Deer Season.

[Jay]

Opening day for Shotgun here. I bagged a nice 8 pointer with my 12g Remington 1100. Very nice, my Savahna Monitor will enjoy a nice
snack tonight. I got 160 lbs of meat out of it.

[Jay]

Pictures help,
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/photo-2.jpg
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/photo-3.jpg

[infernalis]

Congrats!...................

[stephanbakir]

Grats man!

[lady_bug87]

my favourite Bambi is sausage <3

[spots]

Gratz, Where in the country are you? Is that a white tail?
I'm heading out this weekend for a white tail and a Mule Deer. Got a tag for each just in case :)

[Jenn_06]

congrats cant wait to go with my husband one day, he got a deer last week just down our street, hope they dont build more houses its a great hunting spot lol.

[Gungirl]

Congrats! I want to go so bad but just don't have the time to right now. The husband is going to our hunting camp for 4 days and I'm very hopeful he brings back 1. I love it!

[Jay]

Gratz, Where in the country are you? Is that a white tail?
I'm heading out this weekend for a white tail and a Mule Deer. Got a tag for each just in case :)

Ontario, yes he's a white tail. I'm going to try a Texas mount today
Any pointers will be appreciated.

[Jenn_06]

Texas mount is with the skull and antlers right? if your going to boil dont do it for too long.

[millertime89]

congrats man!

[spots]

Ontario, yes he's a white tail. I'm going to try a Texas mount today
Any pointers will be appreciated.

best bet is take it to a taxidermy!!! its supper hard mount, need special tools.

[Norm66]

Nice deer, congratulations.

When I came home Saturday from shopping my neighbor had a big 7 point hanging. It was nearly the size of yours, around 250lb. live weight according to his scale. Ohio corn fed deer. The deer on this side of the river (West Virginia) look like German Shepherds by comparison.

[KORBIN5895]

A Texas mount is not hard to do. I don't recommend boiling though. Smells terrible. If you do boil get proper chemicals. I would use dermestid beetles or ants as dermestid beetles are not common. Use a high strength hydrogen peroxide like what they use at beauty salons and water it down. Once bleached use a clear coat to seal it.

[spots]

sorry i was thinking full mount :( (Hide, ect) No your right KORBIN texas mount is easier. Yes boiling stinks, if your going to boil i would suggest to do it on the side burner on the BBQ out side :)

[TeaNinja]

i've never gotten the chance to shoot a gun.

[KORBIN5895]

Zach it should definitely be on your bucket list! It is loads of fun.

[Gungirl]

i've never gotten the chance to shoot a gun.

You should try it at least once. The first time I shot a shotgun I was hooked. Now I love them all!

[lady_bug87]

i've never gotten the chance to shoot a gun.


It really is loads of fun... I shot my first gun at 5 and I do so still

[Jenn_06]

sorry i was thinking full mount :( (Hide, ect) No your right KORBIN texas mount is easier. Yes boiling stinks, if your going to boil i would suggest to do it on the side burner on the BBQ out side :)

with the hide and all its not that hard really just takes time, we did only the hide last year and came out good and now im doing my first with the head right now my husband got a 4 pointer but i wanted to try my hand at taxidermy.

[spots]

with the hide and all its not that hard really just takes time, we did only the hide last year and came out good and now im doing my first with the head right now my husband got a 4 pointer but i wanted to try my hand at taxidermy.

I wish you all the luck :) post some pictures please when your done? It's hard to remove the hide from the skull and still having it look natural. I have tried and failed :( (My first Mule deer buck). I rater pay a taxidermist to do it proper when I hunt for trophy's (which is rare, as I'm a meat hunter)

[Jay]

Texas mount is with the skull and antlers right? if your going to boil dont do it for too long.

How long should I boil the skull?
Should I a bleach, salt?

[spots]

Here Jay0133 take a look at these
How to Do a Texas Mount for a Deer Head | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_4586011_do-texas-mount-deer-head.html)
European Skull Mounts The Texas Way (http://www.predatortalk.com/page/index.html/_/predator-talk-predator-hunting/predator-hunting-articles/european-skull-mounts-the-texas-way-r48)

[KORBIN5895]

I would wait told spring and use bugs. Just saying.

@Jen
Be careful when tanning the hide. Salt it right away to avoid slippage and pickle it thoroughly. Bacteria growth will make the hair slip out. Also treat it with a pesticide ( some will soak it in borax.) or other chemical that will keep bugs off because I have seen home made mounts infested with bugs. And clean the oil glands around the eyelashes well or you'll get funny shrinkage. Careful with the lips too. Good luck!

[Jay]

Final, what should I treat it with??http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/photo-4.jpg

[spots]

Nice job!!!

[snake man12]

Wow did you boil it

[Gungirl]

Looking good so far!

[Jenn_06]

I would wait told spring and use bugs. Just saying.

@Jen
Be careful when tanning the hide. Salt it right away to avoid slippage and pickle it thoroughly. Bacteria growth will make the hair slip out. Also treat it with a pesticide ( some will soak it in borax.) or other chemical that will keep bugs off because I have seen home made mounts infested with bugs. And clean the oil glands around the eyelashes well or you'll get funny shrinkage. Careful with the lips too. Good luck!


Thanks, i already salted it for a week now and going to tan this weekend....the lips was so fun to do not lol, the head was alot of work.

[Jenn_06]

dont need to treat it with anything just let it sit and dry, there is stuff you can buy to make it whiter but i like the way yours look.

[KORBIN5895]

We used hydrogen peroxide @ 40%. That is what the use at a salon. You'll need to dilute it bit I can't remember for the life of me what the ratio is. I would also recommended a spray on clear coat. The skull will pick up dirt and grim which the clear coat will protect.
Looks great! How did the brains come out?

[Jay]

Pressure washer…Thanks for the advice I'll throw a clear coat on now.

[stephanbakir]

Jay, if you have any way of getting to ottawa, I've got a guy whos a skull expert, hes got flesh eating beatles and everything you need. He loves skulls so if you have more then one, generally he will request one as payment.

[KORBIN5895]

Lol. We used an air compressor at the shop. The first skull I ever boiled I left the brains in. They were a pain yo get out.

[KORBIN5895]

@ Stephanbakir
Do you know if he sells colonies?

[stephanbakir]

Flesh eating beatles makes cleaning skulls easy, after that all you need is to remove the fat from the bone.

[millertime89]

Looks great man! Good job!

[stephanbakir]

@ Stephanbakir
Do you know if he sells colonies?

He might, I can ask in December when I see him next. Hes an nice old guy, no email for him :P

[KORBIN5895]

I would love a dermestid beetle colony! We would put everything in there. The coolest thing we ever did was a copper head snake a guy brought in and wanted tanned.

[stephanbakir]

I've got a guide on ssnakess about that :) its a fun job. When I was in Cost Rica we had a stretch of about 3 days where it wasn't safe to go into the water, wayyyy too many jellyfish. We had to take to the jungle for food, one of the things we ate was an eyelash viper, still got the eyelash viper skin bracelet at home somewhere :)

[millertime89]

I've got a guide on ssnakess about that :) its a fun job. When I was in Cost Rica we had a stretch of about 3 days where it wasn't safe to go into the water, wayyyy too many jellyfish. We had to take to the jungle for food, one of the things we ate was an eyelash viper, still got the eyelash viper skin bracelet at home somewhere :)

if you can find it post a picture, that would be cool to see.

[stephanbakir]

if you can find it post a picture, that would be cool to see.

I'll look for it this weekend, got loads of work to do and a few deliveries of rodents and snakes coming in, busy busy :P

[millertime89]

no worries man, whenever, might have to make one myself when we're down there.

[spots]

Didn't make out as good as you jay1033. I got skunk'd for my deer :( But at least I got a few Canada goose :D

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii396/Jlangan1/Hunting/SANY0396.jpg

[Gungirl]

I'm really jealous and hopeful that My hubby(TMacie) comes home with a deer. He went on a 4 day hunting trip up north with his father and a few other guys.

I wish I could have gone...

[stephanbakir]

Best of luck with your hunting seasons.

[millertime89]

saw this on the highway today...
http://www.1320video.com/img/album334/IMG_0873.sized.jpg

What's that? You ask? Well...
a deer, on the back of small trailer. Not sure why.
http://www.1320video.com/img/album334/IMG_0874.sized.jpg

[stephanbakir]

saw this on the highway today...

What's that? You ask? Well...
a deer, on the back of small trailer. Not sure why.

They NEED to display it, with tags visible by law.

[Gungirl]

They NEED to display it, with tags visible by law.

Depending on where you are.. some states ask that it not be out in the open for the public to view as it can make some people very mad.

[KORBIN5895]

Its like that because he doesn't want blood and gore in his box and because it is a pain In the but to put a deer in a truck bed with a cap on it.
I wonder if that dent was made putting the deer on that carrier or Igor was already there.

[KORBIN5895]

Looks like he has 5 or 6 point on his right side. The left main beam is totally hidden by head so I can't tell how many points on that side.

[millertime89]

I've NEVER seen that before in Nebraska. I would think it would be easier to just pull the box top off if its required in the open. I definitely wouldn't want my deer out in the open right above the road if I was a hunter.

[alessia55]

I've been thinking about this thread for a while now, and finally decided I could give my input. If we can actually have a discussion about this (without all the heat and disrespect and aggression that usually arises with subject like these), then I think it'll be a great one. If anything, I hope it'll be educational.

In the following, please note my use of the words "usually" and "some," and that I never assume all deer hunters are x, y, or z.

My two cents about deer hunting:

People usually try to defend deer hunting as necessary to keep deer populations down and to prevent or downsize the overpopulation of deer in an area. Deer hunters usually track down and hunt male deer, bucks. Killing bucks, though, does nothing to control deer population in the long-run. Killing the female deer, does, would be far more effective.

Imagine you have one doe, and ten bucks. How many fawns would be born? One. Imagine you have ten does, and one buck. How many fawns would be born? Ten. The number of fawns born each year depends on the number of fertile females. Theoretically, then, if the goal is to control the population of deer, it is more effective to cull off some females.

However, hunters usually want to bring back the biggest buck with a great rack of horns. Essentially, the strong and robust bucks are being taken off the market for female deer to mate with at the next season. While killing a buck may not have an real effect on the population of deer as a whole, it does affect the genetic makeup of deer populations and bring about the deterioration of the species those hunters are hunting.

I don't completely disapprove of the act of deer hunting at whole. I just wish it were done in a better and more effective manner, with the animals in question at mind. If deer hunting were actually done with the goal in mind of helping reduce overpopulation by culling the females, I'd be happier with that.

I'd much rather see a female deer

That being said... Tell me you hunt deer just because you enjoy it and like the way their meat tastes and because the skull and antlers make for a nice wall piece, and that you don't actually care about how it affects the species, and we'll have a problem ;) But I don't think any of you on here think that way, being the animal-lovers most of us are. :)

[KORBIN5895]

I hunt for peace of mind. Nothing sets me into balance like a day in the woods. Also I hunt for meat only. I would shoot a spike horn as fast as a 180 pope and Young. I had to sit and watch the biggest buck of my life for an hour because he bedded down 35 yards from my stand. I refuse to take a shot over 30 yards and I probably wouldn't take a 15 yard shot at a bedded dear.
As far as trophy " hunters " go I feel they are the worst thing that could happen to the sport. You definitely screw the natural selection process when it comes yo breeding. Which allows inferior bucks to breed more females. And for every does killed that eliminates 3 deer for the following season.( the mother and 2 fawns.)

[millertime89]

People usually try to defend deer hunting as necessary to keep deer populations down and to prevent or downsize the overpopulation of deer in an area. Deer hunters usually track down and hunt male deer, bucks. Killing bucks, though, does nothing to control deer population in the long-run. Killing the female deer, does, would be far more effective.

This is where you're wrong. State laws limit the number of antlered and antlerless (law wordage) deer. Most states have a lottery determining who can take bucks. That number is less than the number of does. Sure poachers generally take bucks, but the number of people illegally hunting is minuscule in comparison to those that legally do it. States are aware of what you're talking about and take that into consideration when issuing reports.
Sampling taken from a few states as I couldn't find number from all states in one easy source, so I sampled a few.

page 6
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation/hunting/deer/2009_harvest.pdf

second line under "Deer harvest increases"
Deer-hunting statistics are positive - JSOnline (http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/111168089.html)

[KORBIN5895]

For bow hunters in IL we can purchase a set of tags that include one either sex and one antlerless only. We can buy as many tags as we want( at least 7 years ago you could.) But you could only take a Max of 2 antlered ( 3 inches or longer) the rest were antlerless ( under 3 inches)

[millertime89]

That said, I do agree with the rest of your points Alessia, Korbin you as well.

[Jay]

That being said... Tell me you hunt deer just because you enjoy it and like the way their meat tastes and because the skull and antlers make for a nice wall piece, and that you don't actually care about how it affects the species, and we'll have a problem ;) But I don't think any of you on here think that way, being the animal-lovers most of us are. :)

I hunt deer strictly for the meat, the Buck I tagged this year was a Trophy to me as it was my first Buck and I am proud. You're way off though, Hunting is a REGULATED sport, poaching on the other hand is different. They limit the amount of Male deer, in my WMU it's 1m - 10f.

Respect Hunters.

[Jay]

If deer hunting were actually done with the goal in mind of helping reduce overpopulation by culling the females, I'd be happier with that.

It is regulated. For the record I take the first one I see. I'm not huge on waiting for the big buck, frankly big bucks taste gammy.

[alessia55]

I hunt deer strictly for the meat, the Buck I tagged this year was a Trophy to me as it was my first Buck and I am proud. You're way off though, Hunting is a REGULATED sport, poaching on the other hand is different. They limit the amount of Male deer, in my WMU it's 1m - 10f.

Respect Hunters.

At no point did I say I don't respect the hunters themselves. I just don't agree with the sport of hunting all the time. Hunting strictly for meat when you can buy already dead animal meat at the supermarket is something I'm uncomfortable with. Hunting for a trophy to display the animal who's life your proudly took, also makes me uncomfortable. I'm allowed to be uncomfortable with that. But it doesn't mean I don't respect the person. I can't really judge much through the internet to make that sort of a call.

That being said, I don't know much about the regulations of deer hunting. What's "WMU"? I guess my post applies more to the poachers who take big bucks without "permission" then. Although I don't know much about the regulations of deer hunting, I wonder if they purposely curve it just enough so that populations grow again the following year simply to keep up the sport. I haven't looked at the links millertime posted yet though, maybe they answer my question.

[KORBIN5895]

Unfortunately Alessia you are pretty much on target when it comes to trophy hunters. I worked four seasons with a taxidermist in Lerna IL. The amount of legally licensed hunters that shot trophies and left us the deer to give to the needy was disgusting. Roughly a quarter of them. I had a side business gutting deer because those idiots were too lazy. Good money though. Anyway not all legal hunters are like that but way too many are. Now as far as poaching goes I will admit that I have hunted several times without tags. Legally I was wrong. And yes we wouldn't have starved without the meat but we would have done without other things so judge all you will I would do it the same today. Btw I have never even shot a 100 class buck.

[Jay]

At no point did I say I don't respect the hunters themselves. I just don't agree with the sport of hunting all the time. Hunting strictly for meat when you can buy already dead animal meat at the supermarket is something I'm uncomfortable with.

Sorry, I understand your point. Do you know where the meat in the supermarket come from?

[Gungirl]

I would rather hunt and get my food that way rather than by meat from people that treat animals poorly. At least the animals I eat live a full life until it ends faster than they realize they where hit. Animals put down for commercial food know they are going to die hours before they are killed. They can smell it in the air. I think hunting is far more humane than a slaughter house.

[millertime89]

the links I post just show statistics mostly. It seems to be of deer taken legally. roughly 45% are bucks and 55% are does. There's nothing we can do about poachers unfortunately except police the land we have access to and report people hunting out of season or without tags.
I agree, hunting is more humane than slaughter houses IMO.

[spots]

At no point did I say I don't respect the hunters themselves. I just don't agree with the sport of hunting all the time. Hunting strictly for meat when you can buy already dead animal meat at the supermarket is something I'm uncomfortable with. Hunting for a trophy to display the animal who's life your proudly took, also makes me uncomfortable. I'm allowed to be uncomfortable with that. But it doesn't mean I don't respect the person. I can't really judge much through the internet to make that sort of a call.

That being said, I don't know much about the regulations of deer hunting. What's "WMU"? I guess my post applies more to the poachers who take big bucks without "permission" then. Although I don't know much about the regulations of deer hunting, I wonder if they purposely curve it just enough so that populations grow again the following year simply to keep up the sport. I haven't looked at the links millertime posted yet though, maybe they answer my question.

Yes alessia you are allowed to have your own feeling's and thoughts.

The meat that comes from a hunted animal (Deer, Moose, Elk, ect) Has a much better taste, is cheaper, and has no growth hormones/ antibiotics in it. Living here in Alberta all the hunters I know have all got at least one trophy, but 9 out of 10 of them hunt for the food/ meat. I hunt strictly for the meet, I have had ample chances to shoot a Large buck but have chose to wait for a nice doe. ( I also prefer migratory game birds, as you can see in my picture.) :D

A WMU is (Wildlife Management Unit) this is how they can count the numbers in a area to determine a safe amount of game animal that can be hunted in a season. So when hunting for Game animals you need to decide what WMU you are going to hunt in and buy the proper tags for that WMU.

[alessia55]

Sorry, I understand your point. Do you know where the meat in the supermarket come from?

Yup. It's one of the reasons I'm vegetarian (but not the only reason).

Most importantly, though, like all of you, I do prefer hunting to slaughterhouses 100%.

[alessia55]

Spots, thanks for clearing up what WMU is!!