My wife got her 1st deer ever this morning. Little 6 point. Excited me as much as any of my big deer.
Congrats on all the great bucks everyone, and does too! I sat every chance I could this past week but never got a shot at the couple bucks I was hoping for. Monday morning until about 1pm the woods were on fire and had bucks chasing does almost all morning. Watched a nice wide 8 run in and out of my life in a matter of minutes haha. He wouldn't get off that does tail and nothing I did would stop him. Had him at 35yds but he wouldn't stop moving . Oh well, still a great week in the woods. Now off to NY this weekend for the southern rifle opener!
Ron T I've been processing my own for about 20years. Finally got a walk in two years ago so I can hang them no matter the temp and butcher when I have time. It's also nice being able to let friends hang their deer if needed.
That’s pretty slick. I’m always hunting with the weather so I have enough time to process in cool temperatures. I have quartered and froze then pulled the meat back out of the freezer and broke it down further. It’s a real hassle to add all those extra steps. A walk in would be real nice.
It's really nice to not worry about what the temps are going to be. I used to skin and quarter them and hang in a commercial fridge in the shop but even that had me rushing around the day or night of the kill. Now I just call the Mrs and ask her to turn the cooler on before I get home.
My next door neighbor has a cooler made from pallet rack, XPS board, OSB, and a window AC unit. Works great. We use it for pigs and deer.
I had plans to build one like you described but a friend gave me the walk in box since he was moving and didn't want to take it with him. He had already removed the compressor unit from the roof and sealed it off. He was running it with a window unit and a cool bot controller but took those with him. I bought a cool bot and threw in a window unit I had laying around. It will hold 35⁰-38⁰ no problem , no matter the temp outside.
Their stuff made prior to 2020 is good, most of it at least. They went bankrupt in 2020 and sold off, they have not been good since. The ammo after sell off is fine, actually probably better since Vista bought the Remington ammunition line. My friends coworker got a new Remington 783 bolt 30-06 and it's all over the place. The bullets go all over on it. I hear they are better when you chuck the factory stock.
I'm not that type. But I know exactly what you're talking about. I just only have so much time and I'd rather pay to have that done. If you have the right guy to do it, you have no concern about the issues you hear about from some people. My buck I got last year was the best tasting deer I've ever had. There's a lot of steps that can be taken that help to make non gamey venison.
Lots of great deer on this thread. I hope to get another nice buck this year. Wisconsin has their gun deer opener this Saturday. It looks will be pleasantly greeted by not such cold weather this year. I'll take 45/27 and light winds vs 4° last year 30 mph gusts and snow.
We do pigs right after 4H fair in July and it holds low 30s no problem. Have to make sure it doesn't ice up when really humid. My buck is hanging in it right now. Going to butcher Wed night.
Basically what I do. Any sticks, sausage, hotdogs, etc... I take it to a local shop. Friends of the family own it. My brother in law has helped out there for years. They use to process the entire deer, now only take deboned clean meat. Some people come from hours away. Nice deer lukem and Buttermilk! Im still at it. Non legal 4 point past night came by. This is the last week for archery and time is slipping away for me.
Is there an inch minimum on the antlers where you are? We have that too, but it's 3" to be a legal buck and only needs 1 side to be that long. Most people send the trimmings and such to butchers to get made into sausage, stix, etc. I personally have only known 1 person that made their own sausage and stix. I make my own jerky from roasts/ steaks, but that's as far as I go.
It use to be that way the 3" rule. Now in my zone there needs to be 3 points one side. Some other zones are 4 points. It's different rules for youth Last night I saw a huge bodied buck, but was just a tall 4 point. We also have a 4 point running around here that is well above and past his ears. But is a true 4. Im sure he'll be shot in rifle because someone will think with antlers that big, has to be bigger than 4.
This dude was actually out during sunlight hours last week... I've gotten a couple bigger bucks on camera, but only during the middle of the night.
