Post-Season Trophies

I got an email today from my good friend Marc Gustafson in Iowa with some pictures that I have to share. Marc has already been out looking for shed antlers, and judging from the looks of things, he is doing pretty well!


Here is what Marc had to say in the email:
"It has been tough-going shed hunting as I believe most of the antlers were shed between snow storms, and a good portion of them are buried under the snow. I have found most of them in the deer beds and a few in the standing corn. We had snow again last night, as it just keeps coming, which makes it hard to find the ones dropped not long ago. The matched set up close in the pictures measured around 135 inches and will be a dandy if he makes it through the winter."

I have only found three shed antlers in my life, so after seeing these pictures I wanted to pick Marc's brain and get his thoughts on shed hunting and see if he had some tips and techniques to use when looking for shed antlers.

Marc says his favorite spots to look for sheds is first the bedding areas, then trails leading to and from feeding areas, and then the feeding areas themselves. He says the harsh winter in Iowa this year has really caused the deer to congregate around food plots, and he hopes to find quite a few sheds around those feeding areas once some warmer weather arrives to melt some of the snow.

I also asked Marc how many antlers he will generally find in a year, and what was the biggest matched pair he has ever found. He said the matched set in the picture is the largest pair he has found to date and that he averages about 45 antlers a year. But this year he hopes to find 50 or 60 with the deer spending so much time around the food plots. He estimates that over 200 deer are wintering on one particular property he hunts, which makes shed hunting pretty good when there are that many deer congregated in an area that encompasses a couple hundred acres.

Maybe that is why I have so much trouble finding them! It sure makes it difficult when you are searching a 600-acre piece of property that might hold 50 or 60 deer, of which probably only about 15 are bucks. Also, the deer here in Texas usually don't start dropping their antlers until mid-March, after the vegetation begins to green up and grow over what antlers might be on the ground making them less visible. But regardless, I still plan to get out there and look. After all, you can't find any while sitting on the couch!

Thanks for the pictures and the information, Marc. That shed hunting sure looks like a lot of fun! I wish I could spend a weekend up there with you looking for them. Congratulations on finding all those trophies - looks like you have enough to make one heck of a chandelier!

Duck Jerky - A Culinary Experiment

I'll be honest. I'm not a big fan of duck meat. I like it as stew meat when it is cut up into small, bite-size portions, but cooking the entire duck or even the breast as a whole doesn't have much appeal to me. (I'm not saying it is bad, I'm just saying it isn't my favorite.)

I kept thinking of different ways I could cook the duck meat from my last hunt so that it might be a little tastier and not quite as gamey. One of my coworkers suggested that I make jerky out of it. I've never made jerky before, and that sounded pretty good to me, so I decided to give it a try.

The duck meat I was using had been cut off the breast into filets before it was placed in the freezer. So the first thing I did was thaw the meat out and I sliced it longways into thin strips. (Like you would butterfly a steak, except thinner.) I tried to cut the strips as thin as I could by hand, and I would guess they were about an 1/8" thick.

Next I mixed up a marinade. I searched on the internet and found a few different recipes, and all of them had the same basic ingredients. Here is what I used:
- soy sauce
- worcestershire sauce
- tabasco sauce
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- black pepper
- crushed red pepper
- mesquite flavored seasoning
- meat tenderizer
- brown sugar

I placed all of the meat in a ziplock bag and poured in the marinade. I made sure all the meat was completely covered and then I sealed the bag. I then placed it in the regrigerator to allow the meat to marinate for about 24 hours.

After reading up on the different ways to make jerky, I decided I would start mine off in the smoker for an hour or two, and then allow it to finish drying in the oven. So, the next evening I got a fire going in the fire box with some mesquite wood.

I placed the thin strips of marinated duck meat on the top rack in the smoker and then closed the lid.

My smoker has a thermometer built into it, and I tried to keep the temperature between 150 and 175. This was by far the most challenging part of the process because keeping the fire burning steadily at the same intensity is almost impossible to do. I did a pretty good job keeping the temperature in the range I wanted it, but occasionally it would creep up into the 175 - 200 range. I stayed with it and checked the fire often for about two hours.

Toward the end of that two hours it was about time for me to help get my daughters to sleep, so I wasn't able to tend the fire quite like I should have, and I noticed the meat was starting to look like it was about done. I taste-tested it and it seemed like it was about ready, so I decided not to use the oven and I left it on the smoker for about another half hour.

The end product didn't quite turn out as I had hoped, but for my first try it will do. The flavor was actually really good, but a few of the pieces got a little bit crispy. It was also just a tad spicier than what I would prefer, but it is still edible. Some of my friends at work asked to try some of it, and a couple of them even asked for another piece. (I don't know if they really liked it, if they were really hungry, or if they were just being polite.)

Some lessons learned from this first batch:
- Make the strips just a little bit thicker to keep them from getting crispy.
- Use less tabasco sauce.
- Keep the temperature at a more constant level.

In my opinion, this is a really good alternative for cooking duck meat. There was no gamey taste at all, and it really was pretty tasty. It would make a great snack to take in your backpack when you go out into the woods to hunt or for a day of fishing. I will definitely have to make some more!

The End of a Season - Are You Prepared?

Duck season came to a close this past weekend, and so did another year of my hunting adventures. As I think back on the times I spent in the field this past fall and winter, I can’t help but think of how fast time slips away. For me, the anticipation of the arrival of hunting season is like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning to get here. Then once it gets here, I blink and it is gone.

That got me to thinking about life in general, and how it could be compared to hunting season.

Typically, hunting seasons are regulated by state and federal wildlife agencies that schedule season dates well in advance. The seasons are strategically planned with a specific opening date and closing date, allowing hunters a limited number of days in the field. While some seasons are rather long, others may be extremely short.

That sure is a lot like our lives. Our Creator has appointed each one of us a specific amount of time on this earth. From the day we are conceived until the day we take our last breath, we are given a limited number of days to live our lives. For some, that number may be quite large and they live to a ripe old age. But for others, life can be very brief.

The difference is this: When it comes to hunting, we know the date the season will end. We can mark it on a calendar and plan accordingly. But life is uncertain. No one knows the time when death will approach. It could be years from now, or life could tragically be taken away from us before the day is over.

My question to you is this: When your season of life is over, where will you be spending eternity?

The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” That means that we are ALL sinners, and that we all have sin in our hearts. Sin separates us from God.

Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We will all face physical death someday, but our souls will live on forever in either Heaven or Hell. The Bible says that Hell will be an unquenchable fire where there is much torment and agony. But God offers us the free gift of salvation and eternal life in Heaven with Him - if we choose to receive it.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price for all our sins. He loved us enough that He gave Himself for us, and took the punishment of all the sins of the world upon Himself. Salvation is not something we can earn by doing good works or by being good people. Religion and church membership won’t save you. It is because of Christ’s love for us and by His grace that we are saved.

Romans 10:13 clearly says this: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It doesn’t say only rich people, or only people of a certain race, or only people who go to church – it says “whosoever” – that means anybody.

In Romans 10:9-10 we see these words: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” By placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and confessing that He is Lord you can be saved.

Have you accepted the free gift of eternal life? You can receive that gift by following these simple steps:
- Acknowledge you are a sinner and that the penalty for sin is separation from God.
- Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and was raised from the dead.
- Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and ask Him to come into your heart.

If you are ready to place your trust in Christ, here is a simple prayer that you can pray to God:
“Lord, I know that I’m a sinner and I don’t deserve eternal life. I believe You died and rose from the grave to save me from my sins. I ask you to come into my life, forgive me of my sins and save me. I am now placing my faith and trust in You, Lord. I accept your free gift of eternal life.”

If you prayed that prayer, I would love to know about it so that I can pray for you as you grow in your walk with the Lord. You can let me know by leaving a comment at the end of this post or by using the “Contact Me” button on the right side of the screen to send me an email.

Don’t let your season of life come to an end without being prepared!

Duck Season Finale

I had the opportunity to get one last duck hunt in the books this morning before the season draws to a close tomorrow. On this hunt I was fortunate to have my friend Marc Rylander with me, and although we didn't see many birds during the hunt, the camaraderie was second to none! We were also joined by my friend Lee Flannery and his buddy Phil.

This week has been rather warm here in north Texas with temperatures rising into the upper 60's, and that may have played a part in the lack of birds we saw this morning. We woke up to overcast skies and light drizzling rain, both good waterfowling conditions, but the ducks were just not there. We had one group of Wigeons come in really early, and then it got really slow with only a pair of Redhead drakes after that. We only ended up bagging three ducks - 1 Wigeon drake and the 2 Redheads - but it was still a great hunt.

The older I get and the more I hunt, the more I realize that the success of a hunt isn't always measured by how many animals or birds you bag. Sometimes it is the relationships that are forged and the friendships that are developed that mean the most.

Here is our group from this morning. From left to right: me, Lee, Phil, and Marc.

Venison in the Freezer

Both of this year's deer are back from the processor and my freezer is full. Today I made the 55-mile one-way trip to Muenster, Texas to pick up one of my deer at Muenster Meat Co. (formerly Walterscheid Meat Co.).

You might be wondering - Why on earth would I drive over 100 miles to have a deer processed? The answer: Deer Sticks! Some people call them snack sticks, smoked sticks, or hunter sticks, but whatever you call them, I call them "Good"! They are kind of like a Slim Jim, but not nearly as greasy and taste way better.

As you can tell from the name, Muenster is a German community and this processor is known for producing some excellent German sausage and specialty meats. They are the only place relatively close that I have found who offers these deer sticks. This year I ordered 30 pounds of them, so hopefully that will last me several months.

When I shot my second deer, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I decided to use the local processor (Rick's Outpost) that is just a couple miles up the road. I had the basic cuts done on that deer, but I also decided to try their summer sausage. I ordered 5 pounds of the jalepeno and cheese variety, and I have been really impressed with it as well.

The deer sticks from Muenster are on the plate and the summer sausage from Rick's Outpost is on the right.


These specialty meats are definitely pricey, but I figure if I'm going to put all that time and effort into harvesting a deer I should at least have some really good meat to show for it. Maybe someday I can learn how to make these sausages at home and save some money on processing.