Will start here with dove season, but I dont get out after them much. Squirrel opens in Sept. and it seems I dont have time to hunt them like I did when I was a kid. Early duck opens in Sept., too, and I usually try to get a couple hunts in then and more after the migration starts. It seems we dont get good migrations here in central Iowa, though, so waterfowling can be slow, but I love to go after em. We have a pretty fair resident Canada Goose population and they like our farm ponds that have been grazed around, so I jump some ponds and set decoys on some, etc. Gun deer seasons start in Oct. with an early muzzleloader season and then again in Dec. for the regular gun seasons and late ML seasons extend into Jan. We get 10-15 depredation licenses(doe only)from the state deer biologist and can use them ourselves or give them out to others. My Dad, brother, myself and our kids usually get a lot of deer hunting in and we cant seem to get ahead of the population!
next time try making a small slit in each side of the breast and putting a sliver of the pepper of your choice in the slit before wrapping with bacon. I am now ffically hungry
On processing deer, a few years ago my wife took pity on me because of my hands. I had just barely started skinning a buck but had to stop to put heat on my hands to get them working again. She asked if she could do it. I told her to try it if she wanted to and she asked me what to do. I showed her and although that first time she was a little slow, she did an excellent job. I had the hind quarters skinned and when she got to the front, she asked how to do the legs. I did one to show her and she did the other. Since that time, she has skinned all the deer. The only thing I have to do is the gutting and then getting the skinning started off the hind quarters and she does the rest except for cutting off the head. She has been a big help in that way. We then start taking the meat into the house to bone it. All except the backstraps and tenderloin goes into jars as we can all of it. We absolutely love the taste of the meat after it is canned. One nice thing is that you can keep the meat a lot longer in cans than when frozen. Also, if you want a sandwich, you can just open a can an take out the meat. It is already cooked so no more cooking required. It is good that way too. I like to just put a lot of oleo in the pan and dump in the meat. Get it hot and that is all you need before eating that delicious meat.
I loved hunting when I was growing up in WV. Started off hunting doves, squirrels, quail, rabbits; moved on to bow hunting deer and firearm deer season was always fun. Moved to MI when I was 25 and did the trek up north thing hunting on public lands ... that was a big change and frankly, I ran into more than my share of slobs and the joy started to fade. Gave up on hunting about 15 years ago; still get excited that time of year, but I can't say that I miss it. I have some very fun hunting memories I won't forget. Good luck to everyone here!
Fall bow season opens a week from today and temps are supposed to stay in the 90's all next week. I'll wait for some mornings in the 50's before I go out. I just don't have the time to butcher and get em on ice right away. Temps like this and they spoil fast!
Same problem here to warm to hang a deer at the start of the season. So we only take the shot if we have the time to butcher it that night.
I spend time on internet forums. Most of the deer hunters only that live and visit Iowa, say that the "DNR has killed all the deer.",on these hunting forums. I find that funny. Deer hunters tend to be whinny when deer don't crawl in their lap to be shot. It's good to hear they are doing well at your place. God Bless
They are trying to reduce numbers here because of crop damage, vehicle collisions and the like, but they are are still doing fine in the wooded areas of Iowa. They have so much to eat year round that most does have twins and very little winter kill equates to a quick recovery if numbers do go down a bit.
My bad on thinking it was today. Thankfully have no plans to get right out there. If it is too hot to fish, it way to hot to hunt. Less of course there is a big'n waiting out there.
Nothing real big on camera yet at one of my huntin grounds. A few bigguns runnin around at another but it's just too hot. Looks like the night time temps are going to drop a bit later in the week.
I let a 125+ inch 8 go last year. Hope he didn't get whacked by a car is all. Seems like I have seen a fair amount of nice bucks so far, but just off the roads while driving.
I tried the "poppers" when cooking some of my doves last night. I took a slice of banana pepper, filled it with cream cheese, wrapped it and a dove breast in bacon, and put it on the Weber until the bacon was done. WOW!!!! My wife, who assured me she wouldn't like dove, ended up eating more than I did!
