Butchering and Freezing Venison

Venison is a healthy and delicious meat choice, but the road to a tasty meal requires care in the processing and preparation. If you’ve had gamy tasting venison before, chances are the offensive taste was obtained through processing or cooking. The meat’s quality is a result of the deer’s age, sex and diet. Older deer have tougher meat, while the meat of bucks in rut is stronger tasting from the stress of breeding season.
For nutritional value, venison is low in fat and calories and rich in protein. Use low-fat cooking techniques, such as broiling, grilling, baking or stewing instead of frying to keep the venison healthy.

Nutrient content of domestic and wild game meats
(cooked, 3-ounce serving, unless otherwise indicated)

Domestic	Calories	Protein	Iron	Total Fat	Saturated Fat	Cholesterol
Beef	184	25	3	8	3	73
Pork	180	25	1	8	3	73
Chicken (roasted, skin off)	161	25	1	8	2	76
Wild Meats
Deer	134	26	4	3	1	95
Turkey	121	26	_	1	_	55

All in all, just keep in mind the deer you are cooking and match it with the right cooking technique—roasting and stewing for tougher cuts and frying, broiling and grilling for more tender cuts.

Processing

For better venison, hang the deer before processing. Leave the skin on to prevent dehydration and keep the meat clean. A handy way to hang the carcass (and also remove scent glands) is illustrated below. Hang the deer to drain blood and cool to 50 degrees F within six hours of harvest. Freezing the venison more quickly will result in tougher meat.
Aging venison any longer is not necessary; but when stored at 34–40 degrees F for up to eight days, the taste and tenderness of venison cuts can be improved.
The following tools are needed for home processing: hand saw, cutting board or solid table, a flexible knife for boning, a stout knife for trimming fat and making larger cuts, a knife sharpener, freezer paper, plastic wrap, masking or freezer tape and a marker. To help sort meats for stewing and grinding, large plastic or metal tubs or bowls are handy.
There are many ways to process a deer and those experienced at processing often have their own special way of doing it. What we present are some general guidelines for the beginner. Remove the skin and take care to keep the hair side away from the carcass. Be sure to remove as much fat as possible (deer fat has a strong flavor). Trim any bruises or gunshot damage and wash the outside. After dripping dry, the carcass is ready to be cut.
There are two basic methods for cutting the carcass. The boneless method produces a milder flavor; all bone is removed and the more tender muscles are used for steaks, roasts and stew; the less tender muscles are ground. One point to remember is that young-of-the-year deer are so tender that the whole animal can be cut into steaks. You can also use the method similar to one used to cut up a beef carcass. This method results in popular cuts such as rib, T-bone, sirloin and round steaks. Combinations of the two methods may be used.
Regardless of method, use the chart on page 25 to produce wholesale cuts similar to those at a grocer. Start by removing the neck for boning and split the carcass by cutting down the center of the backbone. Then either bone or cut with the bone-in cutting method as used in beef cutting. Sawing through bone spreads the bone marrow across cuts of meat, sometimes creating a bad flavor. If you saw through cuts, be sure to scrape away any marrow or bone fragments. Also, carefully remove all animal hair.

Wholesale Cuts

Place the half carcass on a cutting table and remove the flank, breast and shank. Remove the shoulder by cutting between ribs 5 and 6 perpendicular to the backbone. Separate the rib from the loin behind the last rib and cut the loin from the sirloin in the middle of the last lumbar vertebra. The wholesale cuts of deer are neck, shoulder, rib or rack, loin, hind leg, foreshank, breast and flank.

Labeling

Label each package clearly with a permanent marker. Make the letters large enough for easy reading. Labels should include the owner’s name, address and Telecheck confirmation number; the name of the cut; the quantity; and the packaging date.

Freezer Storage Time

Venison can be stored in the home freezer at 6 degrees F or lower for about one year.

Nebraska Trophy Whitetails - Trophy Deer Outfitters

Deer Hunting Seasons - Nebraska Trophy Whitetails
 
Whitetail and Mule Deer HuntingArchery Sept. 15 - Dec. 31
Mule Deer Conservation Area Sept. 15 - Dec 31
November Firearm Nov. 10 - 18
Nonresident Statewide Buck Nov. 10 - 18
Resident Restricted Statewide Buck Nov. 10 - 18
Muzzleloader Dec. 1 - 31

Season Choice and River Antlerless Sept. 15 - Jan. 18, 2013
Youth and Landowner Sept. 15 - Jan. 18, 2013
Statewide Whitetail Buck Sept. 15 - Dec. 31
DeSoto Muzzleloader Oct. 20 - 21, Dec. 8 - 9

Legal Methods of Take:

Firearm- 22 caliber or larger with minimum of 900 ft lbs. energy at 100 yds. and 357 magnum rifles and 45 colt rifles, and shotguns 20 gauge or larger with single projectile and handguns with minimum of 400 ft lbs at 50 yds.

Muzzleloader Permits -45 caliber or larger with single projectile.
Archery Permits - Arrows must have sharpened points with a minimum of 9/16 cutting radius.

Spear - Handthrown/Atlatl

Shooting Hours:
30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset

Requirements:

Resident: Deer Permit Hunter Education	Nonresident: Deer Permit Hunter Education
Habitat Stamp - for all nonresidents and for residents 16 years or older

Missouri Archery Deer, Turkey Harvests Dip

By Jim Low - Abundant acorns made hunting tougher for deer and turkey hunters.

Jefferson City, MO - infoZine - Missouri’s 2010-2011 archery deer harvest dipped by 17 percent, following a trend seen during the various portions of firearms deer season. The fall turkey harvest also declined.

Bowhunters checked 43,281 deer during the archery deer and turkey season Sept. 15 through Nov. 12 and Nov. 24 through Jan. 15. That is 8,691 fewer than during the 2009-10 archery season, which set a record high.

Top archery deer harvest counties were Jackson with 980, St. Louis with 898 and Jefferson with 876. The combined 2010-11 firearms and archery deer harvests total 274,794, a decrease of 8 percent.

Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) deer expert, attributed the decrease in archery deer harvest to the same factors that held down the 2010-2011 firearms deer harvest.

The Ozarks

Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation photo

Hansen said archers shot 25 percent fewer deer in the Ozark Region during the 2010-11 season than the previous season. The Ozark Region firearms deer harvest was down 21 percent from the previous season. Overall, the Ozarks’ 2010-11 deer harvest was down 22 percent. The reason, according to Hansen, was a good acorn crop.

“We knew going into the season that hunters would have a tough time,” said Hansen. “Acorns were abundant in southern Missouri this year, and that meant deer didn’t have to move around much to find their preferred food. That makes deer harder for hunters to find.

“I have heard some people say we use acorns as an excuse when the harvest is down. But if you look at data from the past 20 years, the correlation between big acorn crops and reduced deer harvests is unmistakable.”

The reduced deer harvest in the Ozarks has a silver lining, according to Hansen.

“What happened in the Ozarks was exactly what we expected,” he said. “We shot the deer hard down there in 2009-10, so we had fewer deer to start with. Then we got an abundant acorn crop, so naturally there was a reduced harvest. Next year, if we have a moderate acorn crop, you can expect to see the Ozarks’ deer harvest jump back up as the region’s deer herd continues its slow, long-term growth.”

Northern Missouri

Hansen said offsetting factors kept the deer harvest in northern Missouri very close to last year’s figure. Deer numbers in many parts of northern Missouri have declined in recent years, but a delayed effect of weather in 2009 propped up the 2010-2011 harvest.

Bowhunters checked 13 percent fewer deer in northeastern Missouri during the 2010-11 season. However, the firearms deer harvest was up 3 percent in the region. The combined archery and firearms harvest in the northeast region topped the 2009-10 figure by a narrow margin, just 235 deer.

The situation was much the same in northwestern Missouri. The archery deer harvest there was down 12 percent from 2009-10, but firearms deer hunters shot 2 percent more deer. Northeast Missouri’s combined archery and firearms deer harvests beat the 2009-10 deer figure by a nose, just 32 deer.

Hansen said northern Missouri’s deer harvest might have been smaller if hunters had enjoyed better conditions in 2009.

“We had a very wet fall in 2009, and farmers had a dickens of a time getting crops out of the field. There was still a huge amount of standing corn during the November portion of firearms deer season, and that gave deer lots of places to hide. The November hunt normally produces well over 80 percent of the firearms deer harvest. In 2009, it fell to 78 percent. That meant we went into 2010 with more deer than we would have if the weather had been more normal.”

Future Deer Management

Hansen said the decrease in northern Missouri’s deer harvest over the past few years is clear evidence that MDC’s efforts to get a handle on deer populations are working. Reaching that tipping point ushers in a new era in deer management in the Show-Me State, which Hansen said he finds exciting.

“The downturn is something we have been expecting and watching for,” he said. “As we develop recommendations for future deer seasons, we will re-examine things like the availability of antlerless permits. We also are going to look for innovative ways to help deer hunters and landowners manage local deer herds. They have direct experience with deer in their areas, and ultimately control the number and kind of deer harvested in their areas. Deer management is going to become much more collaborative, and local than in the past.”

Archery Turkey Harvest

The 2010-2011 archery turkey harvest was 2,184, down from 3,298 the previous season. Top harvest counties during the archery season were Greene with 66, Texas with 46 and Franklin with 43. The total harvest from the 2010 youth and regular spring hunts, the fall firearms season and archery season was 54,311, down 3.7 percent from 2009-10.

Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle is the Conservation Department’s wild-turkey expert. He said the Ozarks’ abundant acorn crop probably also made turkeys harder to hunt. Another significant factor was poor turkey reproduction for the past few years.

“Wild turkey productivity has been extremely low in recent years,” said Isabelle. “When you couple below-average poult production with an abundant acorn resource, you have some difficult conditions for harvesting wild turkeys with archery gear.”

In addition, Isabelle said some hunters probably recognized that turkey numbers are down and chose not to take part in the fall hunt, preferring to wait until spring. He said this seems especially likely in northwestern Missouri, where production was up 34 percent in 2010, but the archery turkey harvest was substantially lower than last year.

Although turkey numbers are down in some parts of the state, Isabelle said hunters still can expect some outstanding hunting opportunities during the 2011 spring season.

“Despite some challenging hunting conditions in recent years, turkey harvest in Missouri is still among the highest of any state in the country,” said Isabelle. “Even when conditions are tough, Missouri still offers some of the best turkey hunting that can be found anywhere.”

5 Reasons You Might Miss Your Deer - Trophy Deer Hunting Tips

There are five main reasons deer hunters miss deer when they are deer hunting.
1.) Not sighting in your deer rifle before you go hunting.
This sounds pretty basic, but year after year some deer hunters refuse to go to the rifle range to sight in their deer rifles.
They may figure, “Well, it shot straight last year when I put the rifle away.”
Regardless of how straight your deer rifle shot when you cased it up at the end of season, go to the range and sight it in again for the next season, preferably several times before deer season arrives.
Why?

Sights and scopes can get bumped while cleaning, handling or transferring from gun cabinet to deer hunting woods and back again.
2.) Using different ammunition than used to sight in with.
Different bullet weights and even various ammunition brands will shoot differently from the same rifle.
Make sure you stock up on the same brand and bullet weight of ammunition, the brand and weight you sighted in your rifle with, before you head to the deer hunting woods.
3.) Taking free hand shots.
Free hand shots are the least effective for deer hunting, because in many situations you are not rock solid when shooting.
If you don’t have a good rifle rest in your tree stand or blind when you are deer hunting, use your knee to steady your shot.
Another option is shooting from the prone position, but don’t try this from a tree stand.
Always try to use a solid rest before taking the shot.
4.) Not enough perfect practice.
There is more to shooting a rifle and becoming a good shot than just simply sighting in your rifle.
The more you can practice with different shooting scenarios, the better you will become at handling your deer rifle.
5.) Not knowing your shooting limitations.
This is really simple. If you don’t feel you can make a long range shot, don’t shoot.
At times, some deer hunters let their egos take over.
Only shoot the distance you have practiced for. This will keep you from wounding deer.
How can you avoid missing your deer the next time you go deer hunting?

• Sight in your deer rifle several times before deer season arrives.

• Remember to deer hunt use the same brand and bullet weight of ammo you used to sight in your deer rifle.

• Always use a solid rest when taking a shot.

• Perfect practice. Perfect practice. Perfect practice.

• Take shots only at distances you are comfortable shooting.

Whitetail Antler Growth and What It Can Tell a Hunter

by
Naomi K. Shapiro

Throughout the year whitetail bucks and the occasional doe grow antlers. The antlers start growing in early spring and throughout the year, until late August/early September, when the antler growth stops. Throughout the growing season the antlers are coated in a light velvety coating that helps protect the antlers and encourages growth. Underneath the velvet the blood and nutrient flow promoting the growth of antlers. At the end of the growth cycle, the velvet falls or is peeled off by rubbing and scraping and voila, the mature antler is exposed.
There can be a lot of irregularity in antler growth. Throughout the year as antlers grow, bucks get in fights with other bucks, or an antler is dinged or is banged on something. These types of events will cause some type of visible or hidden "splinter" in the antler, and will result in an irregularity in the antler. This type of irregularity can also be caused by something like an injured leg or joint, or equally common - being hit by a car.
What these types of "injuries" do is to draw the attention of the deer's immune and nutrient system from the antler to the injured part of the body. This will result in an irregular growth of an antler. The injury generally will affect the growth of the antler on the side of the injury. And friends, this is a very common occurrence in whitetails. That's why perfect and symmetrical racks are so prized.
Typically, when antlers grow, they grow in unison, and as the animal ages and matures, the antlers grow larger and heavier, with more and longer tines. What a deer hunter looks for and can determine from antlers are several different things: The type of nutrients, genetics and deer management in a particular area. Without naming any particular area in Wisconsin, there are areas where trophy bucks are far more common than in others. These areas generally have a lot of exceptionally good deposits of needed nutrients and minerals both in the ground and in available forage. And then there's the commitment of that area - -and its hunters - -to closely manage the deer population. Generally in these "big rack" trophy areas, smaller deer are simply not being taken. Cooperation on all fronts means that the trophies will be there, albeit they are never a "gimme." Deer hunters who frequent these areas often would rather come home empty-handed than with a small deer. "You make your choice and you take your chances" as the old saying goes.
Here is a non-scientific scenario of antler growth.
A new buck to about six months of age will by September or so have a couple of little nubs on his head about an inch or so high. These animals are called "nubber bucks." It is illegal to hunt them in many states (check your regs! - -as I keep "preaching" to you to do - - before going out). A buck that’s a year-and-a-half old and has carried through its first winter and made it to its second year is called a "spike buck." They'll have two spikes sticking straight out of their head, with anywhere from four to eight points, with an average width of seven to eight inches, and tines two to four inches long. From what I've seen, I'd estimate that 90% of the bucks taken in Wisconsin in any given year fall into this category.
If a buck makes it through its second year, they really start to put on growth in their antlers - -depending again on their food source, genetics and area management. Their racks will get heavier and wider, with longer tines. You can get bucks with 20 inch spreads, and 14 inch tines. These bucks are called "trophies" (as if you didn't know – and stop salivating- - they are out there, but they take a lot of patience and effort to bag. I know. The closest I've ever gotten to one is seeing a shed here-and-there).

The Onset of Buck Fever

The Onset of Buck Fever

By: Nick Simonson , Fishing Buddy
06/10/2010 3:43 PM

I didn’t think it would happen to me. I thought I could avoid this onslaught of excitement, of gear-spinning thoughts, and yes, above the buzz of the caffeine from my morning coffee, the slight adrenaline rush that comes with the mere suggestion of it. But as of 8:07 a.m., on June 6, 2010, when a good trip around the lake for some largemouth would have at least kept it at bay, I came to grips with the fact that not only had it happened to me, it is now part of who I am - Buck Fever.

There were no deer hunters in my household growing up. The fact that I ended up hunting at all was a small miracle. My initial forays into the sport were unsuccessful, but a couple of mind-altering experiences in the last few seasons have hooked me on the chase, the rush, and the lure of ghostly deer with antlers that cast shadows the size of oak trees. With each passing season, buck fever besets upon me earlier and earlier. Last year, it was September, when I first started to get comfortable with my bow. The year before that it struck in October, as I hung my first stand in the woods. Two years ago, I was spared its effects until opening day.

But this year, the fever is in full effect well ahead of schedule. And it didn’t take much to bring the symptoms to a simmer either. Cooped up by the intermittent rains and occasional clap of thunder, and having read the Sports and Outdoors sections in their entirety, I was left with just the circulars in Sunday’s paper. Suddenly, the world went quiet and all I could hear was my pulse pounding in my ears. A mere two page spread in the Gander Mountain ad sent me up into a tree on the year’s first sale-priced ladder stand and had me poring over dozens of digital photographs on the back of a new trail camera. Food plot mixes and new models of compound bows were splashed against the backdrop of a big 10-pointer munching turnip greens in the sun-dappled field on the local fleet store’s half-pager.

My breathing quickened and I attempted to bring myself back to the moment. Surely that wasn’t sweat on my brow, as I cautiously reached my hand up from my coffee cup and rubbed the furrow on my forehead. It was probably just some condensation coming from the steam of my third cup of the morning. I looked at the wet sheen on the pad of my index finger and slowly curled it and I shivered with a twinge of adrenaline – I mean, caffeine – as the slow squeeze was transferred to an imaginary trigger with that same 10-pointer in the crosshairs of my scope.

“Are you alright? Did you do something to your finger?” my brother-in-law asked me quizzically, apparently having taken in my reaction to the equipment, gadgets and images that were spread out before me.

Like being caught talking to yourself about some private matter when you think you’re all alone, but really aren’t, I suddenly and almost embarrassedly became aware that I wasn’t in some stand on the edge of a clearing, that the only monster buck was the one still chowing down on the glossy page before me, and that it was still a full three months and change before the bow season opened and five months away from firearms deer season.
“No, no…I’m…fine,” I responded shakily, thinking that I’ve told much more intricate lies more convincingly in the past, but I really couldn’t remember any of them at that particular moment.

Blinking away the first of what will be many illusions and delusions of the seasons to come, I turned the page of the advertisement to the camping gear and canoe section and folded the back page of the paper in half, hiding the specials on bulk perennial seeds. I stepped to the sink with coffee cup in hand, and took my final sip of the morning. Looking out of the kitchen window, the breaks in the clouds signaled that the rain was going to let up soon, which would help get my mind back to summer and help me shake shake this confounded fever. After all, it is only June, and there were still plenty of bucks – I mean bass – to catch on the nearby lake…in our outdoors.

Trophy Whitetail Deer - 144 Inch - 8 Point Buck - Nebraska

This 144 inch buck was harvested in early December during Nebraska's muzzleloader season.
Ellis A.
Georgia

Ohio Trophy Deer - Nice 10 PT

Ohio is producing some trophy deer. This nice 10pt from the fall.
James

Venison Meatballs in Cream Sauce

Who doesn’t like meatballs? Kids really love ‘em, so this is a winner for families. They’re great served with rice or over noodles.

¼ tsp Grill Seasoning
1 egg (beaten)
¼ cup milk
2 tbsp ketchup
¾ cup quick cooking oats
¼ cup onions (chopped finely)
¼ cup parsley (minced)
1 ½ pound ground mule deer
3 tbsp flour
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
¼ tsp dried thyme
Salt & Pepper taste
14 ounces chicken broth
2/3 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley (minced)

In a bowl combine the first 10 ingredients, shape into 1 ½ inch balls and place into a greased glass baking dish. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes then turn and bake for another 10-15 minutes until done. Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting butter over medium heat; then add flour, thyme, salt and pepper stir until smooth. Gradually add broth & cream and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Drain meatballs if needed, place on serving plates. Pour sauce over meatballs. Garnish with parsley.

Over 400 Inches Of Antler - How Would You Tag Them?

Ohio DNR found these 3 deer stuck together from fighting, over 400 inches of antler the biggest was 165 inches. So lets say you come up on these deer while you are hunting here are some questions you might ask yourself. Which one do I Shoot? How will they score IT or Them? Do I get to keep them all?