From First Light…

VENISON MEATLOAF

1-1/2 lbs. Ground Venison (or “Deer Meat”)

1 lb. Pork Sausage, or Ground Pork

2 eggs, lightly beaten or whipped

1 Cup  Panko, or white-bread crumbs

1 large clove of garlic, pressed, mashed or finely chopped

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 cup finely diced or minced onion

1/4 cup finely diced or minced bell pepper

1/4 Cup diced or chopped Celery

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Ground black pepper to taste

1 Tablespon A-1 steak sauce

1 package Onion Soup mix

1/2 cup milk

3 ounces (1-1/2 tablespoons) Catsup/Ketchup

Glaze:

1/4 Cup catsup or Tomato Sauce

1 Tablespoon EACH: 

 brown sugar and Steak Sauce, or Worchestershire Sauce

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Mix meats together thoroughly.  Beat together the eggs and milk.  Add to meats.  Add all other ingredients, and mix until completely combined.  Turn mix out onto a greased, high-sided cookie sheet, or baking pan.   Form into a loaf shape.  Bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees, reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes. 

Mix together glaze ingredients, and spoon and spread over meatloaf.  Return to oven and bake 15 minutes more.  Remove from oven, and let rest/stand for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Serve and enjoy.  Goes great with mashed “taters”, or Macaroni and Cheese (both?), and a favorite vegetable or two.

GROUND VENISON STEW/SOUP

1 Lb. Ground Venison 

1 large can Veg-All, or mixed vegetables

1 Large can tomato juice (or V-8 style juice, if more vegetable taste preferred)

1/2 Cup diced/minced onion

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Crumble meat into lightly greased skillet or saute pan.  Cook meat, stirring constantly to break up any lumps.  As meat turns color, add the diced onion, and the onion and garlic powders. Put all ingredients (meat, vegetables, and seasonings) into a boiler or stew pot or dutch oven.  Cook several minutes longer, or long enough to combine flavors and transluce the onion (maybe 15-20 minutes more). 

Serve with a pone of cornbread, a green salad, and/or or green onions, and maybe a pitcher of Sweet Tea.

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I first met Jeffrey during the 2002-2003 deer season.  He and my son were friends.  They were about 18 years old and just graduated from high school.  During visits, Jeff expressed interest in hunting, and would I take him out with me “sometime”.

  I let him use a decent little rifle, a .44 magnum Marlin lever action with a 2.5X scope mounted and sighted-in, shooting 180 grain bullets at around 1800 fps-more than adequate out to 150 yards or so.  I had Jeff take the Hunter Safety course, required by Mississippi state law for a license by hunters born after 1972, and buy his hunting license.  I allowed him to get familiar with shooting the rifle, on beavers in a pond on the property that the owner wanted controlled.  The water rats were burrowing into the pond dam and about to destroy it. 

One morning, while sitting in a ground blind we made overlooking a power-line cut, a nice, 125-130″, 3 or 4 year-old 8-point buck came out in the clearing.  I whispered to Jeffrey:  “Shoot him!”  Jeff moans:  “I can’t”.  His eyes rolled up in his head and he swooned into a semi-conscious faint, thrashing around on the ground!  The buck, only some 50 yards away, heard the commotion, high-tailed, and turned inside-out into an all-out dead run.  I shot at him, missed, shucked in another round and shot again.  I missed again.  The buck disappeared in the thicket on the other side of the cut.  Jeff was lying on the ground by his chair, moaning:  “I can’t believe that.  He was RIGHT THERE!”  We nicknamed the deer “the pass-out buck”, and we all, including Jeffrey, had many good natured laughs over the incident.

hey Mr. Ron
this is jeffrey.  i’ve been meaning to contact you for some time now but haven’t really had a chance. What’s your email address?  this “contact me” form just turned my whole email into a bunch of question marks and weird gray blocks.  to make a long story short i bought a 30-06 and want to get back in the woods.  i need some help getting there. I’m gonna get that monster that scared me into fainting years ago, haha.

Jeff:  you can hit “reply” on this email…I’m living about 45 miles north of Jackson just off I-55…I haven’t hunted at all this fall…trouble with the hip implants and the heart…maybe sometime..?

Man yeah! You name the the date and time and I’m there. By the way do you still keep in touch with that foster guy? I would like to see if I could get permission to go out there since it’s so close

I haven’t seen him in over 6 years now..since before I left Tupelo…he may be listed in the phone book…he may remember you from when we hunted out there on his place..?  ….no idea about him now…my hips are pretty bad, and I can’t get around very well…if and when I hunt, I just about have to drive to a stand or location….that’s why I haven’t been out since late last winter…

Well I got curious if there was any activity out there on his place. So i rode out there this evening and saw that the place was covered in “hunting club” signs. There was a truck parked where we used to go in.  I guess it’s WMA’s for me this season. I’m gonna go out to the canal section on hwy 6 by Amory tomorrow morning. I got a wma stamp when i got my license. What’s the deal with that? Do you have to pay at the ranger station when you go out? I know there are cards or something to fill out.  There are no good “deer for dummies” articles with info on the wma’s.

Jeff:  I had some more thoughts on Mississippi WMA’s…there is another down near Houston, MS.,  (Chickasaw WMA)…as I remember, it has about 55,000 acres….I turkey hunted on it many times.  i recall seeing a good bit of buck sign while trolling around for gobblers–scrapes, hooked/torn-up trees, trails.  By the way, scouting for bucks by turkey hunting, or getting out right after the season closes, is a really productive scouting technique.  If you find shed antlers, that is pretty good evidence that buck “made it” and will be near that area again next year.  The hooked trees, scrapes and trails are ones used in the hunting seasons, not early, summer/fall signs.  Back to WMA hunting–all have check-in/check-out stations on main access roads.  You can find maps, daily use permits, and the regulations for hunting on that area.  I suggest that you do a “ride-around” before hunting on a WMA, with a map and/or a GPS.  That allows you to see campsites of other hunters, parking areas (and how much they have been used), and familiarizes you with the overall area layout in relation to roads and other landmarks.  WMA’s are pretty heavily used, lots of hunters who may be tuned in to the same area you are hunting.  At any given time, you never know if and when someone may walk in on you, or vice-versa.  BE CAREFUL.  Wear-without fail-at least the minimum 500 sq. inches of hunter orange.  Be ever alert/aware of your surroundings.  You don’t want to get shot, or shoot someone!

Go to the mdwfp.com website…click on WMA’s-they have an interactive map…and tell on the site what, if any, fees are charged…plus, the phone number and contact info of the Area Manager is posted on the site, too….up north of Tupelo, off the Trace somewhere, you can get on the Divide Section….I can’t remember just where, but there is a lot of  Corps of Engineers mitigation land up there managed by the mdwfp…check out the website, and do a little research…the MDWFP manages a lot of mitigation land, owned (I think) by the US Corps of Engineers, lands set aside when the Tenn-TomWaterway was established;  several hundred thousand acres  It’s be a  a good bet to hunt on those areas to find a good buck.

One more:  when you find your spot, make some mock scrapes, and infuse them with both Intruder Buck scent, and Doe in Heat….will attract deer to your spot, and hold one in gun range while it checks out the “smell”…..you can double the quantity of the commercial scents by diluting them half and half with plain ole tapwater, and put it in a small spray or CLEAN spritz bottle….and use the spray to re-scent the scrapes….also, I use 35mm film cans with clean cotton balls stuffed in ‘em, tie a loop of hanging string or wire on it, and infuse the cotton with scent (carry them in and out in a ziploc bag)…hang ‘em around in shooting lanes on trails near your spot to also “attract and hold” target deer…..try these tips out…

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“BIG BUCKS”, in all senses of the phrase-both the high dollar payouts by hunters, and the big income for the preserves and/or outfitters-and too, the reason for it all, the big whitetail bucks themselves:  If YOU want one, be ready to spend, big time!

I checked the websites of a couple of the better known pay-for-play preserves and outfitters.  The approximate, average going rate for a decent trophy whitetail in the 145″ Boone & Crockett size runs around $3,500.00 to $4,000.00 base cost.  Add to that expense the mandatory tips, meat and trophy processing, non-resident licenses and fees, taxes, transportation to and from the location, to get the “real” cost.  Moving up to a minimal B & C Record Book deer, the base price goes up to the $7500.00 to $8,000.00 range, plus all the extras.  And, that’s given that the cost of equipment and gear, hunting clothing, weapons and ammo has already been experienced by the shooter/client!

Let’s say that while on the preserve, the opportunity presents to take a monster buck.  One of the sites displays a huge, widely palmated almost red stag looking 255-7/8 inch non-typical killed by a client.  Quick number crunching shows that deer cost the “hunter” (‘not sure THIS venue is really hunting!) some $40,000.00, plus the non-included extras!

If one can afford that kind of pay out, and has the inclination or desire to avail himself of a “hunt” on one of these preserves, go on, get after it, and more power to him! 

My objection is not to the venue (the outfitters or preserves) or the shooter who goes there, but to the deer he may take being included in the record books along with fair chase, public or private land hunting trophies.  Should there be an asterisk in the record books’ listing for pay-for-play trophies, a separate category altogether, or even specific exclusion from the record books?  After all, even “fair chase” hunters may put out big bucks/high dollars for outright hunting land purchase, or leasing of property, or membership fees for hunting clubs.  Add to that the price of an ATV, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and the other obligatory expenses of modern deer hunting, (gas and oil, licenses and fees, meals, lodging, etc., ), all the other necessary gear and equipment, and maybe the preserve hunting venue becomes more attractive, if not even cheaper!

How about it?  Your thoughts, and/or comments?  Has the current recession (or depression?) affected your hunting habits?  Have you cut down on the days spent hunting, or had to quit altogether?  Have you been to one of these pay-to-play preserves? Leave me a comment telling me how you feel, or Contact Me directly, and vent, or opine…..let me have it!

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Technically, or physiologically, a whitetail buck is “in rut” from the instant his antler velvet is shed until he sheds his antlers in late winter/early spring. 

“O. K., then;  enough already on the technical stuff, get on to the meat and ‘taters:  when is the PEAK?”

We can’t go there yet.  The primary controlling factor of the rut in bucks, and more importantly, the estrus in does is a process known as “photoperiodism”.  Put as simply as possible, this is the angle of the sun’s rays striking the deer’s retina, causing the pineal gland to trigger testosterone release in bucks, and estrogen release in does.  As the sun sinks further into the south, after the Autumnal Equinox, the reduced light, and increased ( or is that “decreased?) angle of the solar rays begins to trigger the rut/estrus phenomenon. Whatever.  The shorter days of Fall and early Winter cause the hormone release in both sexes. 

There are, though, other “mitigating factors”.  (“NOW:  he’s gone  off on the disclaimers”)  Keerect!

Mitigating Factors

Climate  Temperature-may be mean average temp, protracted warm or cold spell-relative number of bright days to cloudy, rain, wind.

Genetics  Here in Mississippi, and many areas of the South, deer from other areas, even far northern deer, were brought in for stocking in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.  These introduced outsiders’ offspring, though long ago interbred into the then few native deer, retain much of their genes.  The imigrant, stocked-in northern deer may have come into estrus/rut as early as late October.  What is the net effect on present day deer?  I have no idea, and neither does anyone else!

Nutrition  Pretty well self-explanatory, but nutritional quality or quality food availability can vary from property to adjacent property.

Sex Ratio  It is speculated that a low buck-to-doe ratio, within a given “herd” (more on this “herd” thing later) makes for delayed onset of the rut/estrus.  Fewer bucks around to breed, the fewer does get bred in any given estrus cycle.  An unbred doe will continue to cycle into estrus for some undetermined period, every 28 days or so, until late winter/early spring, making a long, protracted cycling in of several months.  Hence:  no real “peak” of rut/estrus.

Hunting Pressure.  Heavily, regularly, or often hunted deer tend to reduce their activity.  Often this results in the deer going completely nocturnal.  They are still there, still cycling into rut/estrus, just not moving around much until after dark.

Moon Phase.  This may have been listed as a “controlling factor”, rather than a “mitigating” one.  Whether or not the onset of estrus/rut is CONTROLLED by the moon’s phases, or just COINCIDENTAL to them, is still somewhat controversial.  Pretty good data, though, exists that north of the 37th degree of latitude (roughly north of the Kentucky-Tennessee border) the peak of estrus/rut occurs on/near/just after (?) the second full moon following the Autumnal Equinox.  South of there, my experience here in Central and North Mississippi-and a bit in deep South Mississippi-indicates this peak occurring on/near/just after the THIRD full moon after the Equinox.  This Full Moon usually happens the first week in December.  This year, it goes full on December 2nd.  “South of the 37th parallell” is a BIIIGGG area.  Mississippi is a long-north to south area, too.  Biloxi, on the coast, sits at 30.25 degrees, and Olive Branch, near the Tennessee border is on 35.3 degrees.  One degree of latitude is 68.833 miles.  “Experts” say that one degree latitude difference can affect rut/estrus onset by a week to ten days!

Herd Age & Physical Condition.   What defines a deer “herd”?  Let’s go with the deer population within a given area.  What is a “given area”?  It may be several hundred acres to several thousand acres.  Natural and man-made boundaries (rivers, lakes, relative forest and mast bearing tree density/availability, a major highway, high fences, agricultural usage, CRP areas) can “make” a herd boundary.  A “herd’s” age depends on hunting pressure, at what age deer are taken off a given area (older does come in earlier than younger and yearling does).   We’re back to the sex ratio, too.  In one area, under a strict DMAP (Deer Management Assistance Program) or, say,  QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) guidelines, or a landowner or lease holder that ascribes to “let the big old does and the genetically superior bucks walk”, and takes out smaller does and bucks deemed to have little trophy potential (“whew! that’s some long sentence”), and an adjacent property that just shoots deer with no regard for herd management, –well, a herd is so nebulous, so undefinable, that only YOU know what the limits of your “herd” may be. 

Confusing?  Yeah, me too! 

Consensus of most biologists and knowledgeable deer managers say that from about 10 days before the designated full moon to about 2 weeks after SHOULD be the “peak of the rut/estrus”.  But, this same consensus allows that “mitigating factors” can affect this timing by as much as twenty days! 

So, here it is, FINALLY!  The how, when and where to hunt the peak of the rut-in THIS area.  Get out, and stay in the woods “from first light till last dark” from about the week before Thanksgiving (tomorrow!), until the week after New Year’s. 

My advice?  Find the does.  Then, stay away from them until the time-frame recommended.  Don’t spook ‘em, hunt in or around ‘em.  When the “time is right” (?), get near the area, and watch the does.  A doe “smells good” to a buck beginning about a week before her actual estrus cycle, when she will accept buck-a short, 24 to 36 hour period.   After, she continues to smell “hot” for another week or so, and still attracts wooing bucks. 

SOOOOOO:  find the does.  Watch’em.  Get out and stay out as much as possible from now till early 2010.  You (and I) will hunt the Peak of the Rut; GUARANTEED!

More information on the Mississipppi Deer Management Assistance

Program (DMAP) can be found at www.mdwfp.com/deer

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• “The Devil’s in the Details”: Tips on Tactics

…or not!

‘Seems that our own favorite foods remind us-by their wonderful, house-filling smells while cooking, then the delectable, luscious tastes when finally served-of dishes prepared by our family;  our mothers, our grandmothers:  someone who traditionally prepped, cooked and served what became our own personal favorites.   Taste, smell, sight, sound-all our senses are so subjective that what may be plesantly desirable to one may be horrendously gagging to another!  That said, this recipe has received so many positive, glowing comments, I’m putting it “out there”.  ‘Hope it “makes it” for YOU.

……or not!

My maternal grandmother, Genevieve Parks Kirby, was pure-bred Irish Catholic, born and raised in New Orleans.  Her staple, every-day cornbread was a fried-in lard(!)-white cornmeal patty laced with diced onion.  Her dressing was a sort of warmed-through or baked mush, made from the leftover cornmeal patties, with lots of chopped bell pepper.  My granddaddy and most all my aunts and uncles ate it and raved over it.  I hated it.  

After WWII, when Daddy came back from working in the shipyards in San Diego, California,  (he was ineligible for military service due to punctured ear-drums) he went to work for the local Fire Department.  Around Christmas every year, the firemen prepared a banquet for the Firemen’s Auxiliary, the association membered by the firemen’s wives.  Also attending the banquet were local dignitaries and city politicians.  The menu was traditional Southern holiday fare:  roast turkey, cornbread dressing with giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, asparagus casserole, stuffed devilled eggs, various condiment, pickle  and relish trays, topped off with sweet potato and pecan pies, made-from-scratch banana puddin’, all washed down with Sweet Tea, and Firehouse Red Coffee.  Most all the firemen participated in the preparation of the food.  The chief cook, Mr. C. B. Sanford,  was the acknowledged expert “chef”.  His Pecan and Oyster Dressing, and Never Fail Roast Turkey became famous in our town, via word-of-mouth praises voiced by all who attended the banquets.

Mr. C. B.’s Pecan and Oyster Dressing

1 (one) FULL 10″ skillet cornbread, cooled and crumbled

4 to 6 leftover biscuits, crumbled

2 slices stale white bread, without crusts, crushed or crumbled

1 (one) Cup chopped/diced green onions, with tender green tops

1 (One) Cup chopped/diced celery, with leafy tops

2 (two) Tablespoons dried chopped parsley (or 4 tbsp chopped fresh)

1/8 to 1/2 Teaspoon ground sage

1/8 to 1/4 Teaspoon crushed Rosemary needles

1 to 2 Teaspoon(s) crushed dried Thyme

1/2 to 1 Teaspoon crushed Garlic (1 big clove, or 2 small) 

2 whole Eggs, whipped/whisked with 1/4 Cup milk

1 Cup (or more, to taste) toasted Pecan halves

6 to 8 ounces FRESH shucked oysters, with juice or liquor

6 to 8 fluid ounces Clam Juice

8 to 12 fluid ounces (maybe more) Chicken or Turkey broth

Salt and Pepper, to taste

NOTES:

         1.  In lieu of the biscuits, about 2/3 tube of saltine crackers, crushed to fine crumbs, may be substituted.  This will affect the salt ”to taste” requirement.     

         2.  If oysters baked in your dressing casserole ain’t your “cup of tea”, leave ‘em out, but substitute an equal amount of Chicken or Turkey Broth for the Clam Juice.

        3.  By all means, tho, DON”T leave out the pecans!  They’re a great touch.

         4.  The Sage and Rosemary amounts:  these herbs go a LOOOONNNGGG way!  These may need to be adjusted, again, “to taste”

         5.  The broth/clam juice amounts are rather scant.  More may be needed to reach the desired moistness of the uncooked mix.

ASSEMBLY/MIXING/COOKING   

         Mix in large bowl all dry ingredients, with the spices, and aromatic vegetables.  Add the egg/milk mixture and stir through.  Begin gradually adding the broth/clam juice, stirring well, to a consistency of a thick batter.  If after adding all the “wets” the mix is still too dry, add more broth.  Cover and refrigerate AT COLDEST TEMPERATURE (the moist mix can be a salmonella breeding ground) for at least an hour, to allow the seasonings and aromatic vegetables to leach through the mix, to maximum flavor intensity.  Taste, and correct the seasonings, again “to taste”.  The mix should keep refrigerated-preferably in the bottom of the refrigerator- at least 24 hours prior to cooking.  Pre-heat the oven to 330-360 degrees. (Residential ovens often have a 30 degree error between the dial-set temp and the actual temp).  Pour the mix into lightly greased casserole pan(s).  A 10 x 13, 2 inch sided casserole should be about right.  Bake on the middle rack for about one hour, to 1 hr. + 20 minutes, checking after an hour for desired moistness.   

This should make about 10 generous servings, with maybe some leftover to go with your next-day turkey sandwiches.

IF:   Any readers “out there” are interested in a recipe for one of the other dishes mentioned–including a Never Fail Roast Turkey, –let me know, thru a query/question/comment, and I’ll do a post with the requested dish’s recipe. 

‘Nuther IF:  I’ve cooked a long time by “eye-ball” and taste.  the measurements given here are, at best, approximations from memory.  I “do” ingredient measurements in my cupped left-hand palm.  If YOU plan to have guests-including the dreaded “In-Laws”- for a holiday meal, a trial run with maybe half of the recipe may be prudent/time and effort well-spent!

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Historians speculate that between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, a loose association developed between primitive man and wolves, or wild dogs.  The specific how’s and why’s of  this association’s beginning may never be clear.  Maybe man watched as packs pursued and killed animals.  Opportunist Man then may have scavenged the remains or leftovers after the pack ate its fill.  Or, as Man gorged on charred meat by his campfire, a wolf ventured ever closer, near enough to grab scraps tossed to him.

We know from hieroglyphs that the Egyptians bred and trained hunting dogs.  The royal Romans’ elitist lifestyle also gave them the time and opportunity to develop different breeds for their sporting pursuits.  Their conquest of the known world spread their whole philosophy of life-including their leisure activities-all over the European continent.

By the Middle Ages, hunting with dogs was widespread, and specialized breeds for hunting different game species had been developed.  Our modern breeds are the result of the selective breeding and cross breeding done over the centuries.

‘Way back then, and equally true today, the “Three P’s” (Patience, Persistence, and Perspiration) must be the ever-present, or omnipresent(?) mantra of a dog trainer.  Make that “Dog Owner”, rather than just “Dog Trainer”.    Whether grooming and teaching a sleek, stylish sporting dog for field trials and/or personal hunting, or instructing the family pet in obedience and “manners”, these 3 P’s are super important.

Years ago, when I first trained a retriever, my training aids were leads, leashes, a Thunderer whistle, boat bumpers, an old starter pistol, and a bottle of duck scent.    The primary training ground was my fenced backyard.   Later, as she and I each became familiar with the other,  we advanced to shooting and retrieving blackbirds that came in to roost at a friend’s house in the country.  His house was in a pecan grove.  Every evening, the huge flocks of migrating blackbirds swarmed into the trees.  He shot his Diana grade Browning Superposed, and his big, long-legged lab “Klinker” did the honors on the nuisance birds he downed.  I had my Belgian Browning A-5. “Light Twelve” model, and my “Smokey” learned of feathers and bird smell as she worked my successful shots.  Then, through numerous-almost daily-dove shoots we finally graduated onto the Big River for ducks.

My friend was a devotee to, and a disciple of James Lamb Free, and his book (“the retriever trainer’s bible”) “TRAINING YOUR RETRIEVER”.  He insisted that I buy and read a copy of Free’s book “right now, before you go any further”.  I immediately complied.  Later, I discovered Richard Wolters’ book “WATER DOG”.  Both were interesting and informative, though somewhat contradictory.  Free insisted that a retriever should not be trained-except for obedience work-until at least one year old.  Wolters espoused that training could begin as early as three weeks of age.  Between my friend’s suggestions-and instructions-and the books’ information, something worked.  Smokey retrieved ducks, turkeys (shot incidentally in the fall season while duck hunting), tracked wounded deer, masterfully worked dove fields, and guarded our house, myself and my family.  She was a family member as much as any of us humans.  My friend said she became an accomplished retriever in spite of my training.  Maybe so.

Were I to do all that training over, starting today, I’d still read the books, and likely others, before starting.  Garnering the knowledge and information of others’ experience and education is an invaluable jump-start.  With the advent of, and advancements in electronic training aids, I’d likely go with a Retriev-R-Trainer Dummy Launcher Kit, the SportDOG SD1825 electronic collars.  They are waterproof/submersible, have no external collar antenna to hang in brush or limbs, and have an advertised 1 mile range.  NO choke collars, or chains.  I lost a promising young retriever when, wearing a choke chain collar, he tried to jump a kennel fence, hung the ring on the fence, and strangled before he was found and could be freed.  Costly lesson-in money, time and affection-learned!

In most any situation of training, be it for sporting dog or family pet, the electronic training and control aids should be considered.  There are electronic devices designed for most every need, from electronic fences, barking controls, GPS and radio telemetry trackers, beepers (for upland dog use), and a myriad others.  Name a pet situation/problem, and most likely an electronic device exists for that application.

Valued hunting companion, potential field trial champ, or a loved–and love returned–family member, we owe it to them all to keep them safe, and under control.

All of the products mentioned here and a wealth of information can be found at Gun Dog Supply.

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This might have been entitled “Medium Game Guns & Loads”, but my experience is 100% exclusive with whitetail deer hunting.  Some or all of this may apply to pronghorns, mule deer, black bear.  The theories and more or less “factual” data can have applications to ALL hunting with modern center-fire rifles and loads.  

Right off, I’m ruling out the “little” calibers:  the .22 Long Rifle, .22 WMR, .22 Hornet, .218 Zipper, .219 Bee-all those smaller than the 5.56 mm’s (.22-250 and .223).   I am, though, aware, over the years, of deer that have been killed with these smaller caliber rule-outs, by jack-lighters, poachers, and incidental deer kills made when hunting small game or varmints with these smaller calibers, and a chance deer encouter resulted in a kill.  I know, too, of shots taken on deer with them that resulted in wounding and losing the deer.  I’ve walked up on too many deer carcasses and skeletons during and after hunting season that were lost due to a poorly-placed or minimal penetration shots from the sub-5.56’s, and from poorly placed larger caliber shots.

Those disclaimers and qualifications out of the way, the proof of a weapon-load combination is the ability or capacity to penetrate the target animal’s vitals-the so-called “kill-zone”-and dispatch it quickly and humanely.  Pumps, bolt-actions, semi-autos, single shots and double rifles chambered in the 5.56 mm centerfires on up to whatever caliber can be shot without recoil and muzzle blast discomfort, that can deliver double-lung, or heart-lung destruction are acceptable, depending on the caliber’s legality in the location hunted. 

Maybe the single-most influencing factor in missed or marginal shots that wound or cripple, is felt or perceived recoil, and a resulting shooter’s ”flinch”.  Granted, even the smaller calibers generate recoil and muzzle blast.  It is the FELT, or PERCEIVED recoil the shooter experiences that is paramount.  If a hunter shoots a .338-06 Ackley Improved, with its punishing 28.2 foot-pounds of recoil energy, and consistently “makes” killing shots (the proverbial “bang-flop” target animal reaction) by all means, continue to shoot it.  I have an aversion to undeserved, or unnecessary punishment, and therefore opt for the smaller, though still more than adequate, calibers.  I presently shoot a 6mm Remington, in an old 742 Remington semi-auto, topped with a 3x-9x moderately priced scope.  I don’t flinch, I get consistent one-shot kills.  I have it zeroed to 1.5 inches high at 100 yards.  The load goes out the muzzle at a measured 3138 feet per second. and has adequate energy out to 450 yards.  I ascribe to the “no hold-over” theory of shooting.  This gun and load shoots within 8 inches out to 338 yards. I’ve shot it enough at inanimate targets and live animals to be completely familiar with it.  I am reluctant, tho, to take a shot at much over 250 yards.  I find that most hunters tend to over-estimate short ranges-say, 75 yards or less-and under-estimate longer ranges.  Obviously, a laser range finder, or a range-finding scope would eliminate the need to accurately estimate ranges.  Given the no hold-over theory and the 1.5 inches at 100 yards sighting in. I find I can confidently take and make the longer range shots, and be sure of quick, clean kills.  I would not consider a long range shot without a completely stable rest and a stationary target, preferably standing broadside.  I hate the thought of a magnificent trophy animal-be it an 80-lb. doe, or a Boone & Crockett buck-running off, gut or marginally shot, to lingeringly suffer and die.

“Expert” riflemen and their more or less recognized “standards” state that the “upper limits of recoil energy comfort level is about 15 foot-pounds”.  That’s a broad generalization, obviously.  I personally find I can “take” recoil,without the dreaded flinch, in the 20 ft. lb. range. Calibers on or near that level are the .270, the .280, the old 7 x 57 mm, while the .30-06, its brother .308 and the .300 mags exceed the 15-20  ft.lb maximum, but not by much. 

I won’t get into the age-old argument of whether big, slow-moving bullets, versus smaller ones at higher speeds or velocities is the optimal choice.    If YOUR weapon and load penetrates the vitals, the “kill-zone” adequately to make one-shot “bang-flops”, or short distance animal recoveries;  then, by all means, rave on!  If, on the other hand, you have developed a flinch, or find the recoil and muzzle blast of your rifle and load choice uncomfortable, check out one of the smaller diameter calibers.  I’ve found that delivered energy at the range of the target in the 600 ft. lb. minimum is “adequate”.  Some hold to a 750 ft. lb. delivery as minimal on medium-sized game. 

My whitetail experience encompasses over 50 years, with hundreds and hundreds of first-hand shots and kills, after the fact recoveries, anecdotal ”show and tells” from other hunters and hunting buddies, post mortem analyses on carcasses done while dressing and butchering deer.  I’ve read Jack O’connor, Elmer Keith, Byron W. Dalrymple, Warren Page, and many other gun writers/riflemen with that much more experience.  While there is wide disagreement in the optimum whitetail/medium game gun and load, there is total agreement by all-me included-if your gun and load, and you the shooter makes consistent one shot kills, “bang-flops”-THAT is your optimum choice.

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"A trophy is in the experience, and in the memories"

Often-all too often-overlooking or disregarding the most minute factor, the tiniest little detail, makes the difference in success or failure in the deer woods.  The more we take care of the potential for mistakes or errors, that much more often we can look forward to having the chore of dragging out a fresh kill, even that once-in-a-lifetime trophy.  I THINK I’ve learned from some do’s and don’ts, mostly the mistakes I’ve made in my over 50 years of stand-perching, “easing and slipping”, and stump-sitting.

Skirt the Stand   Many commercially available treestands, be they ladders, hang-ons or climbers have a rail around the front 3/4’s of them.  Hanging a cloth curtain or skirt in a flat-finished, dull-colored material will hide the hunter from view, or at least, partially obscure visibility from the ground.  Inexpensive burlap, camo netting, even a cut-to-fit old bedsheet hung from the armrest/shooting rail will do.  A bit of ingenuity with some galvanized, semi-stiff wire, and the material, for the stands without the rail may make all the difference in being seen, or staying hidden.

Put Out the Welcome Mat  A mat on the footrest or floor of a stand will deaden sounds from feet shifting, standing to get a better look, or to take a shot.  It also makes the footrest less slippery when damp from dew, frost or rain.  A rubber or vinyl mat makes a good sound deadener, but can be as slippery when wet/damp as the metal mesh so often used by stand manufacturers.  I use a cocoa fiber mat, the fuzzy, kinda strawish type readily available in home supply or variety stores.  

Face and Hands  When I’ve walked up on someone in the woods, the first things I see is the stark contrast of his exposed face and hands.  In cold weather, a face mask and gloves are pretty standard attire.  In warmer weather, tho, cheap brown matte jersey gloves and a net or “bug-out” face mask won’t cost an arm and a leg, and help hide the hunter from intruding, prying eyes.  Helps, too, to ward off skeeters and gnats so we don’t have to swat and shake while we sit and wait.

Old, Faded Camo  It’s been washed so many times that it has gotten a whitish cast, almost a glow.  Don’t throw it away and spend the hundred bucks or so for a new set until you try refreshing it with dye.  Use black-that’s right, BLACK-dye, but only use a small amount from the packet.  Follow the instructions for dying fabrics, or use a 5-gallon bucket outside, if the boss of the house objects to using the washer.  Trial and error on how much dye to use in the soak solution, the time to soak, may renew the tint.  If not, only the fractional cost of the dye and thirty minutes of time spent trying is all we’ve lost.  Remember:  we were about to throw it away anyway.

Short Shots  Wrap ladder stand rungs, or steps, with pipe insulation.  Deadens sound, and makes less slippery.

Hang outer layer clothing outside overnight or between hunts.  Keeps them from absorbing household odors.  If damp from dew or mositure condensation, go on, take’em in long enough to dry a few minutes in the dryer.

As leaves and sticks accumulate on your stand trail, rake ‘em off.  Takes only a few minutes and makes for a quieter trek to and from the stand.

Use one of the squeeze bottles filled with white dust-again, readily available and inexpensive-to detect thermal movement and wind/breeze drift.  This is especially important in calm or relative calm, when the wind is not blowing steadily.

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This is a synopsis, or summation, of a recent conversation, via email, I had recently…the content is self-explanatory, and maybe worth YOUR thought and consideration.

Question:

I’m looking at buying a pistol.

Assuming you don’t have an extra one you might wanna let me have.

If not, do you have any suggestions?

I’ve been looking at the Walther P22 and PPK

Thoughts?

Answer:

All I have left in handguns is Daddy’s little 5-shot Smith & Wesson, the .38 antique with the 1-3/8 in. barrel that the archivists  at Smith can’t identify as to year of manufacture, or any other details.  I had to sell my big .44 mag scoped wheelgun with the 2x-7x scope… my big, bad deer and varmint weapon…As in most firearms, the selection is based on the purpose or use intended….do you want a personal protection piece?  If so, the Walthers you are considering  are great… reliable… well made, quality firearms… if you want to go American, look at the Ruger line-up… or the S&W… all the Glocks are good, but a bit pricey….for this purpose, too, the Taurus line is also worth consideration… and, Charter Arms makes a decent couple of pieces as well, notably the short barreled Bullpup model in a “standard” .44, and the Bulldog model in .44 magnum.  These Taurus and Charter lines are also good, well-made, reliable pieces, and even if purchased new, very reasonably priced.  I HOPE, though, you are going with a second hand, maybe pawn item..?  Or, check out the Tradewinds or whatever your local shopper magazine may be named for private sale items.

Reply:

Yea i want it for personal protection.

I’ll check those.

And yes, i had planned to go pawn shopping to find one.

Gotta get a few other things squared away first, but I would feel safer with one.

Addendum from me:

One more bee for your bonnet….an inexpensive pump 20 gauge, with the barrel sawed off to the ATF legal minimum of 18.5 inches–maybe stay at 19 inches, just to be sure–and the stock sawed to the pistol grip, the magazine and chamber loaded with #3 buckshot — is probably the BEST home protection piece… another inexpensive choice would be a single shot 20 gauge or 12 gauge (the 12 ga. loaded with single or double “ought” buckshot), configured/modified the same way… almost impossible to miss a target even up close and offhand without aiming with the scattergun… and the load is devastating to any invader/intruder… easy for a female to “master” too… just point and shoot… DO NOT carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle.  If stopped and found by John-Law, it is considered a concealed weapon if loaded, and serious trouble, not to mention the danger to yourself/the driver and his passengers… if and when transporting a weapon, be sure it is unloaded, and the ammo and weapon are stored separately and locked away from each other…

Response:

Thanks for the advice. I’ll likely do both.

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Around 1965, during one of the first Bow Seasons in Mississippi, I was hunting a field edge on a private club “over the levee” in the Delta.  The field was known as the “Pea Vine Field”, as the club grew field peas there to attract and hold turkeys and deer, and provide extra nutrition.  We found and noted the afternoon wind direction, and skirted the field on foot and out of sight to get to the down wind side to hide and hunt.  I found a distinct, well-worn trail leading to and from the field, backed off 20 yards from the field edge, and set-up on the ground in a thicket of second growth saplings, the slight, failing breeze distinctly in my face.  I had a clear shot along 10-15 yards of the trail from my hide-out.  In a short while, deer, turkeys and a few feral hogs began to enter the 45 acre or so field.  Watching them closely as they fed and frolicked unconcerned in the pea vines, I noticed one of them was a huge bodied deer, noticeably larger even at the over two hundred yards distance.  The sun had set, leaving only about 30 minutes of available shooting light, till “last dark”.  The big deer bluffed and bulllied the smaller bucks, chased and smelled the does, and gradually worked closer to my spot.  His rack became visible in the failing light the closer to me he moved.  It was wide, with tall tines and heavy mass.  Minutes passed, and he was close enough to make out a perfectly symmetrical 6 x 6 set of antlers, a twelve-point!   He had to weigh nearly 300 pounds!  I shook and shivered, as much from adrenaline-stoked oncoming buck fever as from the falling temperature.  He edged closer.  Just as light was failing, he began to head onto the trail just in front of me, not spooked, just using the trail as his exit route.  The wind or gentle breeze had died to complete calm-or so I thought.  I came to full draw with my 53 lb. draw Bear semi-recurve bow, the 30 inch cedar arrow tipped with a deadly Bear Razor-head, slightly quivering from my anticipation of the coming shot, and the exertion of holding the full draw.  As the huge buck came into my shooting lane, he stopped, raised his head, and looked directly at me.  He snorted, wheeled and crashed away off the far side of the trail through the saplings.  “What happened?”, I wondered, and probably yelled-no, SCREAMED- aloud.  It dawned on me, then, with crystal clarity:  I had forgotten the thermals.  My scent, borne by the faint, nearly undetectable air movement of the down-falling late afternoon thermal had billowed out in all directions from my spot!  The air all around me had to be saturated with my human scent!   That buck was then the biggest I had ever seen, and now, all this hunting and observing deer time later, one of the biggest I have EVER  seen.   Is it little wonder, then, why I harp on thermal air movement, wind direction and speed, and “hunting into the wind?”

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