Hunting Season

[KeptByTheWord]

I have never hunted before, never shot a "living" thing, only shot at targets in the gun range, and on our property. My husband and son have always done the favor for us. However, this year, my daughter and I are going to give it a "shot" lol....

So this year our entire family of four are going to go hunting together, and I am going to try to get my first deer/elk. With the cost of meat skyrocketing, as well as the hormones and GMO in all our meat, we hope this year to fill our freezer with as much wild game as possible.

Anyone else making a serious effort this year to stock up their freezers with venison? If so, jump in and share your thoughts... and any pointers for me as a first timer out there trying to get a deer/elk.

[ILG]

We have a freezer well stocked with venison. We are trying to eat down the store bought things right now in an effort to get more space for what likely will be more this fall. Then, I will rotate and put the older venison on top.

I have never hunted in my life! I was raised on venison, squirrel, snapping turtle and fish though. I loved hunting season. My mom and I would bake for the holidays! LOL!

I married a man who really enjoys hunting. Many women will not eat venison, but I think it is MUCH better than beef!

We butcher our own venison every year. It is a job and usually takes 2-3 days over all. First, after the deer hangs and ages a bit (and I will go out, put my hands on it and thank it for it's life, seriously!) my husband will skin and quarter it. Then, I de-bone the quarters and cut and package it (usually my kids help). This is getting harder and harder on me though, because I have raynauds phenomenon. Any suggestions on that would be appreciated!!

Then, the scraps are put in a couple huge bins and the next day we grind with an electric grinder (we used to use a hand grinder! Ugh!) We mix hamburger 1/3 to 2/3 venison to give it some fat content, otherwise it is too dry for frying. We now use 80/20 hamburger for this. 73% is still too fatty even with a venison mix! I don't know how people eat that stuff.

Then, we package all that up and enjoy for a long, long time.

I have decided that if I need venison and I don't have a hunter around, in mid-winter, when it is very cold, if someone hits a deer with a vehicle and leaves it behind, I will throw the thing in the back of the truck. I don't think I would enjoy hunting at all. I would do it before I would starve. Raynauds makes being in the cold very difficult. I don't like to sit still and I would cry if I shot a beautiful animal. But I am glad my husband does.

[KeptByTheWord]

The only hunting I have done is with a car!

I was driving home late, alone, from the airport last year, and as I came over a hill, a cow elk was standing in the middle of the road. I quickly braked, and had almost come to a stop, going around her, when she turned at the last minute, and hit the side of my van. It broke her two legs. There was very little damage to my car (although the insurance totaled the van! My husband was able to fix the damage for 100 dollars, and we got a check for 2700!)

Anyway, the elk was lying in the middle of the road, just crying and bawling, and it was awful! I called the sheriff's dept, because I had no way to put her out of her misery. 15 minutes later the officer showed up. Her two front legs were broken, and he put her out of her misery. Then, he came back to my window, and asked if we wanted the meat, as here in this state, if the officer approves that the animal is safe to eat (without a lot of glass or damage to meat), then you can take the animal home to eat as road kill. So, of course, I did want the meat. Then the fire truck then showed up, and a bunch of guys were standing around looking at the elk, and two of them specifically came to me, and asked me if I really wanted the elk, because if not, they would take it ... lol. I said no, my husband was coming.

So, that road kill elk provided us with the most amazing, tender meat all winter. We ate a lot of steaks, roasts, backstrap, and ground meat. The ground elk could be fried, and did not stick to the pan! We were all amazed at how much better elk meat tastes than deer, in fact, anyone who tried it, liked it better than beef, it was that tender!

So, this year, we have our own property that has an elk herd that crosses it! We are quite excited, and hope at least one of us can get an elk, and of course deer. We also have wild turkey on the property as well...

It is definitely a family workout to process the meat! But oh so worth it all through the winter when your freezer is full of meat!

Raynaud's syndrome is definitely a tough one. I think my daughter has it. Her hands and feet turn blue if she gets cold at all. There is really not much you can do for this, except try to keep them from getting cold, which is impossible when you are processing meat!

I will keep you posted on how the hunting goes... hunting season started yesterday here for spikes... and we may try to go out this weekend... Lord help me! I don't know about shooting a living animal as I've never done it, although I am trying to look at it from the perspective that the meat will not go to waste. I like your idea of thanking the animal for its life. That helps keep the right perspective when you are in the midst of doing all the processing!

[ILG]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

The only hunting I have done is with a car!

I was driving home late, alone, from the airport last year, and as I came over a hill, a cow elk was standing in the middle of the road. I quickly braked, and had almost come to a stop, going around her, when she turned at the last minute, and hit the side of my van. It broke her two legs. There was very little damage to my car (although the insurance totaled the van! My husband was able to fix the damage for 100 dollars, and we got a check for 2700!)

Anyway, the elk was lying in the middle of the road, just crying and bawling, and it was awful! I called the sheriff's dept, because I had no way to put her out of her misery. 15 minutes later the officer showed up. Her two front legs were broken, and he put her out of her misery. Then, he came back to my window, and asked if we wanted the meat, as here in this state, if the officer approves that the animal is safe to eat (without a lot of glass or damage to meat), then you can take the animal home to eat as road kill. So, of course, I did want the meat. Then the fire truck then showed up, and a bunch of guys were standing around looking at the elk, and two of them specifically came to me, and asked me if I really wanted the elk, because if not, they would take it ... lol. I said no, my husband was coming.

So, that road kill elk provided us with the most amazing, tender meat all winter. We ate a lot of steaks, roasts, backstrap, and ground meat. The ground elk could be fried, and did not stick to the pan! We were all amazed at how much better elk meat tastes than deer, in fact, anyone who tried it, liked it better than beef, it was that tender!

So, this year, we have our own property that has an elk herd that crosses it! We are quite excited, and hope at least one of us can get an elk, and of course deer. We also have wild turkey on the property as well...

It is definitely a family workout to process the meat! But oh so worth it all through the winter when your freezer is full of meat!

Raynaud's syndrome is definitely a tough one. I think my daughter has it. Her hands and feet turn blue if she gets cold at all. There is really not much you can do for this, except try to keep them from getting cold, which is impossible when you are processing meat!

I will keep you posted on how the hunting goes... hunting season started yesterday here for spikes... and we may try to go out this weekend... Lord help me! I don't know about shooting a living animal as I've never done it, although I am trying to look at it from the perspective that the meat will not go to waste. I like your idea of thanking the animal for its life. That helps keep the right perspective when you are in the midst of doing all the processing!

It does sound like your daughter may have Raynauds.

Sounds like hitting that elk was a great blessing! That would have been hard to listen to the poor thing bawl. I think in America, we get so removed from our food sources that we forget that meat comes from living beings. I think it is more healthy emotionally to remember that. I think it makes you more thankful for your food. I even thank the Maple trees for their sap. It is a ritual that makes me feel more at peace as a taker of life from other living things.

Yes, keep us posted!

[KeptByTheWord]

I took my daughter to the doctor, and they weren't sure, as she is just a teenager, but her symptoms are pretty strongly suggestive of Raynaud's, and it is a miserable problem! Especially if you happen to live in the cold country as we do.

Hitting the elk was a huge blessing for us! In fact, the police officer that came to my window asked me if I played the lottery. I looked at him puzzled, as to why he would ask me that. He said he had never in all his years of being a police officer ever seen someone hit an animal as big as that elk with the minimal damage to my vehicle. He said it was my "lucky day" and that I really should go play the lottery... I told him I didn't need to play the lottery, that the Lord's provision is far greater than any lottery win! And all the fire truck guys came over and were just shaking their heads when they saw my car, that I was able to drive it home, and that I was unhurt, after hitting such a big animal.

I gave the Lord all the praise and glory all winter long too, while eating the meat!

[KeptByTheWord]

A picture of my husband and the police officer lifting the elk into the pickup. Don't know how much she weighed, but it was quite a job for them to get her into the truck.

[KeptByTheWord]

A picture of the damage to my vehicle:

[ILG]

No pics.

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by ILG

No pics.

Really? They are showing up when I refresh the page ???

[ILG]

I'm not seeing any. I wonder if anyone else is??