Saturday was opening day of muzzle loading season for deer. It was great to be back in the woods with my old smoke pole. I built a 50 caliber Hawken from a kit several years ago. I carved out the stock, and made all the parts fit. I drew a deer's head on one side of the butt stock and a jumping bass on the other side. I added a few turkey tracks and put my name on the stock. I named the gun " Old Iron" and I burned all of this into the stock and stained it. Not a bad job even if I did do it.
It's fun to try and go back in time and live, even if only for a little while like our ancestors did. I grew up reading about Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett now I can hunt like they did. Well sort of. They didn't have a portable deer stand to climb up a tree with, or a 4x4 four wheeler to haul them deep into the back woods.
Saturday and Sunday found me in the woods way before daylight trying to get the drop on an unsuspecting deer suitable for my table. You see I love to hunt, but I feel like the mountain men of yesteryear when I go afield. I want the adventure, and a trophy. but I'm primarily trying to put aside enough meat to feed my family through the coming year. This is the only time I can do this, so it's also very serious business. Also I need to obey the game laws and try to trophy manage our deer herd as our hunting club wants us to do. That's alot to think about as a deer is walking or running by you in 3 to 10 seconds time.
I saw a bunch of hogs and a few deer Saturday but I either couldn't get a shot or they were too little to shoot. On Sunday morning a nice 100 lb. doe walked up the ridge I was sitting on and offered me a good shot. My old 50 caliber barked loud and down she went. I loaded her up on the 4 wheeler and headed back to camp. My old 4 wheeler filled in for the pack mules of yesteryear the mountain men had. I was loaded down pretty good. Me, a 100 lb. deer, my deer stand, hunting gear and gun quite a load for a 24 year old bike to haul. It did a great job! We all got out fine.
Today the real work of hunting begins. Yesterday I had to drag the deer out of the woods and put it on the 4 wheeler, take it to camp, skin and gut it. Today I must begin the process of butchering all the meat. In the next couple of days my little doe will become sliced tenderloins to wrap aroung jalipenos with bacon strips, butterflyed steaks, hamburger meat, cubed steaks, sausage, and deer jerky. Quite a lot from just one deer. We get the meat and the dogs get to gnaw the bones. Nothing is wasted.
Soon I get to feast on the healthiest meat God ever made. Venison! Hopefully this will be the first of many deer this year. We need several to feed us till next year . If I can get lucky and get a few wild hogs as well, I believe we will have enough till next hunting season comes around again.
GOOD HUNTING.
Jim Cobb Coleman.
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