smoke pipe while deer hunting..never a problem with deer scenting me because i usually get deer...a few years ago my buddy laughed at me when he said i smell like bacon..( I made bacon for breakfast) and that I will scare all the deer away..he was wearing scent blocker clothes..had deer scent sticks burning..deer lure ..all kinds of stuff..well 15 min after sunup a nine point walks 35 yards in front of me and thet was my first buck in 33 years!
I can never figure why some people call it hunting. They sit in a tree and just wait for a deer to stumble across their path. Growing up we quietly walked the woods looking for the deer.
I love to hunt, I hunt Deer, Turkey, Squirrel, Rabbit, Coyote, Raccoon and many other animals, some to eat and others to control population. Also love fishing, Pond, Lake and out on the open sea...lol
Would love to be able to still hunt or spot and stalk. Due to the size and the addition of other hunters on the land that I have access to I usually stick to a well placed stand after watching form movement over the whole year. I feel if you get to know nature, your pray and the markings the prey leaves behind you go from dumb luck to highly increased odds of ambushing your prey. If I was to stalk or still hunt I increase my chances of other hunters taking a shot at me with out realizing what they are doing.
I like to bow hunt, haven't hunted with a rifle in a few yrs. There is just something abouut hunting with a bow that gets my adrenaline pumping. Can't wait till sept.
@PappyJoe I don't hunt from a stand, I feel the same way you do. While I can see why people do, it's just for me. Plus, I do more upland bird than anything else.
Last time I went hunting,I woke up in the treestand around 10am with squirlles running circles around the tree and my chest.Decided I could sleep at home.I had always smoked in the trees.if fact I bagged a 90 pound doe with a cigarette lit.Had a 50 pound yearling step out ten feet behind me after lighting a bowl of Borkum Riff Bourbon.When I did hunt it was for dinner not trophies.Now my "hunting" is trapping.this year I've trapped two opossums,three cats,and four squirles so far.The tree rats are eating the bird food and pissing momma off.
The lesson I learned from my father while growing up was, "If you don't eat it, don't kill it." He was born and raised on the bayous across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge. No one in his family ever caught or shot anything that they couldn't cook and eat.
@pappyjoe I learned that lesson at too well growing up. Only exception to it, was with snakes. And even then I've got some rattlesnake in the freezer right now, from the snake that killed my dog a few months back.
@darmon - killing snakes is self defense and not considered hunting in my book. We had one neighbor who always says he had never met a snake which didn't deserve killing.
If it's a viper it dies,if I can identify it as a bull snake or rat snake I'll relocate it.On the road,I've skidded across many that I didn't have time for.I always taught my boys,don't shoot anything you're not willing to eat,and yes I've called the sheriff and warned the that they have 30 seconds and the BBQ starts.Amazing how fast they can drive.
@lostmason - this is the wrong season for eating squirrel and no one should ever eat a squirrel that resides in a residential area. Squirrels may primarily be vegetarian but they will also eat small birds and carrion, so if they can get into a trash can they will eat what they find in there.
Tree squirrels living in the wild on the other hand mainly survive eating nuts and berries and some plants. Those hunted during the fall and winter months are good eating when cooked properly. Growing up, we would eat squirrel stew or gumbo most often. The meat needs long slow cooking to get tender.
@PappyJoe,I live in the sticks.The squirrels around here are all wild,those close by are getting fat on bird food.I had deer ten feet off my back window last month,a hawk who is hunting just beyond that,and a screech owl who perches on on of the feeders hunting mice. I don't have to go hunting to get back to nature,I just walk outside.I only had Squirrel for dinner once,was not impressed,no flavor.Did not taste like chicken,more like paper.
@lostmason - Ok. I can understand that. I have had it at times where it was almost tasteless. Fortunately my dad was a good game cook.
I live in a suburb now but have a backyard that is sometimes infested with tree rats. Too many neighbors to start shooting them (the squirrels not the neighbors).
About the only wild game I've eaten and didn't like was raccoon. That really is a challenging meat to prepare well.
Lol,,@PappyJoe,I smoked a cook for almost three days,ebded up tossing it out.The dog I had at the time,a german shepard mix,cowered in the corner of the yard untill I went out and buried it.I'm not fond of rabbit either,nor of fowl (there's a reason God called the FOUL),so when I did go hunting it was for deer.I've had a scrumptous Rattle snake chili.and sausage made from alligator that was really good.But given my druthers,I would stick with venison.
@lostmason - Man! You're picky! The last time I had coon, they had marinaded it in milk for 3 days before putting it in a smoker for a week. It still tasted bad to me, but some of the other people ate it. You would probably run in fright from nutria. LOL. But then again a lot of people do. It is actually good but bland meat that takes on the flavor of whatever you're cooking it in. Nutria are vegetarian and only eat live plants which is why the do so much damage to coastal areas. I also like frog legs and crawfish. Duck and sausage gumbo is good and I also like duck breast that is wrapped in bacon and charcoal broiled. But, all ducks and waterfowl are not created equal. Teal, Mallard and Wood ducks are better eating to me than say Canvasback, Scaup or Merganser. I don't like goose at all for some reason.
Alligator is good eating also. The local fairs and festivals usually has someone selling grilled alligator on a stick and it's always popular.
@Lost Mason you're experiences with rabbit and fowl must have been horrible then. You are the first man I've ever met who doesn't like rabbit. As far as the fowl is concerned, it must not have been prepared well. Either all that, or you just don't know what good is... j/k on that last part
I prefer Deer meat but Squirrel can be good and Rabbit is good, just depends on what they eat and where they drink along with time of year, there is a reason for some hunting seasons. LOL To go along with this Hunting post I have started a firearms post, please stop by and comment.
Pre-fost squirrels are fine to eat. I was raised being told not to eat squirrels before the first frost, because they could have some nameless disease. The real root of that conventional wisdom is bot flies . Squirrels can carry the horrible creatures' larvae in their skin. These are often called "warbles" or "wolves" in the folk lingo. While they are disgusting, they are harmless. They usually come off with the skin, but may leave lesions in the muscle under the skin.
Several states' fish and game websites have pages sharing information about squirrel hunting and practically beg people to kill them and eat them whenever they are in season (they are highly aggressive and invasive). Where I come from, the saying is, "Kill a grey to save a red."
@pappyjoe I totally agree about not killing anything you aren't ready to eat. In fact, in some states (like Arkansas), it is illegal to kill an animal and not use as much of it as possible. I also agree about slow cooking squirrel. I always thaw my squirrels by soaking them overnight in brine, but some people soak them in milk to remove gamey taste. Slow cooking in the oven and oven-frying is the way to go. Delicious and tender every time.
@tomatobodhi - Milk is the great equalizer for wild game. And fish. I have found the best way to eliminate the fishy oiliness of some saltwater fish is to marinade it overnight in milk. I was taught that trick by an old friend who passed away a couple of years ago who was a chef. He would also use italian dressing as a marinade for fish he was going to cook over charcoal.
Maybe I should start a discussion about fishing...the kind where you go out catch fish and release in the grease as we call it.
I can't bring myself to waste good milk that way.With venison I've found a good citrus beer works well to remove over gameness.But I'm not big on fowl simply due to (a)not having tried much of the wild species,and (b) having an overload of chicken and turkey in my first marriage.Now,I've been married for 25 years to a wonderful woman with some fantastic cooking skills,the main thing we disagree on is smoked oysters.She loves them,I think it's burnt rubber.One of the main tricks I learned was when you bring down a buck,you immediately remove all four musk glands.I've had several butchered deer given to me because they left the musk glands in when they let the carcass hang to bleed out.On those the citrus beer, something like Zima if you can find it, works very well at not only removing the game flavor.But also on tenderizing older meat.
@thewanderingdude - Most people say the buttermilk or milk basically draws out the blood from the meat. I think what it does is just breaks down the enzymes that give it the gamey taste. Either way it has always worked for me so I don't really care. I have a relatives in east Texas who don't use milk. They usually just make a salt water solution with water and table salt and soak the meat overnight and that works too. Soaking the meat is also supposed to tenderize it.
If it's a oily saltwater fish, I like to soak in milk also because the milk will remove some of the fish oil. It also helps to remove the bloodline from the fillets before cooking. Depending on how I'm going to cook the fish determines if I'm going to marinade overnight or not. If its getting fried or in a stew or gumbo, I don't. If it's baked or grilled I do. It also depends on how fresh the fish is. I tend to marinade it if its been frozen for awhile.
I like redfish or drum (red or black drum) prepared as we call it "On the half shell". We catch them, fillet them but leave the skin and scales on the fillets. You put it scale side down over charcoal with some wood chips, salt, pepper and maybe a little garlic with a sprig or two of thyme on top and close the lid. Let it set for 15 or 20 minutes before checking. If it flakes easily with a fork, it's done and you just squeeze a little lemon juice on it and serve.
Comments
Also love fishing, Pond, Lake and out on the open sea...lol
tree and my chest.Decided I could sleep at home.I had always smoked in the trees.if fact I bagged a 90
pound doe with a cigarette lit.Had a 50 pound yearling step out ten feet behind me after lighting a bowl of
Borkum Riff Bourbon.When I did hunt it was for dinner not trophies.Now my "hunting" is trapping.this
year I've trapped two opossums,three cats,and four squirles so far.The tree rats are eating the bird food
and pissing momma off.
I'll relocate it.On the road,I've skidded across many that I didn't
have time for.I always taught my boys,don't shoot anything
you're not willing to eat,and yes I've called the sheriff and warned
the that they have 30 seconds and the BBQ starts.Amazing how
fast they can drive.
I relocate them about 10 miles,tree rat tastes bad.
are getting fat on bird food.I had deer ten feet off my back window last month,a hawk who
is hunting just beyond that,and a screech owl who perches on on of the feeders hunting mice.
I don't have to go hunting to get back to nature,I just walk outside.I only had Squirrel for
dinner once,was not impressed,no flavor.Did not taste like chicken,more like paper.
I had at the time,a german shepard mix,cowered in the corner of the yard untill I went out and
buried it.I'm not fond of rabbit either,nor of fowl (there's a reason God called the FOUL),so
when I did go hunting it was for deer.I've had a scrumptous Rattle snake chili.and sausage
made from alligator that was really good.But given my druthers,I would stick with venison.
To go along with this Hunting post I have started a firearms post, please stop by and comment.
Several states' fish and game websites have pages sharing information about squirrel hunting and practically beg people to kill them and eat them whenever they are in season (they are highly aggressive and invasive). Where I come from, the saying is, "Kill a grey to save a red."
@pappyjoe I totally agree about not killing anything you aren't ready to eat. In fact, in some states (like Arkansas), it is illegal to kill an animal and not use as much of it as possible. I also agree about slow cooking squirrel. I always thaw my squirrels by soaking them overnight in brine, but some people soak them in milk to remove gamey taste. Slow cooking in the oven and oven-frying is the way to go. Delicious and tender every time.
a good citrus beer works well to remove over gameness.But I'm not big
on fowl simply due to (a)not having tried much of the wild species,and (b)
having an overload of chicken and turkey in my first marriage.Now,I've
been married for 25 years to a wonderful woman with some fantastic
cooking skills,the main thing we disagree on is smoked oysters.She loves
them,I think it's burnt rubber.One of the main tricks I learned was when you
bring down a buck,you immediately remove all four musk glands.I've had
several butchered deer given to me because they left the musk glands in
when they let the carcass hang to bleed out.On those the citrus beer,
something like Zima if you can find it, works very well at not only removing
the game flavor.But also on tenderizing older meat.