The "Deer Sticks" Deer

For the last two hunting seasons I have been taking my deer to Muenster Meat Co. (formerly Walterscheid Meat Co.) in Muenster, TX. I have been extremely satisfied with their quality, turn-around time, cleanliness, and most importantly their deer sticks. Some people call them snack sticks, buck sticks, or smoked sticks, but regardless of what you call them they are my favorite thing to have made when I harvest a deer. They are slender, tasty snack sticks that are similar to a Slim-Jim, but without all the grease. They contain only venison and a mixture of spices, as no other type of meat, such as pork fat, is mixed in. So as far as I am concerned they are also lean and healthy for you.

Over the last two years I have brought samples in for my co-workers to try, and last year one guy liked the sticks so much that he bought several pounds from me. Well the deer stick craze in my office caught on like wildfire, and before this deer season started a group of my co-workers approached me with a deal I couldn't resist. They had pooled their money (enough to pay for processing a whole deer and pay for my gas money) and wanted me to harvest a deer that would be made entirely into deer sticks so they could each have a supply of their own. I eagerly accepted the offer.

This past Saturday I went to my hunting lease with one goal in mind: to harvest a doe so that my office mates could enjoy these delectable smoked venison snacks. And I was successful.

After not seeing a deer all day long, my fortune changed right at sunset. A group of six or seven does made their way from the edge of a mesquite savanna into a field of winter wheat. I was positioned along a fenceline that crossed through the wheat field and was seated on the ground, along with my friend Justin who was serving as an extra set of eyes. As the does made their way into the wheat, my friend noticed a nice buck who was hanging back just inside the edge of the mesquites. We got a good look at him through the binoculars as he closed to within 75 yards of our position. His antlers were outside the ears and he was a solid-looking 8-point, but he had broken off his left G3 tine. After watching him for about 5 minutes, I decided he wasn't quite what I was looking for in terms of size for a buck, so I opted to revert back to my original gameplan of taking a doe.

By this time there were about 9 does in the field so I picked out one of the largest ones that was offering a nice, broadside shot. I put my sights on the 5th one from the right, centered the crosshairs of my scope right behind her shoulder, and squeezed off a round from my Remington .30-06. She dropped dead in her tracks. A quick, clean kill.

Justin and I took a few minutes to celebrate in the moment and collect ourselves from the adrenaline rush that always accompanies the moment of truth on a hunt, then we proceeded to the deer which we paced off at 130 yards. We called my dad to bring the truck over so we could load her up, and after a few pictures and a quick field-dressing we had completed what I had set out to do. Now everyone at the office can hopefully have some deer sticks by Christmas! It's awesome when a plan comes together!