Hunting widow's

[2tiredmom]

Are there any deer hunting widows here? Our gun season just started this weekend. I have been married to my husband 19 years and this is only the 2nd
time that I have not gone out hunting. Needless to say this year I haven't missed it. But I do love to be out there weather I get a deer or not just to watch mother nature. It's so peaceful and beautiful.

[Janet]

The boys are out hunting too. I didn't want Ricky to, but I don't want to not let him go, just because I wouldn't go. I love watching them and on the bus route always point out the deer to the kids. I bet we see at least 15 or more of a morning. It just depends and we see them all through the route.

It makes me sad that they are killed, but I know a lot of people that do hunt. I think the last time I went hunting was rabbit hunting. I was out at the in-laws and had my sights on a rabbit, just as I pulled the trigger, it turned and looked at me and then my father-in-law (trying to be funny) said "oh no....that was my favorite one."

I cleaned the rabbit at the flowershop and then took it home. The next night I fried it all up, had mashed potatoes and good ole rabbit gravy and invited Mom out. I took one bite and got sick. I just couldn't stop seeing the rabbit turn and look at me. So...that was the last time and it was probably 20-25 years ago...maybe longer than that...I don't know.

I know you guys eat the meat, but the venison just doesn't taste good to me. I bet it sure helps with the grocery bill though huh?

[judy]

I have never hunted. Growing up in NYC, there are no live animals to hunt anyway. It's way easier to hunt down a McDonalds.

Our hunting season started today too. I've seen a lot of deer lately. I guess people will be eating well this winter. My feelings about hunting are not reality based living up here. I just keep my mouth shut and hope that it helps people to have enough food for the winter.

[Gina]

I have never hunted. Growing up in NYC, there are no live animals to hunt anyway. It's way easier to hunt down a McDonalds.

Our hunting season started today too. I've seen a lot of deer lately. I guess people will be eating well this winter. My feelings about hunting are not reality based living up here. I just keep my mouth shut and hope that it helps people to have enough food for the winter.

Like you Judy I agree, I see deers from time to time for humans have invaded their habitat. Sad .. at night when I go down dark roads I am always afraid to hit one.. I have seen a few killed on the road....

Janet I don't think I could eat rabbit, my parents liked it growing up in the country.. I guess it is what you get used to...

[gja1000]

My hubby and sil went hunting this weekend, but didn't shoot anything. I go some also, but not as much as them. Our season goes from Nov. 1 to the end of January - so they have plenty of opportunities.

Janet, venison is GREAT - the key to good venison is how you handle it just after it is shot. My husband's father working in a meat packing plant all his life and my hubby knows how to properly field dress and process venison meat. Our venison tastes fantastic. And believe me, I have had the stinky awful tasting venison my brother in law used to have - NASTY!

We grind some up for hamburger - we have tenderloin, we cut some up for chicken fried steaks and then we have some made into summer sausage. Our freezer is always stocked with venison and I never have to buy beef - although I do buy a beef roast from time to time.

My mom was just like you -said she didn't like venison because all she had was my brother in law's nasty stuff - so I had to really coax her to try my hubby's. She's now a convert and cannot wait for the first meal of tenderloin or chicken fry!

Oh, I do hunt occasionally, but I really prefer to watch the deer from the stand! My 12 year old granddaughter got her first deer when she was 9.

[2tiredmom]

Gayle thanks for that. We have a freezer full of deer and it's like you said it's the way it's done. And the way you cook it. We also buy other meat pork and some beef like steaks but other than that we eat what we kill. It does help with the food bill.

[DianaB]

We have a lot of hunters around here and a few of the men in our family hunt but deer hunting is something that my husband doesn't do. He likes to go pheasant hunting but his favorite things to hunt are ducks and geese.

I've had deer meat too. Some I've liked and some I haven't. I have heard that it's all in how it's dressed.

[judy]

I was in and out of local stores yesterday. There were so many men dressed in their camouflage outfits! I bet that even if a man doesn't hunt, he still wears the outfit so he looks macho, and fits in.

Some of them are army camo and some are the newer ones with leaves and so on on them.

[Marilyn]

Camo is the fashion of choice around here this time of year. I even attended a camo wedding a couple of weeks ago, no joke. The bridesmaids were in brown and olivine satin dresses and the men wore camo ties with their tuxes. The centerpieces on the tables were an oak log split in half with grass and cat-tails sticking out of a hole drilled in the top of the log. There was camo sheer fabric draped around the bride and groom's tables at the reception.

My hubby is not a hunter, so we're really not into the hunting season thing. Our new son-in-law is a hunter, but don't know if he's gone this year or not. Our daughter, his wife, is not into venison at all, so don't know how they will handle it. Will have to ask them when they are here in a couple of weeks.

I've never tasted good venison. All I've ever tried tasted very gamey. The only way I will eat it is mixed with pork or beef in heavily seasoned sausage.

[Tink]

I enjoy venison bologna, summer sausage, and steaks if cooked right. I can usually manage to eat ground venison in spaghetti sauce, or something else heavily seasoned.

Greg's not a hunter, but many around us are, so we usually get gifted some. This year I've requested that the scraps be brought here as a treat for my dogs, so right now it looks like a deer slaughter house outside. lol The dogs are really enjoying it though! I went hunting 2 years, but don't enjoy shooting animals, so quit.

We have a huge deer population here, so if they're not hunted they end up being hit by cars of starving over winter, so I don't oppose hunting as it's a quick merciful death compared to the other 2 and it does help feed a lot of families who otherwise struggle to put meat on the table.

[judy]

"We have a huge deer population here, so if they're not hunted they end up being hit by cars of starving over winter, so I don't oppose hunting as it's a quick merciful death compared to the other 2 and it does help feed a lot of families who otherwise struggle to put meat on the table."

That's exactly why I feel that I my views on hunting are not reality based up here.
I've only seen one deer that had been hit by a car, and it was a very sad thing to look at. I see lots of deer around dusk, and they are throwing off the balance of the food chain. It's all good, I'm just looking at it with a city girl's point of view.

[Marilyn]

There are so many deer around here. It's hard to find anyone who hasn't hit one with their car, or been run into by one. A lady in our office had two run into the side of her truck on the highway and do $4,000 in damage. Fortunately her father owns a body shop, so she's making a little money from the event. One of our daughters, Karen, has hit one and had one hit her.

Everyone I know around here who hunts does use the meat, and the population needs to be controlled. Some people who hit deer on the highway even take the meat home even though I think it's against the law.

[Janet]

I enjoy watching the deer. We can see the deer in all the fields around us and then I see quite a few every morning on the bus route. The other morning I saw this beautiful buck..had to have been a 10 or 12 pointer, his antlers were huge. He was standing in a field just about 20 or so feet from the road and stood there so majestic. Absolutely beautiful.

[judy]

There are so many deer around here. It's hard to find anyone who hasn't hit one with their car, or been run into by one. A lady in our office had two run into the side of her truck on the highway and do $4,000 in damage. Fortunately her father owns a body shop, so she's making a little money from the event. One of our daughters, Karen, has hit one and had one hit her.

Everyone I know around here who hunts does use the meat, and the population needs to be controlled. Some people who hit deer on the highway even take the meat home even though I think it's against the law.

I would take it home and eat it! If its already dead and would provide food, might as well. I guess it's against the law because it's not hunting season. I am beginning to change my hunting views. Food is needed, and so is population control.

[Janet]

This is a fawn a neighbor and I rescued a couple years ago. The mother was hit and killed by a combine harvesting the field. We checked all over for another because a lot of time they will have twins, but we couldn't find one.

I put it in the dog crate and then we took it to someone who specializes in taking care of deer. It was so funny because when we met with her...she had a bottle ready and just picked up the fawn and carried it to her car. She placed it in the front seat on a blanket and left. It really got to me because as she carried the fawn, it placed it's head on her shoulder like it just knew it was going to be alright.

Not the best picture because I took a picture of my picture...lol. Isn't it cute???

4481

[DianaB]

We have a lot of deer here too. I hit two with my old Tahoe and it's not a fun thing to do!

Janet, does have a lot of deer in her area. We saw a few when we were out driving.

[Lindsey]

Almost my whole family hunts, and I grew up on meat my dad hunted or we fished! I love deer sausage, and my dad usually gets pepperoni and beer sticks made too. As for moose, I like moose roasts but not really steaks or anything like that. My dad, his friend, my uncle, and my cousin went out and got 4 moose last month, so our freezers are going to be well-stocked!
When we get low on meat, there are a lot of farms near my parents' house that raise elk and bison, so we sometimes just buy one between a few family members and split it up.
And yes, there are a LOT of deer and moose up here, so my feelings on it are that we're controlling the population and feeding ourselves. It doesn't go to waste! I have never hit a deer but almost everyone I know has! A friend of mine hit a moose and completely smashed up her car beyond recognition, and she was stranded on the side of the highway in the middle of the night, until a trucker pulled over to give her a ride! Around here there are always wildlife in the ditches. There have even been deer wandering into the city! I remember a dead deer on an overpass a few years ago.

[judy]

The maintenance workers here put fences up around all of our shrubbery in front of our houses this morning. I was talking to one of the guys who said they come in and eat the plants. I would love to see them up close. They are beautiful animals.

[Marilyn]

I knew a woman who actually had a buck for a house pet. How crazy is that. They can actually be very dangerous.

Isn't it wonderful that God provides such bounty for us. It seems that our whole continent has lots of deer.