FALL 23/24 DAYS AFIELD THREAD

[MiddleOfNight]

spent 1st season opening day saturday afield .. hunting in the eclipse was pretty surreal - it got cold! everybody was vocal, it was very cool.
around 5 i made a move, got a crappy lane to shoot, worst prone position of my miserable life. had 1 cow in the open +300 yd.
3 steps and she dropped, fell down the hill. not the best landing spot wedged in these oaks. challenging spot. shoulda brought a come-a-long. mountain hunting eh.
racing daylight and the resident lions, just took this one pic and got to work. nice fun carry out.
processed her yesterday, good start to the freezer!

i missed out on elk the last couple years, i'm so so grateful for this! elk for dinner tonight!

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

That's a fatty.

[yeahman]

Yeah that's awesome MoN. Wish I had a cow tag this year.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

5200 cu inch bag big enough for 4 nights walking several miles into a cabin? Looking at it I just don't see how I can bring enough food/coffee/sleeping bag/camp pillow/water filter and all my usual hunting kit of knives/first aid etc etc.

What's several miles? You're in good shape, if it's a flat and easy trail, make a couple of trips.

[zion zig zag]

What's several miles? You're in good shape, if it's a flat and easy trail, make a couple of trips.

Again, it’s an 85 liter pack. How could you possibly need that much room for 4 nights in a cabin?

[crashidy]

@middleofthenight thank you! Holy that is a tank of a cow. Harder to manover them around thank you think eh? Hoping to still get an elk or white tail this year. Congrats!

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Yeah IDK the 5200 pack next to the 1850 pack and they barely look any different. I'm sure I will have way too much room.

Nice cow MoN!!!

Due to how damn wet the spring/summer was here there is literally STILL green growing grass in the mountains. The elk I have seen this year are so fucking fat.

[Meconium]

Did Utah substantially limit deer/elk in areas affected by the record snow? I don't hunt but it was all the talk in the spring.

Saw an alarming number of corpses in the spring. DNR increase lion tickets because of less deer?
I feel I’m seeing less deer hiding out in residential areas this fall. Strangely seen more elk hiding out with horses down low. Guess they don’t associate a horse without rider as threatening.
Suppose the chronic “zombie” deer wasting disease got more wiped out last winter, survival of the fittest magnified.
If I was an archery hunter, I'd just hike around and when I saw a dear, I'd keep moving without perusing or getting all quite. The dam things just do a flanking maneuver and check you out if you talk to yourself in a normal voice. Whisper and get all creepy quite/still and they jet. Is 40-60 yard shot out of range?

[MiddleOfNight]

thanks guys! biggest fattest cow i've ever shot for sure. shoulda taken a pic of the fat on her hind quarters & back, amazing.
that spot hillside was ... well it built character. there was no moving her aside from unwedging from the trees.

WRG i agree with ZZZ 5200 sounds gigantic, esp if you're in a cabin. but i'm a minimalist, and embrace that im gonna be uncomfortable and not have everything i want.

[Phall]

Did Utah substantially limit deer/elk in areas affected by the record snow? I don't hunt but it was all the talk in the spring.

Saw an alarming number of corpses in the spring. DNR increase lion tickets because of less deer?
I feel I’m seeing less deer hiding out in residential areas this fall. Strangely seen more elk hiding out with horses down low. Guess they don’t associate a horse without rider as threatening.
Suppose the chronic “zombie” deer wasting disease got more wiped out last winter, survival of the fittest magnified.
If I was an archery hunter, I'd just hike around and when I saw a dear, I'd keep moving without perusing or getting all quite. The dam things just do a flanking maneuver and check you out if you talk to yourself in a normal voice. Whisper and get all creepy quite/still and they jet. Is 40-60 yard shot out of range?

They cut tags in most all deer units this year, lots of impact on heard numbers. Some units worse than others, wasatch east by strawberry is in great shape but chalk creek is depressingly void of deer. 40-60 is well within range for experienced and practiced shooters


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[zion zig zag]

They cut tags in most all deer units this year, lots of impact on heard numbers. Some units worse than others, wasatch east by strawberry is in great shape but chalk creek is depressingly void of deer. 40-60 is well within range for experienced and practiced shooters


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I glassed up a small buck in the East Canyon unit Saturday night, but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. That was the only buck I saw in three days of being in that area, last year at this time I saw maybe 15-20.

[MiddleOfNight]

first taste ...



dang. she's perfect.

[crashidy]

Well my friends are having a good go.
3 point bull elk,
Cow elk and 4 point in central Alberta
Rifle opener and a buddy filled two of his supplemental whitetail tags. 280 yard shot. Dropped one and the other stood right there, dropped it.
Button buck for another.
Freezers are filling

[Hopeless Sinner]

spent 1st season opening day saturday afield .. hunting in the eclipse was pretty surreal - it got cold! everybody was vocal, it was very cool.
around 5 i made a move, got a crappy lane to shoot, worst prone position of my miserable life. had 1 cow in the open +300 yd.
3 steps and she dropped, fell down the hill. not the best landing spot wedged in these oaks. challenging spot. shoulda brought a come-a-long. mountain hunting eh.
racing daylight and the resident lions, just took this one pic and got to work. nice fun carry out.
processed her yesterday, good start to the freezer!

i missed out on elk the last couple years, i'm so so grateful for this! elk for dinner tonight!

Very cool, enjoy the meat!

[The Reverend Floater]

Shot a bag o' quacks this morning. I didn't take any pics but did snap this pic of "Special Sam" on the way home. Usually they ride in crates but the bed was full, so Sam opted for the car seat.

[Talisman]

Took this cow on opening day of MT rifle season out of a large herd of cows. The amount of grass in MT this summer was obvious from the thick layers of fat the cow had. I would have preferred a bull but a large cow fills the freezer better than an unfilled tag.

[crashidy]

Awesome. I would take a cow any day over a bull. I've shot a couple bulls and had some of my buddies cow the other day. Hand down more tender and delicious.
On that note I joined my buddies down south yesterday and we both plugged an antlerless wt.

[Meconium]

Young cow tast the best? I'm not a hunter but I've been to friends harvest party's. Some of the tenderloin was amazing and some was on the burly extra+ game side.
Charred rare for that cut was the best of the best.
Or is it more about the kill? Stress hormones plus delayed bleed and slow processing = worse meat?
Guess I'm way more interested in mastering processing/butchering. I still suck a braking down a raw grocery store chicken.
https://www.news-press.com/story/lif...beef/32491577/

[Phall]

Honestly, Probably has something to do with the processing/storing of the meat more than anything. I've hardly had something I would consider gamey from any of my 6 elk, from calf to 6 year old bull.

Been getting after the birds a bit but its been a slow start, need more weather to send em down to us.
Blew up the barrel on my Beretta the other day, didn't notice the core sample of mud in it. Whoops. Anyone have a spare beretta AL391 barrel lying around?

[crashidy]

Well butchering practices, kill, location, temperature and meat care all affect the taste ; likewise does age. I shot a bull elk a few years ago that was likely ancient. 7 points, other antler broken at main beam. His meat was very dark in color. More game flavor but still delicious. Last year I got a 4x5 . His meat was ruby red and definitely less gamey and probably 2/3 the size at most of the previous bull. The cow elk are more tender and a light purple red color.
Animal stress plays a large part as well. A hormone raging buck or bull mid rut or right after is stressed , has more hormones and has been running around humping and working hard.
A lay about doe or cow, not so much.

"Buck, buck, moose" by hank shaw is an incredible recipe book and he talks about meat care as well. I definitely agree that care makes a difference. I'm fairly particular.

[crashidy]

I'll add we are usually lucky enough to have some Swiss or German apprentice butchers come and help for some of our biggest meat cut night after the animal has hung for a few days. Butchers are highly underway. They can debone and cut an elk in sub 2 hours. We can barely keep up packaging. They work at a shop in town and my buddy has a connection with them and they come their own time. Usually stoked to cut up something they never have.

[highangle]

"OW OW Ow Ow Ow ow ow My Beretta!" -- Canvasback Highball Cadence


Srsly, glad you can post after something like that Phall! Hope you didn't get hurt?

I'm like, "How? Oh yeah, he's a waterfowler."

You know you now have to hunt with a nice side-by, or at least a 28" OU so this never happens again, right? They're lighter anyway.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I'll take a cow elk or raghorn over some rutted up war torn bull any day. And I'd be happy shooting stubble field does from here on out, too.

I process my own critters and I'm a clean freak. Cooling down the meat asap is probably the most important thing but it sure is nice taking care of that where it's actually cold during hunting season. Hunting wild pigs or A-zone archery deer in California when it's 80 degrees sucks.

[highangle]

Young cow tast the best? I'm not a hunter but I've been to friends harvest party's. Some of the tenderloin was amazing and some was on the burly extra+ game side.
Charred rare for that cut was the best of the best.
Or is it more about the kill? Stress hormones plus delayed bleed and slow processing = worse meat?
Guess I'm way more interested in mastering processing/butchering. I still suck a braking down a raw grocery store chicken.
https://www.news-press.com/story/lif...beef/32491577/

Bro grass-fed beef needs to be aged for a month or two @34f to be labeled Prime.

And up until recently you'd always put a hog on corn for a month at minimum before you killed him on a cold day, if you wanted the best hams. "Hog-killin' weather" means 'cold af' in the South.

The "oakmont" deer I slayed in Tx fed on bitter pin oak acorns and were usually dragged out whole and hung with the hair on in a shed @40-80f until the rigor mortis subsided - 2 days, sometimes 3.
I'd use half of a restaurant-sized can of black pepper or chili powder poured out by the handful and blown in the body cavity to deter the insect kingdom.
The sweetmeats on those little deer were about the diameter of my middle finger, so it wasn't worth nicking the body cavity to take them out.

Wild? Gamey? My ex ate it 2-3x week, and butter wouldn't melt in her mouth... j/k, a bit of wild game is extremely good for you, esp vegetarians/pescatarians with low iron levels...

[yeahman]

Raghorn 4x4 I shot last year tastes as good as any cow I've killed.

Nice work Talisman!