Deer hunting

[ys]

Thoughts on this year deer hunting.

Good news - we got 4 deers.

Bad news - stomach content had corn kernels from nearby farms, most likely Monsanto corn.

All 4 deers were taken in the morning on the first day.  We have not seen any more deer the rest of the day or following two days.

All 4 were taken between 100 and 150 yards.  Just beyond the range of most shotguns and well beyond of any bow.  Medium range rifle appears to be the most economical way to harvest deers.  If we did not have rifles we would have come out empty handed.  I think bow hunting is strictly for the experience, one can wait a very long time to kill a deer with a bow.

We also checked public land up north.  It is further away from the farms and I suspect deer there are cleaner.  We are thinking of trying there next season.

[Löwenherz]

Hi ys!

How much fat have these deers? Could you make some photos from the butchering?

Löwenherz

[jessica]

do you plan to eat them regardless of your gmo suspicions?  It's a shame you even have to consider wild game's quality of diet, for their health and yours....!  i think hunting with rifle is perhaps the most humane thing to do as well unless someone is incredibly skilled and experienced in other techniques.  really amazing that you go out and hunt, i have wanted to for the longest time but haven't taken the time to put effort into it!!!!!!!! really jealous, hope you feast on those guys

[Projectile Vomit]

I disagree on the comments about using a rifle. They aren't any more 'humane' than using a bow. A rifle bullet (or slug, or steel ball if you use a muzzle loader) creates fierce pain that kills quickly due to massive tissue damage (assuming that you hit a vital spot). An arrow creates much less pain and kills slightly less quickly because it causes less tissue damage (again assuming that you hit a vital spot).

The benefit of rifles (and firearms more generally) is that they make it easy to kill without requiring people to learn how to hunt. You don't have to learn the habits of an animal, you don't have to learn fieldcraft, you don't have to learn to make any tools, etc. Just buy a gun, sit in a tree and wait for something to walk by within a few hundred yards of you. Most folks who use rifles to kill, in my opinion, are more akin to snipers than they are to hunters.

[ys]

Löwenherz,
Deers were pretty lean, doe had the most fat, mainly around kidneys.  I think their fat content is similar to goats.  The bigger the deer the more fat it has.  I did not take the pictures.  There were small birds picking fat around intestines.

jessica,
I plan to eat deer without thinking much about corn.  Hunting is not that enjoyable for me.  Think of it like driving 5h to a grocery store and wait in line in the freezing cold for several days.  For me hunting is all about food.  I do not enjoy killing that much.  My goal is to get my own food the way I want and do not depend on others.  I plan to scout remote public land in the summer in hope of getting better quality deers.

Eric,
I do not know what's more humane or not.  All I know is rifle is the most efficient way to collect wild animals.  I surely would like to learn advanced hunting techniques and hunt with a bow.  It's just time is a luxury I and most others don't have.  Ideally I would love to own good land somewhere in the west and work as a hunting guide for larger game.  But for now rifle is the only tool that works for me.

[Ferocious]

Rifle is not more humane. I've seen hunts and animals hardly know they've been shot when they are shot with an arrow. They just die from blood loss, sort of just passing out.

Anyway, nice deer you got there.

[djr_81]

I disagree on the comments about using a rifle. They aren't any more 'humane' than using a bow. A rifle bullet (or slug, or steel ball if you use a muzzle loader) creates fierce pain that kills quickly due to massive tissue damage (assuming that you hit a vital spot). An arrow creates much less pain and kills slightly less quickly because it causes less tissue damage (again assuming that you hit a vital spot).

The benefit of rifles (and firearms more generally) is that they make it easy to kill without requiring people to learn how to hunt. You don't have to learn the habits of an animal, you don't have to learn fieldcraft, you don't have to learn to make any tools, etc. Just buy a gun, sit in a tree and wait for something to walk by within a few hundred yards of you. Most folks who use rifles to kill, in my opinion, are more akin to snipers than they are to hunters.

Agreed. Even though I'm definitely a good shot with a rifle and could have taken a deer or two this season I do not see the point unless I am in a situation where I need the meat to survive. Tracking an animal and using a bow seems fairer to the animal and a better way to show respect for it. I've got the bow I just haven't got enough training in yet to feel comfortable with a kill shot. I'd rather forgo the meat than chance wounding the animal and not killing it.
ys; Please don't take this as an attack on you. You are in a different position and have a different mindset than I do. We all have different outlooks on things.

As for the corn it definitely has an effect on the meat. I have a number of friends and family who are hunters. Most of the deer come from areas without farms and I can handle the meat fine. I've gotten meat from one person though who hunts near farms and I can't eat the meat. He sometimes will cull the herds a bit out of season for other farmers though, times when the corn is not ripe, and I can eat the meat then without issue. I'm not sure how extensive the effect on the meat is but it does something to it.

[ys]

Löwenherz, here is the picture of the suet, kidneys are inside of it.  The small one is from small deer (those behind the tree), and larger are from deers in front.

Mature deer also has some backfat and on some on the side.

If anyone lives around UP Michigan that knows the area that would be great.  I'm looking for a new spot to hunt next year.

[Löwenherz]

Löwenherz, here is the picture of the suet, kidneys are inside of it.  The small one is from small deer (those behind the tree), and larger are from deers in front.

Thank you very much, ys!

Do you like the taste of this suet?

The deer fat I got last time was completely inedible..

Löwenherz

[ys]

It was edible but I did not enjoy it.  Out of all fats I had this one is definitely the last one I would eat.