Deer Hunting Starts

October 5th was the start of bow season in Virginia and Oldest Son was ready.  Last year he got his first deer while hunting with our neighbor and his hunt club.  They were using dogs to run the deer and he got one using the shotgun.  All the time spent with our neighbor got him thinking that he needed to hunt with a bow, because it is more difficult, or more of a challenge, or more manly.  I'm not sure exactly the reasoning, but I figured he probably wouldn't be able to verbalize his desire to use a bow.

There is an advantage to using a bow, and in Virginia that includes crossbows.  The season for bows is the first phase of deer season.  Bowhunters get a full four weeks head start before muzzleloader season.  That means all the deer are still out and about in the mornings and evenings before they start getting spooked by the shooting and go nocturnal.

This season actually started in May, when we granted Oldest Son's wishes and bought him a compound bow for his birthday.  From that time until opening day, he had been practicing both at our house and with our neighbor.  This practice consisted of standing up on our back deck, and shooting down at targets at 10 and 20 yards away.  He would also go over to our neighbors house and shoot at targets off his deck at various distances, practicing his technique and form.  He felt that he was ready when the season started.

October 4th came and Oldest Son realized he didn't have any broadheads for his arrows.  A quick trip to the sporting goods store and he was ready for October 5th.  It was Saturday, I was ready to sleep in.  But that was not his plans.  Instead, I would be joining him for his first bow hunt.  Really?  On a Saturday morning?

5:15am on a Saturday morning comes way too soon when I would rather be sleeping in.  But being the supportive parent, I woke up Oldest Son and then got dressed in my best camouflage, if there is such a thing.  After spraying down our feet and legs with scent cover, we walked out to the double tree stand.  Yes, we walked out to the tree stand behind our house.  Actually our neighbor's house, but it was close enough not to drive.

We were in the tree stand by 6am so that we would be there and quiet before the season officially started a half hour before sunrise, which was at 7:05am.  About 7:15am I reminded Oldest Son that we would only be able to stay another 45 minutes or so before I would have to go and take Youngest Son to his soccer game.  The Good Wife was with Middle Son at his cross country meet.  It was a busy Saturday as usual once school starts.

Right then I saw a deer approach from the left side of the tree stand on the side I was sitting.  The deer walked behind some trees and I instructed Oldest Son to stand up.  Looking to the left, I could tell it was a buck.  I turned back to Oldest Son and he was standing with the bow drawn.  A few seconds later he let the arrow fly.

The buck let out a grunt and took off running.  As he ran, I could see the arrow in the back hind quarter of the deer.  He hit it, but not in the best position.  I wasn't sure if we would find this one.  After getting Oldest Son to sit down for a few minutes so he could stop shaking from all the adrenaline flowing through his body, we got down out of the tree stand and started tracking the deer.

Oldest Son put a new arrow in his bow in case we came upon the wounded deer.  While we were tracking the deer, he mentioned that the broadheads he bought have a money back guarantee if you don't find your animal.  I'm not sure how they verify that guarantee, but I thought we might get to try it.

After tracking the deer for about 45 minutes and 3/4 a mile, we found the deer.  Dead.  It had bled out.  The broadheads had done their job.

It was a big 11-point buck that measured out to about 140 points!  See the smile on Oldest Son's face?  It stayed there the whole weekend.  I could have asked him to do the worst chore I could think of, and he would still be smiling.

Luckily for us, the deer had run around towards the back of our house, so we only had to drag it about 200 yards to get it to our back yard.  After gutting the deer in the woods, we started pulling.  This thing was big, even after being gutted.  Now I know how older, out of shape hunters have heart attacks and die hunting.  It is getting the deer out of the woods!

It was unseasonably warm, even though we had gotten the deer out of the woods by around 10am.  After the neighbor came to congratulate Oldest Son on his potentially once in a lifetime trophy, we decided to get it mounted for him.

By the time we had it loaded on the truck and headed to the taxidermist, it was getting warm.  When we dropped it off at noon, the temperature gauge in the truck read 92 F.  Yes, that is not a typo.  It was 92 F the first day of deer season.  Deer season is supposed to mean fall weather, cooler temperatures and leaves changing color and falling to the ground.  Instead it meant deer meat heading south and flies all over the place.

I'm not sure how much of the meat was still good by the time we dropped the deer off.  The taxidermist was going to process what was left of the deer since the back end had gotten messed up pretty good.  At this point it doesn't really matter.  Oldest son got a trophy buck on the first day of the season hunting with a bow for the first time.  I'd say my 14 year old is becoming a man.  Well done Oldest Son.

General Update #2

Not being able to come up with a clever name for the title of this post, "General Update #2" seemed like an appropriate, although less than exciting title.  After going through photos from this past year there are some more items that need to be shared, whether you find them interesting or they simply put a smile on my face.

One task at the homestead that got done was actually done by my neighbor, not by me.  Although I did help, it was basically following orders and directions and doing what was told.  That seems to be the best way when you need your neighbors skills, equipment and time to get the job done.

The front of our property along the road has been eroding since we moved in over three years ago.  My neighbor, being the owner of an excavation company, New Day Corp., had all the equipment.

He called and asked if I had time one Sunday afternoon last fall.  Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I made time, even if it wasn't available.  He showed up with a full size dump truck with an equipment trailer loaded with two skid steers and an assortment of attachments.  The attachments would be able to scoop, grade, grate, compact, chop and throw.  This was a one man wrecking, or in my case excavating, crew.

Since I was so busy following his instructions by moving dirt around where he needed it to do the actual hard work, I wasn't able to get many photos.  I did get one as he was cutting down the angle of the front to make a nice smooth grade instead of the cliff that had been created through the dirt eroding away after each rain storm.

The boys weren't too excited about helping out, until my neighbor asked me why I wasn't letting the Oldest Son use one of the skid steers.  That is all it took for him to jump into one of the machines and start assisting.  We were done with a large part of the work, but he was able to drive it around and pick up all the debris that was pulled out of the top soil that was used to even out the area.

In the end, we were able to throw out some grass seed and use the attachment that chops and spreads straw to cover the seed.  It is a nice gradual transition and now is covered in grass and protected from erosion.

Having friends with the right kind of equipment is such a blessing.  At the end of the front property excavation project, my neighbor would not accept any sort of compensation.  Even though he provided the equipment, the grass seed and the straw to cover the seed.

Another friend was called on a couple times this past summer to do some work on the yard.  He had sold his property where he kept his horses and now lived in a regular neighborhood, but he had kept his tractor and was looking for opportunities to use it.  I just happened to give him those opportunities!

I had let the pasture grow a bit taller than I should have and it got beyond the height that my lawn mower would be able to handle.  He brought over his tractor and box mower and knocked it all down for me.  A couple weeks later he came over again, this time with his post hole digger to make my job of fencing in my garden a lot easier.

All this tractor work did help the Good Wife understand how useful a tractor would be in my own garage.  But that was a whole other discussion!

Last fall the Oldest Son was able to get his first deer while hunting.  He was with our neighbor and his club while they were running dogs.

Whenever I would question him if it was really a deer and not a dog because it wasn't too big, he just reminds me that, "Oh yeah, you didn't get one!"  That tends to shut me up pretty quick.  I better get something this year so I don't get shamed quiet again.

Although this post is already quite large with all the photos, I wanted to leave you with something to make you smile.  The Oldest Son and his friend went with me to a sporting goods store and they were looking for a camo jacket for hunting.  The only one left of the style and size they wanted was on a mannequin on the top shelf.  Being the responsible father that I am, I stepped back out of the way and turned on the camera, because something good was about to happen.  We like to refer to it as, "How many rednecks does it take to buy a camo jacket?"

Three.  One to be the base, one to stand on his shoulders and one to film the event, just waiting for something bad to happen!

Deer Processing Class Review

Earlier I posted about the deer processing class that I took a few weeks ago at Nodalski's butcher shop here in Goochland.  The picture that was used in the Powhatan today article blocked me out and all you could see was a part of my left arm.  Well the article also made it into the Goochland Gazette and you can actually see me in the photo!  I'm a star!  Well, actually I just happened to be standing in the right place during the class.

And just in case you are wondering, no, I have not gotten my first deer yet.  With my limited hunting time of Saturdays and then usually only a few hours in the morning before family plans kick in, I need to set up my tree stand next to a deer farm.  Hopefully I can get some more time in during Christmas break.  Season ends January 7th, so time is running out!

So close, but no deer yet...

Oldest son and I set up a tree stand in the woods behind our house, hoping to take advantage of all the deer we see in our back yard on the edge of the woods.  We know they come out quite a bit because the apple trees we planted last fall have felt the wrath of hungry deer.  Another reason to turn the tables and put the deer ON the table. I wonder if the meat will have a hit of apple flavor?

The Oldest Son and I have taken turns in the tree stand.  He has taken some of the week day evenings since he gets home from school in time to get up in the stand and the hunting time is over by the time I get home from work.  I get the Saturdays and an occasional weekday morning.

Oldest Son in the tree stand with the muzzle loader.

Last Saturday was the first day of shotgun/rifle season in Goochland.  But we are still using the muzzle loader since I feel that we need to get at least one deer with the new gun to make it worth while.

There were quite a few hunters out and about in the woods behind our house so I figured they may push some of the deer towards our house.  Positioned in the tree stand a few hours before closing time for the day, I sat quietly, anxiously awaiting a deer to pass by the tree stand.  Sitting, waiting, sitting quietly, waiting patiently.  Nothing.  Then at about 5pm footsteps could be heard behind me.  I was upwind from the deer and it was to my back, so I could only sit and wait for it to pass by and then try to take a shot.  Unfortunately, what sounded like about 15 feet behind me, the deer spooked, probably smelling me and ran off to my right where I couldn't get turned for a shot.

And that was the end of the day.  I've lost track of how many times Oldest Son has gone out, but I am now 0-4 on my hunting attempts.  No trophy buck is necessary, any deer will do.  A young doe will have better tasting meat anyways.  I have all the training, now I just need an unaware deer.  Do you think there are any of those deer out there?  Time will tell, the season ends January 7th.

Deer Processing Class

Being the engineer that I am and wanting to gain as much information as possible when learning something new, I took a class on "Deer Processing made Simple" at Nodalski's Butcher Shop, the local butcher in Goochland.  It was put on by the Center for Rural Culture, which according to their website, their mission is to educate, promote and inspire members of our community to sustain a culture that supports agriculture and the local economy, protects natural and historic resources, and maintains our rural character and traditions.  They have some neat programs throughout the year.  The Good Wife is planning to take their wreath making class in December and make our house festive with the small of a fresh wreath.  Ah, the rabbit trails these posts take me on.  Back to the task at hand.

I arrived at Nodalski's in the evening for the 2 hour class hosted by the owner Jonathan Nodalski.  A very friendly man willing to take time out of  his busy schedule to show a dozen people how to get the most out of their deer this fall.

Once we were ready, Jonathan brought out the deer that he would be demonstrating on.  It had been killed earlier in the week and was gutted and skinned already and hanging in the cooler at the butcher shop.

Being presented in this form, it brings more of a domesticated meat look to the deer, waiting to be butchered.  Not exactly how most people do it in the field.  Jonathan stressed that all the same cuts you can get out of a cow for the most part are present in a deer, albeit on a much smaller scale, particularly on the sample deer.

Many of the cuts are laid out on the table and here Jonathan is showing how a roast could be butterflied and then folded over spices and other additional seasonings, and then tied up with butcher twine to be ready for cooking.

It didn't take long for the deer to be full processed.  One of the more humorous points was that Jonathan had a hand saw for making the cuts through the bones.  However, due to the limited class time, and having already put in a full day at the butcher shop, after making a few cuts with the saw he would turn around to his band saw and make quick work of the rest of the bones.

Jonathan is not only a butcher, but also an excellent chef.  As many of the people would throw questions out, Jonathan would give his recommendations on how to prepare the various cuts, not only from what spices or sauces would work well with the cuts, but also how to cook them.

In case this post left you wanting more information and a better written description of the class, you can check out an article at the Powhatan Today website. In the second picture above, the lady in the background is the reporter that wrote the article.  Unfortunately I was blocked in the picture in the Powhatan Today.  I'm in the dark blue shirt right behind Jonathan.  My moment of fame gone!

If you are in the Goochland area and have not been to Nodalski's Butcher Shop I highly recommend it.  During the week he has prepared meals that you can reserve and pick up after work, either already cooked and ready to go or prepared and all you have to do is heat or do the final cooking.  I can personally attest that they are fantastic!  Or if you are looking for some great cuts of meat, Jonathan can take care of whatever you need.  They get a good portion of their meats direct from local farmers that raise their meat naturally without all the hormones and antibiotics.  One day they had Prime Ribeye and the family was out of town, so I went down and got a nice thick cut and went home and put it on the grill.  Best steak I have EVER had!  But that is another post...