Today is March 29, 2014 and have done very little to get ready for this year's Spring turkey hunting season which comes in April 12, 2014 and a week earlier for the Youth hunt.

One of my good friends John Gaddy of Polkton, NC lit a fire under me a few weeks ago and we both checked the point of aim on our turkey guns.  At the end of last years turkey season, I installed a Bushnell Aim Point red dot scope and had already "rough" sighted it in.  Shooting those 12 gauge 3 1/2 inch Magnum Blend Hevi-Shot loads with 2 1/4 oz. of shot will definitely keep you awake.....grin if you must.  I only had to fire two rounds; one of the ole Remington Hevi-Shot # 5 shot shells with a load of  only 1 3/4 oz. and that kicked like a mule that had a briar under his harness, whereas the Hevi-Shot Magnum blend will put a hurt on you if you don't keep it tight into your shoulder pocket.........thank goodness I already had it pre-sighted in at forty (40) yards using regular high brass # 5 shells and a few of the Remington Hevi-Shot shells which is about where I normally keep it.

The past week or two I had to purchase a new desktop to replace my antiquated HP Pavilion 450 desktop that has an XP Pro operating system on it which I have used the XP OS since it came out twelve (12) years ago both at work and at home and totally comfortable and familiar with it.  Now comes along the Microsoft silicon valley pirates and decided they will no longer offer support for the old system which is understandable from a business and profit margin sense.  However, from a consumer standpoint, yours truly, it is a major set-back trying to learn a new operating system and Windows 8 OS sucks compared to the XP Pro operating system.  I am beginning to get the hang of Windows 8 it but the problem is that Windows 8 doesn't support the majority of the programs that I have since my old stuff was 32 bit and the new system is 64 bit and programs like Photoshop, Adobe CoolEdit2000, my flatbed scanner HP 3970 series and Photosmart 1218 printer are not supported by Windows 8 which is adding additional cost just to get back to where I was at.

I have the new Windows 8 system up and running wireless of which I am using to create this webpage and will take the other desktop off line which is connect by LAN before the Microsoft support ends on April 8, 2014 for the security reasons.  I do have the ole system still going and will use it for some of my off-line photo and audio editing needs.  I do have my new desktop with my website software and image editing going but it was a "dawg" to do so and really don't like the folder layout of Windows 8 and the IPad type screen display, however they still have a traditional desktop feature of which I am mostly using.  In time, I guess I will learn to appreciate it but not at this moment.........grin if you must!

Hopefully, my next addition to this page will be some good stuff about turkey hunting instead of crying and whining about the computer stuff.

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 03-29-31.

TURKEY HUNTING 04-23-14

On the return trip home, I stopped off on Capel Dairy Road and took some pixs of plants that will be used to extract the rape seed oil aka Canola Oil, (turnip rape) Brassica Rapa.  I have noticed a tremendous amount of large fields planted through out the Anson County area that has those plants in the ground during the winter months and the plants appeared to be some type of mustard greens.  I checked with several individuals and the consensus was they will be harvested to produce Canola oil.  Below a few pixs of one of the fields and a couple close up shots of the beautiful yellow plant growth:

There are many, many acres of this stuff planted in Anson County and very curious to see what the plant looks like prior to harvest in the fall of the year.

I plan to keep check on the turnip rape plants aka renamed Canola plants by Canada and Monsanto who owns the patent for the GMO (genetically modified organism) and find out exactly how they harvest the seed from the plants in order to press and extract the oil from the seeds.

I personally boycotted Canola Oil years ago when I found out that Canola Oil is processed from genetically altered rape seed of which has been much controversy over the long term effects of using this product.  Click on the rape seed link and watch a YouTube video and believe and consume what you want........you will ultimately die of something right?  However, I am not in a big hurry to depart this earth since I do enjoy Life!

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-24-14.

WILD TURKEY BREAST STIR FRY MAIN INGREDIENT 04-29-14

We had only set-up about ten (10) minutes when I heard a loud flop, flop, flop sound to my rear and far right and observed a Long Beard and Hen glide down into the pasture/field slightly to my right with the Hen flying down about 20 yards ahead of the Long Beard.  The Long Beard did a few full spread fans with his tail feathers and strutted a couple times and continued to slowly follow the hen.  Once he cleared the cattle, I lined up the Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 red dot on his neck, squeezed the trigger and didn't feel the huge recoil from the Remington Super Magnum shooting the Hevi-Shot 2 1/4 ounce payload of Magnum Blend shot produces which is a compilation of 5, 6 and 7 shot size pellets which rolled the ole boy backwards.  The Long Beard remained motionless for about 15 seconds and then began to flop around profusely trying to take flight to no avail and I thought for a second I was going to have to fire another round or run out there and make certain he didn't take flight.  By this time, the cattle got very curious about the turkey flopping around and got pretty close to him and every time he would flop his wings, the cattle would take a few steps quickly backwards.  I went out and retrieved the now still Long Beard and stepped off the  distance back to my ground blind and it was 50 yards +- which is a far piece for the ole scattergun.  The distance didn't look that great from the ground blind since there was nothing in the field to reference off of but very happy the Long Beard went down.

Seems like each hunting season, I get a much larger glare off the ole cranium real estate.........

One of my NCDPS (North Carolina Department of Public Safety) friends, Linda Driggers stated that it looked like I was out walking my bird.  PS  That would have been nice if I could have walked him out since by the time I got back to the truck walking up hill, he felt like he weighed 50 pounds.  Whew, this sure beats being around a bunch of "Jail Birds", another grin is in order.

After getting back home, I weighed the Long Beard and he was 17.5 pounds with a 9.75 inch beard and spurs were 3/4 inch and 5/8 inch with the age of the bird two years old.  While weighting the Long Beard, I weighed my other gear with my hunting vest at 13 pounds, turkey lounge chair 7 pounds and the shotgun at 10 pounds and no wonder I huff and puff on the way out walking up hill.

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-29-14.

FRUITS OF THE HARVEST 05-03-14

A couple days ago I got out my remaining wild turkey breast fillet harvested last year and sliced it across the grain into about 3/8 inch width pieces; placed in my basic wild game marinade covered, refrigerated until this afternoon and transformed it into some fantastic vittles. 

Below a pix of the plated Wild Turkey Breast Stir-Fry served over a bed of Yellow Rice.  It was wonderful and my bride cleaned her plate off too which is a good indication that is was very tasty!

My Wild Bill's Basic Wild Game Marinade compliments the wild turkey meat exceptionally well without over powering the mild wild game flavor of the meat.  You will never find store bought tame turkey that has the taste and texture of Wild Turkey meat that is properly prepared!

God's bounty is wonderful and as his Good Stewards, it is our responsibility to manage all that he has created and provided for us with our utmost diligence and care. 

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-03-14.

PORTER'S TAG OUT TURKEY HUNT 05-05-14

I set up at the place I hunted on 05-03-14 and got the camouflage netting in place and checked my watch via flashlight and it was 0541 and got way ahead of the turkeys this morning.

I didn't hear any turkeys fly down off their roost and did heard a Long Beard sound off around 0646 at the far end of the pasture and back into the woods and not another gobble was heard.  Around 7ish my bladder was needing relief and I eased off my turkey lounge chair and heard a loud cluck or two directly behind me and everything got quiet again.  Whatever it was, Long Beard or Hen turkey, I certainly did spook and/or alert it and thought I had ruined my early morning hunt! 

The crows were on full alert this morning sending scouts out to survey the area and about every song bird within hearing range was singing all it could do.  A most beautiful morning; wind fairly calm, temperature low 60s, slightly overcast and a spectacular sunrise at about a forty-five (45) degree angle from my right. 

I continued to cluck, yelp and purr with my calls about every 15 minutes and at approximately 0932, I saw a bright blue/white and crimson color turkey's head and neck appear from behind the knoll about 75 to 100 yards directly in front of my ground blind which is open in the front with the Long Beard heading in my direction.  The way his beard was swinging back and forth, I thought it might be Paint Brush that we had seen a couple times earlier in this pasture.   Sometimes you have luck on your side and let me try and explain what I mean.  Just prior to seeing the turkey's head and neck suddenly appear over the knoll in the field, I had removed my hunting camouflage gloves and powered up my cell phone but the signal was too weak and at that moment the Long Beard appeared.  I had to slowly get the cell phone on the ground beside me and get my camouflage gloves back on in super slow motion to avoid detection from the approaching Long Beard of which the Biologists tell us their vision is comparable to a human looking through a 7 power pair of binoculars and that is some serious vision.  I eased my Remington 11-87 Super Magnum into firing position like a snail crawling on a cold morning and watched the Long Beard walk in on full alert getting closer and closer.  He would stop and stretch his neck as far as it would go vertical turning his head from side to side intently searching for the hen that made those seductive sweet clucks and yelps, however he never did strut or spread his fan.  He was definitely in a seek and search mode since I didn't place any decoys out and he was expecting to see a hen or two which will normally make their way to the Long Beard if they are in the mood to breed.  I had a small piece of green shrub sticking in the ground at fifty (50) yards directly in front of my position where I harvested the Long Beard on 04-29-14 and the Long Beard continued on past the marker another five yards toward myself and looked to see if he could locate the hen.  He clucked a few times and turned around and started walking back the way he came from and I already had the Bushnell Red Dot positioned a little above his head and squeezed the trigger of which the 2 1/4 ozs. of Hevi-Shot #5 knocked him over and he began to flop and thrash around.  I went out and pinned him to the ground with my lower right leg and stuck my Buck knife blade through his neck/spine and he didn't move much anymore.  Below is a self-portrait of myself and the Long Beard near my home made ground blind:

The Long Beard weighed 17 pounds, 10 1/4 inch beard, 1 inch length spurs and age him at three (3) years.  His beard was 2 1/4 inches in width and just might be the Long Beard we nicknamed Paint Brush, but I am more inclined to believe that it isn't him since Paint Brush's beard looked as wide as your hand from a distance.  Below is a pix of what seed pods were in the ole boy's craw:

I don't have a clue what type of seed pods they are  Most two and three year Long Beards that I have harvested in the past during the first week of the hunting season will normally weigh between 19 and 21 pounds but we didn't harvest one during the first two weeks of this season and they apparently didn't consume much food but had more important things to do like breed all the hens they could.  The other two Long Beards harvested didn't have hardly any food items in their craw which tend to validate my non-scientific observations.

Pix of the Long Beard's beard and spurs.  I have the breast fillets soaking in salt water and will change the water in the pan a couple times and get them vacuum sealed for later usage. 

Thanks to God our creator, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior for his many blessing and the opportunity to enjoy and partake of what he has created!

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-05-14.

ARCHERY SEASON 2014

The past few weeks, I have shot a few practice broadheads at my 3D deer targets and much to my surprise, all have been good "kill shots" and with a very tight grouping with most of the arrows released.  The ole Mathews Drenalin model bow is still holding its settings and hopefully, a few deer will meander into my bow range and become "fruits of the harvest" since I do enjoy venison very much.

With each successive birthday, I find myself more safety conscious and climbing 40 feet with a foot climber tree stand is a thing of the past.  My comfort zone is now around 25 feet with 20 feet being the ideal.  After helping my friend John Gaddy get a few 20 feet ladder stands up, I decided it was time to get a better safety system.  John's ladder stands have a built in safety and/or shooting rail but most tree stand related hunting accidents happen while you are ascending and descending the tree.  One of my favorite hunting platform stands is about 27 feet off the ground and ordered a Hunter Safety Systems harness and their safety lifeline, whereas you are tethered at all times to the life line while ascending and descending the tree.  I certainly didn't like the idea of shelling out 180 bucks for the entire system but that will be money well spent from a personal safety standpoint.   I have used some of the standard safety harnesses that comes with your tree stand but most require a degree in mechanical engineering to get them on and are not comfortable at all and a dawg to get into and out of.  As soon as the safety equipment arrives that I ordered today, I will post a few pixs on this page and field test the system before an actual hunt.

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 08-23-14.

Today is September 15, 2014 with the weather much cooler than normal, however I have my mind set for hunting next month.  My HSS Hybrid Hunter Safety Systems harness along with their Lifeline arrived and plan to field test if very soon.  Below pix of the safety system harness:

Today is September 26, 2014 and the weather has been cooler, however the misty rain and drizzle has kept me out of my hunting platform tree stand even though it has a roof over it.  One of my friends Randy Steele and I were talking about different hardwood trees especially the oaks and there was a question about the shape of the leaves for the different trees and decided to take a pix of the White Oak, Red Oak and Water Oak for comparison.  I didn't take a pix of the bark on the trees but it is easy to remember that the White Oak has very loose bark easy to pull off the tree, whereas the Red and Water Oak has very tight bark.  Also, the tannic acid is much stronger in the Red Oak and  centuries ago, Red Oak bark was used in the tanning of hides due to the strength of the tannic acid.  Deer prefer the much "sweeter" meaning less tannic acid of the White Oak acorns but will eat the Red Oak acorns when the White Oaks are gone or not present in their feeding areas.  Believe me, I have tasted all three types mentioned and have first hand knowledge of which is the most bitter and it certainly is the Red Oak acorns.  Pix below:

Another clue in remembering which leaf goes with the tree, I use a reverse clue for the red oak with the leaf being pointed instead of round or just think of Remington Peters; Red Oak Pointed and it probably doesn't make any sense to anyone but me so go ahead and grin if you must!   The water oak has the smallest acorn and kin to the red oak and we also have the willow oak and blackjack oak which also has the small acorns on them and in many areas they are the first ones to fall from the tree.  On our property and adjacent property, we have all three and also a couple willow oaks which the deer love the small sweet aka less bitter acorns from them and will visit them until they are all consumed.

In a couple weeks, I should be sitting in the platform stand waiting on the deer to come by and check my shelled corn offerings which should yield some "beautimous" venison for the freezer and eventually on a plate with some biscuits, gravy and rice.

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-26-14.

FIRST ARCHERY HUNT OF THE 2014 SEASON

Finally, the weather conditions are getting more favorable; e.g., day time temperature in the mid to low 70s with the wind coming from the North and West which is ideal for this senior citizen to get back into the saddle again or in this case, tree stand and start hunting with the ole bow and arrow which is my favorite form of deer hunting.

Deer of late have slacked off feeding on the shelled corn offered to them since the acorns are falling from the trees like droplets of rain making a big thud sound when hitting the ground, especially the larger White and Red Oak acorns.  Also, the leaves are turning into various shades of rainbow colors and the brisk winds are aiding their lofty descent to the forest floor below for nature to recycle them back to the elements of the earth.

Today is October 4, 2014 and got into my practice platform stand and released about a dozen broadheads into three (3) 3D deer targets and all arrows were in the vital area although I hadn't shot any arrows in the past week or more.  The 60 pound draw weight Mathews Drenalin solo cam bow pulled back extremely hard for the first few shots but my muscles quickly got loosened up and the bow pulled back without much effort.

I hadn't placed any shelled corn out at my most productive hunting platform stand the past few days of which the platform is more than 27 feet off the ground and decided to take a 5 gallon bucket about 3/4 full of shelled corn and broadcast it before I got into the platform stand which was a little before 4 PM.  It was a little awkward pushing the Prusik knot loop up the Hunter Safety Systems lifeline for the first time but soon became second nature by the time I reached the 27 plus feet platform.  I pulled my bow up the tree and placed an arrow on the string and positioned the Mathews Drenalin bow onto a hook within arms reach ready for Mr. or Mrs. deer to get within bow range.

It was great to be sitting on the platform padded seat which the squirrels had decimated one end of the black naughyde covering exposing the foam padding and forgot to bring a small inflatable seat cushion since I knew the seat was damaged but things like that happen on the first hunt; so it seems anyway.....grin if you must!  Nevertheless, the seat was fairly comfortable after nearly three hours of sitting. 

The wind was blowing pretty fierce at times coming from the North to North East and the large tree the platform stand is located on was swaying back and forth a little in the wind giving the allusion of over medication or a few to many margaritas.  I have observed deer at various times from this platform but until the annual rut kicks in, this platform stand is an evening hunt stand with deer coming out as early as 4 PM until after dark but when the rut is on, anything goes and a good morning to mid-morning hunting stand too. 

Normal wildlife activities were taking place with squirrels feeding on the acorns from a couple of close by Water Oak trees and various species of birds were visiting the broadcast corn on a regular basis.  The Cardinal birds seem to be the dominant birds at this location and will exhibit their "pecking order" very quickly when too many of them get into the feeding area.  In the distance the shrill sound of a Pileated woodpecker mimicked the cadence of Uzi machine gun and it is one humongous sized woodpecker and use to be on the endangered species list.  It is fun to watch all the things going on while waiting for deer to get their turn at the corn and there is one Cottontail Rabbit that frequents the shelled corn just about daily and normally will see him when I hunt from this platform stand.

Sometime around 6:15 PM, the sun made its slow descend behind the trees on the far ridge line looking like a giant fire ball with the sun's golden rays filtering through the tree line with a somewhat mystical quality displaying God's wonderful creation with such simple beauty and an awesome sight for sure!  The wind got calm again bringing about a little chill in the air which was fantastic.  There were a few blood thirsty mosquitoes trying to break through the barrier of my face mask to extract some blood DNA but the breeze prevented the majority of them and with an occasional puff of air from yours truly directed toward the more stubborn and persistent ones, off they went on their merry way sounding like miniature helicopters on a recon mission trying to dodge incoming hostile small arms fire. 

Around 6:40 PM, I heard something rustling leaves to my left and behind my stand which sounded like a deer and it moved to my right and I didn't dare move for fear of spooking it.  I heard two more deer follow the first one and they made a circle and saw the first one approach the feeding area in front of my stand from the right of which I was down wind.  It was a yearling and another one entered about a minute later.  I had seen four does in this area recently and hopeful that the larger does would join the yearlings offering me a good shot.  A few minutes later, two more does entered the feeding area directly in front of my stand and the largest doe was facing straight away and decided to wait and see if she would turn offering me a broadside shot.  She continued to feed facing straight away and finally quartered slightly to my right and I decided to take the shot since I have been shooting practice broadcasts fairly accurate up to this point.  By this time, I had already rotated my upper body on the tree stand seat at a right angle to the deer for a proper shooting position/stance moving in slow motion to avoid detection.  I attached my Scott release aid to the string loop and with all deer eyes looking away and/or down, I slowly pulled back the Mathews Drenalin bow without any effort, anchored at full draw with the string touching the center of my nose and got a good sight alignment and sight picture through the string peep and single vertical pin fiber optic scope.  Once the sight pin settled on the deer which I had to hold further back than normal due to the acute shooting angle, the trigger of the Scott release aid was squeezed without any real thought or effort and the Easton Super Slam XX78 arrows flight was very quick striking the deer where my point of aim was or in very close proximity.  The doe after the deadly arrow made contact, exited straight forward and then cut back to the left heading for a small branch and drainage ditch which is surrounded by extremely thick undergrowth and small saplings, etc.  I could see a small portion of the yellow vanes protruding from the deer's back for a brief instance since all the deer left like a rising covey of quail getting up ahead of your favorite bird dog.  The doe was heard crashing into the dense undergrowth and within a few seconds all was deafly quiet. 

It didn't take long to lower my bow to the ground, put my back pack on and descend down the ladder stand feeling safe using the HSS safety harness and lifeline.  There was still some daylight left but it was getting gone very fast.  Since I observed the arrow placement on the doe and the crashing sounds she made while exiting, I was sure of an instant kill, therefore no waiting was necessary to give the deer time to expire.  If you suspect a marginal shot placement on any big game animal, it is best to wait a minimum of 30 minutes before tracking the animal, however there are exceptions to the rule and nothing is chiseled into stone.  I quickly checked for any sign of blood where the doe was standing when the arrow buried deep into her vital organs but didn't see any blood sign and went into the cover in the direction the deer was heading and had to use my LED flashlight which does a good job of illuminating blood.  I have taken many deer from this platform tree stand and the deer have several trails leading to and from the thick cover to the feeding area and will normally follow one of them.  I criss crossed back and forth looking for any blood sign but could not locate any and continued my search heading toward the wet weather branch/drainage ditch which is several feet deep and across and located the deer.  Once she got into the branch aka drainage ditch, she was unable to climb out the nearly vertical incline and went maybe 10 feet more before expiring.  The only blood trail was in the branch which is a good 50 yards or more from the platform tree stand.  Below pixs taken of the doe in the branch/ditch:

I noticed that the broadhead had pushed the skin forward on her brisket right below the neck and about centered which you can see in the above pix if you look very close, however the broadhead did not cut through the hide and exit.  With no exit hole, blood builds up in the body cavity instead of spraying onto the ground and it is very difficult to track a wound of this type and that is why I don't attempt this shot too often.  To retrieve this deer, I relied on being able to hear and see the direction the deer was going and know this area extremely well.  A deer hit very hard will exit the immediate area making all kinds of crashing sounds, whereas one not hit good (non fatal) will usually exit the area without making much noise at all.  Below pix taken after I rolled the doe over and you can see the arrow entry point which did a number on cutting vital internal organs.   I shoot full length arrows @ 31.5 inches not counting the broadhead length and surprised that the arrow did not exit. 

I field dressed the doe where she laid and it was a job getting the deer out of the branch/ditch onto level ground and then I had to cross another ditch before getting back onto level ground again.  I "guesstimated" the live weight at around 100 pounds but she felt more like 250 pounds by the time I got her out.  I used the adjustable dragging strap supplied with the HSS Hybrid Safety System harness attached to the rear loop of the harness and looped it around the doe's neck and it worked great.  I readjusted the adjustable strap so the deer's head would be off the ground while walking out with the deer in tow which helped keep the deer's head from hanging up on the undergrowth.  The harness evenly distributes the pulled weight without digging or cutting into one area and I was totally impressed with the performance.  I have some friends that have four wheelers to transport deer but a few of them are getting advanced in age to where they can't load the deer onto the four wheeler anymore without help......grin if you must!  I guess we need four wheel drive on our feet!

Below is pix of the deer skinned and quartered up ready to be placed into my basement game refrigerator to age out a few days before I debone the meat, grind most of it into burger and slice the loin strap for some "beautimous" cubed steaks.  In the background is an ole archery rag target used for a couple decades and removed the cloth rags from inside the frame and in the process of recycling the 4 x 4 x 8 feet treated timbers to construct a table such as the one below.

Usually, the first time you hunt a stand, the odds are in your favor since the area has remained undisturbed since the last hunting season.  I later checked the stomach contents of the doe and acorns appeared to be the primary food source with a little corn and a lot of green leaves, etc.  My arrow was cleaned up and spun true and replaced the three replaceable broadhead blades with new ones ready to go back on the hunt again.

As always, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior for his many blessings and the opportunity to be able to enjoy what he has created and for our Salvation. John 3:16 KJV Bible

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 10-05-14.

VENISON READY FOR THE FREEZER 10-09-14

After letting the quartered doe age in my basement game refrigerator, I deboned the front and hind quarters and neck.  I cut the loin back straps in half and packaged them whole along with the tenderloins.  I weighted the deboned meat less the loin straps and tenderloins and it was 22 lbs.

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view:

It takes a little work and effort along with a few equipment items to be able to process your own venison but I do receive enjoyment from doing so and save some money by avoiding the wild game processing facilities which charge about 80 dollars to process a deer.  Also, I know exactly what I am getting.  Check out my Wild Game Recipes which has some excellent venison recipes along with a pictorial cooking tutorial and the finished plated food.

NOTE:  I arrowed a small deer on 10-16-14 that was small and tagged it, however the humane society would be upset if I posted that pix not to mention my deer hunting buddies......the deer did look much larger at about dusk dark.  Meat Hunters Club Rule #1, "If it is brown, it is down."

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 10-16-14.

MUZZLELOADER OPENING DAY 11-01-14

This 2014 muzzleloading hunting season started off with a solid steady rain the night before opening day and continued to rain throughout the day with a light drizzle to a little heavier at times.  We haven't had much rain the past couple months with a deficit of several inches last month and a welcome sight for sure. 

My favorite hunting platform stand has a roof over it, therefore a light rain is no big problem and decided to hunt around 10ish which seems to be about the time deer are moving in the area as the rut approaches.  I wasn't paying too much attention and must have been looking the other way or could have been cat napping and noticed a fork horn buck in my feeding area facing away from me and decided to try for a head shot when he turned.  It was sometime around 1030 A.M. and he finally gave me a good head shot and touched the trigger on the antiquated Knight MK85 left hand .50 caliber muzzleloader and the smoke from the Triple Seven powder belched from the muzzle and obscured the scene for a few seconds, however the buck was down for the ten count when the smoke finally drifted off.  Below a few pixs taken:

The buck's neck was swollen indicating that he was ready for some serious rutting activity but his rutting days are over and will end up in some of my Wild Game recipes.

The Knight 260 grain .45 caliber soft lead bullet encased by a MMP black sabot ahead of 100 grains of Hodgdon Triple Seven powder did a number on the deer's neck.....looks like he was hit with an large broadhead or axe by the size of the entry hole in his neck.  It seems with each passing hunting season the deer are getting much harder to drag out of the woods and I keep forgetting that I am a Senior Citizen.  My right shoulder blade is hurting as I am typing since I used my right hand holding onto the deer's rack while dragging him out.  I should have used one of my webbing slings across my shoulder and back to help evenly distribute the weight but that is hind sight now............grin if you must!

I used a Victorinox Swiss Army multi-purpose knife to skin and quarter the deer with the aid of the meat saw and meat hook to split the hind quarters at the pelvic bone, etc.  I did use a heavy blade Chicago Cutlery blue handle knife to sever the hind quarter and shoulder at the knuckle joints but could have done it with the Swiss Army knife.  The Chicago knife came from a poultry processing facility and was worn out by their standards but still usable for my needs.  The large blade length below is only 2 5/8 inches in length.  I grin at the hunters with those Rambo size knives on their side which could skin and quarter a Mastodon.  Below pix of the "McGiver" type knife I used:

My bride has a much larger Victorinox multi-purpose tool in a lamp table drawer next to her recliner that she uses for many things including some of her crafts, etc. which gets used regularly.  Working in a correctional environment for over 33 years, we were not allowed to carry any item that could be used as a weapon and since retirement, I am finally getting back in the routine of carrying a pocket knife and/or multi-purpose tool such as the Victorinox Swiss Army knife above.  

A few other custom skinning knives used over the decades:

The Buck Lock Back knife on the left has finger grooves cut into the handle long before they were available on factory folding knives and one of my custom Mother of Pearl designs inlaid into the handle.  The two knives on the right where made from a Buck 7.5 inch fixed blade of which I cut into two sections and reground the blades and formed a tank on each that is glued into the antler.  The center knife handle has angular finger grooves cut into it and works great for a right hand user.  The knife aka tool on the right is for removing a deer hide using the tip of the antler to go between the meat and the hide which renders a deer skin with less fleshing to do......works pretty good.  I basically retired the above blades and the Buck Lock Back blade was ground back more than 1/8 inch from usage over the decades and the tip of the blade was slightly exposed when fully closed and a safety hazard.  The blade could be replaced but I have plenty more blades to utilize.

I recently recycled a 20 plus year old archery rag target and salvaged the 4 x 4 x 8 feet treated timbers and made a work table near my deer hanging tree.  I had some left over 1 x 6 material from my hanging porch swing project and also some 2 x 4 material of which all were treated along with a few scrap pieces of 3/4 inch exterior plywood that was barely wide enough for the top and didn't have any overhang to it but that is ok.  A couple coats of clear water seal was applied and hopefully, will get another decade or two out of those treated timbers.  I will add a couple hangers on one end for my meat saw and meat hook.  Above is the buck quartered up ready for my basement game refrigerator to age the ole boy out for about four (4) days.

With the deer meat aging in the game refrigerator, it is now time to do a "shake and bake" cleaning on the muzzleloader which is no more than a wet patch of solvent down the bore and then dry it out with a few clean patches and remove some of the powder residue around the breech plug and cap nipple.  I will do a full take down clean at the end of the two week muzzleloader season or before if I decide to pick up the bow and arrow again to finish out this 2014 hunting season.  My brother needs some venison and will probably use the muzzleloader or .270 Winchester to tag one for him.

As always, I am thankful for each and every day that the Lord allows and to have the opportunity to be able to harvest wild game for food.  Fall hunting season is a wonderful time to be outdoors and take in all the beautiful colors, the sights, sounds and smells of the earth with all the wildlife activity taking place and fully acknowledge that God created all of this for us to utilize and enjoy, whereby exercising appropriate stewardship of these resources.

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-01-14.

MUZZLELOADER HUNTING 11-04-14 

Got a chance to hunt some this afternoon at one of my favorite locations, whereas the wind was variable and brisk at times.  I put out a couple scent vents with Tinks 69 Super Doe Lure and urine that I have collected from bucks the past couple years that I keep in a sealed quart Mason jar in my basement game refrigerator with some salt added......it is pretty potent stuff and about ready to get some fresh deer urine when I harvest a deer that has urine in it's bladder.

Nothing really eventful happened until after the sun had gone down which was after 5:20 P.M. and a ghost buck appeared seemingly out of no where and was standing at the edge of my broadcast corn in some concealing cover surveying the scene.  He stayed there a few minutes which seemed much longer but finally walked on in and starting eating my corn.  The heavy duplex cross hairs on the ole Leupold 3.5 x 10 x 50 MM Vari-X III scope was placed low behind his left shoulder since he was broadside to me and the light trigger on the Knight MK85 was touched, whereas white smoke immediately billowed from the muzzle obscuring the field of view for a few seconds.  The buck headed into the thick cover on the left (sound wise) since the scene looked like a smoke canister was deployed to hide troop movements during WWII and within a second all was quiet again.  He didn't leave a blood trail and I walked to where I heard him last and there was a little blood about a yard from him on the trail he used to make his death run which was about 30 yards at the most.  The Knight 260 grain bullet hit him low in the shoulder and exited behind the knuckle (joint) of the right leg.  I field dressed him where he "kicked the bucket" and I "guesstimate" his live weight between 150 to 180 pounds.  His neck was swollen and he had a couple tines that had the tips broken off so there is no doubt another buck around here that is about his size as evidenced by his broken tines.  Below is pix where he fell:

Below is a pix of the modified Chicago Cutlery boning knife that was recycled from worn out knifes used at a Poultry Processing plant in Union County.  I cut about 3/4 inch off the tip of the blade for a total blade length of 4.5 inches which is about the maximum I desire for field dressing a deer.  The tip was reground to a spear point similar to a drop point and left the cutting edge at a thicker angle to keep the edge from turning while cutting through the sternum.  The blade was worn out by the processing plants standard but still has plenty of useful life left for what I plan to do with it.  Appearance wise, it looks crude, but it was no trouble to open the buck up from "stem to stern" cutting through the sternum and brisket with ease.  The thickness of the blade is around 1/8 inch and the height of the worn down blade is small enough to insert between the deer's rectum and pelvic bone to detach the rectum from the wall of the pelvic to allow pulling the rectum through the pelvic bone attached to the viscera which is the way I learned to field dress deer.  I have owned my share of good drop point hunting knives including a custom made Randall # 3 hunting knife with a 5 inch length blade (circa. 1999), Buck Vanguard, Smith & Wesson skinner, etc. and various other blades which worked fine too.  I kept the basic re-grind lines that the poultry processing plant placed on the blade before it was taken out of service.  Apparently, they use an industrial two stage grinding machine which rough grinds the large hollow ground portion of the blade and the final stage grinds the angle of the cutting edge as evidenced by the pix below.  

With the thinner blade of the above knife, it will double as a skinning knife and make a good utility knife when needed.  The disadvantage of some of the above mentioned knives; their blade thickness can go up to 1/4 inch in thickness and operate like a sharpened chisel which makes them good for field dressing big game animals and not much good for anything else.  That was the reason the fifteen year old Randall # 3 was sold at a good premium mark-up on EBay; it just wasn't the knife for me, although it was about perfect for what it was designed to accomplish!  I desire a much more versatile and utilitarian blade yet with enough back bone to cut through the sternum of a deer without much effort and the edge of the blade not turning, aka become dull.  The above knife handle has a good non slip textured surface with a molded in finger guard for safety.

Open this hyperlink:  field dressing deer 101 for a short photo pictorial of how I field dress deer.

The buck has three points on each side and a split brow tine for a total of 10 points with a small kicker point and 12 3/4 inches inside spread..........a good buck for myself since I harvest those small milk deer for my freezer or whatever comes out first, go ahead and grin Randy Steele.  It was about all I could do to drag the ole boy out from the thick cover.  Another pix taken at my hanging tree:

My brother was needing venison and I gave him a call before I started skinning and quartering him and he said he would be down to pick him up.  I registered him on line and that is my second buck for Anson County and will try and tag out with a couple does if my freezer will hold them or my brother needs additional venison.

After getting him skinned and quartered up, I sawed the horns off and below a pix of them on my work table near my White Oak hanging tree I nick named Tom Dula aka Tom Dooley:

I will add the above horns to my deer horn stew pot below which is overflowing for sure.  Some of those horns have been "air marinating" for several decades but don't think they are any more tender than the day they were harvested and placed in the ole antique cast iron 3 leg pot that was designed to be used over an open fire aka bed of burning embers/coals:

While looking for the deer, I used an Ozark Trail LED multi-color headlamp which advertises an ultra bright 150 lumens of light and the headlamp is lightweight and gives off plenty of light powered by three (3) AAA batteries.  I have used the headlamp on the last two evening tracks and it works wonderful!  It has a high power, low power and a red light setting but the low power isn't bright enough for my ole cataract eyes.  The headlamp also features a tilt adjustment, whereby the light is directed closer to you and ideal for tracking.  I also used the headlamp to skin and quarter the deer and no longer have to bring out the large quartz stand lights and electric power cord.  Below pix of the headlamp with an adjustable head band for us melon heads:

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-04-14 and hopefully, the telephone will stop ringing from all the political parties wanting to get reelected or new comers desiring to take their place  in DC or Raleigh, NC and throughout our Country.  Our mail box should go on a starvation diet too since it has been inundated from all the political campaigning crap.  I wouldn't trust a politician in an outhouse with a muzzle on!   Figure the analogy of this one out for yourself.

Leaving on a positive note, I am thankful for each and every day that God allows and give Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the praise, glory and honor and still believe that America is the greatest nation on this earth for the opportunity for one to achieve success with personal freedoms allowed that other Nations could only hope for, even with all the short comings created and manifested by those that are self serving, whereby systematically weakening and destroying her "water heading" the voters in the process!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Web published updates by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-09-14. 

PORTER'S TAG OUT HUNT 12-11-14

I haven't been really doing much hunting since my freezer is about maxed out but had room for one more deer.  The opportunity presented itself this afternoon about dusk dark when an ole herd doe circled my favorite hunting stand before coming on in to get a snack of broadcast shelled corn.  Daylight was getting away pretty fast and hurriedly placed the Heavy-Duplex crosshairs of the ole antiquated Leupold VariXIII 3.5 x 10 x 50mm scope behind her shoulder and touched the light trigger pull on the 31 year old left hand Remington BDL .270 Winchester and she didn't go but about 50 to 60 yards before running out of steam leaving a horrific blood trail that a blind man could follow. 

The doe was field dressed immediately and didn't worry about contaminating the area since this will be my last deer harvest of the 2014 hunting season and the coyotes, foxes and buzzards have to eat too.  After getting her home at my hanging tree, she was quickly skinned, quartered and placed in my basement game refrigerator reserved for such purposes.  She had been eating very good since there were rolls and rolls of fat on her.  The hand loaded .270 caliber 130 grain Sierra Game King Spire Point Boat Tail soft point bullet damaged her right shoulder pretty bad as it exited leaving a whopping big hole since the bullet hit a rib going in and one going out.......awesome.  Pixs below:

This has been an excellent hunting season and my friends are still deer hunting trying to get ole mossy horns for their trophy rooms, but my trophy is when that beautimous venison is on a plate with some gravy, mashed potatoes and/or rice and biscuits to drag through the gravy.

I am thankful for each and every day that the Lord allows and the opportunity to be able to hunt and friends that enjoy the outdoors as much as I do.

God richly bless each and every one of you and Merry Christmas to all and remember that, "Christ is the Reason for the Season." 

In closing, "Two of the Greatest Ships that ever sailed; Friendship and Fellowship."

Web published update by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 12-11-14.    

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE