It was a perfect spot, like it was made just for me. I am thankful for that.
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After sitting for a couple/few hours and getting blasted by the freezing wind for a while, a buck walked out at about 100 yards (i did laser it after the fact this time). I had my rangefinder, but aside from that, no glass to determine exactly how many “points” it had or anything like that. I could just see that his rack stood up from it’s head far enough to be more than a spike.
I tried to line up the shot in my reclined position, but I wasn’t confident. I flipped around and went prone, leaning on the mound in front of me. I froze a couple of times during this process as the deer looked in my direction. After I was prone, I lined up the shot and steadied the rifle. The deer did not run to my knowledge. If it did it was only a few feet. (Approximate location circled in red)
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This time, because of the distance and mountainous terrain, we elected to quarter the deer in the field and carry it back in a cooler. This meant walking back to the truck, dropping gear off and grabbing the cooler, going back out, quartering in the dark, and carrying it all back in the dark. This was the right decision. It was a difficult walk.
Again, thankful for this deer, and thankful for the opportunity be out in creation and to carry around this big M1 on a hunt like this.

Glory to God!

[Farmer X]

Some good deer in your neck of the woods!

[Grant Lamontagne]

I am building a new highway through an area that has been nothing but woods since... well.... since they invented trees.

There are massive amounts of deer everywhere- hardly a day goes by that I don't see multiples, and I have begged my bosses to let me hunt them so that they don't become roadkill in another month or so when the highway opens.  I feel like it would be kinder to everyone if I did.

Mostly I prefer hunting for ground birds and other small game.  With two broken ankles I really don't want to shoot anything heavy, and particularly not if I then have to drag it any distance, but Megan wants to hunt deer, and she has always wanted to bow hunt a bear, so those are distinct possibilities.

Where my father lives there are ample animals to hunt, and if I ever ended up that way (my dream) then I would probably not buy much meat ever again.  Dad had a great plan- he would kill 12 birds a year during the season (grouse or partridge usually) and once a month that was his treat.  I'd probably do the same, with maybe a couple of deer to round it out.   

Def

[G-Dizzle]

Made some Jerky from last year’s deer a few days ago. It’s already all gone! If anyone needs a good jerky recipe let me know! I found a really good one online a couple years back.

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[G-Dizzle]

I am building a new highway through an area that has been nothing but woods since... well.... since they invented trees.

There are massive amounts of deer everywhere- hardly a day goes by that I don't see multiples, and I have begged my bosses to let me hunt them so that they don't become roadkill in another month or so when the highway opens.  I feel like it would be kinder to everyone if I did.

Mostly I prefer hunting for ground birds and other small game.  With two broken ankles I really don't want to shoot anything heavy, and particularly not if I then have to drag it any distance, but Megan wants to hunt deer, and she has always wanted to bow hunt a bear, so those are distinct possibilities.

Where my father lives there are ample animals to hunt, and if I ever ended up that way (my dream) then I would probably not buy much meat ever again.  Dad had a great plan- he would kill 12 birds a year during the season (grouse or partridge usually) and once a month that was his treat.  I'd probably do the same, with maybe a couple of deer to round it out.   

Def

If they will not let you rifle hunt, maybe they would let you bow hunt it. Never hurts to ask!!

[Grant Lamontagne]

It's probably more a matter of me shooting anything up an empty highway with workers at random spots more than anything else.

Def

[Farmer X]

I'd be interested in the jerky recipe. Trying new snacks and testing out my countertop oven's dehydrate function are always good in my book!

[G-Dizzle]

I'd be interested in the jerky recipe. Trying new snacks and testing out my countertop oven's dehydrate function are always good in my book!

Here it is: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KpAzL4A0ztQ&feature=youtu.be

The recipe as is is really good. I switched it up this past time because of what I had/did not have. Notably, I removed the Worcestershire and added siriracha powder and honey. Everything else was a substitution or small change. I really likes the sweetness that the honey added.

[Farmer X]

 

I knew about chipotle powder, but Sriracha powder is a thing, too?

[G-Dizzle]

Deer chili planned for tomorrow! Prep begins tonight. I have shared my process before but I may do it again here if there is any interest.

[Farmer X]

Chili...

[nate j]

I love some good chili.

Beans should be included, but they shouldn’t overshadow the meat.

It should be spicy enough to clear out your sinuses.

[G-Dizzle]

I love some good chili.

Beans should be included, but they shouldn’t overshadow the meat.

It should be spicy enough to clear out your sinuses.

We will have to agree to disagree there on the beans 🫘. I have included them in the past, but only when I didn’t have as much meat as I thought I needed.

[G-Dizzle]

Checked the meat that I had pulled out of the freezer yesterday afternoon and it is still frozen solid mostly 😬. Was supposed to start this cook early in the morning. May have to push it back a day, not sure.

[nate j]

We will have to agree to disagree there on the beans 🫘. I have included them in the past, but only when I didn’t have as much meat as I thought I needed.

Still interested to see where this goes.
 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I usually put red, white and black beans in my chili, so I would love to see your recipe, whenever you get around to it.   

Def

[G-Dizzle]

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Just a sneak preview. It’s cooking now.

[nate j]

Corn is a somewhat unusual addition; I don’t hate the idea though.

[G-Dizzle]

(Post 1/2)
When I first started doing deer chili, this recipe was a big help: https://www.ranchstylekitchen.com/slow-cooker-deer-venison-chili-no-beans/. I even referenced back to it today to remember some things.

Since then, I kind of use that as a starting point, but not a hard and fast recipe. A lot of places online recommend canned tomatoes or tomato sauce. I personally prefer using fresh ingredients over canned, even for the tomatoes. It may just be me, but I enjoy doing it that way.

Chili is nice to cook because as you go you can season it to taste, and every time you make it you can make changes and (hopefully) it gets better over time. My first batch ever had beans and less meat/more stock and more thickener. I have learned by trial and error which ingredients to add more of and which to add less of. I don’t remember if I have done corn in the chili in the past, but I wanted to do it this time, so it’s as simple as just adding it in. Also, I have been trying to find Masa Harina for a while. I have been using corn starch instead until today. I was able to find Maseca corn instant Masa mix, so I tried that.

Ingredient list:

Approximately 4 pounds ground venison

2 onions

A bunch of tomatoes (used all pictured minus around 4)

A little less than one head of garlic (lost a few cloves)

Three ears of corn

A good bit of red Chili peppers and green Serrano peppers (used all pictured minus about two of each), there was enough peppers that I did not use cayenne, paprika, or chili powder. I would normally use these to taste. I was happy to not have to do that this time and have a larger percentage of the flavor coming from fresh vegetables.

TO TASTE:
- cumin
- mustard powder
- salt
- soy sauce
- liquid smoke
- brown sugar
- white sugar
- cinnamon
- just a couple splashes of chicken stock
- “Lane’s BBQ” signature seasoning (on meat as it’s browning)
- olive oil (only used when browning the meat)
- masa mix to thicken

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Process:

- chop up tomato, onion, peppers, corn, mince garlic and add to crock-pot

- brown meat with Lane’s BBQ Signature Seasoning or other seasoning and add to crock-pot

- add seasonings and set to low

- a couple/few hours in, add a couple of splashes of chicken stock. It’s important to not use too much. Using this method, everything is going to cook down and develop it’s own juice. You don’t need a lot of liquid at all.

- once it has cooked down, check it every so often and continue to season to taste. I typically end up adding more cumin and adding sugar. By the time it’s done, I typically have seasoned it fairly heavily. I added my soy sauce and sugar late this cook as I was in a hurry in the morning.

- total cook time on this batch was approximately 8 hours give or take

Ingredients minus meat/seasoning:
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Ingredients with meat/some seasoning after cooking a couple hours (iirc):
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Ingredients cooked down (before adding masa mix):
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***PHOTOS OF FINISHED PRODUCT IN NEXT POST***

[G-Dizzle]

(Post 2/2)
***CONTINUED FROM POST ABOVE***

Here is the finished product after adding the masa mix for thickening!
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This is my favorite chili cook I have done to date that I can remember. It came out great in my opinion. Chili is subjective, so what I like a lot may not be the next person’s favorite, but I was thankful that it seemed to be a hit with everyone who ate it tonight.

Special thanks to my wife for finishing browning the meat for me this morning as I went rushing out the door! 😂

[nate j]

Looks great, I’m sure it was delicious!
 

I also like your “all fresh, no canned” approach.

[G-Dizzle]

Looks great, I’m sure it was delicious!
 

I also like your “all fresh, no canned” approach.

  Thanks Nate!

[SurgeUk]

Happy Chili-mas. Badge awarded 

[G-Dizzle]

Happy Chili-mas. Badge awarded 

Thanks!!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Looks good to me!

Could probably use some beans though….. 

Def

[G-Dizzle]

Looks good to me!

Could probably use some beans though….. 

Def

No soup for you! 

[Grant Lamontagne]

 

Def