Whaleshares Logo

Hunting Season Success: Mr Golden D Brings Home The Venison (Images May NOT Be Suitable For All)

goldendawnePosted for Everyone to comment on, 5 years ago4 min read

skull-and-crossbones-2077852_1280.jpg

Image Source- Pixabay

For the last five or six years, Mr Golden D has not been too successful during the two month long deer hunting season here in our state. Either he's not been able to see a deer from his blind or hasn't had the time (due to work load at his job) to get out and actually hunt. BUT this year all that changed!

border.png

Last Saturday, after a half day of work, he headed out with a few buddies from work to a new hunting spot about thirty minutes from our homestead. I was hopeful... as we have been relying on one of his cousins who always gets two or three deer every season, to gift us venison. Which of course is a wonderful gesture and we are happy to receive the venison without all the muss and fuss of sitting in a deer blind for days on end, or the frigid temperatures and then coming home empty-handed.

Nothing!

So after that debacle of freezing his tush off in the cold and wind, he stopped at a roadside stand and bought six bags each of carrots and sugar beets. He was going back to the hunting grounds and laying out some bait. To say my husband is determined is an understatement.

Well he was going to go out again on Thanksgiving afternoon but the temperature barely reached 20-degrees all day long. So he nixed the idea. But yesterday, he was able to get off work a little early and decided to try one more time before rifle season ends on November 30.

HE GOT LUCKY!

border.png

He settled into his blind about 3:30 in the afternoon and not even 45 minutes later this little gal strolled within 60-yards of him. He waited... and waited. He was thinking she was a tad bit small and was hoping for a larger deer to come along; but time and nightfall was not his friend. He knew he only had about another hour before dusk set in; making hunting near impossible, as well as illegal.

So he took the shot.

Straight through the shoulder and passed along and out the other shoulder area.

She dropped after about ten feet from where she had been hit. Not quite an immediate kill shot, but in that short of an amount of time I am assuming she didn't suffer too badly. If she did, I would feel awful.

So today after he gets off work we are heading to a local smokehouse with the deer to have it processed (this is a skill neither of us have attempted yet). One day I hope to learn how to preserve the venison myself; but until then we'll rely on the this smokehouse and their skilled butchers.

If anyone knows of a good place online or a book, video tutorials or whatever that can assist me learning how to process and preserve venison myself, I'd greatly appreciate the guidance and resources.

We were able to field dress the deer at our home (first time for me) and it's been over a decade since Mr Golden D has done one, and oh how we were worried we'd mess it up. I decided not to take any pictures of this process as it was quite awkward for me and I was more intrigued with helping than snapping images.

So now our freezer will be completely stocked for the winter. Adding this venison to our food supply is quite a relief for me. With the quarter cow we had processed two months ago and now this successful hunt, we shouldn't need any other meat or protein purchased until spring time; which will actually save us quite a bit of money.

To process this deer at the smokehouse we are using is a straight-up $99 which includes freezer/vacuum seal wrap, burger being ground and all the removal of the hide. Any extras (such as having some of the venison made into jerky, sausage, snack sticks) is an additional charge per pound. I'm sure Mr Golden D will want some snack sticks and sausage, but I am the master in the house for making jerky. Time to get my handy-dandy meat slicer down from storage and revved up!

If any of this post or the images accompanying the post has offended anyone, I do apologize. I am sharing how life here on this homestead, and its survival some years is dependent upon hunting.

signature.gif

Sign Up to join this conversation, or to start a topic of your own.
Your opinion is celebrated and welcomed, not banned or censored!