Deer harvest. what will you make.

[doc henderson]

well, I do not have much time, but my buddy Dallas took me to one of his spots and I used a cross bow and got a nice 8 point with a fair amount of meat and fat on him.  I took him to Phils meats and will have summer sausage and deer sticks with most containing jalapeno and cheddar, and a few with ghost peppers.  I did get samples, and if the ghost stuff is not too hot to be enjoyable, may make it half and half.  

[SawyerTed]

Very nice deer!  Looks like there will be plenty of venison to go around!  

Here processing has gotten expensive.  Close to $125 for an average deer.  And that's if we take the meat de-boned.  Used to be $35, the $80 now $100 plus.  

With that said, CWD in our area has caused a big shift in processing.   I think our area USDA inspected processor just wants out of the venison processing side.   With one exception, most others are just backyard operations (aka sketchy if you ask me).  

So I've resorted to processing at home.  We cut roasts, steaks, loin medallions and grind a lot of burger.  I usually make jerky a couple times a season.  My family doesn't much care for venison sausage so I rarely make country sausage or stuffed sausages.  

My plan is to cure a venison ham this year.  I've done it a few times.   It turns out pretty good.  

[thecfarm]

Good for you!!!

[Peter Drouin]

Nice one Doc

[Old Greenhorn]

That's a fine looking buck Doc! I don't know how you found the time.

[Jeff]

Were you able to gut it normally or did yoi feel the need to try and revive it first? 

[jb616]

Nice buck @Doc . I catched one last week and canned part of it, packaged the chops, steaks, and burger. I always take at least 10lbs of burger, add 2lbs of ground bacon and a handful of ground jalapenos for grill burgers. I have a Salami recipe that i can thaw burger out and make at a later time. 

[ron barnes]

Nice buck.  I shot a small 6 pointer last week.  Will pick up the meat from the processor this week.  Processing is high here in SC but I don't want to do it.

[Old Greenhorn]

Were you able to gut it normally or did yoi feel the need to try and revive it first? 

Good one Jeff!

[doc henderson]

well, it was down in about 60 yards.  did not move but still had some pulsatile blood coming from the exit wound.  those bolts take them down in a humane way.  very fast.  I felt cpr was not going to help me get my summer sausage and snack sticks.

[doc henderson]

I took it to the processor last night.  Vary professional but also a mom and pop and son operation in Amish country.  It was impressive how he had it skinned and handed me the head for a European mount in about 10 minutes.  He had two overhead cranes.

[Resonator]

Nice deer Doc!  
Did you place the shot to make a perfect dime size incision cleanly through the left ventricle?

[doc henderson]

I think it was aorta.  

[Jeff]

I've passed some gimme shots on the same two does with fawns a couple times. I can shoot a doe in archery for the first time in years, but struggle to get myself to do it, as I am trying to raise a herd here. I can tell you one thing if hairy cameltoe wins today, a doe will die, because we will undoubtedly need the meat this winter

[doc henderson]

was sighted behind the right shoulder, but he turned toward me from broadside, and I took the shot.  made a diagonal wound, but no gut.  

[doc henderson]

My sons first hunt, a small doe came out from behind us with a fawn.  it looked right at William, and he stared back without moving.  the mamma walked on past us and started eating alfalfa with her fawn.  She was standing broadside eating without a care in the world 25 feet in front of us.  William was looking through the scope and said "I can't". he did a great job of being still and calm.  there was a house in the far-off general direction, and I was watching carefully.  he made the call, and it was right.  a good first hunt with no deer.  Over 10 years ago and I am still bragging on him.

[Jeff]

I'm not the same hunter I was 20 years ago. I had the largest doe less than 20 yards from me, quartered away, no idea I was looking at her through the crosshaired scope, but her fawn was so small... I couldn't do it either.

[doc henderson]

i got about 8 hours total in the hunt, meat delivery for processing, and boiling and bleaching the skull for a European mount.  I do not have time for a leisurely time spent, like I did last year. 







I have a way to go to catch up with Dallas.  he also has sheds in his man cave that are in the hundreds, maybe thousands.  He made a hanging clump 8 feet tall and a stack on the wall 5 feet wide by 5 feet tall.  

[WV Sawmiller]

Doc,

  Congrats on the deer kill. I hope you guys enjoy him.

  I shot a small spike a month ago and processed him myself.  I corned the backstrap, brisket and tenderloins and made burger out of the rest (ground it with a big Boston pork butt). After corning I canned that meat in half pint jars for me and my wife to use.

  I usually make cube steaks out of the hams and grind or can the shoulders and trimmings. I deboned the neck on my last one but never again. I'll just save it as a bone in roast and pick the meat off after it has been cooked tender in the oven or slow cooker.

    I've been making deer sausage, some cased/links then smoked and some bulk and mix about 4:1 deer to pork but I see pork on sale for pork roasts or loin at good prices and from now on I may just grind my own pork sausage.

    I shot my last one with a crossbow too and he never knew he was shot. Jumped and ran 20-30 yards and stopped and looked around then got woozy and fell over dead.

[doc henderson]

here is a Kansas buck.  the guy hunted this one for years, the found it dead.  Nice rack, as they say.  This a friend of Dallas's and he would not tell the exact location as to not have people competing for lease ground.

[Ron Scott]

Wow!