My deer hanging tree aka Tom Dooley started rapidly dying back sometime in 2020 and knew it was a matter of time before the old boy kicked the bucket.  I had Eddie's Tree Removal Service to cut it back in 2020,. but could not get him to come back; guess it was too small a job for him.

XYLEM TREE EXPERTS

Today, 01-24-2023 I observed a contact tree crew clearing right of way near Pecan Street for Duke Energy power lines and  talked with the person who was operating the bucket and cutting limbs.  We walked down the road and showed him the White Oak tree and what I wanted done.  I offered him a certain amount of cash and he accepted and it wasn't long before the crew of 4 were quickly at work.

I took a few pixs to document the major surgery to my deer hanging tree:

The White Oak tree has some serious lean to it, but not to the point of falling over.  Hopefully it will last a few more years of hanging and quartering up deer harvested, our Lord willing of course.

The right hand upper portion of the tree trunk is being cut back.

It didn't take long before the main left trunk of the tree was on the ground and was cut up into lengths that I could use the Cant hook and roll them down the hillside.  My bride said it shook items in her TV room when it landed on the ground!  I got some serious "chin music" from my friend Robert Webster of Hamlet, NC for not alerting him of the potential fire wood available......my bad!

In all probability, I will need to place another chain around the upper existing trunk that has the eye bolt attached and thread a small chain through the eye bolt and use a turn buckle to secure it tight against the tree trunk since the White Oak tree is dead and the eye bolt no doubt will pull loose from the tree trunk as continued decay sits in!

I used my Cant hook to roll the logs down the hillside and got the other debris down the hillside too.

AFTER CLEAN UP

With the excess weight removed from the tree, it should stand for several more years and able to "hang" deer!

When I add a chain through the eye bolt at the top of the tree and get it tightly pulled together with a turn buckle, I might cut back the excess limb of the only remaining limb that has the pulley and cable system attached.  The tree trimming crew offered to cut it back, but I declined for what ever reason I can't recall!

NOTE:  I might get a larger wood screw threaded eye bolt and drop down a foot or so, drill the correct diameter pilot hole, screw the eye bolt into the tree and thread the existing chain through the eye bolt and secure the loose end to the chain with a bolt and if necessary, re-tighten the turn buckle.

I have used this White Oak tree aka Tom Dooley since 1989 to hang, skin and quarter deer harvested and hopefully will get a few more years of usage out of it.   

If and when the tree decides to fall, etc., there is a large Red Oak tree up the lower dirt driveway about 30 yards and will make an ideal hanging tree.  Might have to add a metal bracket extending from the tree to affix a pulley and steel cable system along with a boat winch, but again, hopefully the White Oak tree will last as long as I am able to harvest deer!   

My bride is definitely relieved that I did not attempt this job myself risking personal safety and I concur with her.  

Web page created on 01-12-2023 and updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 01-24-2023.

WAITING GAME, NO PUN INTENDED, WELL MAYBE?

It is a good while before our 2023 annual archery season comes in (September 2023) and have plenty of time to get the crossbows locked in, accuracy wise, our Lord willing of course!  I had plenty of troubles with a new TenPoint crossbow as documented in the hyperlink and hopefully the TenPoint Titan Decock ACUdraw will be fully functional come this archery big game hunting season here in North Carolina.

I will continue to broadcast shelled corn at my favorite hunting place to keep the deer fed and checking the offerings put out for them.  Winter time is a tough time for deer since most of the greenery is died back along with the acorns which is their main diet when the acorns fall to the ground, whether White Oak, Red Oak, Willow Oak, etc. and the broadcast corn surely helps sustain them.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 01-26-2023.

CHAINSAW WORK

One of the major game trails had a fallen log across it and difficult to get through the tangle of growth and got the ole Husqvarna farm model 55 chainsaw out of retirement.  Xander McKnight Gonzales our fifth grandson was spending the day with my bride and myself and let him carry the chainsaw to the work area.  Xander commented how the chainsaw didn't weight that much, but on the return trip it was getting heavy for sure.

It only took a couple minutes or so to get the trail opened up and a couple pixs below:

The above dead cedar tree has been a safety hazard for years with all the sharp pointed limbs right in your way and face when trying to maneuver under and/or around it, especially when tracking an archery kill at night.  The problem is now solved.  I have tracked many deer over the decades that used this trail to exit into heavier cover.  I found several dead cedar trees that will make good starter firewood for our "winy roasts."

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 03-11-2023.

FINAL LIMB CUT BACK ON TOM DOOLEY AKA DULA

Tom Dooley aka Dula my deer hanging tree is ready for another season.  Don't know how many more years I will get out of it, but this fall will be thirty-four (34) years of using it.  As stated earlier, it starting dying and had to be cut back for safety reasons since it was about 76 feet tall and leaning toward our home!. 

I did a lot of praying to our Lord Jesus Christ prior to ascending the ladder.  I wasn't safe until I reached the limb and secured my safety strap/belt to the limb, whereas the safety belt was attached to my hunting safety harness. 

Pix above taken with my Canon 60D 35MM DSLR camera.

I used the Wing Little Giant Ladder in order to cut the remaining limb back.  If it had not been for the boat winch attached to the tree with a cable and pulley system to hoist up deer harvested, I would not have been able to get the ladder into position to effect cutting back the limb.  The ladder weighs fifty-two (52) pounds and it would normally take someone with gorilla DNA to get the ladder extended out.  I have a hyperlink here with a product review of said ladder..

Click on thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view:

NOTE:  I normally take pixs with my Canon 30D 35MM DSLR camera, but used my Obamaphone for this segment of pixs.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-24-2023.  

REINFORCING THE EYE BOLT/PULLEY SYSTEM

Since the above White Oak tree has died, I will reinforce the eye bolt at the end of the limb that contains the pulley and cable system.  Currently, when force is applied to the pulley system, e.g., when hoisting up a deer, etc., the force is transferred to the eye bolt that secures the limb to the main tree trunk via the chain attached.  I need to take up the slack below the lower part of the limb by pulling the small chain tightly against the limb, whereby the force will be shared by the eye bolt and the limb and not just depending on the connection between the eye bolt threads to the limb itself.  With the limb eye bolt attached to the chain going to the main body of the tree, the main force is applied to the body of the tree itself and not just the limb!

Also, I want to add a long bolt near the top of the main body of the tree lower since the top eye bolt/screw is very close to the top of the tree and that portion will be prone to rot much quicker at that location than several inches downward.

Hopefully, this will be the last modification I will need to do to my deer hanging tree since anytime you get off the ground, especially  on a ladder you are in some danger no matter how careful you are!

ITEMS REQUIRED

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

24 FEET EXTENSION LADDER

I decided not to use the Wing Little Giant Ladder simply because I don't have Gorilla DNA in my blood and that ladder from Hades will not be used as an extension ladder, hopefully never again.  Read the above hyperlink for the rest of the story as Paul Harvey use to say! 

Therefore, I purchased a Werner 24 feet extension aluminum ladder from H. W. Little, Inc. here in Wadesboro, NC and they were supposed to deliver it today, but didn't make it.  I called them and it should be delivered first thing in the morning (05-08-2023).

Everything went without a glitz and definitely used my safety harness and safety strap/belt to secure myself to the tree limb once I got into position.  I placed a piece of scrap aka unallocated Honduras Mahogany between the chain and tree limb and used a 5/16 x 2 inch bolt, washer and nut to tighten the chain against the block.

After that was finished, I climbed back down the ladder and reposition the ladder against the upper left section of the tree and tied a rope between the limb and the ladder as an extra means of safety.  I then drilled the pilot holes for the long lag screw/bolt, cut the chain lose from the upper bolt and used the existing turnbuckle and an S hook to attach the old chain to the new chain which was repositioned about 18 to 24 inches below the existing one.  The 1/4 inch DeWalt driver/drill had no trouble seating the long lag bolt/screw, of which I drilled the appropriate pilot hole for the body where the threads were and a larger hole where there was no threads and much larger in diameter.

CONTINUING TO WAIT

Nothing to do now, but continue to feed the deer, turkeys, raccoons and squirrels.  With my bride's current health issues, I might not get to hunt this hunting season, but hopefully with our Lord's help my bride will be able to stay by herself some.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-09-2023 and 09-07-2023.  

CHECKING TENPOINT TITAN DE-COCK ACUDRAW CROSSBOW

I got caught up on my yard and home projects for the time being and wanted to shoot the TenPoint Titan De-Cock ACUdraw crossbow to check the point of aim.  I recently replaced the scope that came with the crossbow with a TenPoint Rangemaster Pro Illuminated Scope and zeroed it in using my wood planer as a benchrest, of which wasn't the most stable shooting rest.

Today, (09-18-2023) I made a make shift rear holder just for the TenPoint Titan, whereas I already had a wood home made front holder adapted to my portable shooting bench which has a Sinclair benchrest shooting rest attached to it.

I didn't want to take the portable shooting benchrest outside, but used it positioned inside my basement woodworking shop.  Even though this bench rest is portable, it is super heavy duty, heavy and designed and built for accuracy!  I removed the rear elevation adjustment knob which was to long for use with this crossbow and will make a much shorter one just for the crossbow.

The above crossbow has been back to the TenPoint factory twice and the trigger is very hard poundage wise.  It is advertised as a two-stage trigger pull, but I can't detect any two-stage trigger stage at all.

I later used the windage adjustment to bring the point of impact closer to the bulls eye.  I shouldn't have any trouble with deer at 20 yards.  The speed ring on this scope gets you in the ball park at 30 yards and beyond and it was close enough at 30 yards to harvest deer.

I will probably get me a rest more applicable to crossbows only that is portable and stable, but what I currently have is working.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-18-2023.

USING THE BOG FIELDPOD MAGNUM HUNTING REST

I ordered a Bog Fieldpod Magnum Hunting Rest a few days ago on Amazon, of which it was on sale from the Sportsman's Guide and it was delivered on the afternoon of 09-22-2023 and gave it a field test.  Right off the bat, the front fork lock knob was froze up and would not turn at all.  I wanted to use the rest, therefore I elected not to send it back to Amazon for a replacement and/or their vendor Sportsman's Guide.  I put a couple Channel lock pliers on each end of the knob and recessed bolt and broke the plastic knob off and still could not get it to budge.  There was a nut on the threaded end of the rod and I broke it off trying to remove it, of which was frozen to the rod threads as well.  I got my Milwaukee 4.5 inch angle head grinder out that has a thin width cut-off friction wheel on it and cut the bolt in half between the plastic spacer to remove both ends from the aluminum side tubes and the plastic insert between them.

I rounded up a length of 1/4 x 20 tpi threaded rod that I had on hand and cut it off to the length needed and used one of the curved plastic half moon spacers (that survived) on the rest and made another curved one using a 1/4 inch washer.  The curved portion keeps from flattening out the thin wall aluminum tubing and prevents the rod from turning since one of the plastic spacers has a molded recess for the head of the screw/bolt.  I then used a couple 1/4 x 20 tpi lock nuts and guesstimated at the height of the front fork (forend) and tightened the lock nuts until the front fork stayed into position.

I filled out an online form requesting replacement parts.  After looking at the part that would not turn, it was evident that rust had frozen up the threaded ferrule that was molded into the plastic star shaped knob.  I had earlier applied some gun oil to the rod which didn't help.  In the mean time, I ordered a pack of 1/4 x 20 tpi plastic knobs on EBay and can use the knobs for other applications for my woodworking projects.

As luck would have it, the next day I found a couple 1/4 x 20 tpi threaded knobs in my router table accessories and needed only one of them.

I cut off the excess 1/4 x 20 tpi threaded rod and the unit works fine.  I put some serious scratches into the tubing finish with the channel lock pliers, but that definitely will not inhibit performance of the hunting rest!

After getting the rest fixed, I positioned the rest and tripod and measured off 20 and 30 yards with my surveyors tape.  I earlier stepped the 20 yards distance off and I was a good 2 or 3 yards off.  I guess my senior citizen stride is not as long as it use to be, grin if you must!

The tripod was definitely not level, but with the adjustment of the rest, it was not a problem.  I was in a hurry trying to beat the rain that was coming.  The next time I use this rest, I will move the rest parallel bar slide rearward to where the crossbow weight is properly centered and not forward heavy and have the telescopic legs level as well. 

I zeroed the scope at 20 yards with only a minor change in windage and elevation and was in the small bull's eye.  I then moved the target back to the measured 30 yards and shot one arrow and it was close enough for Government work as evidenced by the pix below:

The Yellow Jacket target butt is not perpendicular to the shooting position.

Thirty (30) yards looks far with the camera zoomed out.  The speed dial on the scope was set for 355 feet per second and close enough.  Most crossbow manufacturers have the speed of their crossbows over rated and then will test using light crossbow bolts, of which I do not use.  I haven't run these Executioner Black Eagle crossbow bolts shot through my Shooting Crony yet, but might do so in the future, but speed is not that important to me since I harvest deer at shorter ranges.

I will be using the Executioner Black Eagle crossbow bolts and they weight 455.8 grains with includes a 100 grain broadhead and lighted Luminok. 

In conclusion, this is a good rest for the money and stable enough.  I would only give it a three star rating since it was defective and inoperable right out of the box.  Otherwise, it would be a five start rating for sure!  My custom made portable benchrest shooting rest with the Sinclair bench rest front rest is solid as the rock of Gibraltar, but again it is very heavy even though portable. The BOG Fieldpod Magnum hunting rest weights approximately 15 lbs. and is very portable, but will use it mainly to sight in my crossbows..

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-22-2023 and updated on 09-23-2023.

BOG REST UPDATE

I received a package from American Outdoor Brands (BOG) and the part I received was the front fork, not the hardware that adjusts said front fork.  I called BOG and talked with their rep. Justin and he checked and they did not have in stock or access the parts that I needed.  Therefore, he would send me an entire rest that I could use for spare parts.

I must say that this is the best customer service I have received in a very long time and probably the best of all time!

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 10-03-2023.

UPDATE:  I received the BOG Fieldpod Magnum hunting rest (replacement for spare parts) from American Outdoor Brands (BOG) on 10-09-2023 to be used for spare parts.  As stated earlier, this is the best customer service I have ever received.  It certainly would be much cheaper in my humble opinion to maintain an inventory of spare parts that are prone to break versus a complete replacement, but I am certainly pleased to received another rest just for spare parts.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 10-10-2023.

CHECKED CROSSBOW BOLT SPEED

I finished power washing the North end of our home this morning and had some free time and decided to run some crossbow bolts through the Shooting Crony if there was enough sunlight, since it has been overcast all morning and mid-day.

I used one of the Executioner Black Eagle shafts with a 100 grain field point and a standard nock which is lighter than the Luminok lighted nocks I will be using for hunting.  This shaft weighs 434 grains if I am not mistaken which is 21.8 grains lighter than my hunting bolt with the Luminok.

I only shot one crossbow bolt through the Shooting Crony and should give me an idea of what the speed is, although I know you should shoot several bolts and get an average reading.

The speed is in the ball park of the advertised speed in TenPoint's specifications for the Titan De-cock ACUdraw crossbow using a similar weight crossbow bolt.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-26-2023.

VULTURE ALSO WAITING ATOP TOM DOOLEY

I was "piddling" around in my basement woodworking shop with the garage door open and observed one of our local vultures aka "buzzards" sitting atop my deer hanging tree nicknamed Tom Dooley aka Dula. 

I guess the ole boy might be thinking, "Hey, where are the deer that is supposed to be hanging here" and the left overs?

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-28-2023.

HUNTING UPDATE

Since October 6, 2023 through October 17, 2023, I have crossbow hunted a total of fourteen (14) times at one of my favorite hunting places, morning, evening and a time or two mid-day and did not see a single deer.  My game trail camera manifested that the deer were feeding regularly under the cover of darkness.  Therefore I plan to give deer hunting a rest until October 28th.

I plan to take the crossbow with me when black powder aka muzzleloading hunting season comes in on October 28, 2023.  The last time I pulled my camera SD card, there were some does feeding in daylight hours morning and evening and maybe they will continue to do so when muzzleloading season comes in on Saturday the 28th.  No trophy hunting here, "If it is brown, it is down."

I got the ole antiquated 1985 Knight MK 50 muzzleloader .50 caliber smoke pole out and my black powder accessory box and will get her ready for Saturday.  Prior to this muzzleloader, I used a Thompson Center Renegade .50 caliber left hand side lock smoke pole.

This is a left hand thumb hole multi-laminated stock that was on their Grand American series in 1992 and purchased the stock direct from Knight and have been well pleased with it.  I am currently using (Triple Seven) black powder and the CCI # 11 cap which is still working great in this muzzleloader.  I thought about changing the ignition system, but I have to keep reminding myself, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

If I were using the pressed synthetic black powder pellets, the # 209 shotshell primer would definitely enhance the ignition process since it is a much hotter primer than the CCI # 11 cap.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 10-21-2023.

IF IT IS BROWN, IT IS DOWN

With little to no deer activity at my favorite hunting site, I decided to go to plan B and not hunt from the blind until deer start showing up again during daylight hours.

We had a cold front come through early the morning of 11-01-2023 and decided to hunt.  I believe the temperature was around 37 degrees, not sure, but it didn't get as cold as the weather prognosticators had forecast!

The buck below was feeding at around 9ish and I was from an elevated position probably 20 feet high +- and the little buck was 50 yards +- from my position.  I had a slight quartering to me shot and at the report of the muzzleloader, the buck went down and tried to get back up.  When I got to him, he managed to go about 5 to 10 yards before giving it up.

The muzzleloader bullet being an ole Knight 260 grain soft lead which is advertised as a hollow point which is nothing but a dimple pressed into the end of the bullet, whereas the bullet exited on the right side very low in the rib cage near the sternum and definitely "cleaned his clock" so to speak!

I had seen this buck a time or two on my game camera, but he was always under the cover of darkness, but he finally came out in daytime.  I wasn't waiting on anything bigger, smaller, etc., and like I said, "If it is brown, it is down."  When I got him back home, he was quickly skinned and quartered and aging in my basement frig for later processing.

After dragging the buck a ways, he was heavier than he looks, or it could be yours truly getting weaker; grin if you must!

HE DIDN'T MAKE THE B & C RECORD BOOK

This was definitely a "management buck" and needed to be removed from the gene pool, grin if you must!  He was registered on line today and will grind him up toward the end of the week and save the back straps aka loin and tenderloins for cubing. 

I still have the ground venison from the large buck harvested last hunting season in one of our freezers and glad getting some venison to eventually replace the same. 

UPDATE:  Since the above buck was harvested, I have seen his off spring on camera with the same antler formation, of which was a much smaller deer, therefore he must have been the "daddy rab" of that buck!  He needs to be removed from the gene pool as well!

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-10-2023.

MY PRAYER

I am thankful for each and every day that God allows through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and the opportunity to be able to enjoy what God has created for all of us to partake of!

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-01-2023

PROCESSED DEER ON 11-04-2023

The little buck was aging in our basement frig since the harvest date of 11-01-2023 and deboned the meat off the neck, hindquarters and one shoulder.  One shoulder I didn't save due to serious bloodshot.

I sliced the loins and tenderloins yielding four (4) vacuum sealed packages.

The deboned meat was ground and vacuum sealed; yielding nineteen (19) packages with a total weight of 21 pounds.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-04-2023.

TAG OUT BUCK

I have probably hunted more times this hunting season than I have in a couple decades or more and this hunting season, deer for the most part have been nocturnal.  I have yet to harvest a deer with the crossbow this hunting season, but will continue to hunt, hopefully harvesting one with the ole xbow!

I have stated many times, "Even a blind hog finds an acorn" and/or something to that effect, of which that happened to me this morning for sure.  However my bride of nearly fifty-six (56) years prays for me every time I leave our home going hunting, that I will harvest a deer and be safe!  Her prayers were certainly answered this morning and I will elaborate about the hunt after I post a couple pix here. .

This ole boy was at lest 150 pounds being a seven pointer with a 14 inch inside spread.  He was in full rut with his neck swollen and his hind leg hair tuffs aka tarsals were getting dark and had a heavy smell of deer urine.

My basement game refrigerator was packed out with food items, therefore I had to ice him down after he was skinned and quartered and will process him in a day or two, although I like to let the venison age several days.

I got on stand around 6:12 AM and the temperature was 35 degrees.  I was fairly comfortable except my feet were a little cold, but not too bad.  I saw plenty of squirrels and at around 8:11, I sprayed some deer urine into the air and a deer in sparse cover saw me and gave a very short snort and left the area.  I could not tell whether it was a buck or doe, but definitely didn't see any horns.

I continued on stand until around 8:36 AM and decided to terminate the hunt, although I was planning on staying until 9 AM.  I removed a couple scent vents that was on a small tree about 40 yards down range that had doe and buck urine.  I also capped another container that had doe urine and left it on the tree.  A few minutes latter while getting my gear ready to head out, I spotted a buck deer around 34 yards to my right in some cover walking my way.  My rifle was not in my hand and had to retrieve it; also the scope caps were in place and the bolt was at about half battery position.  The buck apparently saw something that didn't look just right and stopped looking intently in my direction.  I had camo on except I had removed my face mask and gloves.  I slowly flipped the scope lens caps up and eased the bolt into the firing battery position and pushed the safety forward to the fire position.  I was surprised the buck did not high tail it out, but the wind was in my favor what little breeze there was.  I slowly brought the rifle into shoulder position and placed the heavy duplex crosshairs of the antiquated Leopold 3.5 x 10 x 50mm scope on his chest and the rifle fired without no conscious effort.  The buck went down for the 10 count and I put my back pack on which has my dragging strap and a couple field dressing knives and went to him.  I took a couple pixs with the ole Obamaphone and quickly field dressed him and started the difficult drag out.

After getting the buck home, skinned and quartered placing in a large cooler with ice., etc.  I reported the harvest via the internet.

It was a little difficult getting him dragged out and back home.  It seems each year, dragging deer gets more challenging, but thankful that I am still able to do so and give thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior every day.

OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE

This buck definitely had "an out of body experience."  Yes, pun intended, grin if you must!

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-13-2023 and 11-14-2023.

PROCESSED DEER

Today is 11-14-2023 and I spent a few hours processing the above deer harvest.  I first sliced the back straps aka loin straps and vacuum sealed them into four (4) packages.  I then de-bonded the shoulders, hind quarters and the neck for grinding into burger.  After de-boning, I placed the meat into one of our basement freezers to get semi-frozen which makes grinding much easier.  My bride and myself had haircut appointments around 1 PM and after getting back, I ground the venison and then vacuum sealed it.

After the grinding, I formed the meat into at least one pound balls.

After forming the meat into large balls, I reshaped the meat into a baking potato form which makes it easier to go into the 8 x 12 inch vacuum bags.

When processing the venison, two people or more would be necessary for a small operation since doing it as I do, "A one man operation" you have to constantly clean your hands from one step to the next and then you will still get the ground venison in places on the vacuum bag that make it look pretty, grin if you must!

I weighted the ground venison and it was thirty-three (33) pounds.  I also weighted the bones and trimmings and it was twenty-three (23) pounds.

The Food Saver vacuum sealing machine gets a work out during deer season for sure.

Now comes the never ending clean-up of the equipment, etc.

EQUIPMENT CLEAN-UP

At the end of each usage of the antiquated 2/3 HP grinder that I purchased decades ago from The Sausage Maker Inc., you have to thoroughly clean the grinder head, etc. and apply lubrication to the auger drive shaft end, of which there is no actual bearing between the auger and metal housing of the grinder head, but metal on metal, therefore heavy paste lubricant is required to prevent wear.  I also spray food grade heavy duty lubricant to all the other parts of the grinder head.

There is a good amount of time, effort and the necessary equipment to process your own deer, but you know exactly what you are getting.  The cost of getting a deer processed is around 100 bucks for a small deer in our neck of the woods and that doesn't include any additional processing such as sausage.  Some processors charge an additional fee for skinning the deer also and some a flat rate per pound.

CAMERA VIEWS

I took the ole antiquated Canon 30D 35mm camera and took a few shots of where the deer was standing and where I was standing to get an idea of what "we" saw!

The upper portion of the red arrow depicts where the buck was standing from my view.  I had a narrow window of opportunity to harvest the buck.  The buck was about 4 yards beyond the two smaller trees where the arrow terminates.

This is the view from where the buck was standing.  The top of the red arrow points to where I was standing.  The buck was pretty much centered between the V portion of the small tree in this pix in the foreground.

REMNANTS OF THE GUT PILE

As evidenced by the above pix, critters cleaned out the viscera aka gut pile from the buck overnight.

CHECKED INVENTORY OF VENISON

I have over 50 pounds of venison from last hunting season in the freezers vacuum sealed and with the two bucks harvested this hunting season, I have plenty of ground venison and sliced loin straps, therefore I plan to take my hunting blind down and terminate my hunting for this 2023 hunting season.

I am thankful for each and every day that God allows through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and the opportunity and health to hunt and enjoy the outdoors!

DOE HARVEST 12-07-2023

I checked my freezers again and with Thanksgiving 2023 behind us, I had room in my basement freezers for 1 or 2 more deer.  I have been watching my alternate hunting site and putting out shelled corn there since I took my hunting blind down and finally a yearling and larger doe showed up at about dusk dark around 5:30 PM. 

I put the heavy duplex crosshairs of the Leopold Vari-X-III scope behind the does right lower front leg for a heart shot and at the crack of the Remington BDL left hand .270 Winchester caliber rifle, she made one lunge and piled up for the 10 count.

When I got her away from my hunting location, she was field dressed and allowing her to hang overnight on my deer skinning tree nicknamed Tom Dooley aka Tom Dula.  The temperature will be low enough for her to hang without any worry of spoilage.  I plan to skin and quarter her in the morning and place in my basement game refrigerator to age for a few days before final processing.

I went on line and registered the doe harvest.

Coyotes might have a little difficulty feasting on this doe overnight.

The right front shoulder was badly damaged by the 130 grain Sierra Jacketed Soft point boattail bullet that was reloaded in 1999 and did not save it.  I know folks that will save bloodshot meat and soak it vinegar water, etc., to remove the blood, but I do not.

The doe was skinned and quartered the morning of 12-08-2023 and placed in our basement game refrigerator for later processing on Tuesday next week, our Lord willing of course..

UPDATE:  The above doe was processed on 12-12-2023 and yielded 19.5 lbs. of ground venison.  The loins aka back straps were sliced and vacuumed sealed.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-14-2023, 11-15-2023, 11-20-2023, 12-07-2023, 12-08-2023 and 12-12-2023.  

I have finished deer hunting for 2023 and plan to have our grandson Xander McKnight Gonzales deer hunt under my supervision this Friday and on the evenings when his school is out for the Christmas holidays!

 LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please take this moment to accept him by Faith into your Life, whereby Salvation will be attained.   

Ephesians 2:8 - 2:9 8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Open this link about faith in the King James Bible.