Monday, November 9, 2020

The Hunt for Deer

 I come from a deer hunting family.  I went hunting with my Dad and learned from him how to walk quietly in the woods, how to properly place a shot and how to gut out a deer.   My brothers are hunters too.   Far Guy comes from a deer hunting family.   Far Guy and I deer hunted together for many years.   We loved being in the woods together...now we live in the woods and I hunt with my camera.  (Less clean up!) 

"Our Woods"  sixty plus acres owned by my brothers and I are the hunting area.  We live on the South part and my brothers live to the North.  There are a number of good places to hunt here.  

My sister in law "She who sees Robins first"  is a hunter.  She had real good luck yesterday morning and got a really nice buck. 


She was just thrilled!   

This deer's relatives decimated her small container gardens last summer. 


My other baby brother and she who sees Robins first.

They will process their own deer meat.  They are really fussy about fat and hair... the meat will be properly cared for and it will be canned.  Canned venison is the best way to eat deer meat if you ask me. The flavor is wonderful and it is fork tender.  I have a jar from them I have been hoarding...now I can open that one because they might share a new jar with us! 

A fork buck was taken by my cousin's fiancee on the first day of the hunt.  His first deer so he was real excited about that. 

So our woods have yielded two deer this hunting season...I believe each hunter can take two deer this year. The hunt ends next Saturday....so there is still hope for my brothers to get their deer. 

It is fun to see enthusiasm for hunting. 

Photos are from facebook.

Far Side

19 comments:

Pauline Persing said...

I have always heard that venison was tough. Must be that no one I know has ever heard about canning it.

Dawn said...

My mother's family are deer hunters, they hunt on the farm my mom grew up on. My dad's family are not. We weren't raised as hunters but I respect those of you that hunt and use the meat. I hunt with my camera too. We had two in our yard (1.5 acres) yesterday morning. Actually I'm sure we have deer in our yard every morning, but yesterday I got some pictures.

linda m said...

I am very happy for your sister-in-law; congratulations to her. Hope she shares some venison with you.

Val Ewing said...

That is so great! I am all for Deer Harvest. But not for trespassers as you know.
Rich used to provide us with one buck or doe a year and one for his daughter. We'd harvest and he would trim it all up. I mostly made stews and roasts.
I am like you right now. Shoot with a camera, less mess.

DJan said...

I prefer shooting with my camera, but it does help to keep the numbers down. And the deer is eaten instead of abandoned after the kill. :-)

Wildflower Adventures said...

Daughter & Grand's Nov care package was canned antelope meat & carnival winter squash from out of the garden. Daughter fixed the meat with gravy yesterday for their lunch & sent pictures.

Sara said...

My dad was not a hunter, but we had plenty of friends who were that shared venison with us. Growing up in south central Minnesota, the deer were mostly "corn fed", as they grazed in the corn fields and were fat and sassy. My cousins always hunted up north and that venison always had a leaner taste. One of my sons-in-law is a hunter and got a "west river" antelope a month ago. He processed it himself too.

A Percussionist's Notebook said...

Some of my best memories of my father were hunting memories. Loading cartridges/sighting in the rifles/and finslly going in the field to hunt. He taught us how to prepare the animals and not to waste anything. A great tradition.

Tired Teacher 2 said...

Congratulations to your SIL on bagging a nice buck. I don’t hunt but I was raised in a hunting family. I prefer elk over deer meat.

Betsy said...

Congrats to your sister in law! That is a nice buck. Our friends, Jeremy and Alica hunt on their property too. Both of the boys and Jeremy got bucks but Alicia wasn't having any luck. They process their own meat too and have given me some venison sausage. I'm looking forward to having some this week.
Blessings,
Betsy

At Home In New Zealand said...

I have never heard of canning venison (canning meat is not a big thing here). I have a nephew who goes hunting on a regular basis (mostly deer and pig). What they don't cook up as roasts and stews gets made up into sausages. Their freezers are always full :)

Miss Merry said...

We have had so many deer vs vehicle incidents, I think the deer numbers increased. We are not hunters but are surrounded by rural areas where men plan their vacations around the start of deer season and some schools schedule a vacation day the first day of deer season. We live on the edge of town near the tag station and sometimes I don't see much business. They also sell beer and my slogan is No Beer without a Deer. Personally, I am not crazy about venison (never had it canned) but I don't mind ground venison heavily seasoned in tacos. My favorite is venison trail bologna.

Linda Reeder said...

I come from a family of deer hunters too, and I do remember canned venison, although that was a very loooog time ago. We city folks are not hunters, but many in my extended family still are.

The Great Ethan Allen said...

Ah the memories! I was never a very good hunter. ( only one deer my entire life!) but I was out there with my family just about every year before we moved to Iowa Uncles, cousins, but mostly my Dad and brother. Dad even bought a small 40 acre lot just for us three to hunt peacefully. ( Public lands... oh the stories!) As I recall, Minnesota has two short seasons rather than one 2.5 week hunting season like in Michigan. I remember you had to pick the "right season" or all the big bucks would be gone... or so they told us. We froze all our venison. Funny Mom loved to can, but never canned meat. I'm sure it would have been great! Oh! Congrats on the success!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Hunting is not something we know anything about

Galla Creek said...

Deer need some thinning. They can become pests. I don’t care that much for the meat, but lots love it.

diane in northern wis said...

We are not hunters but have always lived close to hunters. Our last house, which also had alot of land, was hunted on by our neighbors and they made sure nobody else hunted on our land. Our deer season here doesn't start until Nov. 21 and goes thru Thanksgiving week til that Sunday. Best of luck to your brothers! Maybe you'll have to change your SIL's name to she who sees deer first or she who shoots bucks first!

Debi said...

My grandfather taught me to shoot and hunt. I didn't much care for the actual hunt, I do like eating the venison though!

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

I never learned any of that but I admire people who do and utilize the meat. I hear it is much healthier for you than our "tame" meat.