# Any hunters?



## Vlabruz (Apr 8, 2022)

Any other hunters here? I'm a big bow hunter for whitetail on Long Island in NY.


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## ChuckD (Apr 8, 2022)

I have found many of the folks who make their own wine are the self sufficient type, so lots of gardening, canning, hunting, fishing etc. I myself do all of those. I hunt deer and waterfowl and fish as well. I’m in Northeast Wisconsin.


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## Vlabruz (Apr 8, 2022)

ChuckD said:


> I have found many of the folks who make their own wine are the self sufficient type, so lots of gardening, canning, hunting, fishing etc. I myself do all of those. I hunt deer and waterfowl and fish as well. I’m in Northeast Wisconsin.


Awesome. I do a lot of fishing myself, mainly saltwater.
I'd love to get out to Wisconsin and other midwest states to bowhunt. I went out to Illinois this past season.
Waterfowl was my entry but never stuck with it. I really like turkey but they don't have a season on Long Island in the spring. That may be changing though.


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## rallenhall (Apr 8, 2022)

Venison loin with a hearty red wine is my idea of the perfect dinner.


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## winemaker81 (Apr 8, 2022)

I hunted when where I grew up in NY, and for a few years after moving to NC. At this time I don't have a safe place to hunt, as public lands are far too full of idiots.


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## Vlabruz (Apr 8, 2022)

winemaker81 said:


> I hunted when where I grew up in NY, and for a few years after moving to NC. At this time I don't have a safe place to hunt, as public lands are far too full of idiots.


I hear that. Not that it's dangerous here but so many hacks thats ruin the areas we have.


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## winemaker81 (Apr 8, 2022)

Vlabruz said:


> I hear that. Not that it's dangerous here but so many hacks thats ruin the areas we have.


A friend joined a hunting club which is great, but I'd have to drive 2+ hours to get there. That cut down the urge.


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## BigDaveK (Apr 8, 2022)

Do raccoons count? They attack my outdoor cats. The internet says they don't do that. Right. I've had 3 start walking fast towards ME! Mean bastards! I have some recipes just in case I go that route.  

I see deer on the property almost every single day. I have deer highways. My nephew drops by during the season every once in a while and they vanish. I've never seen one during hunting season.


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## ChuckD (Apr 8, 2022)

Vlabruz said:


> Awesome. I do a lot of fishing myself, mainly saltwater.
> I'd love to get out to Wisconsin and other midwest states to bowhunt. I went out to Illinois this past season.
> Waterfowl was my entry but never stuck with it. I really like turkey but they don't have a season on Long Island in the spring. That may be changing though.


I love Turkey hunting because it gets me
Out in the field after a long winter.

my hunting philosophy has definitely changed. I used to pursue big bucks. Now I pursue venison… can’t eat antlers! The solitude and being in nature are the primary goal. The good meals are a bonus. I regularly have days when I pass on animals I could harvest because I don’t feel like interrupting my “hunt”… go figure. I foresee a day when I let my grandsons do all the harvesting while I just enjoy the outdoors.

this is not to criticize anyones motivation for hunting. Unless it’s just to kill things.


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## FlamingoEmporium (Apr 8, 2022)

ChuckD said:


> I love Turkey hunting because it gets me
> Out in the field after a long winter.


My daughter just sent me this…


5 hens with him


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## winemaker81 (Apr 8, 2022)

ChuckD said:


> The solitude and being in nature are the primary goal. The good meals are a bonus.


Spaghetti sauce made with venison Italian sausage and venison meatballs is a REALLY big bonus.


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## Fox Squirrel Vin (Apr 8, 2022)

FlamingoEmporium said:


> My daughter just sent me this…
> View attachment 86757
> 
> 5 hens with him



Osceola turkey's on my place.


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## Fox Squirrel Vin (Apr 8, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Do raccoons count? They attack my outdoor cats. The internet says they don't do that. Right. I've had 3 start walking fast towards ME! Mean bastards! I have some recipes just in case I go that route.
> 
> I see deer on the property almost every single day. I have deer highways. My nephew drops by during the season every once in a while and they vanish. I've never seen one during hunting season.


I HATE those things. Grape vine destroyers, peach tree destroyers, garden destroyers...

So I installed an electric fence. Now I just laugh when I hear one squeal in the darkness when it tries to climb the fence and hits that top wire 2" above a 2" x 4" "no climb" horse fence. My days of playing nice are OVER.


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## FlamingoEmporium (Apr 8, 2022)

Fox Squirrel Vin said:


> I HATE those things. Grape vine destroyers, peach tree destroyers, garden destroyers...
> 
> So I installed an electric fence. Now I just laugh when I hear one squeal in the darkness when it tries to climb the fence and hits that top wire 2" above a 2" x 4" "no climb" horse fence. My days of playing nice are OVER.



they love mango. I’ve had them come through the cat door


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## Vlabruz (Apr 8, 2022)

ChuckD said:


> I love Turkey hunting because it gets me
> Out in the field after a long winter.
> 
> my hunting philosophy has definitely changed. I used to pursue big bucks. Now I pursue venison… can’t eat antlers! The solitude and being in nature are the primary goal. The good meals are a bonus. I regularly have days when I pass on animals I could harvest because I don’t feel like interrupting my “hunt”… go figure. I foresee a day when I let my grandsons do all the harvesting while I just enjoy the outdoors.
> ...


Mine has changed as well, I still would love big bucks and I pass a lot of small ones but we can shoot unlimited does here.
I just don't have the time or drive to put in all the scouting hours I used to before the family.


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## Vlabruz (Apr 8, 2022)

Got my kids out this year behind the house.


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## Fox Squirrel Vin (Apr 8, 2022)

FlamingoEmporium said:


> they love mango. I’ve had them come through the cat door
> View attachment 86762



I have way too much wildlife to have a cat door, or an outside cat. I've considered a dog but I really don't want to deal with land mines and I'm too old and have too much to do to spend time picking up dog **it.


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## Joel (Apr 8, 2022)

Back on the family farm in Southern Illinois we have a decent number of deer, turkey. Since I moved to Ohio I have found lots of locations with decent herds of deer, unfortunately I do not have any access to the areas. When I was back at home, I had a spot where I could sit right off the side of a field in a ditch which was situated in a way where I could sit halfway comfortably and could see right across the field.


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## Bossbaby (Apr 8, 2022)

It's hard to beat the Wisconsin woods In the fall during the rut 15 ft up in a tree with a bow . I'm getting ready for a spring archery Turkey hunt the last week of the month just as the Morel mushrooms start popping, another favorite time of mine.. Venison steak, Fried Turkey tenders ,morels and Elderberry wine are on the menu.


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## BigDaveK (Apr 9, 2022)

Fox Squirrel Vin said:


> I HATE those things. Grape vine destroyers, peach tree destroyers, garden destroyers...
> 
> So I installed an electric fence. Now I just laugh when I hear one squeal in the darkness when it tries to climb the fence and hits that top wire 2" above a 2" x 4" "no climb" horse fence. My days of playing nice are OVER.


I use the Have a Heart type of traps. Baited with marshmallow. I've had to beef up the traps because the raccoons cut through the wire.

Hard to tell in this pic from last year, but the raccoon got out but left me a pile of shit. They think they're funny.


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## rallenhall (Apr 9, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> I use the Have a Heart type of traps. Baited with marshmallow. I've had to beef up the traps because the raccoons cut through the wire.
> 
> Hard to tell in this pic from last year, but the raccoon got out but left me a pile of shit. They think they're funny.
> 
> View attachment 86767


My brother used Have-a-Heart traps and dropped his 'coons off on the other side of the wide Maumee River; at least until he found out that a friend on the other side of the river was doing the same thing.


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## Fox Squirrel Vin (Apr 9, 2022)

rallenhall said:


> My brother used Have-a-Heart traps and dropped his 'coons off on the other side of the wide Maumee River; at least until he found out that a friend on the other side of the river was doing the same thing.


Now I bet they both put them in the river....


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## FlamingoEmporium (Apr 9, 2022)

I took mine 5 miles up the road to the outskirts of the dump.


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## BigDaveK (Apr 10, 2022)

I thought I had a coyote problem. But then...

Two years a go I saw a raccoon carry away a screaming kitten into the woods. As a cat lover that was a devestating experience. And an act of war.
I keep a score board on the fridge. In 2 years I have trapped 70 raccoons. Yes, seven-zero. In Ohio it's against the law to catch and release raccoons.


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## FlamingoEmporium (Apr 10, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> I thought I had a coyote problem. But then...
> 
> Two years a go I saw a raccoon carry away a screaming kitten into the woods. As a cat lover that was a devestating experience. And an act of war.
> I keep a score board on the fridge. In 2 years I have trapped 70 raccoons. Yes, seven-zero. In Ohio it's against the law to catch and release raccoons.


I’m not sure it’s legal here.


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## ChuckD (Apr 10, 2022)

As difficult as it is to do you probably should dispatch trapped raccoons and rodents. They are very territorial and when dumped in another animals territory they will often be killed (or kill).

In Agricultural settings the number of raccoons is amazing. I regularly war with them over chicken predation and with a new vineyard planned I’m sure that will only get worse.


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## BigDaveK (Apr 10, 2022)

ChuckD said:


> As difficult as it is to do you probably should dispatch trapped raccoons and rodents. They are very territorial and when dumped in another animals territory they will often be killed (or kill).
> 
> In Agricultural settings the number of raccoons is amazing. I regularly war with them over chicken predation and with a new vineyard planned I’m sure that will only get worse.


The very first one I sent walking through the Pearly Gates was hard. It took me three hours, seriously. Subsequent au revoirs were MUCH quicker. It still bothers me. I wish they would just go someplace else and leave me alone.

And marshmallows REALLY work! Marshmallows and peanut butter is like crack.


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## BigDaveK (Apr 10, 2022)

Getting back to hunting...

I have an old country cookbook that has recipes for possum, squirrel, raccoon, ground hogs, turtle, and of course deer. If I could somehow get passed the first one I wouldn't have to buy meat anymore.


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## FlamingoEmporium (Apr 10, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Getting back to hunting...
> 
> I have an old country cookbook that has recipes for possum, squirrel, raccoon, ground hogs, turtle, and of course deer. If I could somehow get passed the first one I wouldn't have to buy meat anymore.


My daughters father in law recently cooked a possum. His words “once you get past the stink, it’s good”


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## Old Corker (Apr 10, 2022)

Growing up in Kentucky squirrel, rabbit (cotton tail) and turtle (snapping)
were considered small game As well as various game birds. Possum, coon, groundhog, etc. were eaten too but not by me.


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## mikewatkins727 (Apr 11, 2022)

Once you see a coyote with #30 of 35 chickens in his mouth heading across your pasture. . . I sent him limping. (Drat!!) Same time frame we trapped 4 coons, 2 possums and a .......skunk. Wifey let me do the skunk. (She knew something I had forgotten.)


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## D&S (Apr 11, 2022)

I mostly fish for Walleye, but have Deer that love my grapes. 2 years ago went on vacation just prior to harvest and came home and 90% of my grapes were gone. Put netting up last year, proplem solved.


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## ratflinger (Apr 11, 2022)

I like to shoot a spike or doe each year. We process it and it all goes in the freezer. About the only things left over are the entrails, the hooves, and the skin. Dump those out back and they are all gone by the next morning. Coons are just trapped in a live trap and dispatched with a .22. My stupid neighbor feeds them so there are excess coming around. I ought to dump the carcasses on his property, but I don't.


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## Joel (Apr 11, 2022)

I see the comments about eating the trash pandas, they are not bad, the places that would by them in Saint Louis (Mo.) would buy as many as you could bring as long as you left one foot on.


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## toadie (Apr 11, 2022)

I'm the exterminator in my neighborhood.

Just wanted to pass on a story an old neighbor told me.
He and his two brothers just immigrated and were amazed by all the wildlife. Their first day hunting they see a small blackish creature that doesn't seem too afraid. They get closer and closer and are amazed at their luck. As soon as they are ready to shoot it raises it's tail sprays them all. They scream and don't understand what happened and run back to their brand new car and drive home. They had never heard of a skunk before and were never able to get the smell out of the car. Good times.


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## ChuckD (Apr 11, 2022)

I have eaten muskrat, raccoon, and groundhog, all tasty. I have prepared coon and have shot possum twice but could not bring myself to clean the nasty buggers. If someone else cooked it up I would try it.


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## She’sgonnakillme (Apr 11, 2022)

Lived in Alaska for 14 years. Shot and caught all I could while I was there Kodiak brown bear, moose, Dall sheep, goat, caribou .......loved every minute of it!!!


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## BigDaveK (Apr 11, 2022)

ChuckD said:


> I have eaten muskrat, raccoon, and groundhog, all tasty. I have prepared coon and have shot possum twice but could not bring myself to clean the nasty buggers. If someone else cooked it up I would try it.


I'd like to try all of those. I have to get passed preparing one for the first time. Once I do I'll have gourmet country meals and some really cool caveman clothes.


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## Steve Wargo (Apr 12, 2022)

When younger, a friend and I hunted squirrels during small game season. To cook I would 1st make some popcorn, grind it and use it to bread them, then sauteed them, and they were good tasting. Crockpot wild rabbit, venison shoulder and venison neck were good. I once cooked groundhog/woodchuck, it was tough and tasted grassy. Most likely I did not prepare/cook it correctly. Another friend, that was a chef at a restaurant cooked possum. The Possum was yuk, and was very greasy. I'm thinking he didn't clean it correctly. There seems to be an overabundance of small-game in the area. Maybe, a Raccoon bourguignon this fall?


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## Sage (Apr 15, 2022)

I used to go after a variety of critters and birds. Now only deer which are around all the time. I do wander up the mountain looking for a dumb elk which are scarce. Bear..... Only if it's a special coloring and big! (There's one around that fits that description and I've been looking for him for 3 years)

I'd take a big cat as a favor to the deer. Not sure if I'd eat it even though I've heard it's good.

Wolves...... I would dearly love to eliminate every one. They're wiping out deer and elk young ones. The problem seems to be government intervention on their behalf which would make it very, very expensive!!


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## tmcfadden932 (Apr 16, 2022)

Steve Wargo said:


> When younger, a friend and I hunted squirrels during small game season. To cook I would 1st make some popcorn, grind it and use it to bread them, then sauteed them, and they were good tasting. Crockpot wild rabbit, venison shoulder and venison neck were good. I once cooked groundhog/woodchuck, it was tough and tasted grassy. Most likely I did not prepare/cook it correctly. Another friend, that was a chef at a restaurant cooked possum. The Possum was yuk, and was very greasy. I'm thinking he didn't clean it correctly. There seems to be an overabundance of small-game in the area. Maybe, a Raccoon bourguignon this fall?


Yearling groundhog makes good stew, after that not much. You can tell by the color of their fur.


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## Vlabruz (Apr 16, 2022)

Sage said:


> I used to go after a variety of critters and birds. Now only deer which are around all the time. I do wander up the mountain looking for a dumb elk which are scarce. Bear..... Only if it's a special coloring and big! (There's one around that fits that description and I've been looking for him for 3 years)
> 
> I'd take a big cat as a favor to the deer. Not sure if I'd eat it even though I've heard it's good.
> 
> Wolves...... I would dearly love to eliminate every one. They're wiping out deer and elk young ones. The problem seems to be government intervention on their behalf which would make it very, very expensive!!


I had bear at a few friends houses. Its delicious. Id kill any of them. Mountain lion was also very good. I was shocked


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## Steve Wargo (May 4, 2022)

tmcfadden932 said:


> Yearling groundhog makes good stew, after that not much. You can tell by the color of their fur.


Color of groundhog's fur? tell me more. I imagine a 1-year old groundhog/woodchuck is fully grown. I once live-trapped a smaller groundhog that was causing damage at a woman friend's yard/house. I didn't notice a distinctive fur color. Though I wasn't looking for it.


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## tmcfadden932 (May 8, 2022)

Steve Wargo said:


> Color of groundhog's fur? tell me more. I imagine a 1-year old groundhog/woodchuck is fully grown. I once live-trapped a smaller groundhog that was causing damage at a woman friend's yard/house. I didn't notice a distinctive fur color. Though I wasn't looking for it.


Young ones have a lighter color fur. It will darken as the animal gets older.


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