Are there fresh tracks or crap around, if the cows are visiting for water, a bull will be around if not already, may be worth an afternoon sit. A bull may not eat regularly during the rut, but, he still has to drink.
on that close of a shot, the downward angle may have been more than you accounted for. What you thought was a heart shot may have been 1" low or back point of impact and with the angle not necessarily a mortal wound. Especially if if hit a rib and glanced more sharply down. My wife's first chance at a buck came on her first ever sit. Nice basket 8 came in less than 15 yards, she tried to get too perfect and aim for the heart. I was a little above her in the same tree. At the shot, he mule kicked and there was a puff of hair. She about jumped out of the stand she was so excited but I knew it was a touch low for the range and once we got down I confirmed what I already suspected- it was a graze/glancing shot that never penetrated but did zip a line of fur off his ribs just under his heart.
Well crap, not whining yet, but may later. And a possible heads up to anyone that may use a processor that also does beef regularly. Two processors here have either canceled deer processing for the year or cut it way down. Both have so many orders due to the meat shortage scare that never happened they cannot take on anything more. One stated they are completely filled through August 2021 for new orders. Might miss a hunt or two if temps aren't right to let one sit. I'll deal with that when the time comes, but not sure I'm willing to have faith in a different processor that is likely going to take on a 30-40% or more intake in processing. Quality is likely to suffer I'm sure.
I up in the stand. Walked/ scouted 2 hours and found buck sign. About 300 yards across a field I watched 4 deer eating in the beans, one was a nice 6 pt. Found 2 sets of buck tracks and decided to set up were he crossed a marsh heading back from a field. Hopefully he's bedded up on the hill above me and makes his way back to same field this evening. Also a ton of doe tracks, so they are on the menu this evening also. Lots of fresh scrapes and rubs along the field edges, all made last night. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Just not knowing the property is the scary part. Have zero idea how they move, if I scared any deer while scouting. You can see the pressure on the deer, I never jumped a single deer while walking the edges. That means they are pushed back into the timber. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Perfect time to learn to butcher your own. It is not that hard, I have been doing it for years. However, it can be time consuming if you are going to make ground meat. Cleaning off all the thin fascia takes a long time.
I should have took a pic. This buck ripped every limb off one side of the tree. There was also a grape vine hanging down and it was all rubbed up, had shavings under it on the ground. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
My vote is do it yourself. Very rewarding and you know exactly what your getting. All you need to start is a knife, grinder and freezer paper. Can get started for less then $100. First deer will pay for it in butcher fees! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I butcher my own from time to time, have everything I need except for the time Bad part about taking vacation during the rut and 2 buck tags, want to hunt every day possible and the ones I don't is due to exhaustion usually. If temps are good and I can let it hang no problem, going to be looking for a french door refrigerator, need one for spare beer anyway. Don't care about having a freezer, plenty of those.
Yeah, I have everything I need already. Electric hoist with gambrel in the garage. Big 3/4 hp grinder with stuffer attachments, vacuum sealer and 8 rolls of bags, 2 dehydrators, smoker, meat mixer. I'm too meticulous with everything, it takes me a half day to process an adult deer. 18 pack of beer doesn't help, but it definitely doesn't hurt either I'll get it figured out, especially if I come across an ideal refrigerator. Did you just hear that limb snap? Get ready!
Hey I could be done in the contest tonight. I just cut up my doe this week. From start to clean up, about 6 hours for me. But I break it up over a few days so it doesn't seem so long. Got a old chest freezer that I put a temp controller on it. I keep it at about 35 degrees and can put the whole deer in there and work on it when I have time. Of course I take the hide off before putting in the fridge. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I need to learn how to butcher my own. A good friend on here showed me how on my butt shot buck, but,,,that was awhile ago.
I'm not in need of any saddle pee lol. Free bottle of swamp piss with every deer processing lol I know that was probably an auto save that you didn't catch
It's pretty simple, especially if you leave the sirloin tip as a roast. I prefer steaks over roasts. Rear quarters are the bulk of your steaks and roasts, back straps butterflied for your best steaks and the rest for grind and jerky. It can be done in an hour and a half once you get the rear muscle groups identified. Takes a lot longer trimming all the silver skin/sinew off the steaks and before grinding. Plenty of quality youtube videos out there. First deer I processed I used a cheap clamp on counter hand grinder just fine. Can even freeze the scraps for grind and grind later or as needed.
Haha yes! It was an auto save from the previous day, I am NOT advocating we commercialize Joe's urine.
