2016 Deer Sighting Report

[tallen702]

I saw a fawn and doe saturday on the range of all places. They just hung out for a while behind the 100 yard berm just grazing. No one shot at them of course and made sure the other 2 folks were aware of their presence. When walked down to the 200 yard targets, they ran off into the woods behind them. I would have thought the noise would have scared them off.

Good luck to all who go out today.

We had that happen on an active range back in WV when I lived there. We're firing away with some decent stuff too. Mini-30, .357, .44, .45ACP and this doe just walks right on through the firing line like she knew everyone would stop and let her go through. I guess they get used to the environment.

 

[Blacksmith101]

Those ones with big racks can get expensive......because you want to mount them.

 

[chesapeakeIRON]

Those ones with big racks can get expensive......because you want to mount them.

Most definately - if you shoot a big one, you gotta get it mounted

 

[wilcam47]

the fawns still have spots here too...Ive seen more bull moose here in the last couple months than I have ever seen in my time in north Idaho...

I saw an spike elk about a week ago and yesterday in the same area I see someone got him, evidenced by atv tracks and they cut off his head. It may have been poached but most likely tribal kill since they can hunt elk 6 months of the year unrestricted...

 

[bojaydk]

What does everyone do with keeping your meat from spoiling in this heat? Last year I was lucky that my deer dropped a few yards from where I shot him so I didn't have to trail. In this heat I worry about them sitting too long while I find them. I'm thinking this year I'll bring a cooler with a bag or two of ice to fill the cavity with while I transport.

I doubt meat would last more than 3 or 4 hours before it goes bad in 90+ degree weather.

 

[Neot]

What does everyone do with keeping your meat from spoiling in this heat? Last year I was lucky that my deer dropped a few yards from where I shot him so I didn't have to trail. In this heat I worry about them sitting too long while I find them. I'm thinking this year I'll bring a cooler with a bag or two of ice to fill the cavity with while I transport.

I doubt meat would last more than 3 or 4 hours before it goes bad in 90+ degree weather.

I usually bring a bag or two of ice in a cooler and hope I get a deer. If it was cooler I'd just pick some ice up on the way home but with this heat I want it on ice ASAP.

 

[Speed3]

In the heat, I just quarter them in the field (saves time) and put on ice in the cooler.

 

[j_h_smith]

What does everyone do with keeping your meat from spoiling in this heat? Last year I was lucky that my deer dropped a few yards from where I shot him so I didn't have to trail. In this heat I worry about them sitting too long while I find them. I'm thinking this year I'll bring a cooler with a bag or two of ice to fill the cavity with while I transport.

I doubt meat would last more than 3 or 4 hours before it goes bad in 90+ degree weather.

One year for muzzleloading season it was hot. I shot a 110 lb doe early in the morning. I bought 3 bags of ice and loaded the cavity with the ice and covered it with a tarp. We hunted the rest of the day with 2 more deer in the back of the truck before we were to drive home (about a 90-120 minute drive). We packed each cavity with more ice and off we went. It was too hot to hang them to skin and butcher them the next morning, so we started on the first and by the time we had the 3rd one done and all the meat wrapped, it was almost 3 in the morning.

We had no spoilage but I wouldn't want to do that again.

 

[tallen702]

What does everyone do with keeping your meat from spoiling in this heat? Last year I was lucky that my deer dropped a few yards from where I shot him so I didn't have to trail. In this heat I worry about them sitting too long while I find them. I'm thinking this year I'll bring a cooler with a bag or two of ice to fill the cavity with while I transport.

I doubt meat would last more than 3 or 4 hours before it goes bad in 90+ degree weather.

It wouldn't got bad so long as you got it eviscerated quickly, but it will cut down on the shelf-life in the long run. We did a bunch of "meat fabrication" in culinary school (read: butchering) and we were introduced to the entire stream of processing. We didn't personally slaughter any animals, but we witnessed it and had to learn all the critical control points in the slaughtering process so we'd know what good quality stuff goes through and what it results in. Given the size of the average white-tail, you want to get it chilled down post-dressing to as close to freezing as possible (sub 40*F internally at the thickest mass) in 24-30 hours. That sounds like a long time, but it's not. It takes compact muscle a good long while to both heat up and cool down properly. Packing it in ice will give you much better results regardless of how hot it is outside. The quicker you get it cold, the better. From a safety standpoint, it's whole-muscle meat, so it's a lot more tolerant than ground meats which introduce bacteria into the mix rather than just the surface.

As a chef, I can tell you that the "gaminess" people allude to with non-domesticated deer has a lot more to do with the method in which it is slaughtered than anything else. Clean kill, clean dressing, quick cool down = superior meat. In theory, the quicker the animal dies, the better too. Stress from being hit by an arrow or shot but not dropped quickly releases all kinds of hormones into the muscle tissue thanks to the fight-or-flight response. It can really wreck you meat both flavor and texture wise. That's why slaughtering smarter animals like pigs is trickier than dumb animals like cows. If a pig realizes what's happening, it'll flip out and the resultant meat is called PSE which stands for "pink, soft, and exudated." PSE pork is really pink, almost 1980's legwarmer pink, it has a watery sheen to it, and it's soft. Like memory-foam that doesn't spring back soft. That stuff is NAAAAAAASTY. I'm sure the same thing can happen with venison.

Sorry for the digression and novella-length response!

 

[BDWMS]

It wouldn't got bad so long as you got it eviscerated quickly, but it will cut down on the shelf-life in the long run. We did a bunch of "meat fabrication" in culinary school (read: butchering) and we were introduced to the entire stream of processing. We didn't personally slaughter any animals, but we witnessed it and had to learn all the critical control points in the slaughtering process so we'd know what good quality stuff goes through and what it results in. Given the size of the average white-tail, you want to get it chilled down post-dressing to as close to freezing as possible (sub 40*F internally at the thickest mass) in 24-30 hours. That sounds like a long time, but it's not. It takes compact muscle a good long while to both heat up and cool down properly. Packing it in ice will give you much better results regardless of how hot it is outside. The quicker you get it cold, the better. From a safety standpoint, it's whole-muscle meat, so it's a lot more tolerant than ground meats which introduce bacteria into the mix rather than just the surface.

As a chef, I can tell you that the "gaminess" people allude to with non-domesticated deer has a lot more to do with the method in which it is slaughtered than anything else. Clean kill, clean dressing, quick cool down = superior meat. In theory, the quicker the animal dies, the better too. Stress from being hit by an arrow or shot but not dropped quickly releases all kinds of hormones into the muscle tissue thanks to the fight-or-flight response. It can really wreck you meat both flavor and texture wise. That's why slaughtering smarter animals like pigs is trickier than dumb animals like cows. If a pig realizes what's happening, it'll flip out and the resultant meat is called PSE which stands for "pink, soft, and exudated." PSE pork is really pink, almost 1980's legwarmer pink, it has a watery sheen to it, and it's soft. Like memory-foam that doesn't spring back soft. That stuff is NAAAAAAASTY. I'm sure the same thing can happen with venison.

Sorry for the digression and novella-length response!

Great information. That was a really interesting read.

I usually get the deer gutted ASAP and pick up ice for the cavity on the way home. I've put smaller deer in big coolers on ice too.

 

[dapefley]

Been seeing tons of deer since I bought my house in December. Two weeks saw two 8-10 point bucks not 50 yards from my front door. Just put out some corn and a trail cam this morning, so we will see what happens in the next few days. I honestly think it's too damn hot, at least until next week..

 

[tallen702]

Great information. That was a really interesting read.

I usually get the deer gutted ASAP and pick up ice for the cavity on the way home. I've put smaller deer in big coolers on ice too.

That's the way to go. We use ice baths to cool things down rapidly in the kitchen (ice and water) but obviously you don't want that much water in contact with your meat (it'll eventually change the color and flavor) so packing the cavity with ice is great. If you wrap a space-blanket (the shiny mylar ones) around it as well after you've packed it for the transport trip to the processor or home, it'll help even more.

Being a chef has made the theory end of hunting a lot more interesting. Obviously as a hunter, you want a nice, big, trophy buck. But as a chef, you want something young and tender, but still male. Think of it like cattle, 6mo-3 years is usually what you look for in a good beef steer. Sure, you still get good beef from something older, but it's not quite as good. By that reasoning, a little spike buck should produce better meat, albeit less of it. I haven't had a chance to make the comparison yet, but hope to this year.

 

[ironpony]

I'm seeing larger tracks in Davidsonville this year, last year there were soy beans around my range and they would literally come out while I was shooting, this year its 9' corn and they are tearing it down quite a bit ... just don't see them.

 

[j_h_smith]

That's the way to go. We use ice baths to cool things down rapidly in the kitchen (ice and water) but obviously you don't want that much water in contact with your meat (it'll eventually change the color and flavor) so packing the cavity with ice is great. If you wrap a space-blanket (the shiny mylar ones) around it as well after you've packed it for the transport trip to the processor or home, it'll help even more.

Being a chef has made the theory end of hunting a lot more interesting. Obviously as a hunter, you want a nice, big, trophy buck. But as a chef, you want something young and tender, but still male. Think of it like cattle, 6mo-3 years is usually what you look for in a good beef steer. Sure, you still get good beef from something older, but it's not quite as good. By that reasoning, a little spike buck should produce better meat, albeit less of it. I haven't had a chance to make the comparison yet, but hope to this year.

Best deer meat we ever had was from an 72 lb doe I shot. An amazing flavor. I've always heard the younger ones are more tasty but until then, I never realized just how much.

My mouth is watering now, just thinking about a deer steak smothered in onions and mushrooms. Yummm...

 

[Rhino]

Best deer meat we ever had was from an 72 lb doe I shot. An amazing flavor. I've always heard the younger ones are more tasty but until then, I never realized just how much.

My mouth is watering now, just thinking about a deer steak smothered in onions and mushrooms. Yummm...

Love me some venison veal. I just need to be careful my daughters doesn't see any little ones. We have an 80lb yellow lab and they get upset seeing a deer the same size or smaller.

 

[DrunkUncles]

Opening day... Got a nice little 8ptr last night.

 

[Sticky]

Very nice! Way to jump right in and score!

Too hot for me, I'm waiting til Monday... lol

 

[j_h_smith]

Opening day... Got a nice little 8ptr last night.

How long of a hunt did you have before you shot it?

Congrats!

 

[tallen702]

Opening day... Got a nice little 8ptr last night.

Nice!

 

[chesapeakeIRON]

good luck to her, that is a monster!

She got him

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