Scored a deer on opening day!

[Johnny]

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Today was Michigan's first day of firearms deer season. I got VERY lucky and stumbled upon this large doe on my property. I took her with a Ruger American .308. Most importantly to me, this beautiful animal was dead before she even hit the ground. It was instant "lights out".

This is only the second deer I've taken in my lifetime. For all intents and purposes, I'm a beginner-level deer hunter.

I butchered the deer myself out in the woods very near where she fell. First time I've ever done this. Thanks YouTube. It took me all of 4 hours but netted me about 40 pounds of meat. I tried to save as much of the animal as possible. The heart and liver are being turned into dog food. I am completely exhausted and can assure you, I will not be doing any deer hunting tomorrow.

[aviator]

dammit! you killed Bambi!

[mrkalashnikov]

dammit! you killed Bambi!

Beat me to it! Nice deer bro, congrats.

[Johnny]

Beat me to it! Nice deer bro, congrats.

Thanks gentlemen. For most Michigan deer hunters, a big buck is the only option. For me, I'm completely content with a doe. In my (limited) experience, does are far less spooky and will literally stand still and stare at you. That's what this one did. I got lucky. It was a 50 meter shot. No skill involved.

It doesn't hurt that my wife and I walk the trails on our property at least once a day. The deer are used to us. During those chance encounters, they normally just run a short ways and stop.

Wife and I spent most of the morning trimming and bagging the meat. I'm still tired from the experience and probably won't be hunting for another couple days at least. I didn't anticipate in my wildest dreams tagging a deer on opening day. I figured it would be weeks before I'd get one. Sadly, I kinda miss the quiet "alone time" out in the woods sitting in the blind and quietly stalking. I still have another kill tag to fill, so I'm not done yet.

[Johnny]

dammit! you killed Bambi!

While trimming and bagging the meat, my wife pulled out a few random pieces and asked me to grill them. They all tasted like beef. Most were VERY tough but still delicious. One was buttery smooth and melted in the mouth like rib eye. The worst one was like shoe leather, but still tasty shoe leather!

My wife is allergic to both beef and pork, but not venison. Having venison on hand is a special treat!

[Full Otto]

I'm not a hunter but have been trying to enhance a patch of woods I've been blessed with
I know what you mean about the deer getting used to you
I've cut over a mile of trails and feed them through the winter
No one hunts it but it's hunted all around so it's become a good place for them to destress
Good to see you use what you take

[Johnny]

I'm not a hunter but have been trying to enhance a patch of woods I've been blessed with
I know what you mean about the deer getting used to you
I've cut over a mile of trails and feed them through the winter
No one hunts it but it's hunted all around so it's become a good place for them to destress
Good to see you use what you take

One of the first things I did when we moved out to the boonies is cut trails through the property. It probably took a couple years to complete. I keep them maintained. Whenever a big tree falls and blocks one, I'm out almost immediately to clean it up.

Some areas I actually prefer to keep free of trails in order to allow wildlife to "get away" from me. Another reason to NOT cut a trail is if you want to protect an area from possible human trespassers. On the large property I live on, there's an Indian burial mound. I have purposefully kept the trails away from it so that a random person strolling through wouldn't notice it as easy.

At another smaller property we own that borders state land, I made sure there was no trail between my land and the public property in order to discourage curious people. The previous owner lived far away and hadn't been there for decades. Word got out and at least one guy pretty much claimed it as his own, set up hunting stands, etc... My wife and I have invited a number of people to hunt our places. Neither of us, however; have patience for people who invite themselves.

A bit off-topic, but when I bought this second place, the guy who'd set up the tree stand made a big fuss at the township hall. He claimed that since he had been hunting it for 20-30 years, he should be able to use it as he wished. Never mind the fact that he'd never paid property taxes or had any legal claim. The township supervisor (a friend of mine) told the guy to pound sand. Interestingly, had the guy politely introduced himself as a neighbor, and asked nicely, I would have been fine with him hunting the property.

[Full Otto]

Sounds very familiar
As much as I'd like to get rid of them I keep the multifloral rose around the perimeter invasive but very effective
My neighbors and I share and keep an eye on each others places
Only thing I've lost so far was a White Oak tree
Of all they could have had for free, they took a good one for firewood

[Boris]

great doe! ,,Ive been out quite a bit and let some keep walking ,,not much room in the freezer so I wanna try to get a nice buck first ,,after Thanksgiving it's brown and down situation...or I won't be able to buy a deer in my field and will regret letting them walk

IIRC correctly your are Mecosta cty? ,,any EHD over there?

[Johnny]

great doe! ,,Ive been out quite a bit and let some keep walking ,,not much room in the freezer so I wanna try to get a nice buck first ,,after Thanksgiving it's brown and down situation...or I won't be able to buy a deer in my field and will regret letting them walk

IIRC correctly your are Mecosta cty? ,,any EHD over there?

I'm in Northwest Michigan and would rather not reveal my exact location. To answer your question, there has been no EHD or any other deer diseases that I'm aware of. The doe that I shot and butchered looked very healthy inside and out. I'm no expert. I'm essentially a "beginner-level" deer hunter, but didn't see anything alarming with this animal's body. That's one of the reasons I opted to butcher it myself. It's the ultimate respect for the animal. Secondly, I can make sure everything is done right.

Michigan's lower peninsula has an "unhealthy" amount of does. Way too many for the herd. Interest in hunting has declined and there are few of us remaining. While others are targeting bucks, I'm actually going for the does. Yeah... if a giant buck strolls by me at 50 meters, I'm taking the shot. That said... My priority stands at does.

[Boris]

yea,I knew you were somewhat close to me ,,think Asparagus and you're close enough to me ,,you'd definately recognize ehd if you saw it,,they look like they've the life sucked out of the,,nothing but skin draped over bone,,they usually fall dead in or near water,,my particular spot in the county has a low population of does at the moment ,,last year our hunting group alone took out close to 30 doe and a few nice bucks

[baboon]

One of my friends was gifted a 8 point that his neighbors 8 year old son shot. Was asked to process it & was giving a bottom round and some stew meat.

I ended up mixing up a cure & made jerky. It was all ate up last night with beers @ the marina. IMG_3656.jpg IMG_3662.jpg

[Johnny]

One of my friends was gifted a 8 point that his neighbors 8 year old son shot. Was asked to process it & was giving a bottom round and some stew meat.

I ended up mixing up a cure & made jerky. It was all ate up last night with beers @ the marina. IMG_3656.jpg IMG_3662.jpg

Those are some great-looking cuts of meat. Since I butchered it myself for the first time, mine don't look as good. Lots of weird-looking hunks of mystery meat.

[baboon]

Those are some great-looking cuts of meat. Since I butchered it myself for the first time, mine don't look as good. Lots of weird-looking hunks of mystery meat.

I spent a very long time merchandising this deer 40 pound yield & the neck 1/2 the back strap was missing

[Johnny]

I spent a very long time merchandising this deer 40 pound yield & the neck 1/2 the back strap was missing

You did a fine job. Looks like a professional did it. Some of mine looked like a 5th grader did it with a machete.

Even though mine didn't look as good, I'm glad I butchered it myself. There's a certain satisfaction that comes with harvesting the animal and processing it all the way down to the dinner plate. I'll do a better job next time as I learned a lot along the way. I did just about all the work out in the woods on the hanging carcass and a small plastic table. Next time, I'll separate the major muscles and do the detail work inside my garden shed with the kerosene heater on.

Wife was a big help. She hooked up a Kitchen Aid machine with a meat grinder attachment. Next time, I'll make more ground meat as it went very smooth.

I still have another kill tag to fill. I wanted to go out this morning but wife reminded me that the freezer's kinda full and we'll need to work through some of it first. Right now Michigan has too many does. I see it myself with very few buck sightings and just about every hunter I meet wanting a buck. For me, I'm gonna do the DNR a favor and go after does. I'll even let a buck go unless it's super huge.

[baboon]

You did a fine job. Looks like a professional did it. Some of mine looked like a 5th grader did it with a machete.

Even though mine didn't look as good, I'm glad I butchered it myself. There's a certain satisfaction that comes with harvesting the animal and processing it all the way down to the dinner plate. I'll do a better job next time as I learned a lot along the way. I did just about all the work out in the woods on the hanging carcass and a small plastic table. Next time, I'll separate the major muscles and do the detail work inside my garden shed with the kerosene heater on.

Wife was a big help. She hooked up a Kitchen Aid machine with a meat grinder attachment. Next time, I'll make more ground meat as it went very smooth.

I still have another kill tag to fill. I wanted to go out this morning but wife reminded me that the freezer's kinda full and we'll need to work through some of it first. Right now Michigan has too many does. I see it myself with very few buck sightings and just about every hunter I meet wanting a buck. For me, I'm gonna do the DNR a favor and go after does. I'll even let a buck go unless it's super huge.

If you have the carcass you might as well roast off the bones and make a bone broth.