Hunters Chat Room

[butcher]

silversaddle1, I do not think they are smart or dumb, they are just being turkey, how could they have survived till these days if they were inferior, pea brain yes, dumb no. well these birds were almost our national bird (but someone liked the bald eagle more).

turkey is not stupid he was made for food, and to serve a purpose, they do this well.

I am bummed, been working so much forgot to get my hunting licence untill the last minute, and at the counter they told me they quit selling them seven minutes ago, I was sure wanting to hunt, my freezer is full so I was not to worried about getting a deer. well guess I will just go panning for gold and exploring old mines.

 

[philddreamer]

" ...well guess I will just go panning for gold and exploring old mines."

That sounds like a good plan to me, brother Butcher! 8)

 

[Anonymous]

I can't begin to tell all of you how bad my night went,while out hunting.I will explain in the morning,I need some sleep in the worst way.

 

[Anonymous]

I am going to try to make this short,mainly because I've told the story so many times already and I am just ready for it to be over.I shot a deer last night.A 4 point buck........a NICE 4 point buck for florida.However there is a new archery law(this year) that stipulates,if the deer does not has 3 points or more on one side,then the antlers must be shorter than 5 inches in length.
I can shoot,a doe,anterless buck,any buck with 1 or 2 points on 1 or both sides(less than 5 inches long) or any other buck with 3 points or more on one side.
Here is the exact wording :
Legal to Hunt - Deer with at least one antler having 3 or more points (each point 1-inch or more in length), antlerless deer (which includes does and bucks with antlers less than 5 inches in length, but not spotted fawn)
See the attachment.Look under archery.I have discussed it with several people and noone seems to know why it is worded that way,but they kept the deer,and let me go with a warning,since I have never been in any trouble before.It killed me to watch them take all that deer meat.View attachment Bull-Creek.pdf

 

[seawolf]

That’s a real bummer. Maybe you and some of the hunting groups can petition to get the law changed for next year.
Mark

 

[philddreamer]

I agree with Mark.
Will they allow you to bag another deer this year?

 

[rewalston]

I really miss hunting. But, my wife is an animal lover (I LOVE animals too...especially a nice roast) and will not let me hunt for Bambi. I keep telling her that I would leave Bambi alone and just go after his cousins but that just got me a night on the couch. I've never hunted bear though. I have gone deer and elk hunting (once) when I lived in Washington State 15 years ago. Heck she won't even eat fish if I get any...sigh, such is life.

Rusty

 

[Claudie]

My wife used to be that way. Good thing she came around when she did (I think it was the hunger), I was considering trading her off for a good hound dog....

 

[Anonymous]

Funny update:
If I had shot that deer in ANY management area within 30 miles of my house,he would have been legal! The property that I shot it on,is one of a very few that have that stupid requirement.Also a woman from Florida wildlife comission told me that she had never heard of that law,and that the officer could have given me the deer,disputing what the officer said.

 

[Claudie]

Surely an officer wouldn't lie or steal your meat for himself.... :|
It sometimes saddens me to see how bad the corruption in this country has become.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I don't think that such a bad situation could have turned around so well.I met a very nice young man the night I shot that deer,who helped me track and drag the deer.We have now become very good friends,and hunting buddies.He took me on his boat monday and we heard a bunch of hogs.And last night,I found a dead hog(hit by a vehicle) coming home from hunting.I had passed that same spot on the way hunting about an hour earlier,so I know he had not been there too long,and the hams were still perfect.

 

[Harold_V]

and the hams were still perfect.

Ok! So, fill us in. I have been lead to believe that the majority of wild hogs are nothing more then domestic hogs that have found freedom. Who's to say if they're recently escaped, or have been born from hogs that have been free for several generations?

Bottom line is---how do they taste? Are they similar to domestically raised hogs? Same question for wild turkeys. Anyone willing to say?

Harold

 

[Anonymous]

Wild hogs definitely have what some call a "wild" taste to them.It is unmistakable,and not something you could just pass off to someone without them picking up on it.Some hunters swear that there are tricks you can do to limit that particular taste,but I don't mind it,and Mary and Gab LOVE it.There are differences within the wild taste itself also.For instance,we used to hunt on a property that was owned by Ron Dimenna(Ron Jon's surf shop) and managed by Crisafulli groves for citrus.Year round the property produced hundreds of tons of oranges,grapefruit,tangerines,watermellons, and several other types of citrus,therefore there was a massive overabundance of hogs that ate very well year round.But the meat was almost sweet.You could still tell it was wild meat,but holy cow was it different! On any given night we would pull out 2-3 hogs.Eventually a state run preservation agency shut the property down because it was located directly on the intracoastal waterway and,was home to some animal that was very important to them.Of course I'll post pics if I do.
Most of the meat that I cook,get's cooked in a propane oven (for about 3 hours)that I have situated outside,hooked up to a 100 gallon propane tank.I can run about 30-40 pounds at a time.Mary only cooks hams and shoulders,and she uses a very large slow cooker.She will cook the meat in the slow cooker for about 20 hours.She adds potatoes,carrots,onions,celery....etc for the last 4 hours.Then she extracts just the meat,then her and the kids shred it with forks and add bar-b-q sauce to make pulled pork sandwiches.Then she'll drain the vegetables and put them on the side.
We have eaten wild pork for well over 15 years.To us it is just a part of life,and we love the taste of it.Incidently,yesterday my buddy and I saw 1 hog about 200lbs,and a bunch more that were smaller.My buddy shot one that was about 125lbs. I wasn't able to get a shot on any.Maybe tonight I will be able to get one.Of course I will post pics if I get any.

 

[philddreamer]

Thanks for sharing that information, and its true that the taste has to do in great part on what the animals have been feeding, especially in the last few weeks before harvesting. Our experience with bear is to harvest them after they've been feeding on berries, a bit later in the season. This year the berries came in late due to the weird weather pattern we had in the NW, so we didn't see them up high in the blueberry patches until last week. Bears have been low, in the cities eating garbage, but as soon as the blackberries appeared, they moved to the foothills. I told my son, as soon as the blueberries appear in the higher elevations, we'll see our bear & it will be "clean". Sure enough, my son was on top of the ridge that morning eating berries & so was the bear; it was about 30' down the slope until they spooked each other. The bear ran, my son went "bang" & the rest is history.
Gooooood eating! My daughter took a chunck of roast, seasoned it well, baked for about 5 hours in an oven bag & the meat was so tender & clean tasting... :mrgreen:
I never thought bear meat would be so good tasting.

 

[Harold_V]

Thanks, guys. Great comments.

Anyone familiar with wild turkeys?

Harold

 

[nickvc]

Well I don't hunt but on the theme of how meat tastes by what it eats look into Spanish hams, they do wonders with pigs and the best ham comes from pigs fed on acorns and nuts and can cost $350+ a kilo :shock: but it tastes exquisite... :lol:

 

[philddreamer]

Sorry Harold I haven't had any experience with wild turkeys, yet.

Nick, in Puerto Rico we prepare hams for the holiday season called "pernil" or "lechon asado", & we season the meat with garlic, black pepper, salt, annatto & bake slowly or grilled. Some folks do the whole pig. We also prepare arroz con gandules, (rice w/pigeon peas)... come on Holiday season!!! :mrgreen:

 

[butcher]

Wild turkey does have a more wild taste than the domestic turkey I have raised.

One time in Texas I shot a turkey who had been eating wild Chile picinoes (a small berry type wild pepper very hot) well the turkey meat was flavored with what he ate pepper.

Most wild meat has a wild taste compared to domestic raised animals, also the meat is somewhat tougher, depending on animals age, and sex (more muscle), an old buck is not as good as young doe, in a deer you can eliminate some of the wild taste by how it is butchered, your normal store bought meat is cut crosswise cutting through several muscles, the sinew, veins and fat, and bone. when preparing wild meat I separate each muscle from bone and other muscles, skinning the muscle of sinew strings that encase the muscle, this also separates what little fat the deer meat may have, (the fat is where allot of the gamey taste comes from, this leaves pure red meat and then is cut crossways across muscle fibers. it takes me about 6- 8 hours to process an already skinned and gutted deer the way I like the meat. venison blackstrap is some of the best meat I can think of, if frying the meat soaking it in milk and then flouring it and frying you would not know your eating wild animal, I grew up on wild game and prefer it over store bought animals meat, I also believe it to be more healthier, not raised in its own filth and shot full of antibiotics and hormones, some animal have been genetically altered through breeding, like some breeds of chickens raised for meat, if you raise them and keep them longer than the time to butcher them(less than a year old) you will have some of the sorriest looking bird's you can imagine so fat they can not walk, losing all their feathers cancers all over them, you would not want to eat such an unhealthy looking animal.

Phildreamer’s enjoy those steaks; I am sitting here with my mouth watering thinking of them.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys. Great comments.
Anyone familiar with wild turkeys?

Wild turkey does have a more wild taste than the domestic turkey I have raised.

I agree.We are overrun with wild turkeys here in florida,and they do have a wild taste to them,but like I said about the hogs,we like the wild taste,so it is not a problem.

 

[rewalston]

The only wild turkey I'm familiar with (and love) comes in a bottle, best served in a rock glass over ice

Rusty