2017-18 Bambi wacking thread

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  • j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    Definitely going to. I am really thinking Columbus Day, since I'll have off work, I'll go setup on that pinch point and see if I can nail a doe. Then if I get another doe during early muzzleloader I can try the rut for a big buck.

    My wife is really going to hate that. I'll have to find someone to take meat if I end up with more than 1 more deer. I still have 30lbs from the two from last year left.
    My big renovation means I haven't had time to cook and my wife will only use ground for chili or taco filling. Anything else I've gotta cook it, especially the steaks and straps (and I don't mean I won't let her, she won't).

    So first year and nabbing a large buck with >50lbs of venison in my freezer and we ate through almost of it by late deer season last year (over 14 months). In the 9 months since then we have eaten maybe 15 or 20lbs of venison.

    My wife is okay with venison. She pretty much doesn't like red meat in general. The kids are whatever way the wind blows. Sometimes one won't touch it. Other times they'll have seconds of steak and then complain when there is no more.

    Renovation is close to wrapped up so I can start cooking more. Also feeling more confident in my hunting abilities so I am not going to mind going in to next season with an empty freezer.

    Donate some of the meat to organizations that help feed the homeless and less fortunate. Your butcher should have information.

    Congrats!
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    I take 80/20 ground beef and mix it 50/50 with deer and season and stuff it for bologna. My wife hates deer taste as its too gamey for her, but she eats the crap out of this bologna.

    Here is one run of the stuff. I doubt I'll make snack sticks again. Its a PITA stuffing them and took two people 15 minutes to stuff 10 pounds. I can stuff 20# bologna by myself in 10 minutes. My son was cranking the stuffer and flexing the island counter top up and down.

    bologna_8-large.jpg
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Anybody else notice a drastic change in pattern after the first day?
    I'm wondering if it's just the property I'm hunting. Deer hanging out at the feeder all hours for weeks before season then poof - no deer. If the pattern holds true, they'll trickle back over the next several weeks.

    Luckily, I"m not having this problem. I already had deer runnding around my house and hand spread the corn sporadically all summer. This is my first year I have land I can hunt on but I noticed this morning 2 bucks are now packing with the 2 does and 2 fawns that have been traveling on my property all summer. I have mostly public land hunted until now but expecting either the does or the fawns to leave once rut starts correct? Good chance they will be hit by cars around me though.
     

    Neot

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 11, 2009
    2,394
    South County
    Luckily, I"m not having this problem. I already had deer runnding around my house and hand spread the corn sporadically all summer. This is my first year I have land I can hunt on but I noticed this morning 2 bucks are now packing with the 2 does and 2 fawns that have been traveling on my property all summer. I have mostly public land hunted until now but expecting either the does or the fawns to leave once rut starts correct? Good chance they will be hit by cars around me though.

    I've had the same 4 does by me since last October. They stayed together 24/7 until two of them had fawns but now have been seeing them around the same time again. Bucks on the other hand....I haven't caught one on camera since last March or so. They will start popping back up soon but their home area isn't where my property is.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Luckily, I"m not having this problem. I already had deer runnding around my house and hand spread the corn sporadically all summer. This is my first year I have land I can hunt on but I noticed this morning 2 bucks are now packing with the 2 does and 2 fawns that have been traveling on my property all summer. I have mostly public land hunted until now but expecting either the does or the fawns to leave once rut starts correct? Good chance they will be hit by cars around me though.

    The does are usually the ones that stay. They are typically the home bodies. Bucks usually move on to their rutting areas after they get hard-horned.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Hey, any ideas on cleaning up horns/skull cap? I decided for the spike just to strip the velvet off instead of going to the expense of preserving them or trying something half assed myself. They are now stripped, but have a bit of flesh that still needs removing. Mostly from the skull cap. Simmer in water for an hour or so? Only the skull cap/base? Or should I just immerse the whole thing (antlers are only like 5" long, so they'll fit in a pot fine). There does seem to be a bit of connective tissue on the horns themselves, but minimal.

    Use some soap in the water? Borax? Bleach?

    I'd prefer not to remove whatever color they do have (minimal).

    I plan to use them as a crossbow hook. I checked and they just fit inside the stirrup of my cross bow. I figure clean them up the rest of the way. Let them dry/cure for a few weeks and then attach them to a nice piece of wood and mount that in my storage room to hang my crossbow on it. It seems fitting. Unsure on coloring them later (could a bit of blood rubbed on and soaked for a few hours color them up? Not like I don't get some out of steaks and stuff when I defrost them).
     

    kstone803

    Official Meat Getter
    Feb 25, 2009
    3,923
    Ltown in the SMC
    Hey, any ideas on cleaning up horns/skull cap? I decided for the spike just to strip the velvet off instead of going to the expense of preserving them or trying something half assed myself. They are now stripped, but have a bit of flesh that still needs removing. Mostly from the skull cap. Simmer in water for an hour or so? Only the skull cap/base? Or should I just immerse the whole thing (antlers are only like 5" long, so they'll fit in a pot fine). There does seem to be a bit of connective tissue on the horns themselves, but minimal.

    Use some soap in the water? Borax? Bleach?

    I'd prefer not to remove whatever color they do have (minimal).

    I plan to use them as a crossbow hook. I checked and they just fit inside the stirrup of my cross bow. I figure clean them up the rest of the way. Let them dry/cure for a few weeks and then attach them to a nice piece of wood and mount that in my storage room to hang my crossbow on it. It seems fitting. Unsure on coloring them later (could a bit of blood rubbed on and soaked for a few hours color them up? Not like I don't get some out of steaks and stuff when I defrost them).

    Gonna take more than an hour but yes gently simmer the skull cap in a pot of water for a few hours and take it out every hour or so to scrape off the remaining flesh with a brush or your hands. Wrap the horns in cling wrap because if they get submerged they will whiten. Only put water enough to cover the skull and just a drop of dawn. You can use hydrogen peroxide after you clean the cap to whiten. Same thing though with the horns, don't submerge them or they will whiten. Tons of youtube videos on how to do it. If all you have is a skull cap, not a full head, it will be much easier. You don't have to worry about the brain and all the little nasal cavities.
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    Simmer in water for an hour or so?

    Do this outside and/or not while your wife is home!! Been there, done that and lost part of my Gluteus Maximus. ;) Brains make a hideous smell. So does boiled deer feet to slip the hooves and leaving a hide to slip in the basement and getting overworked and no time to handle it properly. I've pissed her off more times than i can remember. :D
     

    Neot

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 11, 2009
    2,394
    South County
    Do this outside and/or not while your wife is home!! Been there, done that and lost part of my Gluteus Maximus. ;) Brains make a hideous smell. So does boiled deer feet to slip the hooves and leaving a hide to slip in the basement and getting overworked and no time to handle it properly. I've pissed her off more times than i can remember. :D

    And I thought putting a stock in the oven to bleed out the cosmoline was bad. You sir are a legend! :lol:
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Oh my. Nah, basically no brain matter. Just the crown of the skull with antlers attached.

    I usually piss mine off by getting bore cleaner dripped on the floor of our basement or something.
     

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    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Oh my. Nah, basically no brain matter. Just the crown of the skull with antlers attached.

    I usually piss mine off by getting bore cleaner dripped on the floor of our basement or something.

    Bro, just rub salt all over the skull cap and let it dry in the air. If you leave it in that bag it will mold and stink.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Bro, just rub salt all over the skull cap and let it dry in the air. If you leave it in that bag it will mold and stink.

    Sit it outside? It had been frozen in the bag. I can probably find a spot my wife won't freak over. Like hidden in the garage on something
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    Oh my. Nah, basically no brain matter. Just the crown of the skull with antlers attached.

    I usually piss mine off by getting bore cleaner dripped on the floor of our basement or something.

    So using Hoppe #9 as cologne is out of the question?
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Sit it outside? It had been frozen in the bag. I can probably find a spot my wife won't freak over. Like hidden in the garage on something
    I bring mine inside, but if you're worried, the garage will be fine.

    Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I bring mine inside, but if you're worried, the garage will be fine.

    Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

    Worried implies I think there might be negative consequences from my wife i were to salt it on a shelf in my house...

    I am pretty sure I know there would be. The couch is comfy, the icy attitude for a week afterward not so much.
     

    wilcam47

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 4, 2008
    25,976
    Changed zip code
    Hey, any ideas on cleaning up horns/skull cap? I decided for the spike just to strip the velvet off instead of going to the expense of preserving them or trying something half assed myself. They are now stripped, but have a bit of flesh that still needs removing. Mostly from the skull cap. Simmer in water for an hour or so? Only the skull cap/base? Or should I just immerse the whole thing (antlers are only like 5" long, so they'll fit in a pot fine). There does seem to be a bit of connective tissue on the horns themselves, but minimal.

    Use some soap in the water? Borax? Bleach?

    I'd prefer not to remove whatever color they do have (minimal).

    I plan to use them as a crossbow hook. I checked and they just fit inside the stirrup of my cross bow. I figure clean them up the rest of the way. Let them dry/cure for a few weeks and then attach them to a nice piece of wood and mount that in my storage room to hang my crossbow on it. It seems fitting. Unsure on coloring them later (could a bit of blood rubbed on and soaked for a few hours color them up? Not like I don't get some out of steaks and stuff when I defrost them).

    The best thing to do IMO is heat some water to just boiling, then let simmer for 30min covered in water up over the base of the antlers, then get some Arm and hammer washing powder.
    52f8a178-1239-40cd-9102-189c90a54928_1.611fff52363f758afb8fd5b838511011.jpeg

    take 1/4 cup per gallon of water in a stainless steel pot. let simmer for another 30-45 minutes or until all the meat and cartilage comes off. You might have to scrape some but it should come off quite easy. Once all the meat and stuff is off just rinse with water.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Just push the hide of with a blunt screwdriver or oyster knife and dump some borax on it. Do it soon as you cut the skull off, only takes a few short minutes. Throw it in the garage for a week and its done. If you throw it out back in the bone pile, make sure you don't hit it with the lawn mower when you cut up to the woods.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    It has been drying pretty well. I can probably scrap it off pretty easily soon. Should make a great crossbow holder.
     

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