TonyD
One Shot One Maggie's Drawers
As some may know, I've been out of state on a deer hunting trip. A buddy of mine from Sarasota came up a week ago Sat. on the 26th and we left for a remote part of Tennesse that evening. We stopped about a hour north of Atlanta at my old SSGT's place for a couple hours sleep. We left the next morning at arrived at our destinantion, just south of Ft. Cambell, about 1400 local on Sunday.
The place we were staying is owned by my buddy's friend whom he was introduced to by another friend. These folks are some of the greatest people you would ever hope to meet. Well into his 70's, he purchased the 44 acres back in '87. In a valley between two rolling hills sits a cabin built in the early 1800's and added a mirror image of the cabin around 1870, (The dates were determined by the joint cuts used during the construction). Between the two cabins is breeze-way.
The acrage is bordered by public land to the north, 1,000 acres of private land to the south, a river to the east and a country road to the west. Eight permanent tree stands are strategically located throughout the property. Several out-buildings are located around the cabin also, including a large barn / work shop with a home-built walk-in cooler. This little piece of Heaven is as picturesque as any Norman Rockwell painting. By the way, in case you were wondering, he does not rent the cabin. It is used for only one purpose - to invite and entertain friends and family for hunting and holiday get-togethers.
My buddy Mike and I had the place to ourselves for the week with Mr. and Mrs. C. dropping by occassionally as well as a few other friends of the family. Mike and I hit the stands a few hours before dark on Sunday with no luck. The weather forecast indicated a front coming through - the same front that wreaked havoc in Kansas a day before. We did not hunt in the morning due to about 25 + mph winds. The front hit about 1100 and was passed around 1300. We hunted that evening and again Tuesday morning, in the stands before sun-up, with no luck either time.
In fact, it wasn't until Wed. evening that we saw anything. Mike spooked a deer after coming out of stand just at dark that was bedding by one of the food plots. He decided to return to that stand the next morning.
It was about an hour after sun-up that a herd of about 12 - 15 doe came into the clearing about 60 yards away. Mike carefully picked out the biggest and fired. As the herd scattered, another doe froze in its tracks and gave mike another shot. Both went about 25 yards and dropped. He called me on our radios to tell me of the event. We went to the cabin and jumped on a 4 - wheeler to retieve the bounty.
After getting the two girls back to the cabin, we field dressed them, took them to the check-in station then hung them in the cooler. We had to make a run into town for supplies and returned with only about an hour of daylight left. I grabbed my gear and decided to hit a stand I felt would be best in the evening that overlooked a plot on the edge of the wood line. I was not in the stand 10 minutes when I was rewarded with a nice size spike coming down the far hill heading towards the river. Careful aim and I had my catch. Again, a field-dressing, check in and hang in the cooler.
We were set to leave on Friday but had to change plans. We needed the deer to hang in the cooler for at least three days before we could finish dressing and processing the meat or we would have to go back up the following weekend.
Sunday morning came With Mr. C. and several other of friends showing up at the cabin around 0500. We all hunted with no luck then came back to a huge country breakfast before the work began (shooting deer is the easy part). However, these guys have processing down to an art and science. Mike and I hung our bounties one at a time from a hoist behind the cabin and skinned and quartered the carcasses including the tenderloins and back strap. Inside, Mr. C. and the others were processing meat, removing any remaining fat and silver skin, deboning the hind quartes from the pelvic girdle into roasts, cutting the excess into stew meat and weighing and rapping everything into freezer paper.
Our meat was then put into freezers to harden up before our trip home. We headed out, reluctantly, on Monday morning.
I learned a few things this past week. I learned the proper way to skin and that I have wasted a good bit of meat in the past not knowing how to get at the tenderloins and back strap properly. I learned that the fat and silver skin is what gives the meat a gamey taste and must be removed during the processing (that is an art). I learned what pieces to use for stew, burger and sausage and how to seperate and use the four roasts in each hind quarter. I also learned the importance of the deer hanging in a cooler to dry out and age.
Simply the best hunting I've ever done.
The place we were staying is owned by my buddy's friend whom he was introduced to by another friend. These folks are some of the greatest people you would ever hope to meet. Well into his 70's, he purchased the 44 acres back in '87. In a valley between two rolling hills sits a cabin built in the early 1800's and added a mirror image of the cabin around 1870, (The dates were determined by the joint cuts used during the construction). Between the two cabins is breeze-way.
The acrage is bordered by public land to the north, 1,000 acres of private land to the south, a river to the east and a country road to the west. Eight permanent tree stands are strategically located throughout the property. Several out-buildings are located around the cabin also, including a large barn / work shop with a home-built walk-in cooler. This little piece of Heaven is as picturesque as any Norman Rockwell painting. By the way, in case you were wondering, he does not rent the cabin. It is used for only one purpose - to invite and entertain friends and family for hunting and holiday get-togethers.
My buddy Mike and I had the place to ourselves for the week with Mr. and Mrs. C. dropping by occassionally as well as a few other friends of the family. Mike and I hit the stands a few hours before dark on Sunday with no luck. The weather forecast indicated a front coming through - the same front that wreaked havoc in Kansas a day before. We did not hunt in the morning due to about 25 + mph winds. The front hit about 1100 and was passed around 1300. We hunted that evening and again Tuesday morning, in the stands before sun-up, with no luck either time.
In fact, it wasn't until Wed. evening that we saw anything. Mike spooked a deer after coming out of stand just at dark that was bedding by one of the food plots. He decided to return to that stand the next morning.
It was about an hour after sun-up that a herd of about 12 - 15 doe came into the clearing about 60 yards away. Mike carefully picked out the biggest and fired. As the herd scattered, another doe froze in its tracks and gave mike another shot. Both went about 25 yards and dropped. He called me on our radios to tell me of the event. We went to the cabin and jumped on a 4 - wheeler to retieve the bounty.
After getting the two girls back to the cabin, we field dressed them, took them to the check-in station then hung them in the cooler. We had to make a run into town for supplies and returned with only about an hour of daylight left. I grabbed my gear and decided to hit a stand I felt would be best in the evening that overlooked a plot on the edge of the wood line. I was not in the stand 10 minutes when I was rewarded with a nice size spike coming down the far hill heading towards the river. Careful aim and I had my catch. Again, a field-dressing, check in and hang in the cooler.
We were set to leave on Friday but had to change plans. We needed the deer to hang in the cooler for at least three days before we could finish dressing and processing the meat or we would have to go back up the following weekend.
Sunday morning came With Mr. C. and several other of friends showing up at the cabin around 0500. We all hunted with no luck then came back to a huge country breakfast before the work began (shooting deer is the easy part). However, these guys have processing down to an art and science. Mike and I hung our bounties one at a time from a hoist behind the cabin and skinned and quartered the carcasses including the tenderloins and back strap. Inside, Mr. C. and the others were processing meat, removing any remaining fat and silver skin, deboning the hind quartes from the pelvic girdle into roasts, cutting the excess into stew meat and weighing and rapping everything into freezer paper.
Our meat was then put into freezers to harden up before our trip home. We headed out, reluctantly, on Monday morning.
I learned a few things this past week. I learned the proper way to skin and that I have wasted a good bit of meat in the past not knowing how to get at the tenderloins and back strap properly. I learned that the fat and silver skin is what gives the meat a gamey taste and must be removed during the processing (that is an art). I learned what pieces to use for stew, burger and sausage and how to seperate and use the four roasts in each hind quarter. I also learned the importance of the deer hanging in a cooler to dry out and age.
Simply the best hunting I've ever done.
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
