SPA Modeler

Been a hot minute since I've checked in around here...finally got un-busy!

My main focus, for the last two seasons was to get my good friend, Carol, her first deer.
(Carol is a disabled USAF Vet...used to do avionics on F-15s)
Last season, we only had my property to hunt...and we only saw 4 deer the whole season...and it was a pair of young ones that we saw twice. BOOO
This past season started the same...just my property. Things changed about 1/2 way through bow season, just after I got one, out on my own...



Side note...I had just finished processing the deer pictured above, and grilled up a t-bone for me, and a few little scraps of deer for the dog...

Check the background, by the bird feeders!


Anyway...back on track. The new property we got to hunt is owned by an old couple who are both clients of my wife. She was talking with them, and mentioned me hunting, etc. They offered up their property to Carol and me, 17 acres...plus their neighbors 17 acres. Turns out, that this property is right next door to the property that I shot my 1st deer on 24 years ago, which was (still is) owned by a former co-worker. We went over to say hi...he offered up his 30 acres too! When it rains, it pours!!!
I found a decent tree in a decent location to set up our stand (much more ideal for firearm, rather than bow/crossbow...but that's the way the whole property is. We saw or at least heard deer, every time out, but nothing close enough. I chose another spot to set up a ground blind, for gun season.
Our 1st afternoon out, Carol got her #1...

85 yard shot...


Timing was bad, as was the weather(extremely windy), so we didn't go out for another week. Got there, and got to where the pop-up blind WAS(got blown away). I looked around..."Hey, there's a deer"!

Another 85 yard shot...standing...free-hand. Dropped on the spot!


At this point, I was content with having 3 deer...then the boss from the airport called...said "we've got some deer here, that need to be taken out". Efforts are made to herd them out of one of the gates. Some are extremely stubborn and want to stay inside the fence and pose a major threat to aircraft and their occupants. It's not pretty when they meet!

Our 1st trip out was unsuccessful, as was our second...but we did get one on the way home (guy driving ahead of me hit it, lightly...cop had to finish it).
Our 3rd outing...Carol got her #3-4-5 (leaving 2 for later)





We went out again, just after x-mas, and I took out the last 2...at 130 and 135 yards.


I was SO done with deer and all the work that goes into getting them into the freezer...then, my next door neighbor hit one the other day, just down the road, and again, had to be finished off by a cop. Ironically, the deer was on the cop shops property...and my neighbor still had to wait over 20 minutes for one of them to show up

So, we've been eating a LOT of venison!!!

Wow! That is quite rhe harvest! No limits up there!

Holy cow......I mean deer

I think the red meat portion of your grocery needs is pretty much filled for the next year. That’s quite a haul there You’ve got the hunter portion of hunter/gatherer covered

Good show Jeremy! Good on ya mate.

Nice haul. My bro-in- law hunts on a family friend of ours land - all 167 acres of woodland. (He wont hunt on state land anymore. Too many trigger happy hunters out there) Dropped about 8 or 9 bucks this year. He won't share venison with me even when I asked nicely. Not even venison jerky Greedy SOB.

Wow! Way to go for you and Carol! Nice shooting! Hey, if you don't have space for any more, feel free to freeze a few and send them my way. Can't get that out here!

Seriously though, I'm thrilled to see everything working out so well. Glad to see your mug too!

LyleW wrote:Wow! That is quite rhe harvest! No limits up there!

Definitely more than I wanted. Each one takes a good 4-5 hours to process (not including time for making sausage and jerky).
With all the extras from the airport and what I could salvage out of the car gotten deer...I did a lot of sharing with friends family and neighbors.

I believe (for my area) I could get up to 12 deer tags...that is too much! Most I've ever taken in a season was 5. I did take 9 one year, but that was spread out from April-Dec (5 were taken out at the airport).

Stikpusher wrote:I think the red meat portion of your grocery needs is pretty much filled for the next year. That’s quite a haul there You’ve got the hunter portion of hunter/gatherer covered

It's like Arby's over here...We have the meat!
We also have a hunter/gatherer "team". My old boss has a produce farm and does a lot of canning. I provide meat, he provides the sides!
Carol has a good size garden and also cans. She comes over about 2x a week for dinner and hanging out...again, I provide the meat, she brings the sides!

BlackSheep214 wrote:Nice haul. My bro-in- law hunts on a family friend of ours land - all 167 acres of woodland. (He wont hunt on state land anymore. Too many trigger happy hunters out there) Dropped about 8 or 9 bucks this year. He won't share venison with me even when I asked nicely. Not even venison jerky Greedy SOB.

Sharing is caring! I get not wanting to share...when you consider the time/effort/expense involved to get the deer in the first place. Then there the expense of having someone else process it, or time/effort doing it yourself. When the cup runneth over, though...I have no problem sharing.


For the rest of ya...good to "see" y'all again!

Spent a couple hours, last night, making sausages...they'll be going on the smoker later this a.m. and I'll be making another batch of jerky next week.

On a sad note...the last deer (that my neighbor hit) had a bun in the oven.



It just so happens, that we're headed to Fla next weekend. We were already planning a stop at Manny's, along the way. His g/f is a Bio teacher, so that little guy will go to her, to be used in the classroom.

Talk about a haul, cleaning all that had to be a nightmare.

Once the deer is down, you have to gut him immediately or else the meat will spoil from the gas. Hard work and bloody, yes. You leave the innards to the predators. That's my understanding hearing from a few deer hunters and my bro-in-law.