This deer camp in Bertie County North Carolina was recommended by a shooting friend.

http://nchuntingcamps.com 

I did not find this hunt fun or worth the investment by the end of the week. Deer were not so much small as I found them young in age across the observed deer kills at 1. 5 years to 2.5 years in age. In my humble opinion the operation was run poorly and most hunters left unhappy.

Linda the camp cook was my high point as her food was great, she was accommodating and always had something good to say.

I am preparing to hunt New Hampshire Whitetail’s this next week with greater appreciation even though they are fewer.

All else being equal, you are successful like we all hope you are, and kill your deer. Congratulations!

Now take it to a deer meat cutter, aka butcher. Or cut it yourself as I have done. What can you expect? There are many ways to estimate the amount of meat you will get. The measuring tape method is widely used at or near the time of kill. A chart (see website below) was produced with data collected by the Pennsylvania State University-Department of Science, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission-Division of Research.

http://uafg.org/deer_weight_tape.html 

By measuring the chest girth you can come up with an estimate of your deer’s live weight. You can use a string too, and then measure the string. Also, if you know the dressed weight, you can come up with the amount of freezer meat as well. Many NH registration stations have a weight scale. If you know the dressed weight then using the chart at the website you know the amount of approximate meat you will get provided your shot or shots did not ruin any quantity of meat.

Some quick stat’s: 40% loss is a round estimate

The Quality question; how fast did the deer succumb to the shot? Immediate? 2 hours? 10 hours? What? How far did it run after the hit? 100 yards? 500 yards?

A deer that succumbs (is killed) immediately within minutes is the best you can possibly achieve and is immediately retrieved and gutted to cool the surrounding meat will produce the best tasting venison. This is so because there was little time for the deer’s system to react to the wound e.g. fever, hormones, adrenaline etc which produce the heavy gamy tastes.

A while back I killed two Pennsylvania deer with bow and arrow that died within a few minutes and the deer ate the best greens and corn later in summer. My wife was so impressed with the lack of gamy flavor and the tenderness of the meat that she demanded I go back and get more the following year. Of course I complied, happily!

In the case of a big older buck that has been chasing does for a month, you are likely to have gamy and tougher meat any way because his body is full of hormones and in some cases loses weight because he is so concentrating on reproduction that he is not eating. Yes all that for a large rack of antlers! You bet and I will eat all of it too!

All that said with a gamy animal; make lots of hamburger and place frozen ground meat or steak  in whole milk (buttermilk is best) overnight in the fridge. This is done to drain away the blood which carries much of the gamy flavor. It even tenderizes the meat as buttermilk has enzymes to tenderize the meat.

It is best to vacuum seal your meat because it lasts the longest in your freezer. Freezing fresh venison for a month or more aids in reducing gamy flavors so I freeze all my meat before cooking.

If cooking venison steak, anything more done than medium rare will be tough as there is little fat in the meat.

Good Hunting! © 2013

For those who own .375 caliber rifles and reload, there are bullets available in the 250 grain class and heavier for most manufacturers. Having said that, Hornady has had the ever popular 220 grain flat nose for deer hunters but is manufacture has been temporarily suspended now in its third year of suspension I believe.

The 225 grain spitzer is also temp suspended.

I suggest you do as I did and write Hornady a note that you are looking for this bullet. http://www.hornady.com/thanks-for-contacting-us

The Sierra 200 grain .375 FN is available on back order from Sierra.

I have developed reduced power reloads for both the 200 grain and the .220 grain in my rifle and you can too if you do some research on .375 Cartridges and use a Chronograph.

The 235 grain Hot Core is also suspended from Speer. Don’t know the reason but was able to stock up a few years ago.

I will share the response from Hornady on the 220 grain in hopes they will make them available again.

Stay Tuned!

The October Cover Image I took on my Moose Hunt near Lake Winnipesaukee in the background is perhaps one of my favorite images and takes me on the hunt whenever I see it.

In just a few weeks I will be on a deer hunt. Nope can’t tell you where just yet. But each day the mornings are cooler and yesterday I had to wear a jacket. Weather and changing color of the leaves is a trigger for me to anticipate the hunt.

My “To Do” hunt list gets serious. I am packed I think, so I go through the list again and oh, maybe add this clothing too or that. Sound like you? It is a labor that has your mind thinking of deer and the woods as much as the stuff you cobble together for your hunt. Fussing over how much ammo to bring, knives sharp and ready, Scope caps if it rains, a shooting stick for long shots, tree stand safety, all that stuff going through your mind is a form of anticipation and readiness of the hunter.

When I reflect on shooting at a wary deer my heart rate climbs a bit as tiny amounts of adrenaline seep into my bloodstream. You too? You bet!  A little giddiness does the heart good as my mind wanders to the hunt. Reading articles and seeing hunting video’s help to relive a hunt so I read quite a lot, perhaps more so than video’s.

The previous article “What’s in my backpack?” was a great primer for me and I hope you as well. Since I am hunting out of state, I am taking a hard, lockable gun case and also when I arrive will use soft cases too.

So your mind wanders from this article to your own list of preparation and anticipation and it certainly is Grand!

So long for now…Good Hunting! © 2015

Let us assume your hunt is all day with Rifle up Northern NH in a new hunting area you scouted with a friend. It is about a half mile off main roads. It is vital that someone, wife or friend know exactly where you are hunting and what vehicle you are taking, license plate info and color/make of your vehicle. As I am older now, I would hunt with a friend that is able bodied.

Here is what in my pack that I carry with me.

Medical First Aid Kit

Lets begin with a First Aid Kit that has bandages, large and small, antibiotic ointment, gauze and tape. Ibuprofen for pain. And a supply of one day of any prescriptions.

A note of who I am, phone numbers, medical conditions has been missing from my pack in early hunts – I have added it.

Hand/foot warmers Space blanket to hold heat in your body

Cell Phone or W Talkie if no reception

Map and Compass/GPS if you have one.

Knife (sharp)

matches/lighter and fire starter sticks

Flashlight or headlamp

Hunt Licenses

Pencil/Pen for filling out your tag

Glove kit for cleaning your deer

Water for hydration/Water giardia filter for use in streams.

Matches or lighter and fire starter.

Drag Rope

orange flag tape

Extra Ammo.

Food that has little weight such as protein bars and candy bars and gorp like snacks.

Lunch food such as sandwiches.

Toilet paper. Orange if you can find it.

Bandanna for sweat or to use as a bandage.

Note: If you are with other hunters in a group you may want to shorten this list if you are going to be in a spot for only 2 or 3 hours and your team knows where you are.

Core items:

Medical First aid

Identification and phone numbers

Water

Map and Compass

License & pencil

knife

drag rope

toilet paper

flag tape

extra ammo

phone or talkie

It seems no matter what the rifle and off-the-shelf cartridge is, there are only two basic questions. Question #1 Can it cleanly kill a deer? Question #2 How much does it kick?

Once those questions are answered in the affirmative (Yes) to the first question and “very little” to he second question, then it is logical to want to know what the rifle is, right?

Is the cartridge a;

A. 308 Winchester

B. 30-30 Winchester

C, 243 Winchester

D. .270 Winchester

It has been my experience that children will receive the 30-30 Winchester in a Marlin rifle to deer hunt and it works. The .308 and .270 recoil much more.  But if you have a .243 Winchester like I do in my Ruger American Rifle, then you can have a great deer caliber for less than $400 dollars and it kicks so little that even a young hunter won’t complain a bit. Photo below.

In a previous article I wrote about the 90 grain .243 E-Tip below that mushroomed to twice its size.

With a scope, this rifle can kill deer out to 300 yards with a 90 to 100 grain bullet. On varmints with 55 grain bullets, it is hard to beat. It will be used on my southern deer hunt this fall.

If you look at categories I have listed for articles under rifle and bullet tests you will see lots of my writing on the .243 Winchester and the Ruger American. I just love the cartridge and the rifle. You will too….

If you reload, chances are that  you may never own a .243 because hand loading lighter loads in any cartridge exists. But if you stay on off-the-shelf cartridges then the .243 is it!

Be safe! Good Hunting!

© 2015

When I was hunting in Africa with my son Jason, we were fed delicious meat snacks called Biltong. It is dried meat that has marinated in special seasoning like our American Jerky.  Below is Impala from our hunt being skinned and prepared for both mounts and for our meals. Some of this meat finds its way to becoming Biltong, a prized South African snack food. Here we will use whitetail venison instead of Impala.

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It is akin to Jerky but Afrikaner’s would say that Jerky does not come close to the excellent flavor of Biltong. I expect that I will have venison in my freezer this year as I am hunting down south were the deer are very plentiful. So I want to try and make this Biltong recipe that I received from a friend that grew up in South Africa and now lives and works here. You may want to give it a try….

Ingredients:

5 lbs  game meat

red wine vinegar

coarse salt (I use Kosher salt)

whole coriander

black pepper

bicarbonate of soda

For this weight of beef or venison use:

2 tablespoons coarse salt

1/2 cup of coriander (if you have a mortar and pestle, you can crush them slightly)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup brown sugar (I omit this, but I know some people add it)

1 teaspoon bicarb soda (I have made the biltong without this, however it does tend to keep the dried meat a little softer and easier to cut)

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly.

Cut the meat in strips (approx 1 – 1/2 inches thick), diagonally along the grain

place the cut meat in a large glass bowl

sprinkle with the vinegar to wet the meat

sprinkle your made up biltong mix over the meat

thoroughly turn the meat over with this mix, so that all the pieces are properly coated.

cover the dish with clingwrap and place in the refrigerator for approx 24 hours.

At the end of this time, discard any bloody fluid that has leaked out of the meat.

Make a 50/50 mix of the vinegar and water in a bowl.

Rinse the meat in this mixture quickly to get rid of the excess salt.

My friend uses paperclips that I have opened up to hang the meat. A washing stand placed on a shoe tray makes an excellent drying rack. Some folks make a cardboard drying box with a small fan and a 60 watt light bulb. Some hang the meat with string or thread using a large sewing needle. It will take roughly 4 to 6 days to dry hard on the outside and still be somewhat soft on the inside. More or less to your liking. I have a food dehydrator so I am going to use that.

I found a website that goes into great detail for larger quantities of Biltong

http://www.africhef.com/Biltong-Recipe.html 

Enjoy!

I am a believer in the copper bullet for hunting with high velocity cartridges such as the .243 Winchester with 90 grain E-Tips. The E is for Expanding!  It is as accurate as all get-out!

Mushroom at 20 yards 1/2 inch mushroom below.

Weight before: 90 grains

Weight after: 89.9 grains

Weight retention: 99.9%

For contrast there is a 100 grain Speer Hot core boat tail lead bullet with gilding copper jacket shot at left of the all copper e-tip.  The lead bullet exited the wood but was not recovered.