I thought it'd be fun to start a thread with some hunting stories. Please add any hunting adventures or wild game culinary delights you might have to offer. --------- Archery and crossbow deer and early season canada goose is now open in Wisconsin. I won't hunt venison until after first frost knocks the flies and mosquitos down, but I went out on a solo goose hunt over water this week. Left the dock at about an hour and a half before sunrise. I arrived at my blind at about an 45 minutes before open to set blocks. You don't need a lot of decoys this time of year as the geese are just starting to form flocks. I have been succesful with even one decoy and pulling down single birds but this morning I put out three goose blocks and four mallards. Of course the first bird to pass was a single. I let out a a pip from my call followed a short while later with a moan. The single came around just as a flock of about ten canadas were approaching from further off. I let go a round of 1-1/4oz. steel BB from about 25 yards and the single bird crumpled up and fell dead in the decoys. That flock of ten was still coming despite hearing my shot. They were passing low, maybe 150 yards away, so I let out another couple pips and one bird peeled off from the flock headed straight for my spread! It put its flaps down, wings cupped, and was heading in to land when I fired. Hit it on the first shot and it fell down right next to the first one I dropped but it's head was still up. No problem, I loaded a shell with 1-1/6oz of steel #3 and knocked him in the noggin. Two geese for about a two hour hunt. Not bad for this time of year. So I brined these goose breasts in salt and sugar for two days. Got em on the smoker right now. They should be done in about three more hours, just in time to cool off for supper where it will be sliced, put on a cracker, and seasoned with mild horseradish from the garden. Free range organic is Tasty Stuff!
I don't much hunt any more just because it is kind of pointless since I never really did it for sport. I only really liked dove hunting. I am still harvesting cherry tomatoes and peppers though.
I just finished munching on some venison landjaeger from last season. I haven't hunted much, so here is a story from last year's deer season. - I was over at my neighbor's place hunting opening day with his family. They put me up in a tree that was only about 100 yards from their cabin, the closest stand to the cabin. I did not expect to see anything with the smoke spilling out from the woodstove a mere 300' away, but as a guest I was greatful to be there. Did not see anything all morning. Got back to my stand after lunch. I was only up there about twenty minutes when two does came by. I shot at the larger one while it was angling away at around 20 yards. The deer leapt at the hit, fell, got back up and started scurrying away through thick brush. While the deer was getting up from its fall I could see a spot of red where the bullet had struck. It was a bit further back than I thought was aiming. Not ideal. I figured I better go back to the cabin for an hour to make sure I did not kick it up before it bled out. Real nervous about my bullet placement. Got to the cabin and my neighbor's brother was still sitting by the stove. He asks "Did you shoot?" "Yeah I did. But I don't feel comfortable about it". He demanded we go look immediately. We get to the spot where the deer was standing when I fired. Big pile of hair in the snow but no blood. Not good. So I go through the brush parallel to where the deer had ran off while my neighbor's brother was mumbling something about letting his brother's friends gut shoot deer on the family parcel. I was looking for red and there was none to be found, but there was a faint trail of broken branches and foot prints in the snow. I got about 25 yards through an the brush opened up some. "Found it!", I yelled. "You found blood?" my neighbor's brother asks. It wasn't gut shot. The bullet did its job but not as intended. We found out exactly while I was butchering. The bullet entered low at the diaphragm and should have exited low near the front leg opposite. Instead the bullet shed it's jacket while the core fell into pieces after it struck the last rib. The pieces had gone everywhere through the lungs and heart and the jacket was imbedded in the leg. With no exit wound the deer only bled internally. Big doe, lucky recovery, good landjaeger.
