Wild game season is here

(Carnivore for the win) #1

Just got a call from a friend who harvested a deer in his orchard last weekend. He is bringing over a tenderloin and some sirloin today. I love the flavour of meat from deer that have been eating fallen ripe fruits. Can’t beat the price of free, although I do help him with home maintenance and repairs, so there is a small cost associated with it. I ate some of the deer he got last year and have been obsessing about getting more for a few months now.

Help out a hunter with chores in the summer and reap the rewards in the fall. It’s a great way to live.

#2

I’ve been Bow Hunting every day for the past 8 days now, but only saw 2 so far, and they were small. A spike and another smaller one I only saw their backside. :slight_smile: … This is the time of the Rut, and normally I see quite a bit of activity. But unfortunately, the folks who farm the land decided to do a deep till on the fields just a couple weeks ago, to clear out all the corn stalks from collection recently. It simply made an absolute mess of things, especially with the heavy rain that fell just a week later. … It made it one big pudding farm! (6 to 8 inches deep and un-walkable) - It’s made my walks in and out closer to a mile to get to my setups, and pretty much has been one big mud-puddle for the entire place, so I have to walk the edges all the way in. Which of course, also puts my scent where the Deer like to walk themselves. Sucks… I actually just cancelled next weeks leave, and will push it up to the week of Thanksgiving. In the hopes the fields tighten back up more, and just before the gunners show up and start blasting all day long. - (Shotgun starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving, for two weeks here. Followed by 2 weeks of Black Powder) So preferring Bow Hunting, my time mostly ends after the gunners start up. Though I do still have the option of Bow Hunting the remainder of the season, which ends January 31st.

(Doug) #3

Deer tenderloin is great. ‘Deer steaks,’ per se aren’t as popular with many people but I love 'em.

(Carnivore for the win) #4

That sound like a lot of effort in the mud. I know hunters that like that pursuit and go after larger game like elk and moose. But most hunters I know just harvest them out of old orchards or off their farms. I am committed to eventually learning how to use a shotgun and get my own game

(Joey) #5

A shotgun i a good way to spray metal buckshot throughout your prized venison. And there’s little sport to it.

I’d recommend a rifle or better yet a compound bow/arrow. That’s much more sporting and ensures the maximum usable meat for your efforts.

Of course, you need to be a well-practiced marksman to make a clean kill. Hopefully that’s something of interest if you want to humanely thin the herd. :deer:

(Carnivore for the win) #6

We hunt within rural communities, so a rifle is too dangerous. Everyone hunts with buckshot or slugs in their shotguns

(Joey) #7

Do you mean hunting within the rural community? Okay, that sounds dangerous enough. But I’d think the risks of rifle hunting become even more pronounced in the inner city. :wink:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

Where my cousins live in Pennsylvania, it’s mostly farmland and woods, so rifle hunting is pretty much what everyone does, apart from the bow enthusiasts. Picking shotgun pellets out of your meat is no fun, especially when you miss one and chomp down on it! As for hunting “within rural communities,” I believe that the towns forbid hunting within the borough limits, but permit it everywhere else in the township.

Where I used to live in the Hudson Valley, there were a lot of deer, but the area was built up enough that most properties were posted. Where I now live in Connecticut, we have enough land to hunt on, but I doubt it is allowed within city limits, regardless.

(Robin) #9

it’s a great way to live, in general.

(Carnivore for the win) #10

I live on an island that has tons of wilderness. Lots of people just hunt on the farms though. I’m sure there are rules against it, but folks have been living in this area for a long time and nobody makes any complaints when shotguns go off on their neighbors farms.

(Carnivore for the win) #11

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#12

Personally, I’ve only ever heard of folks using any type of buckshot for Deer, to be “00” Double-Aught. And that was many, many years ago. Nothing in recent times, at least in these parts. … But they say it did work well for Deer, if hit well. The reason for this is the larger size of the pellets, much larger than say, Bird or Squirrel shot. There’s only around 10 or so pellets, since they are so much larger. But I’ve never found it appealing myself, and see it more purposed for self-defense really. Though a hand-gun would be even better, but the “00” is supposed to help those who don’t really aim well, but simply point in the general direction and let em’ fly. … Again, not a fan and would highly suggest a slug, if you chose a shotgun. Plus, todays’ slugs are nothing like the old lead ball they used to use. Most of the new ones are actual saboted bullet heads that work very well in todays’ rifled barrels and they can be quite deadly accurate if one chooses to become proficient with it. The last one that I owned was a true Tack Driver for sure, but after I purchased my first Encore Black Powder, I sold it, and now own 3 Encores. … If you have state laws like they do here in MD, you can go down in weapons for each season so I can use the Encore for both Shotgun and Black Powder. And since the Encores also used saboted 45 cal. bullets, they too are deadly, but can extend the range of shotguns by twice to three times the distance. (This is also why I say when I’m Hunting with a Bow, I’m Hunting. When Hunting with a gun, I’m shopping.) But they are a great way (tool) to cull the herd some and put some venison in the freezer though.

And we also have Suburban Hunts here, in select locations of course, and those overrun by Deer. But as far as I know, it’s for Bow Hunters only, since most of the Deer are actually in folks yards when they are taken. Again, I see the need, but no desire to shoot an animal myself that’s almost a pet. - I golfed once at a course on one of the Bases here many years ago, where they laid around course and walked front of you before you took your shot. I even smacked one on his butt to get him to move. And one of the guys in the group said you can even sign up to shoot some during the season. … I said for what? They’re like big Squirrels now, and you could just as easy whack one with your club when he comes over to get petted? … But you’d be surprised just how many sign up each year just to shoot one of the Big Antlered Guys laying around. :unamused: I’ve never partook in either, and never will. Can’t see it…

#13

Not sure what the regs are in Canada, but here, a property owner can shoot one or two deer each year on their own property, without buying a license. Those who have Farms, can get Crop Damage permits which allows them to shoot a select number of Deer, if they prove they are being destructive to the crop. usually 20, 30 or more. But again, I think that’s shotgun only, and through summer as well. Which is too hot, and also when the Does are carrying fawns. A No, No, for me on both accounts. … If you ever do end up buying a Shotgun, Black Powder, etc. Look on-line for the two shot sight in process. Folks will burn through ammo trying to set in a gun, when it only takes two shots. (This is with a scope mind you) But it’s quite simple, and I’ve set in a lot of guns over the years for guys with this method. Though in my earlier years, before I figured this out myself, I was one of those going through boxes trying to pinpoint the shot to deadly accurate. … But if ya really want to have some fun, get a bow. They’re a joy to shoot and you’ll probably find them to be superior in some aspects over guns when it comes to Hunting.

@PaulL … Funny thing is, here, you can legally shoot a deer with a Shotgun or Black Powder, and only have to be 100 yards from a occupied dwelling. Sad thing is, both can shoot way further then 100 yards so it really makes no sense. And of course rifles, can go much further, and it’s not fun when you hear one sounding off, knowing their limits of flight can pretty much reach anyone in hearing distance.

(Carnivore for the win) #14

Most folks I know don’t hunt for recreation, although some like to. A lot of locals call their kitchen or living room the deer blind. It’s harvesting not hunting. Just for meat. Some use slugs, some use buck shot. Rarely rifles, just to protect the neighbors.

I have yet to bite into a pellet as they are fairly large. Sometimes I bite into shattered bone from the shot. Just gotta cut the meat fairly thin to try to find any metal or bone. Either way it’s delicious and inexpensive meat.

We are talking about learning to hunt as a group, to head out into the woods on the larger island and do some recreating.