Allways meat,trophy just a chance bonus.Hunted that way since 1975.The Alabama hunting regulations limit you to 2 Deer daily,antlers being 1 of the 2 during part of the season!!! :winking: :thumbsup:Most of my(90%)Deer harvested are donated to Hunters for the Hungry since my family will not eat wild game. :winking:
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Trophy or Meat?
- Thread starter walley
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Rocky Johnson
45 Cal.
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I am a meat hunter,won't shoot a small doe or small buck. Wife don't eat much meat but I love the stuff,beef, pork, venison, rabbit, woodchuck,squirrel. :winking: Rocky
Alberta Black
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This year i have two doe tags, one white tail, one mule deer. I may be able to participate in a late season hunt in December that allows two of any deer. In this hunt it is to help the local landowners protect their crops from deer so the first two deer that stumple into range wins.
When I have buck tags I always try and shoot a deer that has a better rack than the best deer that I have previously harvested.
Richard
When I have buck tags I always try and shoot a deer that has a better rack than the best deer that I have previously harvested.
Richard
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Actually, I had to go buy my license afore I could answer the question..I'm lookin fer a nice rack up north (Adirondack Mts. N.Y.)with a flinter,southern tier I ain't real picky and N.Y. just gave me a doe permit for southern zone, so trophy (technically,isn't a deer shot w/ a flinter a trophy? :thumbsup: )anyways like to get a rack up north and go fer meat south...and might talk myself into a bear if'n I see one.. awful long drag :shake: ....gees, if I see some up north it'll be a successful hunt! course there is that one that got away :hmm: waitin,[url] waitin....waitin[/url],,,sorta like bein on[url] watch...waitin[/url] waitin....are we there yet? :rotf: RC
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Sure is. :thumbsup:RC said:
Goldhunter
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It depends on at what point in the season I'm in. Early on, it's trophy deer all the way. As the season heads to a close, my goals get smaller and closer to the female end of the spectrum.
For elk, unless you a coveted limited entry tag (which still seems to elude me :cursing: ) it's all about the meat. Either a young spike or a cow, preferably a caow (much better eatin')
For elk, unless you a coveted limited entry tag (which still seems to elude me :cursing: ) it's all about the meat. Either a young spike or a cow, preferably a caow (much better eatin')
My first goal is to fill the freezer..it's two bucks a day around here and no does during gun seasons. I hunt all open public land and any buck is very hard to come by, so just because you are allowed to shoot two a day don't mean flip if you don't see but one a yr. As an example the place I hunt allows 250 hunters a day from Sept 23rd. thru bout the second wk of Jan. and on many days fills up. The kill in there is about 30 something deer per yr.
On good yrs. I will start passing up small bucks after I get a freezer full..about 5 deer.
At heart I'm a meat hunter, but those big antlers just do something to me.
On good yrs. I will start passing up small bucks after I get a freezer full..about 5 deer.
At heart I'm a meat hunter, but those big antlers just do something to me.
Guest
I just thought of somethin funny.If a guy just hunted for meat he could just go to the store and stock up on hot dogs for 75 cents a package.If you figured in the price of your license,the gas to go hunting,and the price of your gun and gear you could sell that stuff and buy alot of cheap hamburger.I dont think it has alot to do with horns or meat,its just being out in the woods.And I aint fillin my freezer with hotdogs :rotf:
Mad Professor
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I take the meat first unless: 1) freezer is stocked, 2) I cut the track of a brusier and it's good for stalking.
Have learned much about deer stalking the big ones even if I didn't get a shot. Ever stay on the same deer all day, jumping him but not quite getting a shot off? Getting lead into thickets, swamps,through herds of does, back onto your own (and the brusiers) tracks? It's tough walking 10 miles home (or back to the truck) in the darkness with "nothing" to show for it; except all that you learned on the way........
Have learned much about deer stalking the big ones even if I didn't get a shot. Ever stay on the same deer all day, jumping him but not quite getting a shot off? Getting lead into thickets, swamps,through herds of does, back onto your own (and the brusiers) tracks? It's tough walking 10 miles home (or back to the truck) in the darkness with "nothing" to show for it; except all that you learned on the way........
Catof9tails
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I've only got one buck tag this year, so antlers first during the pre rut. If no luck, then take any legal buck around Turkey Day. Got two doe tags for later season. So there's the meat.
Antlers are nice, but not priority.
Just the Cat
Antlers are nice, but not priority.
Just the Cat
paulvallandigham
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WADR, Rebel, the meat of a doe is only better than that of a buck if you don't know how to prepare and cook the meat.
If you remove all the fat, sinew, and any connective tissues( Look for white), from the meat, and then clean and wash the meat well to remove any fur, dirt, leaves, needles, etc. that carry bacteria to the meat, before drying it and then wrapping it for freezing, it can be just as tender, and just as good tasting.
I bone out the meat, as I can't eat bones and more than I can eat antlers! Bones also carry and store enzymes that continue to spoil meat in your freezer, even while it is frozen. All bone does is take up freezer space, so I recommend getting rid of it in preparing the meat for storage.
When I thaw meat out, I soak it in water, and give it another going over looking for debris, fur, hair, etc. If the meat is bloody, or smells strong from a bucks scent glands, I put vinegar, or salt in the water and soak the meat to pull out the blood and enzymes. Then I use fresh water, with a little baking soda, to get rid of the salt, or vinegar, and neutralize anything else I might have missed. A hour soak for each. Then I pat the meat dry, and prepare it for cooking. Don't hesitate to keep a small supply of beef suet on hand to sprinkle on the meat to give it some moisture, since you removed all the fat from the meat before storing it. Or be liberal with the butter instead. I never cook the meat harder than Medium Rare, as that is the temperature that brings out the most flavor, and leaves the meat the most tender. If I am doing a particularly tough cut of meat, like a rump roast, I will wrap it in foil and put in butter, salt, pepper, bell pepper, and a cut-up Grannie Smith Apple, for flavoring. The gravy I make from the drippings has everyone coming back for more. And you can cut the meat with the side of your fork. No knife needed. I bake the roast in the foil for about 20 minutes a pound, and then brown it for 15 minutes after turning the heat up to 400 degrees, and opening the foil up. The key to all this is in preparing the meat properly for storage. If you screw that up, its much harder, but not impossible, to have a good cut of meat to serve at the table.
If you remove all the fat, sinew, and any connective tissues( Look for white), from the meat, and then clean and wash the meat well to remove any fur, dirt, leaves, needles, etc. that carry bacteria to the meat, before drying it and then wrapping it for freezing, it can be just as tender, and just as good tasting.
I bone out the meat, as I can't eat bones and more than I can eat antlers! Bones also carry and store enzymes that continue to spoil meat in your freezer, even while it is frozen. All bone does is take up freezer space, so I recommend getting rid of it in preparing the meat for storage.
When I thaw meat out, I soak it in water, and give it another going over looking for debris, fur, hair, etc. If the meat is bloody, or smells strong from a bucks scent glands, I put vinegar, or salt in the water and soak the meat to pull out the blood and enzymes. Then I use fresh water, with a little baking soda, to get rid of the salt, or vinegar, and neutralize anything else I might have missed. A hour soak for each. Then I pat the meat dry, and prepare it for cooking. Don't hesitate to keep a small supply of beef suet on hand to sprinkle on the meat to give it some moisture, since you removed all the fat from the meat before storing it. Or be liberal with the butter instead. I never cook the meat harder than Medium Rare, as that is the temperature that brings out the most flavor, and leaves the meat the most tender. If I am doing a particularly tough cut of meat, like a rump roast, I will wrap it in foil and put in butter, salt, pepper, bell pepper, and a cut-up Grannie Smith Apple, for flavoring. The gravy I make from the drippings has everyone coming back for more. And you can cut the meat with the side of your fork. No knife needed. I bake the roast in the foil for about 20 minutes a pound, and then brown it for 15 minutes after turning the heat up to 400 degrees, and opening the foil up. The key to all this is in preparing the meat properly for storage. If you screw that up, its much harder, but not impossible, to have a good cut of meat to serve at the table.
I've always hunted for the very same reason my ancestors did. For meat only. Not for the sport, nor for the stalk, not for the rack. If a trophy comes along, well, I won't be a complainin' any though. I love hunting and wish I got to do it more often. I love being in touch with nature and away from the city.
I know how to prepare it. Doe is better. Maybe I'm just pickier. Don't normally eat wild game. Only three people I know of can cook venison to where I'll eat it. Me, my mom and my first wife I'll even eat a roast my ex makes, won't eat moms. Don't eat deer burger or sausage either. I don't care who makes it.
MikeChapin
58 Cal.
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I always go for meat. A nice fat cow elk or doe that have lost their offspring that summer are usually what I'm looking for.
I never could get a bull all wired up and looking for a fight or a buck with a neck the size of my waist to taste worth a darn. Never could get those horns tender enough no matter how much you boiled them.
The only exception to this was a huge elk a friend of mine shot on his ranch. It was so old its teeth were wore down to the gum. He probably had not been chasing cows for a few years. That elk was fine eating and there was a lot of it.
I never could get a bull all wired up and looking for a fight or a buck with a neck the size of my waist to taste worth a darn. Never could get those horns tender enough no matter how much you boiled them.
The only exception to this was a huge elk a friend of mine shot on his ranch. It was so old its teeth were wore down to the gum. He probably had not been chasing cows for a few years. That elk was fine eating and there was a lot of it.
