2103 Deer Camp Firewood (pic heavy)

[Bushmans]

I haven't posted up any pics of our deer camp firewood yet so I thought this morning was a perfect time. I'm not headed to the woods until 9 anyways.
We cut mostly poplar up there but lately we have been getting some beech and now the ash is really starting to die off up there so we are burning that too. Mainly we just look for anything dead and standing. once those poplars hit the ground up there they go fast. It's not ideal wood but I'm not hauling wood 4.5 hours north!

We like to make a wall most of the way around our campfire pit. That way we can sit with our backs to the wall and it reflects the heat and blocks any wind. Of course we use it and sometimes have to move the entire wall to the prevailing wind side. The guys groan when I tell them it's time to move the wall but they appreciate it that night when the wind is blowing through camp and it's 19 degrees!











Every year we look for a hollow log to set on our fire during chicken fry night. We call this log our chimney. We also are camped next to a spring fed creek. That is how we got our camp name as seen on the banner above. Chimney Creek. This year we found an 8 ft hollow log. I think it was basswood. We cut it in half and brought half home with us so we don't have to go search for one next year. We use the grease from the fry to pour down the center of the log.




We had a good year. Dad took a Spike with his crossbow. (first ever archery kill) and a doe with his rifle. I took a 5 point with my rifle and Joe my step son finally broke his "up North" kill virginity with the little deer on the end. We razzed him a bit but let him off easy because it was his first one. He won't make that mistake again!

 

[flyboy553]

Some of the best times to be had are those sitting around the deer hunting campfire. When asked, you can't just say I got a 5 pointer, oh no, you have to tell the entire story from wake up to how you out smarted that big ol' wise buck! Of course, as the evening proceeds the stories may become a bit embellished. Or perhaps as the alcohol takes affect, your memory becomes more clear. Yeah, that's what it is!

Ted

 

[Iska3]

Nice pictures, those are the times that will stay with you forever. Looks like you got enough meat to do some serious smoking and stuffing..

 

[ole yukon]

The little deer are mighty fine eatin tho

 

[theswampthing]

That's a cool deer camp! You on private or public? I enjoy sitting around the fire at hunting and fishing camps about as much as actually hunting and fishing. Up all night telling stories, drinking and eating. Good stuff right there.

 

[Ron660]

Good idea. Firewood wall. Good pics.

 

[Bushmans]

Public land. Been going there since 1984.

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

 

[reaperman]

I was hoping one of the pics would be the "little hottie" in your avatar decked out in blaze orange!

 

[Vibes]

I like poplar for the bon fire. Its nice and lite weight. I don't like all that extra work when I'm at deer camp. I like the chimney pic. We burned a hollow silver maple at my friends trout fishing party last spring. Looked like the old steel mill stacks.

 

[Johnny Yooper]

awesome pics, brings back memories of lots of years at our U.P. deer camp. Unfortunately, it's been tough sledding to fill our buck pole like that since another predator has been in the mix for some years now; would post pics of the harvesting, but don't have enough bail money.

 

[wampum]

This is no way is a put down on the way you handle your venison.You are free to do as you wish.Possibly the most important part of getting good tasting venison is your shot placement.In other words a head shot is a lot better then a gut shot for meat quality.But after the kill it is very important how you handle the venison. Just for fun visit any slaughter house.you will find that all animals and poultry are always bleed out.They are hung with their heads down.There is a reason for this.The blood carries impurities that are cleansed before it goes back to the heart.

With the head hung up as in your pictures the blood has no where to go and ends up going to the veins and arteries of the hind quarters.This blood eventually hardens and retains its flavor in the meat you process. This gives the venison a wild or gamey taste.When you skin the deer (that is hung head up)check the arteries and veins in the hind quarters you will find they are swelled with blood.

You are not alone just about all the deer I see hanging is hung head up.I do not understand why this is so popular.But I do know the meat is definitely better tasting when the animal(any animal)is bleed out properly.It is also good to allow a path for the blood to escape.This can happen with a slit throat or the whole head removed.

There are many more tips to get better tasting meat but proper bleeding is a start.Please understand I am not trying to tell you what to do.I am simply offering a suggestion that may improve your venison quality.What you do is totally up to you.

 

[bert0168]

Another tip is to get the hide off as quickly as possible. This does 3 things:

1. It's easier to skin when it's warm and rigor hasn't set
2. Rapidly cools the meat
3. Unless your butchering your own, makes the butcher happy (see #1)

Some think that they need to leave the hide on to protect the meat. My father and I have butchered every deer we have harvested and never had any issues with meat quality. The rapid cooling creates a glaze that keeps everything out of the muscle. We leave the hide around the neck (hung head down, see Wampum's post) and when we transport, the hide goes back over like a cape, protecting the meat from any road contaminants.

Another tip (but a harder sell) is to let the meat hang at 40 deg or less for at least a week before you butcher it (provided you skinned it and get it glazed). This allows for enzyme activity to occur to tenderize and age the meat. Some of the most expensive steaks are aged for longer periods of time, think about it. We age every deer a minimum of 7 days and up to 21 if the temp stays low.

Otherwise, cool camp and looks like a good time, nice deer and a puppy is OK as long as it's his first and last

 

[zogger]

Aren't you tempted to just play hooky and *stay* at camp once you get there? HAHAHA..I would be!

 

[wampum]

I hunt about 300 yards from my house.Every year I get at least 1 deer but usually get 2 or 3.So far this year I got 2.Flintlock is in right now,I have 2 tags left.Because I am so close to the house I have not gutted a deer in the woods for years.After the kill I get the tractor and carry it in.I hang it head down and skin it.After it is skinned I gut it into the bucket on the tractor.I have found this leaves very little hair on the meat and the guts literally fall out. After it is cleaned I take a meat saw and cut it in half and let it cool as fast as possible.Usually this is all done 45 minutes to an hour after the kill.


When I cut it up I remove all the bones and fat.Usually I cube most of the deer.If the grandkids are there I take the back straps and cook them up.They love them they literally melt in your mouth. The liver is eaten as soon as it can be cooked after the kill.The heart is excellent.It takes around 6 hours for me to cube a deer.But there is less to freeze and there are no bones to poke through the freezer bags.Some of the lesser quality meat gets ground and is either used as burger or made into jerky.

By the way I was told that the impurities in the blood are filtered out by the kidneys and leave the body in the urine.

 

[Bushmans]

Thanks for all the input on the deer. Ive been processing my own deer for 25 years and I believe the gamey taste is from #1 fat and #2 meatsaw blades running through bone and marrow and then smearing that across the face of the meat. Venison marrow is a awful stuff. These particular deer hung for many days as we are in camp for 8 to 9 days. They hung through 18 degree weather and snow, 50 degrees and sun and then a solid day of warm rain. I believe that hide protects them from rain as well as helps hold in the cold once cooled. At home when I shoot one it goes in the garage and is skinned and cooled immediately. I love my venison rare. Just walk it by the grill and its done. Overcooking kills the great flavor.

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

 

[bert0168]

I love my venison rare. Just walk it by the grill and its done. Overcooking kills the great flavor.

That is the only way to eat it (if it's steaks), a little salt and pepper and garlic powder.

IMHO