First deer of the season this a.m

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VonBonfire

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I had some corn in the field out before sunrise when I opened the chickens. I was trying to drink my morning coffee and got a taker shortly after sunrise. Looked like a doe but I have some really crappy binoculars that are good for about 75 yards distance. Noticed it was a little scrappy 3=4 point so I thumped him head on with a 7.62x39 soft point. Easy 25 yard shot from the porch. He just fell over right there.

Been cleaning him up all morning. Lotta work! Planning to do some jerky but I only have a basic idea of a recipe. Got the back quarters done. Backstraps removed. Just front legs, neck roast and whatever else I can get outta there left to go. Hoping to find the bullet but I haven't yet. Maybe in the carcass itself but maybe it exited. His spine was shattered and the top of his lungs were jello when I opened him up. Hoping to take a couple more deer in the next month. Christmas presents. God bless Texas and the great long hunting season and bountiful tag limits! This is my third year running that I got a buck so I have a 'lil trophy I can add to the collection hanging out on the porch that I'm working on. .

Anyone else hunting this year? I built my place with the intent of shooting deer and hogs from the porch so mission accomplished, things are paying off! I posted in hobbies but I only really do it for the cheap meat so maybe this belongs in food and drink? Wasn't sure. Mods feel free to move. Blessings to everyone.
 
VonBonfire said:
Yes.


Bullets flying through my neighbor's property is even more lame. The corn helps keep shots going in a safe direction. Believe me, I can do it without the corn but it just makes everything a little more convenient, safe, and humane to be honest. So it's a win-win.
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Well if you are shooting "bullets" at deer at someone elses property willy nilly...there is already a lot to unpack there.
 
japetus said:
Well if you are shooting "bullets" at deer at someone elses property willy nilly...there is already a lot to unpack there
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There is nothing to unpack because I am shooting in safe direction. Don't be such a killjoy.
 
My jerky came out pretty good for a first try. It was a tiny bit too salty but still very edible. I noticed as it got close to done it got a crazed texture that started to appear on the exterior so I sampled a couple pieces and it checked out. I used my improvised smoker pit I built out of old paver bricks and some cast iron grill inserts I found on the property. I would like to make a bigger pit so I could fit about 3 briskets and 3 times as much jerky on there in a shot. Definitely going to be turning some football roasts into jerky this year.
 
Nice work! I have 2 in the freezer already this season. I'm primarily a bow guy, but do get out for shotgun & muzzle loader.

Check out the jerky thread...
 
Wayniac3 said:
Nice work! I have 2 in the freezer already this season. I'm primarily a bow guy, but do get out for shotgun & muzzle loader.

Check out the jerky thread...
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Wow, busting your hump already with that bow! Good work. I put corn out yesterday but didn't get any takers. It's still there this morning. There is a nice, sizable 8 point wandering this area that I'd love to thump and put on the smoker. Of course there are plenty of does I just like the bucks best because they skull makes the best decorations for my porch.

I have my smoker started this morning. Have jerky ready to go on I was just hoping to thump one and clean some deer while my smoker was running. Max productivity that way. Having coffee, keeping my eyes peeled on the field. I can browse rig talk and hunt at the same time, lol. I still have until mid January to get it done but I'd like to have it all wrapped up by Christmas this year and take January off for doing tree work/firewood collecting.
 
Our bow season runs Sept 15-Dec 31, and 2 zones, (where they allow bait also) can bow hunt Jan 1-31. I don't bait, but have zero issue with those who do legally. To me, it's not much different than hunting on an oak flat, or over an orchard or field with crops that they are feeding on. Hunt the food sources or travel routes, play the wind, and you're good. During rut... find the does, you'll find the bucks.

Super generous bag limits here - 4 by bow. State land you can also take 1 with shotgun, 1 with muzzle loader. Private land, you can take 2 with shotgun, 2 with muzzle loader. The tag system is whacked - I should just get a limit for shotgun/muzzle loader, whether it is state or private land.
I'm a meat hunter, but have no issue taking a buck ;)

They also made it a 5 bird limit on turkey the last 2 years, which seems too high to me.. but what do I know.
 
Wayniac3 said:
Our bow season runs Sept 15-Dec 31, and 2 zones, (where they allow bait also) can bow hunt Jan 1-31. I don't bait, but have zero issue with those who do legally. To me, it's not much different than hunting on an oak flat, or over an orchard or field with crops that they are feeding on. Hunt the food sources or travel routes, play the wind, and you're good. During rut... find the does, you'll find the bucks.

Super generous bag limits here - 4 by bow. State land you can also take 1 with shotgun, 1 with muzzle loader. Private land, you can take 2 with shotgun, 2 with muzzle loader. The tag system is whacked - I should just get a limit for shotgun/muzzle loader, whether it is state or private land.
I'm a meat hunter, but have no issue taking a buck ;)

They also made it a 5 bird limit on turkey the last 2 years, which seems too high to me.. but what do I know.
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What state is this? I would like to know for future reference because those are decent bag limits.

In TX it's five tags for rifle season which is Nov 6 to Jan 1st for regular season and then there is a "special late season" that runs until around Jan 21st. It doesn't really make sense that they call it special late season, it just confused me and made me think I needed a special late season license. But it definitely gives me time to get it done because butchering deer is hard work as you know.

Some people frown on baiting but as you said people purchase feed plots for hunting all the time so the only difference is a poor guy baits with corn and a rich guy baits with a corn field. Somehow he's viewed as more ethical, lol. I'm just glad TX is sensible about the bait. When I lived up north there was no baiting allowed and it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that you got skunked on the short 2-3 week long rifle season.
 
Sadly, in Commie-necticut.
Besides the insane gun laws, it is SUPER hard to get private land access, and state land gets hammered.. besides other hunters, you have hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, , birdwatchers. Plus if you're deer hunting, you have to be wary of pheasant hunters. Then add the antihunters into the mix it's adventurous & can be quite a s&&tshow.
I've had stands damaged & stolen, and have run across trespassers and poachers.
 
Wayniac3 said:
Sadly, in Commie-necticut.
Besides the insane gun laws, it is SUPER hard to get private land access, and state land gets hammered.. besides other hunters, you have hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, , birdwatchers. Plus if you're deer hunting, you have to be wary of pheasant hunters. Then add the antihunters into the mix it's adventurous & can be quite a s&&tshow.
I've had stands damaged & stolen, and have run across trespassers and poachers.
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I can't/don't hunt if I don't own and live on the land I hunt so I went many years without until I bought a little acreage. I can't afford and don't have time to travel for hunting. It's too damn tedious and I have too many other chores. I have some acreage in West Texas that I haven't even visited since 2012, lol. I'm in it for the meat, like you. No doubt you are a helluva lot more committed to it with your bow hunting. My property just isn't large enough for that and if I could afford a good bow I'd probably want a gun instead, lol. Limited money.

Like Connecticut, possibly even more so, most Texas land is privately held so if you don't own any you're pretty limited for places to hunt. I can't even imagine what it's like on the lands that are publicly available. Gotta be huge pressure. It's one thing about this state I don't like. Very little state and public land. If you don't own land you basically have no woods to roam in unless you got well to do friends. It really sucks if you are on the low side of the income bracket.

I used to hunt deep in the rural north country a few hours from Canada. People busted into our car to steal junk items. We always chained our stands when we left for the night because people def steal them. And this was outside of a town with a population of 600 people.
 
Thumped a small buck this morning. Backstraps tonite son! Two down, one more to go. Filling my freezer. Wrapped a leg quarter for a friend, ground some burger, sliced up some fajita meat and I'm marinating more jerky too. Front legs are my soup meat. I just toss 'em in the pot with some navy beans for a few hours. I'm moving away from cutting a bunch of roasts, they are always too lean and less enjoyable than just telling my wife to get her butt in the kitchen and make me some venison tacos on corn tortillas. Pretty pumped about the holiday weekend. I might even shower!
 
I'm surprised more guys here aren't into hunting. A steady died of venison will turn you into a country hoss. We are talking pure, lean, organic meat here. I've shot and butchered about a dozen deer on my own since I bought property and it gets a little faster and easier every time.

I could use a good stainless steel butcher table and a couple more butcher knives one of these days but I can have 'em gutted out in pretty short order with some careful knife work. My caping technique could use some serious improvement. I'd like to brain tan a couple hides one of these days but you have limited time to process stuff down in 70 degree weather. I need to be more prepared for that but I think it would be worthwhile.
 
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