A Bit Chilly

My brother Ken called. It was early. He said, “I spotted a deer. Did you want to come out and get a shot at it? I know you bought your new gun and haven’t shot a deer with it yet.” I said “Sure.” and proceeded to get dressed for the outdoors. I just bought a new rifle. It is a 7 mm 08, left handed bolt. I do everything else right handed, but shoot right.

I’m sorry to all of the people who believe in PETA, but getting outside and hunting is enjoyable to me. I’m not the best, but I like it. To me PETA means People Eating Tasty Animals. If hunters didn’t help to control them, they would ruin crops and soon even the vegetarians would have nothing to eat.

Driving to my brother’s place, I saw the temperature on the dash of my car. Water started to freeze fifteen degrees higher.

When I got to his house, he had his two quads outside. I’m thinking, “This doesn’t look good.” and it wasn’t. To get back to the area the deer had bedded down, we had to drive along an abandoned logging road, across a small stream, up a better dirt road, and then down an abandoned farm lane. It wasn’t too bad except on the dirt road when we could pick up speed. The wind from driving soon had my cheeks stinging and cold. The sun was behind us and our faces were in our own shadows making it seem colder.

Once we got to the farm lane, we slowed. I felt warmer the sun was on my face and the speed had slowed considerably. Parking the quads, we hiked across a partially grown pasture. Ken pointed, I saw one buck. Bang it was down. It ran a few steps and collapsed. It was a nice sized animal. It had antlers of two tines on the left and three on the right.

Ken and I gutted, and tied the buck to the back of the quad. I am so thankful that we didn’t have to drag it to the house from where it was. When we were younger, we didn’t have a choice. You dragged it from where you shot it to the nearest vehicle.

I am planning of butchering it myself. I know if I should find a hair who to blame. I cut the meat from the bone to avoid the bone splinters. I don’t use a slaughter house because I don’t know how clean their facility is, I know that it is the deer I shot, I know that it isn’t left without refrigeration, and I know that I am getting all of the meat that I turned in.

We now have meat for the freezer and to cold pack in jars. I will make some jerky as well. It makes me think of my mother-in-law. She always wanted venison and the fat to make mince meat pies for Christmas. I miss you Retha.