Oldtimr

I learned from my mother also. When I was preteen I decided it would be a good thing to do.

super_hunt54

Unless things have changed, they don't process deer Clem, but if you take in the meat, they will make whatever you want. I know there are several deer processors that send them the meat to get stuff like I was talking about made. I'll give you the link here to their site (never thought they would go online) and you can contact them about pricing and such. Trust me on this though Clem, you will not be disappointed in the least! http://www.groffsmeats.com/

Ridge Runner

this lactic acid stuff I know nothing about, however if a deer struggles hard during its death, the meat will be so tough you can't stick a fork in the gravy, think the old man is on to something.
RR

Oldtimr

You are correct super, Groffs does not process deer, they just make products. They do however accept it with the bones in, at least the last time I was there.

Champlain Islander

Perhaps you are right and almost all of my deer have gone down and died quickly but about 10 years ago in a raging last day of the season snow storm I went all alone to a wilderness tract of state land and still hunted a swamp. About 7 am I saw a medium sized buck about 100 yds away working into a wet area. I took the shot and saw he was hit but watched as he went over a rise. I tracked him down hill all day jumping him several times but was unable to get a sight on him. About 3 pm I was 5 miles away from the truck (all uphill) and finally got a chance to put him down for good. I gutted him and dragged him out to a dirt road I spotted on my GPS and finally had someone come along and gave us a ride back to the truck. The meat was darker than normal but it turned out to be a good eating buck.

softdown

I'm a novice compared to a number of you guys. Just got started 45 years ago. Only had one bad deer or elk in all those years though many years yielded little more than very considerable exercise. I think antelope, deer, and elk is some of the best dining around. Though, being a bachelor, all I have to please is three dogs and a bachelor.

Long time ago......Last day of the archery season with one arrow left. Did a turn around jump shop as I was headed back to the car. Probably only pulled the bow back a little more than 1/2 way as the deer was making good time and behind me when I heard the commotion.

Knew of the hit when the deer fell down due to the arrow sticking out and hitting a tree. Deer still made pretty good time, just had a limp. I hiked down to a dude ranch(?) and found a guy who gave me two bent up arrows he had found while horseback riding. Well....this was much better than nothing.

Hiked back up and started looking in earnest. A couple hours had now passed and I finally see a head poking up maybe thirty yards away. Did some mental arithmetic and aimed high due to the arrow being curved like a bow. Got lucky.....entered the eyeball and poked out the neck. Thought I got it done. Deer jumped up and started running down the hill looking a bit like a pin cushion. Used my last even more badly curved arrow and hit the buttocks. Now the deer is a pin cushion and still quartering down the hillside though weaker and much slower.

At least four hours had passed when I was finally able to tackle the deer and do it in. Got lucky in that the deer had worked it's way down the hillside and was now only a stones throw from the road. The rest was easy.

Colorado archery season enjoys very mild weather in August and September. I have to recommend a large cooler and ice for that reason. The weather was quite warm so we didn't hang it for days like one likes to.

That deer tasted kind of bad. I attribute it to miserable conditions:
1) Spent at least four hours bleeding out with me in hot pursuit.
2) Warm day, warm multi-hour drive....didn't hang.

Some of you guys make cooking sound like surgery. I let it sit a few hours and fry it in coconut oil with onions, mesquite seasoning, and red pepper. Like I said, just have to please this bachelor and that is pretty easy. Some pieces have gristle and that makes for some happy dogs.

Like another poster notes: "The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs."

All the respect in the world for the skilled archer. My own preference has become lightning quick kills.

buffybr

The title of this thread reminds me of my first moose.


In the early 80s I was lucky enough to draw my first Montana moose tag. The first bull that I saw had a huge body and carried 50" wide antlers. A single 180 grain Partition from my .30 Gibbs put him down after a 40 yard run. Luckily I had a hunting partner and my two horses to get him back to my truck.


I should have known something was wrong when I stopped at the F&G check station and the first thing that the biologist said when he looked into his mouth was "Wow! You've got a real gummer here." His back teeth were worn completely down to his gums.


When I got him home, I hung him in the shed for a week to 10 days then proceeded to butcher him.


About that same time I had bought a new microwave oven. The cover photo on the microwave cookbook showed some very delicious looking BBQ ribs. Since I just happened to have two very large slabs of fresh moose ribs I decided to try their recipe.


I followed the recipe instructions exactly. My microwaved ribs looked just like the picture on the cover of the book, and they smelled delicious.


So I sat down and cut off a bite of the rib meat and began chewing. The flavor was great, but I chewed, and chewed, and chewed. And the bite in my mouth actually got bigger. So I spit the meat out and cut it in half, and started to chew one of the halves. And I chewed, and chewed, and chewed without the bite getting any smaller.


I never did get a piece chewed small enough to swallow, so I finally gave up and got out the peanut butter jar. I then cut the remainder of the ribs into 6" pieces that I pressure cooked and my golden retriever enjoyed them for several months.


I then took out all of the carefully wrapped packages of moose steaks and roasts from my freezer, thawed them and ground them into burger, double ground for maximum tenderness.

hunters_life

Lordy Buffybr, I hope you aren't saying you have tried cooking meat in the micro again. The only meat I have found worth a dang cooked in the micro is bacon on one of those bacon rack things. Anything else is either like leather or rubber. One moose my dad brought home was aged at 18-19 years old. Now it wasn't as tasty and tender as a cow moose but it certainly wasn't all burger sacrifice either. I don't think he ever brought home a moose that wasn't fit to eat. The few I've gotten certainly were perfection on a plate.

softdown, not trying to be mean or anything here but in the short time I have been a member on this forum the folks here have noticed my forthright opinions. You sir need to be much more selective on your shot opportunities and I have to admit my BS meter is really going off hard on your story about grabbing some arrows from someone else and such. I was raised with a bow in my hands and that little story absolutely reeks of BS.

MudderChuck

I'm not a great fan of lactic acid and Adrenalin, that is why I favor a neck shot when possible. They go down in a pile and don't live long enough to pump the muscles full of hormones or produce much Lactic acid.

I usually hang them for at least a couple of days in the cooler, never more than three days.

Most all of my Venison ends up as Goulash or Chili. Not for any particular reason other that's what I like. It seems to get better the more it simmers and the older it is within reason. Two, three days old and the bottom of the pot is the best.

I may be full of it but, my girls and wife seem to like Lactose and adrenaline pumped Deer. I think it's a woman thing. I favor young Bucks or Doe, while the girls seem to like mature Bucks.

Old Bucks occasionally get a marinade and an over night soak.

softdown

You are not being mean at all. You are simply being a jack ass. I expect a considerable number of them given the anonymity of the net. The story is as detailed and accurate as I can make it given the 1981 date. As for the shot selection? The hunt was over due to having one arrow left. I was on my way back to the car.

I wouldn't tell the details unless there was a plausible explanation for the poor quality of the meat.

As for the rest of your accusations, the analysis in my initial sentences will suffice. Good day.