With hunting season knockin at the door....

[ticks]

I tihnk it would be appropriate to have a hunting forum, how is is self sufficient, great recipes, the hunt, fishing (i didn't forget about you CEF), etc.

 

[Outdoor Plumbing]

Hunting is survival....

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

fishing would be cool but probably everyone would jsut talk about ther big fish tails ;P

 

[Beekissed]

So, ticks, tell us how you go about processing your deer! Give us a run down on how you gut, skin, process your deer for the greatest flavor and efficiency? How many deer do you kill per year? Do you can, freeze, jerky, smoke? How did you learn your particular methods in dealing with your wild harvest?

 

[coopy]

Tick, I like the idea.

 

[pioneergirl]

My neighbor gets about 6 deer per year, I'll get his techniques and post them!! My grandfather used to hunt Elk, and make the best chili!! lol(wishes she had the recipe)

 

[farm_mom]

So, ticks, tell us how you go about processing your deer! Give us a run down on how you gut, skin, process your deer for the greatest flavor and efficiency? How many deer do you kill per year? Do you can, freeze, jerky, smoke? How did you learn your particular methods in dealing with your wild harvest?

I would be interested too, ticks. We are considering deer hunting this year as well, for the first time.

 

[ticks]

Ok, squeamish may want to look away.
let's save it for the category, eh?

 

[Beekissed]

Well, we may not get our own category for this! My family have bowhunted for 3 generations now, which translates into hundreds of deer killed and processed, so the topic always interests me.

As a matter of fact, I just gutted, skinned and processed a deer the other day with, what we believe to be, our fastest and most efficient time ever. From the kill to the fridge took approx. 45 min. Our personal best time! Yay! Not really a typical hunt situation, though, as this was a crop damage permit kill....can't really be counted as typical hunt and kill processing, so we didn't get too excited.

My mother is typically the gutter, skinner and processor in the family, but now that...er, dubious privilege ...has transferred to me, as we no longer live near the folks. The boys are capable and do a good job, usually, but tend to get in too much of a hurry to insure I don't have scurf or hair on the meat when I process....this doesn't please me. Probably why my mother became the one to get this chore....frustrated with the sloppiness of the impatient males of the family!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Don't know how long it takes us, but Hubby and i usually do it in an evening. We hang it, gut it (if not done at the field) skin it, and to get the meat, we take the meat off the bone in its natural sections. Smaller or undesiralbe cuts are turned into burger. haven't had deer in a couple of years. it is extremely hard to find a place to hunt around here. All property is owned by farmers,so you need permission, and the farmers are leery b/c of past problems with unethical hunters.

My dh is a bowhunter. i personally have only hunted small game. (Kids were too young to leave for deer or moose,) but now they are older, and will probably want to hunt themselves.

Dh is teaching son how to use a crossbow.