Any hunters on here?

[KikiDeAnime]

Me and my big mouth... Been months since we last had a raccoon
Guess what my older brother saw outside? Yup! A raccoon..
It ran off but now we'll be checking the yards at night daily until my dad manages to shoot it.
All birds have been counted up and everyone is all locked up.

 

[mdees88]

I’ve never tried deer, squirrel, whatever. I wonder what it tastes like.

You will regret every pound of ground beef you've ever bought after eating a 70/30 mix of venison bacon burger. It's that good.... plus fried backstrap or bacon wrapped jap/cheese backstrap rolls..... mmmh, mmmh, good.

That's kind of the whole point of hunting.. actually using the animals to feed people. Those who kill for sport are low lives and shouldn't own guns.
I also plan on using the raw bones and any other pieces of the animals for meals for our dogs & cats. Then I plan on using the furs

Actually I do not agree with that statement but I probably agree with the point I think you were trying to make.

My goal is to kill deer so I can eat them but I do not hunt because I'm going to starve if I don't hunt. I hunt because I enjoy pretty much every aspect involved with "the hunt" (including eating the great tasting meat). Which means I hunt for sport (the thrill of the hunt). I like the scouting in the pre-season. I like managing the property I hunt. I like honing my shooting skills to become a highly proficient marksman so I can make an clean, ethical shot. I enjoy outsmarting the animal I'm after and putting myself in a position to be able to harvest the animal.

When you're hunting a deer (especially a mature buck) you have to get in his world. You have to figure out what his pattern is. Where is he sleeping, where is he eating, what are his routes of travel. You have to plan your hunt based on multiple factors which include wind direction, moon phase, the location of the sun, and where you think the deer is going to be. It's not easy, especially in high hunting pressured areas.

When I fire the fatal shot and watch the deer go down I am overwhelmed with joy and satisfaction. This is what non hunters have a hard time understanding. That joy and satisfaction is not simply because I turned a living animal into a not living animal. That joy is from seeing the fruits of all my labor, my planning, and my scouting paying off with that one shot that seals the deal, mission accomplished.

Like turkey hunting which was mentioned earlier. To kill a turkey you have to convince a wild Tom turkey that you are a lonely, desperate hen turkey looking for a good time, AND you have to convince that Tom turkey (who has binocular vision, by the way) to leave the comfort of his familiar stomping grounds and come within 30yds of you so you can get a shot. You're hiding the best you can, he's looking as hard as he can for a female turkey, and you're trying to bring him in as close as possible without blowing your cover. So when you when you finally take the shot, how can you not be ecstatic and full of satisfaction at the fact that you just convinced a wild animal to come within 20yds of you because he thought you were hot young female turkey? That's the thrill of the hunt....

If what you were saying is you don't like people who hunt just so they can kill something for no other reason than killing something and showing pics to friends (meaning they aren't going to eat it) then I do agree with you.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

If what you were saying is you don't like people who hunt just so they can kill something for no other reason than killing something and showing pics to friends (meaning they aren't going to eat it) then I do agree with you.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. I'm tired from doing outdoor work for most of the day so my mind isn't completely awake still.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

hunter checking in here. i really hunt everything i can eat.
planning to go white tail hunting in a few weeks, maybe moose as well (both have over the counter tags where i plan to hunt)

am just going to say it, black bear meat can be really good. most hunters i know target deer etc.. to fill there freezer but bear is a viable option (and tasty at it too) where i live we can shoot two bears a year (both a spring and fall season but only two a year so you could get one in spring and one in fall) and my oh my bear ham is awesome. (just cook it well as you don't want any trichinosis)

 

[itsasmallfarm]

@KikiDeAnime might I recommend turkey hunting? It's a good compromise between having to sit in the stand all day (like with deer) and walk all day (like with grouse). Some sitting and some walking! SUPER fun!!!

Look on your local DNR website, you could probably find a place to do gun safety there. Like someone else suggested, definitely start with a .22. Easy, and no kickback. I use a 20 gauge for turkey hunting, though I know some others use 12 gauges. (Think the smaller the number for shotguns... the harder the kick). Definitely learn how to handle a gun before you go hunting and get your gun safety license!

i agree with that also make sure you can handle said gun you use (broke my nose first year hunting due to the kick of a 12 ga)

 

[mowin]

hunter checking in here. i really hunt everything i can eat.
planning to go white tail hunting in a few weeks, maybe moose as well (both have over the counter tags where i plan to hunt)

am just going to say it, black bear meat can be really good. most hunters i know target deer etc.. to fill there freezer but bear is a viable option (and tasty at it too) where i live we can shoot two bears a year (both a spring and fall season but only two a year so you could get one in spring and one in fall) and my oh my bear ham is awesome. (just cook it well as you don't want any trichinosis)

Black Bear meat is fantastic. It's not like it was yrs ago when people shot bears over dumps.
Bears now eat what mother nature provides.
Remove all the fat, and it's some of the best eating around.

 

[Redchels]

This is my oldest daughter @ 10 who has the passion for hunting & shooting. This shot is at 200 yards-she shot 9 in a row. Then we backed her up to 400 & shot 5 in a row before it was my turn. She has always wanted to call herself “dead eye”. She may have earned it.

 

[mdees88]

It is opening day of gun season here in AL and I decided to try hunting with my revolver this morning. I woke up a little later than I planned but I was able to get setup in my ground blind about 15 minutes before legal light. About an hour later I had a doe come out and she stood broadside 27 yards. I shot her square in the shoulder with a handloaded 240gr XTP bullet. She took off running into a pine thicket and I heard her crash shortly after.

I waited about 30 minutes then slowly followed the very good blood trail through a narrow trail into the thicket. She ended up running 90yds and expired right in the middle of a fire break at the edge of the thicket. This is my first handgun kill so I was pretty excited. Can't wait to get a few more and make some sausage....

Spoiler: Dead Deer Pic

 

[mowin]

NY southern zone rifle opener today. Seen one small doe this morning. Prob 70lbs. Back out for the afternoon sit.

 

[Chuckie chicken]

I'm new to chickens, with 8 RIR pullets arriving tomorrow! I joined BYC to learn chicken things, but I'm happy to get side tracked by hunting threads, lol. I posted some pics in another thread about hunting and fishing, then found this one, so here are a few more...

2020 crossbow deer. Shot him at dusk on the 2nd last day of the season. The crossbow bolt snapped off (as seen on the mount) the larger portion did not exit, so there was no blood trail, all I had was the shaft with the fletching and a bit of hair, so I decided to leave him overnight rather than potentially spook him while wounded and risk not recovering him. As luck would have it, we got 3" of snow overnight. There was just a trace of the track the next day, but I was able to follow it and recovered the buck about 50 yards from where he was shot.

I have ample hunting gear, but no butchering equipment, so I have that done for me. I would love to get into it some day, but the guy I take it to makes such great pepperettes, summer sausage, and pepperoni, I haven't bothered.

I hunt coyotes all winter with a group that also muzzleloader hunts deer. Coyote hunting is one of my favorites. Trying to outwit these guys can be quite a challenge! 2020 was a pretty typical year for us with a total of 25 coyotes. We track without dogs and use a rifle or shotgun depending on the circumstances. The fur is sold at auction. Others have ask, and no, I've never tried the meat!

With turkey season right around the corner, it seems like ages ago, but here's my 2020 tom, a wing bone call, and decoy I made from the tail fan. I'm hoping to call in my 2021 tom with the new call. I've successfully used fans as decoys in the past, but I'm looking forward to using the call, it sounds pretty good!

Great to see some other hunters on here!