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DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.

Chaosfeather posted:

:hmmyes: I do wish to buy more elk points...

We should consider a pronghorn hunt. There were tons of them. I wanted to go scout Thunder Basin but in the finest of goon hunting traditions I used my truck to take a mulie. With only one working headlight just going straight home seemed like the safest option. Doubly so since a snow storm was brewing.

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Ophidian
Jan 12, 2005

Woo WOO, Look a Parrot...
LOOK AT IT!
I have a Butt load of pronghorn points. That’s probably going to be my first out west trip.

Chaosfeather
Nov 4, 2008

I have a pronghorn point or two for WY as well. I'd be happy to take a doe or a buck, so hell yeah let's do it.

Edit: Somehow I completely missed that you hit a deer with the truck. RIP, hope you can limp home okay. Wrong time of year for antlers, did you get to keep a charm to ward off the others?

Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 23:54 on May 4, 2021

charliebravo77
Jun 11, 2003

DapperDraculaDeer posted:

We should consider a pronghorn hunt. There were tons of them. I wanted to go scout Thunder Basin but in the finest of goon hunting traditions I used my truck to take a mulie. With only one working headlight just going straight home seemed like the safest option. Doubly so since a snow storm was brewing.

riparooni

Pronghorn are tons of fun and Flatland and I can provide lots of knowledge and experience on the subject.

HamAdams
Jun 29, 2018

yospos
I’m in the midst of picking units for a WY muley/antelope hunt, I don’t know how anybody makes sense of this stuff without something like gohunt.

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.
For black bear it was much simpler because the state has around 30 units for bear. The mulie/pronghorn units on the other hands are absolutely insane. Were there over 100? It seemed like it. Every time I accidentally loaded that overlay in OnX just looking at it made my eyes cross.

This is one of the many reasons bear hunting caught my interest.

charliebravo77
Jun 11, 2003

HamAdams posted:

I’m in the midst of picking units for a WY muley/antelope hunt, I don’t know how anybody makes sense of this stuff without something like gohunt.

Learn to love Excel and researching draw odds.

Are you a resident or non-resident and do you have any preference points?

HamAdams
Jun 29, 2018

yospos

charliebravo77 posted:

Learn to love Excel and researching draw odds.

Are you a resident or non-resident and do you have any preference points?


Non-resident, 1 point for deer, none for antelope. I'm thinking we'll end up around the Bighorn National Forest area based on what I've seen on gohunt.

Chaosfeather
Nov 4, 2008

I saw a spike mule buck growing his antlers the other day on my way to work. A coworker saw it too and insists that he saw a whitetail because "mule deer are huge-rear end deer". Mule deer is the only species in this region, also the buck had satellite dishes for ears and the correct pattern. He then tried to convince me that blacktail deer are around here (which they are not, this is Southern California). We have coastal sage scrub, not coastal forests.

Sorry bro, really arid climates and hot hot summer temps mean your local deer are a bit smaller. It's not their fault, there just isn't as much food as up north. The buck was super cute though.

Edit: In WY chat, I think I'm going to put points in for antelope and elk in WY one more year before applying for antelope. Unless we want to try to do a goon antelope hunt this year? But if that's the case lemme know ASAP so I can start planning.

Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 16:56 on May 10, 2021

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Gooncamp with guns sounds like a fantastic idea.

wesleywillis
Dec 30, 2016

SUCK A MALE CAMEL'S DICK WITH MIRACLE WHIP!!

Outrail posted:

Gooncamp with guns sounds like a fantastic idea.

Once the plague is done with and international travel is allowed again, we're doing goon hunting trip to New Zealand for Himalayan Tahr.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:

AmbassadorofSodomy posted:

Once the plague is done with and international travel is allowed again, we're doing goon hunting trip to New Zealand for Himalayan Tahr.

That honestly sounds really cool.



On black bear. I can get a tag and my area is crawling with them so conservation wise I'm okay shooting one. Has anyone here taken them? The internet seems to think they're pretty hard to spot and stalk, are they hard to hunt if you don't want to use bait?

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.
Anyone have experience with Kowa optics? I've been looking for some inexpensive 6x30 binos for woods use. Kowa makes a porro prism set that is at a good price and seems popular with birders. Supposedly they are an older version of some Leupold glass and come with a lifetime warranty. Considering the $100 price tag that seems to good to be true.

charliebravo77
Jun 11, 2003

DapperDraculaDeer posted:

Anyone have experience with Kowa optics? I've been looking for some inexpensive 6x30 binos for woods use. Kowa makes a porro prism set that is at a good price and seems popular with birders. Supposedly they are an older version of some Leupold glass and come with a lifetime warranty. Considering the $100 price tag that seems to good to be true.

Not personally, but Kowa spotters are pretty well regarded. If you're looking for inexpensive small low mag binos the Maven C.2 7x28s might be of interest too. Maven glass is very, very good for the money from what I have seen and heard. My RF.1 rangefinder is very good optically.

https://mavenbuilt.com/collections/binoculars/products/c-2-7x28-10x28

Pham Nuwen
Oct 30, 2010



Outrail posted:

On black bear. I can get a tag and my area is crawling with them so conservation wise I'm okay shooting one. Has anyone here taken them? The internet seems to think they're pretty hard to spot and stalk, are they hard to hunt if you don't want to use bait?

I spent 5 days hunting black bear in southwestern Oregon and saw one, briefly. I get the impression that a lot of people in non-bait/non-dog states just get a bear tag in case they see one during their other hunts, rather than going after them specifically.

Note that this was my first bear hunt, I was in unknown terrain, and the terrain was also extremely rugged, so you may well do better in your own area.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:

Pham Nuwen posted:

I spent 5 days hunting black bear in southwestern Oregon and saw one, briefly. I get the impression that a lot of people in non-bait/non-dog states just get a bear tag in case they see one during their other hunts, rather than going after them specifically.

Note that this was my first bear hunt, I was in unknown terrain, and the terrain was also extremely rugged, so you may well do better in your own area.

I'd be hunting east BC in extremely rugged unknown terrain so I suspect I'd see similar results... maybe one less bear sighting.

It's spring bear and more of an excuse to explore new areas for elk and mule and maybe pick up a late-season shed, but why not have a go if the opportunity presents itself.

Chaosfeather
Nov 4, 2008

Well it's a bit late, but I'm all recovered and ready to share! Time for another huge effortpost!

Texas Wild Pigs 2: Electric Boogaloo

So a while back I went hunting with Coffeebooze/DapperDraculaDeer for pigs in Texas. We both agree that public land hunting for pigs is the way to go, seeing that purchasing a chance to hunt pigs in TX is partially contributing to the problem. It's very messy and cyclical and I think we agree that we would rather go on public land and try to get rid of the invasive species, risking failure.

It was a very fun hunt where I got to explore a much more lush environment than I am used to, but Dapper felt bad that we didn't get a pig on that hunt. I dunno, I thought it was fun. So we arranged to have another hunt this spring during shotgun season to go for another attempt.

Sadly, I couldn't find my very elderly camera before the trip. I blame my recent clean-up of my room. So there are fewer pictures of lower quality. Sorry, thread!

After driving a little over 1,400 miles to show up at the Dapper household, I was greeted by a very happy family, a comfy bed and a set of plans. We were going to spend two days in a new place for me, but one that Dapper had been to a few times before. It was public land that was in many small pieces, so if we didn't have luck in one unit we could hop over a street or three and try another region. We would get up bright and early and try to get into some piggies.

We encountered several whitetail crossing the streets on our way in. It's not whitetail season but we discussed the possibility of Dapper trying his hand at archery deer here. They definitely look nice and healthy and are bigger than my local mule deer (but that isn't difficult). We stopped at a little pull off on the side of the road and as we pulled in I saw a mysterious something dash into the bushes. Based on the size, I would have to guess coyote, but by the time we investigated it with our packs and shotguns it had left. It was partially cloudy, a bit damp and comfortably warm already. Dapper led on through the tall-ish grass and we went looking for pig tracks.

After following some game trails we found a nice water source, assessed the wind and decided to rest by an old treefall and watch what comes by. Interestingly enough we had gone in a large circle and had almost ended up back at the truck. Although we didn't see any large game, the butterflies, wildflowers and birds were in full colors and we were endlessly entertained by the numerous colorful friends. Painted buntings flitted by, a female hummingbird (probably black-chinned) came to check out what we were doing, and we enjoyed coffee, tea and beef jerky for a few hours. Spiders made themselves comfortable around my legs, a very strange behavior from a tiny green caterpillar inched across my knee and we both had at least one pee break before we decided to move.

The next place we stopped at was raining lightly. It had been drizzling on us off and on but this area was a bit muddier. My initial impression upon going into this second unit was how densely packed it was in the foliage. It was a sort of rainforest with all sorts of crisscrossing paths, many of pigs, some of people, additional paths thick with cows. We ducked and weaved around my old friend the greenbrier and made our way to follow one of the thicker pig paths. Some of the prints looked quite fresh and it was pretty humid with dead air in the trees. It got very hot quickly without a crossbreeze and the rain continued, so we pressed through.

While following the path, we encountered cows. Or rather, they encountered us. We had paused by a puddle of a very life-rich pond when we heard trampling through the trees behind us. Standing still we observed some cows and calves start to come close, balk at us, and then take a detour around us through some of the trees. Unfortunately with the active and very noisy cows we decided to go past them and see what might be over there.

It was private land! We hit the fence and tried to follow it but found the growth too thick to pass, so we backed out the way we came, carefully avoiding bovines and going path to the primary path through this unit. Now back to open sky and grass under our feet, we took a couple of breaks and headed up to a choke point in the unit that looked promising to Dapper in the past. On our way we encountered more cows and a bull. I got to look like an expert in telling them to 'git' and thankfully they were chill enough to simply walk off of the path and let us past.

Cows would be a reoccuring theme of this trip.

We get to the choke point and find - you guessed it - more cows. These had another bull and several calves and were busy showing us how big and intimidating they were when I told them to git. So instead we 'git'ed off to one side and took a break, trying to figure out what to do. The wind was not in our favor, but the spot gave us a nice view down the hill and onto private land. At the bottom of the hill part of the way through this sit a coyote rounded towards us, caught our scent, saw us and immediately turned around. Of course I didn't see this first part, I just saw him getting the hell out of there before Dapper asked if I was interested in taking a yote.

I'm game, it was exciting! The hill had some shrubs and small trees around the bottom, so I tried to use them as cover as I rounded the hill parallel to where the coyote was to see if I could get a good shot on him. Sadly it was too little too late. Our swift canine friend snuck under the barbed wire onto one of the three private properties around the unit and I decided that eh, I wasn't super into taking a long shot and trying to negotiate how to retrieve that body. Upon returning to Dapper we decided to take a break from Cowtown and get some snacks at the truck. We took a brief detour when we smelled something foul and followed it to find a mostly-rotted cow carcass. It stank like nothing else but was incredibly interesting to see what parts various critters had absconded with over time. After this smelly encounter we headed back to the truck, passing somewhat near another cow carcass on the way back. The near-constant wet condition sometimes varied from drizzle to rain, but was still pretty tolerable.

As we were discussing our plan to find pigs a Ranger decided to pull up and check on us. Apparently Dapper has ran into this specific Ranger before, who briefly asked us what we were looking for. He felt that another unit was better than this one for Pigs and gave us some advice on looking at a specific spot, which was very kind of him. We agreed after he pulled away that was a good spot to try tomorrow and went back into the Texas Jungle that we explored this morning.

We set up on the other side of the pond we encountered the cows by earlier and I briefly saw two (or was it one really fast?) squirrel in the trees. Unfortunately I had slugs loaded, so by the time I had the proper ammo in the squirrels had disappeared into their hidey holes again. No squirrel and dumplings for us this time. Finding a spot that had a good view of one of the large looking pig paths we settled in for a long wait.

Before the rain got really harsh and the frogs decided to begin their choir, I briefly had an encounter with a tick that I didn't recognize. Any tick I don't recognize is immdiately going to raise red flags, and we agreed that more permethrin was in order when we got back to the house. Maybe all the rain and mud had been washing it off? When we got back I ID'd it as the Lone Star tick and thanked many, many stars it didn't bite me. I could live with a red meat allergy but I wouldn't be super happy about it.

As the hours passed, the sun sank and the rain got more and more intense. Some squirrels argued back and forth above our heads but never came out for a shot opportunity. It was just warm enough to be comfortable temperature-wise, but I sorely wished that I had warm-weather waterproof pants. Oh well, ultimately it was fine, just next to no movement in the woods. We cut out around 8:00pm, so a bit before sundown, and took our mud-soaked selves back to the truck.

I was tired from my 22 hour drive and the hunt day, so we both agreed that day 2 we would try the unit the ranger had told us about and would sleep in a little to regain some rest and sanity. Dapper said the unit appeared small - About a mile squared - with mostly level terrain. It wasn't one we had looked at before so we were eager to try it.

My first impression when we got there was was - More cows. A lot more cows. They were in the unit near the truck area, but thankfully not on the path. We walked past the cows with our game plan and proceeded to the wooded areas.

Second impression was - This place is gorgeous.
.
Seriously if you showed me that picture I would guess Hawai'i, not Texas. We found a game path going towards the area we wanted through the woods, so we followed it. We would do a handful of creek crossings while scouting this unit, each one was a little bit of an adventure. I mean, I never get to pull out my Quicksand 101 knowledge, but I did on this day!

This unit was chock full of life. We saw many frogs, a handful of skinks, plenty of birds and could hear a pack of coyotes off in the distance towards dusk. It was exciting!

By midday we found the place the ranger told us about and the tracks everywhere looked incredibly promising. It was another place surrounded by private land, but this one had telltale pig crossing tunnels going through the shrubs, past the fences, all over the place. We set up on the edge of a meadow to rest and I couldn't help but think that we had definitely done at least a mile there. Maybe because we have been weaving back and forth it seemed longer. While we rested there was a very close encounter with a male black-chinned hummingbird, which was exciting if brief. The rain had let up at long last, but it stayed mostly overcast for the day. A small blessing for our skin!

We admired the blooms and decided to look around more of the unit while it was midday. After rounding another corner of the unit and taking another break, Dapper suggested going back to get snacks, which I had to halt him for. At this point not only was I incredibly footsore but very tired, and asked if he was cool going to the truck unladen and coming back with the snacks. We agreed on this and I had a nice rest on a hill with my back to a tree.


I had a lot of long-ranged view, not a lot of short-ranged opportunity, and got to watch lots of interesting bird activity by the time Dapper came back. I had to laugh when his tracking on OnX revealed the true size of the unit to us: He had done something like 7 miles already that day. No wonder we were so tired! After a good refill on food and water we made our way back to the Pig Spot and settled in for a good wait.


We certainly could hear a lot! No pigs, but lots of birds, the pack of coyotes, some people and animals on the farms surrounding this property. Sunset was enjoyable and comfortable amongst the blooms, and after last light I did my horribly inaccurate coyote call and confused the hell out of someone's dog in the distance. Even if no yotes reacted to it this time it was very fun to have something react to a call of mine.

On our hike back we had our final Cow Encounter (tm). It was the herd from before, but all the cows, calves and at least one bull were now between us and the truck. After several minutes of being loud, giving them as much room as possible while trying to hug the fence and go around them enough of them moved out of our path enough for us to get through.

Pigs 2, hunting duo 0.

However, I'm still incredibly pleased with this trip! It was a lot of walking/some mild hiking, I got to spend a great deal of time with Dapper and his lovely family, we hung out, had tasty food and I learned a lot more about hunting Texas Public Land. To finish us off Dapper offered to help show me how to clean the interior of my gun. I had never taken it apart in my five years of having this shotgun, just had cleaned what I could from what the kit could reach. It was due for a good thorough deep clean.

Oh my poor gun. It needed it. Badly.

Aside from the tiny flecks of rust starting to form from our weekend's shenanigans, I spied on the inaccessible part of the trigger a fair bit of that color. Determined to get to the trigger to clean the somewhat significant rust off, I took apart all the fiddly bits inside the gun and slowly made progess while everyone went to bed. After two youtube videos, some proper sleep, an exploded diagram of a mossberg 500 and several hours of effort my gun was clean of rust, cared for properly with the right coatings and put back together by the middle of the next morning. I sorely do not want to do that again, but at least now I have some basic know-how on a proper cleaning of the gun, especially after some adventures in the wet. It was a very good learning experience! Also I learned to hate three very specific springs.

Dapper is much more experienced with closer-range hunting than I am, especially in dense foliage, and I hope to have a chance to see how to take game in that setup one day. Although we didn't take anything it was a lovely trip, the humidity was nice on my lungs and I got a free car wash out of it, too! I greatly appreciate the semi-regular reminder that I need to do more cardio and can't wait to try again some other time. I had a very exciting drive home involving a thunderhail storm, but with the power of coffee and a nap in AZ, made it back safely and in a timely manner.

Thank you once again to DapperDraculaDeer for hosting me and teaching me the ways of how to hunt on Texas Public Land! I am anxious to get out and try again. One day I will bring some bacon home. One day.

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.

Chaosfeather posted:



Second impression was - This place is gorgeous.
.
Seriously if you showed me that picture I would guess Hawai'i, not Texas. We found a game path going towards the area we wanted through the woods, so we followed it. We would do a handful of creek crossings while scouting this unit, each one was a little bit of an adventure. I mean, I never get to pull out my Quicksand 101 knowledge, but I did on this day!

I was amazed by this unit. LBJ is one of the more scenic areas I hunt, but it's still usually not that pretty. This unit though was amazing. It also had elevation changes that were damned near mountainous by the stands of the area. That warden had some good advice.

I'm still bummed we didn't take a pig though. I've been on a long dry streak and was hoping to break it while we were out, but it looks like it wasn't to be. It was still a ton of fun to get out there and see some new sections of LBJ. I also learned a lot from our impromptu shotgun cleaning workshop as well, although I'm still not brave enough to disassemble one of those trigger groups. I hope we can do it all again soon!

Arrgytehpirate
Oct 2, 2011

I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!



Great effort post on pig hunting. It’s definitely a bucket list hunt for me. I like y’all’s stance on clearing the invasive species off public land.

ThePopeOfFun
Feb 15, 2010

I haven't hunted since my dad took me as a kid. I have all his guns now. Really want to get out for winter Whitetail, but I also don't have a deep freeze. I've got private land figured out and it's got a stand in it. Pretty tame compared to the massive treks from the last page. I THINK I have someone who can show me how to skin/clean. Else I can just take it to the processor.

Biggest obstacle looks like getting this .270 dialed in and my being able to shoot it accurately. It's a little more gun than I want, but for a first corn fed Whitetail hunt in years, not so worried. I'm also a little concerned about gun inheritance laws. As far as I know, it's been in limbo since he died.

Edit: Oh I have a question. Should I take this rifle into a shop before taking it to a range to sight in? Will also probably be wise to re-take hunter ed.

ThePopeOfFun fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Jul 9, 2021

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
When's the last time you went shooting?

How long have the firearms been sitting around?

If you're feeling unsure then it might be a good idea to take the course,even if it's just to confirm to yourself that you know what your doing.

Chaosfeather
Nov 4, 2008

Definitely refresh yourself on state laws re: gun inheritence and feel comfortable with the gun you are going to shoot before you go out there. I'm sure things will fall back into place easily but it doesn't hurt to be safe and make sure everything is legal and working as intended.

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.

ThePopeOfFun posted:

I haven't hunted since my dad took me as a kid. I have all his guns now. Really want to get out for winter Whitetail, but I also don't have a deep freeze. I've got private land figured out and it's got a stand in it. Pretty tame compared to the massive treks from the last page. I THINK I have someone who can show me how to skin/clean. Else I can just take it to the processor.



Field butchering an animal for the first time is a big, big concern for just about every new hunter. I know it sure was for me. Its really not that difficult though. If you have ever cut up one of those rotisserie chickens they sell at the grocery store a lot of the process will be familiar already. There are a ton of videos on the topic but this series from TXPWD was probably the best I found despite being a bit older: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY53hiEtt-Q You can also find quite a few premade, single page guides for cleaning a game animal intended to be printed out, laminated and brought along in your back in case you need a reminder of the process when the time arrives. Between that and a proper kill kit with a sharp knife or two, a way to sharpen the knife, gloves, tags and zip ties youll be fine. It feels super intimidating at first but it really shouldnt be. Go slow and remember its not a race, realize that if you make a mistake its no the end of the world.

A bigger concern for a lot of new hunters should probably be how to get the thing back to the cooler once its down and in pieces.

wesleywillis
Dec 30, 2016

SUCK A MALE CAMEL'S DICK WITH MIRACLE WHIP!!
^^^ As someone who has used this exact thing as an excuse as to why "I haven't gotten around to hunting yet", I can say it is definitely intimidating.

I took the following class: https://www.ofah.org/aftertheshot/ in the before times, and I definitely learned a bunch of poo poo, not just about cutting up dead animals, but also about Chronic Wasting Disease and some other sciency stuff related to deer and deer hunting.
Problem being I never got around to using any of the info I learned, so while the course wasn't a waste, my own lack of initiative etc means that I've forgotten a bunch of poo poo that I did learn.

I feel like I probably remember enough to go out and chop up a deer in the woods, but I also think there'd be a gang of poo poo (meat, hide etc) that would go to waste. because my techniques would be lacking precision.

I could just take it to a butcher, but I don't have any local places to actually hunt. So it'd be blast deer, take to place near hunting location, possibly drive home ( few hours) drive back in a day or two (a few more hours) to pick up, or blast deer, drive a few hours with carcass, take to processor closer to home. I guess if its cold enough, I won't have to worry about meat spoilage but who knows what it might be like when it happens.

In other words, more excuses.

wesleywillis fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Jul 10, 2021

Chaosfeather
Nov 4, 2008

Not that it will help with any excuses or queasiness, but I haven't broken down a large animal by myself yet. It's relatively similar to breaking down a small animal, just a much larger scale and larger weight. Bigger ice boxes, more ice when you pull into a gas station, etc. Whatever you leave in the field will not truly be wasted. I encourage you to take as much as possible, be it meat, hide, skull and bones, antler pieces, whatever. Scavengers are an important part of our ecosystems and will absolutely find and go to down on your kill once you are done - or even before you are done, if you are taking multiple trips! I always enjoy when I go to my favorite deer hunting place and at night I hear all of the coyote packs yipping and howling in excitement over the wealth of food they have access to.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Honestly, using a scalpel to dissect/field dress a mouse from a mousetrap would probably be great practice for doing a deer if someone wanted a low consequence trial run.

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.

AmbassadorofSodomy posted:


I feel like I probably remember enough to go out and chop up a deer in the woods, but I also think there'd be a gang of poo poo (meat, hide etc) that would go to waste. because my techniques would be lacking precision.

I could just take it to a butcher, but I don't have any local places to actually hunt. So it'd be blast deer, take to place near hunting location, possibly drive home ( few hours) drive back in a day or two (a few more hours) to pick up, or blast deer, drive a few hours with carcass, take to processor closer to home. I guess if its cold enough, I won't have to worry about meat spoilage but who knows what it might be like when it happens.





Whenever you are field butchering an animal, no matter how good you are there are going to be mistakes. When you got up at some god awful early time to be out in the woods at first light, possibly including a long hike back, then an extended sit, then whatever else. Its a lot of poo poo man and even if you take an animal early in the day you are tired by the time you start cutting it up. So mistakes happen, maybe a nicked intestine, maybe a bit of meat left on a pelt, maybe you forgot to snag the tenderloins. As long as you make an effort to learn from your mistakes I think you should just let that stuff ride and not sweat it. The first time I took a pig I only managed to get its two rear quarters and backstraps out and it was glorious.

Once you've got the animal quartered and out you can take it to a butcher, but really at that point most of the work is done. The last steps of butchering the animal are super easy and can be done at your leisure at home. Dont take my word for it though, instead take Peter's! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEucUy1KfnY Who probably made one of the best videos on how to butcher a hind quarter I have seen.

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy
I just bought a tikka t3x superlite stainless in strada camo and 6.5CM as my first deer rifle. Thanks for the recommendations in the gun newbie thread. Wanted black stainless but they didn’t have any so gently caress it, what’s another Hundo?


Edit: I don’t know wtf I’m doing. Looked through a cheap ($180) vortex3 x9 that was blurry around the perimeter and a vortex diamondback FFP 4x16 ($350) that looked amazingly clear and crisp in comparison. I think 3x9 is enough magnification but I definitely want at least the clarity of the diamondback. I’d rather buy once cry once, the FFP was great but don’t know how it looks at dawn/dusk. Looked great sighting a deer mount across the store at bass pro. I need scope rings too apparently. This is going to get pricey haha.

tesilential fucked around with this message at 04:15 on Jul 16, 2021

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.
There is so much glass ranging from good to excellent out there these days you really need to have a budget in mind. Then, if you arent attached to any particular brand and are willing to shop around a bit you can find some surprisingly good deals as glass goes on clearance to make room for next years model. With that said, you were going to be hunting the woods werent you? If so, I just saw this pop up on gun.deals : https://www.scopelist.com/RZR-6638-Razor-HD-LH-15-8x32-Riflescope-with-G4-BDC-RZR-6638.aspx?affid=gundeals-25-feb-2021&avad=211021_e22d90535 It looks like that particular model is being discontinued, hence the deep discount. Vortex's HD glass has a good reputation, and that 1.5x bottom end magnification will serve you well in the woods. For hunting the woods low end magnification really is important. The lower objective size is going to make low light conditions harder but good quality glass can go a long way to compensate for that.

I havent handled that scope before so grain of salt, but I would consider it to be a strong option if I were in your place. If it fits your budget itd probably be worth googling around a bit to see if you can find some reviews of it from a reputable source and then give it some further consideration.

Another option to consider is just getting an inexpensive 3-9x40 scope from a reputable brand like Vortex to use for a season while you learn the ropes. After that you will have a much better understanding of your needs and will be better able to make a decision on this. Glass doesnt hold value all that great so you likely wont be able to flip it to make back much of the cost so it might be better to just keep it as a backup. And having a backup scope you are familiar with on hand is not a bad idea at all.

DapperDraculaDeer fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Jul 16, 2021

glynnenstein
Feb 18, 2014


tesilential posted:

I just bought a tikka t3x superlite stainless in strada camo and 6.5CM as my first deer rifle. Thanks for the recommendations in the gun newbie thread. Wanted black stainless but they didn’t have any so gently caress it, what’s another Hundo?


Edit: I don’t know wtf I’m doing. Looked through a cheap ($180) vortex3 x9 that was blurry around the perimeter and a vortex diamondback FFP 4x16 ($350) that looked amazingly clear and crisp in comparison. I think 3x9 is enough magnification but I definitely want at least the clarity of the diamondback. I’d rather buy once cry once, the FFP was great but don’t know how it looks at dawn/dusk. Looked great sighting a deer mount across the store at bass pro. I need scope rings too apparently. This is going to get pricey haha.

I haven't been watching lately, but you used to be able to get the Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44 on sale for really great prices, and if you can I'd recommend it. I paid $250 two years ago, and it may not get that cheap anymore, but it's worth looking around for sure.

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy
Thank you guys. I’m going to dig into reviews of those tonight. Especially the one dapper posted as that’s a big discount from msrp.

I think $500 is the budget tho I’d rather be <$350. Low light is more important than max zoom as I doubt I’ll even see deer past 100 yards in the thick stuff I’ll be hunting.


Is used glass a good option or are the lenses easy to scratch if not taken care of?

Ophidian
Jan 12, 2005

Woo WOO, Look a Parrot...
LOOK AT IT!
If it’s a used vortex anything and it’s messed up you can get it replaced for free.

I’ve used the warranty and when I dropped my old talon HD (which I got second hand) they replaced them with the viper HD and it only took two weeks or so. No questions asked.

charliebravo77
Jun 11, 2003

If you can find an older version in stock somewhere or wait until these are in stock the Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44 is probably the best budget hunting scope out there. Super bright, reliable, good zoom range and well built.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020461155?pid=439467

nadmonk
Nov 26, 2017

The spice must flow in and through me.
The fire will cleanse me body and soul.


DapperDraculaDeer posted:

Field butchering an animal for the first time is a big, big concern for just about every new hunter. I know it sure was for me. Its really not that difficult though. If you have ever cut up one of those rotisserie chickens they sell at the grocery store a lot of the process will be familiar already. There are a ton of videos on the topic but this series from TXPWD was probably the best I found despite being a bit older: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY53hiEtt-Q You can also find quite a few premade, single page guides for cleaning a game animal intended to be printed out, laminated and brought along in your back in case you need a reminder of the process when the time arrives. Between that and a proper kill kit with a sharp knife or two, a way to sharpen the knife, gloves, tags and zip ties youll be fine. It feels super intimidating at first but it really shouldnt be. Go slow and remember its not a race, realize that if you make a mistake its no the end of the world.

A bigger concern for a lot of new hunters should probably be how to get the thing back to the cooler once its down and in pieces.

I field dressed my first deer last season. A sharp knife is definitely key. It took me a bit, but turned out just fine.

Next season if I get a deer, I suspect I'll also need to process it myself. Nearly all of the places that processed deer in the past either are retiring, only doing livestock processing now, or can't get enough help and are only taking a limited number of deer.

Any recommendations on good resources / guides for fully processing a deer?

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

nadmonk posted:

I field dressed my first deer last season. A sharp knife is definitely key. It took me a bit, but turned out just fine.

Next season if I get a deer, I suspect I'll also need to process it myself. Nearly all of the places that processed deer in the past either are retiring, only doing livestock processing now, or can't get enough help and are only taking a limited number of deer.

Any recommendations on good resources / guides for fully processing a deer?

I processed my first deer by myself after many years of not really eating meat even, and I found it surprisingly intuitive. I don't know if i did a job worthy of a professional butcher but it was totally fine. Quarter the deer first (maybe read up on that if you haven't done it) and then you can handle each leg on a table. Then it's mostly just cutting muscles off of bones and from each other and labeling them upper/lower hind/front quarter, rib meat, belly meat, rump/pelvis meat, etc. so you can learn as you go what works best for different cuts (which in many cases is going to be ground or stewed). Nobody cares if you don't label it with the proper culinary name for each cut.

The big cuts you want to get right are the backstraps and the loins, which you can look up diagrams of.

Gutting and skinning were the only parts i really needed someone to show me, so if you have that down i think you'll be fine.

nadmonk
Nov 26, 2017

The spice must flow in and through me.
The fire will cleanse me body and soul.


alnilam posted:

I processed my first deer by myself after many years of not really eating meat even, and I found it surprisingly intuitive. I don't know if i did a job worthy of a professional butcher but it was totally fine. Quarter the deer first (maybe read up on that if you haven't done it) and then you can handle each leg on a table. Then it's mostly just cutting muscles off of bones and from each other and labeling them upper/lower hind/front quarter, rib meat, belly meat, rump/pelvis meat, etc. so you can learn as you go what works best for different cuts (which in many cases is going to be ground or stewed). Nobody cares if you don't label it with the proper culinary name for each cut.

The big cuts you want to get right are the backstraps and the loins, which you can look up diagrams of.

Gutting and skinning were the only parts i really needed someone to show me, so if you have that down i think you'll be fine.

Considering last year when I got my deer processed all the meat came as "steak" or "burger" it sounds like doing it myself will be a step up.

DapperDraculaDeer
Aug 4, 2007

Shut up, Nick! You're not Twilight.

nadmonk posted:

I field dressed my first deer last season. A sharp knife is definitely key. It took me a bit, but turned out just fine.

Next season if I get a deer, I suspect I'll also need to process it myself. Nearly all of the places that processed deer in the past either are retiring, only doing livestock processing now, or can't get enough help and are only taking a limited number of deer.

Any recommendations on good resources / guides for fully processing a deer?

This guys is the best! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEucUy1KfnY

That only covers the rear quarter, but that is generally the most complicated bit. At least it has been for me. The front quarter I chop up to use as stew meat. Neck is a roast. Ribs are ribs, tenderloin and backstrap are steaks.

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

nadmonk posted:

Considering last year when I got my deer processed all the meat came as "steak" or "burger" it sounds like doing it myself will be a step up.

lol yikes, yeah

I also suggest freezing it in separable wrappings in the quantities that make most sense to you to thaw one at a time. For me it tended to be 1.5-2 lb pieces (or collections of pieces, for the smaller ones) wrapped in saran wrap; 2-3 of those packages wrapped in labeled freezer paper. With some prying you can usually get them apart later.

The most annoying part is cutting away the silver skin and fascia - slimy filmy stuff over the muscles. I got annoyed enough that i ended up deferring that work to my future self as i thawed each cut. Processing day is tiring enough as it is.

The backstraps are looong. Cut them into quarters or thirds for freezing, but don't slice them into medallions until you cook them, imo. Keep the tenderloins whole as well.

Another tip I learned itt is brining. It really pulls the blood out and cuts down on the "gamey" flavors. Definitely with the nice cuts, but even before grinding some leg meat I will brine it, and the result is way better. Just soak the cut in a big bowl of brine (1 Tbsp salt per cup water) overnight and rinse it, then cook or grind as usual

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy

DapperDraculaDeer posted:

This guys is the best! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEucUy1KfnY

That only covers the rear quarter, but that is generally the most complicated bit. At least it has been for me. The front quarter I chop up to use as stew meat. Neck is a roast. Ribs are ribs, tenderloin and backstrap are steaks.


That’s probably the best cooking related video I’ve ever seen. It’s a tragedy he’s only got a couple vids up and doesn’t have the entire session of his venison dinner party.

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Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
For both of my deer I kept one foreleg whole and froze it. Serving a whole deer leg looks pretty speccy and is great for entertaining a larger crowd. If its too you can always use a saw/hacksaw to cut it into two smaller pieces to fit into the pot/roasting pan

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