I have to give a hat tip to Steven Rinella and company of Meateater fame to bring the topic of sous vide up. I am a meateater! You too? Great!
I have a gift for you to put under your Christmas tree if you like to cook and eat meat perfectly done. It is fast and is a no muss, no fuss device. My device is called an Instant Accu Slim Sous Vide, Immersion Circulator with digital touchscreen display below. It is a significantly different way to cook meat! Check on-line to shop and read-up.
This circulator cost is about 79 dollars for my model but you can spend more.
I have briefly read about these devices but for a time, I blew them off, so here I am in the kitchen the other day “without” a sous vide tool, and want to precook my back strap steaks slowly to avoid being overdone which can happen with lean game meat.
So, I cooked some venison backstrap steaks in my vacuum seal-a-meal bag with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and in hot water bath on my stove top and in a pan of water for a short period, like a sous vide but I had t to guess about time and temperature. When I thought the meat was cooked a bit, I pulled the meat out and grilled to sear them at 400F on my outdoor grill. My meat was tender and juicy. A good guess! But I want to do that again with the real equipment so I can cook lots of tender game to precise temperatures. I just bought this model shown above. It is coming via Santa Claus.
Game meat has little fat so overcooking lean venison can make your meat tough. For someone like me who has a freezer full of wild game, I think the investment is worth it. There is another method some call reverse searing where you cook meat slowly in an oven at say 225F then sear at the end like I do with prime rib roasts but that is for a different day.
The Weatherby Vanguard in 6.5 Creedmoor was a great choice for my Texas Whitetail Hunt. And so was my choice in Leupold scopes and Nosler Custom cartridges, tipped with AccuBonds!
Shots were perhaps a bit longer than 150 yards, a cake-walk for the creedmoor. The synthetic Monte Carlo style stock takes all kinds of abuse and still looks new. I geared this rifle for New England deer hunting in ice and snow. The barrel and metal surfaces has a weatherguard coating ( a stainless look) as a rust preventive. We had no rain or stormy weather to contend with, just hot and dry. Coupled with my Leupold Vx-3 and Nosler Custom 140 grain AccuBonds, it was whitetail magic.
When I arrived at the ranch, a few of us shot our rifles to ensure they were on target. I set up for a 100 yard shot at a black one inch square, upon the recoil, I could not see the bullet hole, but the Ted the lead guide said, ” It’s dead center in the black”. Ok, I said with a grin, “ready to hunt!”
On the Weatherby, it was a very cost effective at around $800, the only thing I changed was the trigger, it was fine as it was but I wanted a bit lighter trigger, so I dropped a Timney trigger in. The beefy looking bolt is very smooth to operate, I like that! I think that I will hunt New England this next year with the Weatherby. For those considering this rifle or caliber, you cant go wrong for big game deer, elk and black bear.
If you would like to read and see a few video’s of the hunt see below.
I like to chef with my venison but it wasn’t till I hunted whitetails in Texas before I tried bacon wrapped Jalapeno poppers. My taste buds went absolutely crazy, when I ate one fresh off the grill or out of the oven. You use 1/2 seeded jalapeno with cream cheese, add a thin slice of marinated backstrap and wrap it in bacon and roast. It is not uncommon to stuff your popper with a taste of meat, and tender strips of venison backstrap is perfect. Below, I cooked these with jalepeno peppers, and for my wife I cooked with green bell peppers (no heat). Honestly, the heat in the jalapeno’s with seed removed is very mild and blends well with the saltiness of the bacon, cheese and venison. My wife’s comments were; “I could have these for dinner, they are so good!
I found this recipe below that ideally does justice to these poppers. I can taste them from here! If the jalapeno seeds are removed there is just a bit of heat but the crispy bacon, venison and smooth melted cream cheese comes through but be careful as they are addicting as all-get-out!
Key to the crispy bacon is to precook some that can still be wrapped around the poppers as the recipe suggests.
Of course you can add meat or not but it is the bacon, a bit of spice from the jalapeno and the melted creaminess of the cream cheese. I recently had some poppers with cream cheese and three cheese Mexican added to the cream cheese. It’s all good! I like a cold beer to chase it!
The sun was shining brightly as my plane touched down in San Angelo, Texas on November 11th, 2020. It was a glorious day, and I was on an exciting hunt!
I last hunted in the Lone Star State in 2018 and wanted a chance to see and maybe harvest an even larger buck than in 2018 which was already a huge 144 B&C buck.
At the baggage claim, I was greeted by Clayton Kibbe, 19 years old, in his new Blue 4×4 Jeep, later to be my guide.
Clayton, boastfully tells me of his bona fides, he was brought up in a serious hunting family around the famous 825,000 acre King Ranch in South Texas and its Legacy. He proved that time and again!
I arrived in camp and Ted the lead guide said I had the choice of any bunk. Nice! Camp is simple, and part of the Cargile Ranch, a house for bunks and bath, a large barn, and dining building, but very functional with a separate dining room for a dozen hunters or more.
Pictured below on the far end is Ted our lead guide, Clayton and hunter Brian who is getting married next month. Congrats! Yes, you can see the Covid social distancing here too!
On the hunt there were just 4 hunters in camp as the rut has just begun. The following week will see a dozen hunters. In the kitchen is Rhonda, Ted’s wife and the camp cook and teacher of 30 years now retired. Very knowledgeable and fun to talk to! Thanks so much! I teased her when I arrived! “Beach Boys “Help me Rhonda” she smiled. She is also a skilled hunter and a great shot, attested by her husband Ted on Huge Moose and Deer and Safari hunts! Hunters Skip, in the hat, and Sawyer, another young Texas hunter getting some dinner.
The Whitetails on this ranch are managed by Greg Simons of Wildlife System, Inc. The cattle ranch is around 24000 acres with dozens of hunting blinds set up in it. Most of the trees on the property are mesquite, large juniper with some live Oaks in the mix.
The hunting box blinds are slightly elevated, mostly hand made of plywood, with several highly elevated box blinds. Below view from one of the many blinds. These simple blinds are great! Just keep those hornets away, and they did.
Texas Wildlife folks say there is plenty of game here in the Edwards Plateau this year. But it has been a dry summer and hard on the deer, we discovered.
The ranch owner John Cargile showed up and we chatted about the deer health and dry weather. The Texas State folks mandate that the ranch should harvest 200 does this season to balance the herd. I hope they do as I saw near to 100 deer or more on my 3 days afield.
On November 12th just in the morning alone we counted 30 whitetails and ended the days count in the 50’s. That is more deer seen than in my lifetime in New Hampshire, many were 8 point bucks. I brought 2 rifles but chose the Weatherby in 6.5 Creedmoor as the shots may be longer.
Below is my new Tactacam video footage of my shot on a Texas 8 point buck. I had the Tactacam up near the muzzle and not quite level as the picture is quite a bit angled. I will have to fix that on the next hunt. Don’t get dizzy…
You can see the Weatherby rifle flash and the buck jumping 3 feet off the ground at the shot. It was an excellent shoulder hit with Nosler Trophy Grade 6.5 Creedmoor 140 grain AccuBonds as you will see in the later video Part 2. My Leupold VX-3 scope did it’s job with great clarity!
My Crazy Smile tells it all, for the buck I just harvested. A nice shot from my Weatherby and great buck! I was using a Leupold VX-3 scope. This buck did not come close to my other buck but he was mature and somehow I felt compelled to the shot. I had a great rest, and a steady aim!
Later my hunting friend Skip, who lives just outside of San Antonio, shot an even better buck. Well, actually he shot and supposedly missed one as he and guide Clayton found no hair or blood. He didn’t! We eventually found him after the coyotes started eating his back side the next day. A call to the office allowed him to take a second buck but had to pay an other sizable harvest fee. Skip didn’t hesitate on the extra fee and was rewarded with this nice buck. He offered me the buck deer meat and I accepted.
Below are the many Angus cattle, momma and calves in a protective munge. What’s goin’ on, they moo, as they are transfixed by us hunters.
I made it back home safe and sound with some 30 pounds of boned venison that I took on the plane in a wheeled cooler. I had Rhonda buy the cooler for me at the local Walmart for $24 bucks. Thanks Rhonda! I located a game processor in town that would ship the rest of the frozen boned venison back via ground. It was expensive but I love my wild game meat.
Here back in Plaistow, NH I began the process of butchering the boned meat. Below are backstraps that I have laid out to remove silver skin. I vacuum seal all of my game meat, it is essential to prevent freezer burn and can last a very long time in a freezer. I do have a large power meat grinder for making burger and sausage.
My wife and I enjoy cooking and chefing in our large kitchen and wild game is often on the menu. We have moose, boar and deer in the freezer. Since I have retired, I enjoy chefing a step above menu for when Sue gets home from her duties as microbiologist and medical technologist at a major hospital. Great to get the PPE off!
We love venison cooked in our blue Dutch oven below. Somehow the antlers just don’t seem to fit!!
But it creates a great finished product. OMG Sooo Good!
In all I harvested one buck and 2 does and will receive meat from Skip’s buck making 4 deer in the freezer. Should last us, along with other organic wild game a very long while indeed. I haven’t bought any beef burger all year.
Check out my Thanksgiving recipe for Venison Jalapeno Poppers!
From my experience, the rut has the largest effect on deer movement, so I recommend you hunt into the rut. Why? Bucks that are in search of a mate are more susceptible to be attracted to calls, rattles and scents. Bucks that have found a mate or does that found a buck are less likely to be attracted to sounds and smells.
Early aggressive buck behavior and receptive does, for mating begins here in the Northeast in very late October and peaks around November 20th or thereabouts. By late November nearly all does have neared completion of the first estrous cycle. As I said, bucks are harder to pull away from does as the rut progresses. Late November, Post rut, the bucks are looking but most does are bred, but now bucks can again be more susceptible to calls like a doe bleat. In the photo above, my brother and I filled our tags after Thanksgiving with two dandy New Hampshire bucks taken near the 13 mile woods above Berlin! My brother took his with a Ruger M77 in 300 Win Mag and my buck fell to a 338 Win Mag. Neither buck took a step!
Snow helps hunters see where the deer tracks are, and increases the ability for hunters to see deer. It is best to dress warm and stay still on a deer stand, eat a candy bar and hunker down. I learned this hunting near the 13 mile woods near Errol, NH when I took my first deer many years ago. I was “on stand” earlier than those in our hunting camp. I greeted them going out with my deer in tow as they were coming in.
My best times to call in a buck are the last week in October and first week in November. I have observed does at dusk moving toward buck bedding areas during the early rut. Below, this little buck was called in with a fawn bleat.
I like late October to first week November. If muzzleloader hunting, it is prime for getting a shot at a big buck moving normally that is not disturbed. He can be called with a grunt tube or rattled in. In the right wind, you can often smell tarsal gland, that means there is a buck in front of you! That happened to me, but I was too young to understand its implication. The buck slipped away.
Often these bucks are not far from does and waiting for them to come into estrous, constantly smelling them down wind. Or when bedded on a hill side, smelling the updraft in early morning. I took a dandy eight point during muzzleloader season by grunting and rattling. I saw a doe nearby so I played like two bucks vying for the chance to mate. The hidden buck came in for a fight. I shot him at 20 yards and he went down ker-plop.
I took another eight point by sneaking in his bedding area and used scents to create curiosity during the first day of Shotgun season. He came in looking from almost behind me. I thought it was a squirrel! I saw his antler first, then his head. My shotgun was pointed in the wrong direction, I gasped mentally. The buck new something was not quite right but curious to see my face. I kept hiding my face as I raised the shotgun in alignment with a tree so he could not see it. Finally at 20 yards I swung the shotgun to shoot. In less than a second he bolted but stopped broadside at 40 yards, still not sure what spooked him. A one ounce slug was on its way and struck his shoulder. A follow-up shot finished his curiosity. This particular hunt was my best ever because I got the drop on him in his bedroom.
Why does rifle season kill so many deer? There are lots of deer hunters looking and bumping deer into hunters.
Rattling and buck grunting is not as effective in late season so I would not include it in my tool bag for mid November.
Finding a vantage point for active deer trails that cross, with wind advantage are great places to take a stand, as are places you expect hunters to push deer in your direction.
There are several large deer studies that conclude that moon phase effects deer in a minor way. Perhaps the most deer movement related to the moon is when it nears a new moon phase where data and experience suggest there is slightly more daytime movement. Hunting the moon phase, based on the existing data, is not reliable but helps if your gonna hunt those days anyhow.
Being observant of the wind is your best friend. Keep the wind in your face if “still hunting”.
Many of today’s hunting rifles have standard height combs on the rifle stock. So you want to buy a new scope for it with a large 50mm objective lens to get more light at dawn and dusk? That’s fine, however your all important cheek weld is now too low for optimum eye alignment. Some think that raising your head a bit is ok. Not True. What you have introduced, without a good cheek weld is a variable that can move your bullet impact depending on how your hold and or rest your rifle and how your eye aligns inconsistently with the crosshairs. What to do?
There are several options. Some folks tape foam onto the comb. For me it is an ugly option. I prefer a slip on like Beartooth comb raising kits or Hornady. Many kits include height adjuster foam and have zipper pockets and bullet loops too.
Products like this are a great and inexpensive add-on. I like them a lot. If you aren’t getting one now, then put one under the Christmas tree!
The question is about hunter capability and ethics. The question comes up usually on a western hunt where distances can be really far. A good hunting guide will help!
Lets talk about the good hunter. 1. The hunter should be practicing for the distances he or she expects to shoot game e.g. 250 yards or 500 yards and know the in’s and outs of bullet drop, as well as range and wind deflection as ranges get longer. Lets talk about a super nice 10 point buck at 482 yards feeding broadside. Your rifle is a .308 Winchester with a150 grain spitzer bullet exiting the barrel at 2700 fps. You set up the rifle expecting longer than normal shots so you zero at Max Point Blank Range (MPBR).
How do you set it up, assuming you are skilled enough to hold your buck fever in check?
A check for ballistic data on your bullet shows MPBR is 225 yards and the following data;
Range
Drop
Drop
Windage
Windage
Velocity
Mach
Energy
Time
Lead
Lead
(yd)
(in)
(MOA)
(in)
(MOA)
(ft/s)
(none)
(ft•lbs)
(s)
(in)
(MOA)
0
-1.5
***
0.0
***
2702.9
2.442
2432.9
0.000
0.0
***
25
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.2
2648.4
2.393
2335.8
0.028
4.9
18.8
50
1.3
2.4
0.2
0.4
2594.6
2.344
2241.9
0.057
10.0
19.0
75
2.2
2.8
0.5
0.6
2541.5
2.296
2151.0
0.086
15.1
19.2
100
2.7
2.6
0.8
0.8
2489.0
2.249
2063.0
0.116
20.4
19.4
125
3.0
2.3
1.3
1.0
2437.1
2.202
1977.9
0.146
25.7
19.6
150
2.8
1.8
1.9
1.2
2385.8
2.156
1895.5
0.177
31.2
19.9
175
2.3
1.2
2.6
1.4
2335.1
2.110
1815.9
0.209
36.8
20.1
200
1.3
0.6
3.4
1.6
2285.1
2.065
1738.8
0.241
42.5
20.3
225
-0.0
-0.0
4.4
1.9
2235.6
2.020
1664.3
0.275
48.3
20.5
250
-1.8
-0.7
5.5
2.1
2186.7
1.976
1592.3
0.309
54.3
20.7
275
-4.0
-1.4
6.7
2.3
2138.4
1.932
1522.7
0.343
60.4
21.0
300
-6.7
-2.1
8.1
2.6
2090.7
1.889
1455.6
0.379
66.7
21.2
325
-9.9
-2.9
9.6
2.8
2043.6
1.847
1390.7
0.415
73.0
21.5
350
-13.7
-3.7
11.2
3.1
1997.1
1.805
1328.2
0.452
79.6
21.7
375
-17.9
-4.6
13.0
3.3
1951.3
1.763
1268.0
0.490
86.3
22.0
400
-22.8
-5.4
15.0
3.6
1906.1
1.722
1209.9
0.529
93.1
22.2
425
-28.2
-6.3
17.1
3.8
1861.6
1.682
1154.1
0.569
100.1
22.5
450
-34.3
-7.3
19.4
4.1
1817.8
1.643
1100.4
0.610
107.3
22.8
475
-41.0
-8.2
21.9
4.4
1774.7
1.604
1048.8
0.651
114.6
23.0
500
-48.4
-9.2
24.5
4.7
1732.3
1.565
999.3
0.694
122.2
23.3
Is there enough bullet energy to take this 482 yard shot ethically? 1000 ft-lbs is Marginal but ok according to many sources.
Is the bullet traveling fast enough to mushroom correctly? Not really well.
3. Where do you aim? If the wind is blowing parallel with the deer at say 10 mph across his chest toward his rear? You guestimate 22 inches of wind deflection makes you aim off the deer’s body. Can you still ethically shoot? Or should you try to close the distance?
Close the distance is the smart and correct answer? The bullet will likely not mushroom correctly at that marginal speed and you have no point of aim at 22 inches off the target, and bullet energy is marginal. You do risk wounding the deer.
Ok we are still hunting that same deer and close the distance to 275 yards (range finder) and he still does not see us. The bullet is traveling at over 2000fps, good mushrooming speed and energy, but will be off target by 6.7 inches. Can you compensate and aim 6.7 inches left or right? Yes! Bullet drop is 1.4 inches low. I would not try to compensate for 1.4 inch drop, your fine. Do you have a good rest for your rifle? Yes, my backpack, if I lay prone. If you are rock solid on the deer with crosshairs and adjusted for wind deflection, then I would take the shot. The flight time is just over a third of a second at that range.
Ok, after that exercise, is that what you do when shooting long distances? Think about speed, drop, energy? If so then you are giving the deer your best to ethically take him.
A wise hunter who shoots longer ranges, should have made these calculations for limitations before hand and practiced for such a shot. I have made a table to tape to my rifle in some cases. The JBM data indicates that at 325-350 yards this rifle/bullet combo has reached its limit on speed and energy and that wind deflection at 90 degrees is 9 to 11 inches left/ right. And bullet drop is 10 inches low. The hunter must have skill to compensate. We didn’t discuss things such as temperature and altitude and shooting angle either. Lots to think about!
I used JBM Ballistics Trajectory to get this data. Try it!
Training with a rifle that has a recoil that hurts a bit after several rounds is a recipe for getting a flinch. You have to know when to stop or change the recoil pad etc! A flinch will cause you to miss the bullseye or miss the target altogether. I run into folks that show me bruises on the shoulder after shooting too many rounds or shooting a large rifle caliber with a big kick/recoil and no protective gear.
Often the shooter does not pull the rifle firmly into the shoulder too, thus the rifle builds momentum and whacks you. Not so much if you pull it firm toward you.
A flinch is an unconscious brain and body reaction to the anticipated shoulder pain just before the gun goes boom causing you to flinch. It is perhaps responsible for more misses than you can count. How to reduce or eliminate flinch is to be sure to use a shock absorbing recoil pad. Many recoil pads on the market reduce felt recoil by 50 to 60%. They are around 50 bucks and worth every penny.
Secondly, lets say you do have a flinch. Get a hunting friend to load a round in your rifle or maybe make it look like he/she is loading a round for you to shoot down range. So you pick up the rifle, aim and squeeze the trigger, but just as you squeeze and the rifle goes click your body rears back in anticipation. Yep, sure enough you’ve got a flinch. Now a good practice is to shoot a similar rifle in a lighter caliber where there is almost no recoil. Shoot it for a short time and check for flinch, Your unconscious brain knows that you won’t get hurt so for a short time the flinch disappears. On a different day shoot and dry fire your rifle a dozen or more times each day for a week. Then shoot your rifle with a recoil tamer shoulder pad. Not much recoil your unconscious brain discovers. Do that again on a different day. You are retraining your unconscious brain to trust you. Now wear the heavy shoulder recoil tamer and pad and have your friend load the rifle that gave you a flinch and shoot it standing with a live round. Not at a bench rest. You may flinch a bit but your brain says, “Hey that didn’t hurt a bit with the extra pads”! So do that again with your friend with a live round. Your brain again says hey that didn’t hurt but flinched less. Remember to hold the rifle butt firm to your shoulder. Don’t worry about hitting the target, that will come. So, now you understand that repeating a similar sequence can slowly allow your unconscious brain to trust you again. Give it a try, it works!
Lets begin by talking about those kids around 12 years old that are going to hunt deer with family for the first time.
The number one issue is safety. It has its own curriculum. Next is to train and manage recoil and the primary subject here.
Hunting parents, sort of graduate those kids by going to the back yard with a BB gun, then to the range with a .22 Long Rifle. Next is the 5.56/223 cartridge’s. Here, the .223 allows a tad more recoil and a loud report like a hunting rifle.
Better yet find a outdoor club or state organization like 4H with youth training.
Safety glasses and hearing protection are essential on the range.
I personally will not hunt deer with a .223 but graduating to a .243 Winchester or 6mm is a breeze. The .243 Winchester/6mm is an ideal starter rifle as it is light to handle, recoils little and is a proven deer cartridge. Keep ranges short to 50 yards.
Hunter Education is essential. See Fish and Game for hunter training.
In my humble opinion it is best to start children with open sights and later to scopes.
Women who are new to the sport may want to try the organization, Becoming an Outdoors Woman which exposes women to all facet of the outdoors.
Beyond that, I suggest to begin with a .22 Long Rifle for fun and accuracy with a husband or trained friend in the shooting sports. It has almost no recoil to speak of. I would recommend a bolt action but a semi-auto works too. The learning curve is very fast, then shoot a 243 Winchester with light bullets, and graduate to 80, 90 and 100 grain heads for deer hunting. Training for aiming and broadside shots at the heart and lungs are your target goals at deer targets you can get on-line or at a store. Again keep ranges short to begin and work out to 100 yards. The .243/6mm is good to 300 yards for broadside deer.
In both cases for youth and women, the learning curve is all about recoil management and a rifle that is a good fit, not cumbersome or heavy.
Men who hunt for the first time but have been to the range with rifles are still concerned about recoil and a sore shoulder. I like the 6.5 Creedmoor or 7mm-08 as it has several bullet weights. You can begin with 100 grain bullets and just stay there for deer. Or graduate to 140 grain heads which have ideal sectional density for deep penetration on all North American Game except brown bear.
Now in all cases once you arrive here you can choose to stay where you are or choose a 30 caliber for deer and a bit more recoil. The best easy shooting deer slayer in 30 cal. is the 30-30 Winchester which has very manageable recoil and excellent energy out to 100 yards for deer. Next is the .308 Winchester, an excellent choice and longer range options and a step-up in recoil. The 7mm-08 is a 7mm bullet in a .308 case, it is a fine option and similar to the 6.5 Creedmoor in energy.
The 308 Winchester and above are cartridges such as 30-06 Springfield, .270 Winchester, 7mm Remington Magnum, 300 Win. Mag and a plethora of others for those who want or like firepower for larger game such as Moose, Elk and Bear or shoot long range. Or perhaps to hunt Big Game in Africa. Along with these, also comes recoil thus training for recoil is suggested. Of course an excellent recoil pad today can reduce felt recoil as much as 50 percent, so check them out!
Always protect and pad your shoulder or rifle pad. Never shoot with shoulder pain or shoot beyond normal amounts to bruise your shoulder.
