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Exploding Bags of Entrails
The good news is that I have been accepted into Suburban Whitetail Management of Northern Virginia. Read: Free Meat. This group of bow hunters normally maintains exceptionally high standards in its campaign to convince the public that a) bowhunting is an effective response to the exploding suburban whitetail problem, and 2) that bowhunters are not all Bubbas. One of the founders is an air traffic controller who works at the policy level. Another does ground security inside the CIA grounds at Langley. A third is a maintenance crew chief for military fighter planes. Having heard this, when I got to the “profession” blank on the application, I wrote “deep-cover PETA mole.”
The bad news is, well, there is no bad news. But I do have a couple of questions. Bow-season already lasts from mid-September to the end of January where I hunt. How much more time does a guy really need to obsess about deer? Secondly, because many of the properties are small and in densely populated areas, members must either haul the deer before dressing or bag up and take all guts away from the kill-site.
So what do you do on a blast-furnace day if you kill one, especially if you have no good place of your own to clean it? Just how much damage would an exploding Hefty Bag of deer entrails cause if left too long in a sun-warmed vehicle?
Insurance Adjuster: Could you repeat that sir?
BH: Um... exploding deer guts.
IA: I see.
BH: (sigh)
Posted by: jack | July 10, 2008 at 03:10 PM
I know a guy that runs a rent a car dealer at the airport.He gets guys from back east renting his vehicles to hunt antelope and deer out of.They don't rent pick ups because you can't fit as many people.They rent things like explorers and s-10 blazers.They then stick their deer and antelope in the back area of the vehicle and forget them with the windows up.Needless to say more then one platinum credit card has been depleted paying for the mess.
Posted by: Dick Mcplenty | July 10, 2008 at 04:41 PM
Dunno, maybe slip a bag in putsels vehicle and find out.. maybe git up a lottery pool on when they blow..:-)
Posted by: ray | July 10, 2008 at 04:49 PM
I would just go buy a large role of painters plastic from a hardware store. That way you can lay out a large area roll it up and slip it into a hefty bag and drop in garbage I would suggest placing it your neighbors trash or Dave P's car.
Posted by: Nathan | July 10, 2008 at 05:32 PM
Living in FLorida, some early deer hunts have taken place during virtual summers. I.e. high 90's. Let me tell you, deer get very smelly very fast. Most guys around these suburbs gut the deer behind their house or you might lay tarp in your garage to keep mess down get it done discretely. Then we just throw the scraps in the nearest body of water and watch the gators swarm for a week or so. I de-limb/backstrap my carcasses and get those parts on ice in a cooler quick as possible. Aint much meat left on a deer other than that...a deer torso isn't too hard to transport with a good garbage can. Why gut it at all?
Posted by: Bob | July 11, 2008 at 01:12 AM
***Blog post idea and call for help
Bill and others,
My family is traveling to the Outer Banks National Seashore area of North Carolina in 2 weeks for a vacation (close by the Cape Hatteras lighthouse). I have two sons, aged 8 and 12 years old, and am looking for some wild-food gathering ideas. Having newly discovered Euel Gibbons and his books (especially “Stalking the Blue-eyed Scallop”) a few years ago I had a blast trying to forage for wild food at the beach – aside from using a rod and reel. In the past we've gathered scallops from the shallow waters of Pamlico Sound and collected periwinkles (snails) from the salt marsh reed beds. (The scallops were delicious but the periwinkles were so tiny I didn't know how to eat 'em. - My wife has taunted me for several years now about the periwinkles) Last year I heard about guys going flounder "hunting” with a gig and snorkel so I plan to ask around the local tackle shops and ranger stations about that.
Is there anyone out there that is willing to share a success story of gathering wild food near the beach or suggest some other seashore lore adventure I can take with my sons?
- Thanks
Posted by: Scott in Ohio | July 11, 2008 at 07:56 AM
scott,
my advice is to call the park BEFORE you go and talk to a NATURALIST. they know the most about this stuff. try a tackle or bait shop as well.
Nor do i know of specific seaside foraging books, but peterson's guide to edible plants is good start. also check amazon books under combinations of "seaside," "wild plants," "edible," and "coastal."
i'm afraid i can't help you with being taunted about your tiny periwinkles. there are any number of back-page advertisers in Field & Stream that promise great results in just a few weeks.
Posted by: bill heavey | July 11, 2008 at 09:59 AM
Scott in Ohio -
Just a cautionary note. Much vegetation along the seashore in the Carolinas enjoys some form of protection as it is vital for erosion control. Odds are there may be some prohibitions on walking among the plants (breaking stalks, compressing roots, etc.) We spend a fair amount of time on Sanibel, where the beach vegetation is one step removed from sacred ground. (Typical signs advise no cutting, no trampling, stay out, go back north Yankee.)
Posted by: jack | July 11, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Bill-
Congrats on passing the arduous testing of Suburban Whitetail Management. While you're there be sure to persuade them to expand to perhaps Indiana. My neighbor has a particularly nice buck that frequents his bird feeders, I think I would have a nice shot from my back deck.
Posted by: bnorthq | July 11, 2008 at 04:37 PM
bob's right. why gut it at all? I use a good fishing knife and debone all I can ziploking and marking the better cuts as I go along putting the meat in coolers with ice. then i freeze some for the dog. I leave the rest in the bush or freeze it if at home and put it out garbage day. its only our large deer in the 200# range or moose you have more to deal with. I have also put some better cuts in the fridge to age for a few days before freezing. the most important detail is to get it cooled off asap and get it home before getting fussy about processing etc.
Posted by: alberta hunter | July 12, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Hey Bill
5 gal bucket with snap-on lid from Home Depot solves the what-to-do with deer guts problem - $8 bucks. Its blaze orange too!
I got mine at the Springfield Home Depot yesterday.
hon
Posted by: Hon Kwan | July 13, 2008 at 09:38 AM
Hey Bill
5 gal bucket with snap-on lid from Home Depot solves the what-to-do with deer guts problem - $8 bucks. Its blaze orange too!
I got mine at the Springfield Home Depot yesterday.
hon
Posted by: Hon Kwan | July 13, 2008 at 09:40 AM
bob and alberta hunter get the prizes (not that there are any). we see once again that there is not much improving to be done on the clovis point and atlatl of modern man - namely, the tarp and 5-gal. bucket, respectively.
Posted by: bill heavey | July 13, 2008 at 05:02 PM
Just a thought, although it may not be practical in your situation.
The more one debones deer size critters, the more skilled and faster one gets (emphasis on speed). If practical, one or more coolers with wheels for the meat and a large renovation type waste trash bag (big and really tough). These bags can hold everything else, bones, head, entrails, and when you get home, poke a hole in the top of the bag to let off the gas until it can be disposed of. I guess if I were in such a situation I'd try it. I must admit though that on average three out of four things I try I fail at, but the fourth is what I shoot for and is usually humdinger.
Posted by: Jay | July 13, 2008 at 06:19 PM
Say, Scott or Bill, those periwinkle stories intrigue me! Has Bill been dancing in those pointy shoes again or are you talking about those tiny mollusks that swarm along the seashore....?
Old Florida crackers like myself are used to calling them "donax", and as tiny as they are, they make great soup....Just take a shovel and a screen of hardware cloth to seperate the sand, and get about a gallon of them for a two gallon pot. Boil them up until the little critters fall out of their shells, then stir, and pour off the broth along with the little bits of meat .....the shells will stay on the bottom. Add a generous portion of milk and a stick of butter, some black pepper, and violla...donax stew! Just pour off the top to seperate the shells and sand and I guarantee you'll like it!
They only swarm on the beaches certain times of the year, and you'll see them digging in profusion as the waves receed and wash them to the surface...There's so many in Florida, they make a stone called coquina, after they settle in for a few thousand years..so don't worry about depleting their numbers!
And Bill, don't worry about the sizes, it's numbers that give the satisfaction!
Posted by: jes | July 14, 2008 at 06:03 AM
Congratulations on your admittance into the SWM of Northern Va. We have a management program that is similar on land managed by the Nature Conservancy (no, the NC is not an anti-hunting group). There is thank goodness, no "Qualification" of one's bow hunting accuracy to be able to hunt. One must sit through an orientation however put on by the NC that explains where one can and cannot go; how to deal politely with hikers on the nature trails should one chance to cross paths; and pay a $30.00 fee which is strictly for insurance purposes. It seems the bigwigs in D.C. (as in Washington DC) at NC headquarters wanted this requirement for liability purposes. I have stated it before and will say it again that I am opposed to the performance test for bow hunting in specific areas. Don't get me wrong, I think it is ethically proper and necessary that one be proficient with their weapon of choice. Some people however just don't shoot well under the microscope. We used to have a deer management area nearby that had that proficiency requirement as it was bow and arrow only. A good friend of mine could never get a permit because he could not shoot well with the Fish & Wildlife guys standing there watching. This friend gets his deer bowhunting every year and is a great shot. Most of the deer he harvests are the first one he shoots at. he just can't shoot with a bunch of people watching.
Posted by: JohnR | July 14, 2008 at 03:28 PM
Scott, watch the laws, but wild foods near the beach may consist of cattail roots/shoots, scallops, flounder/ray gigging at night, get some mullet with a cast net. I got a few reds with a floating plug over a grass flat on Teusday. Coquina soup...you might try oysters and clams also. Definately set some crab traps(easiest seafood to find) set up. Some types of seaweed are edible, though maybe not palatable(watch out for the stinging red kind). Usualy there isn't much vegitation at the beach...maybe cattails in the marshes. Hope that gives you some good ideas to look into.
Posted by: Bob | July 17, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Jes and Bob,
Thanks for the feedback!
BH,
Thanks to you too. By the way, do you have any tips for wild plants that sooth a stinging ego? Mine's still a bit sore after your zinger about my tiny periwinkles!! LOL
Maybe Jewel Weed will help?!
Posted by: Scott in Ohio | July 22, 2008 at 08:44 AM