My wife had eaten a lot of canned venison as a child. I’m not sure why, but she developed an interest in doing that this year. She went so far as to order a pressure canner before the start of the season, so there was a fair amount of “pressure” to be successful this year (sorry; i could not resist). The boys and I hunted hard this fall, without success. On the day before the season ended, after a long day in the woods, the boys headed in while the stubborn old man gave it 15 more minutes. I was rewarded with a good shot at a nice doe at 150 yards. The boys did come out and help with bringing it into the barn and later with processing it.
In an effort to ensure success I lugged the 13 lb heavy barrel .308, which is boringly accurate, although I did hit a bit high (shooting at 150 yards from a seated position).
We canned the all but the choicest cuts. We had the first jar tonight, with homemade gravy and mashed potatoes. The boys devoured it. It was a good feeling...we had practiced shooting from field positions all summer (thank you THR for the guidance on that), developed the handload (150g Barnes TTSX over Varget; this was a very effective load in this case), and done some scouting. I was happy that my knowledge of food prep/canning was useful...that was the most tender and flavorful meat I’ve had in a long time, and I was thankful that the boys enjoyed it so much.
In an effort to ensure success I lugged the 13 lb heavy barrel .308, which is boringly accurate, although I did hit a bit high (shooting at 150 yards from a seated position).
We canned the all but the choicest cuts. We had the first jar tonight, with homemade gravy and mashed potatoes. The boys devoured it. It was a good feeling...we had practiced shooting from field positions all summer (thank you THR for the guidance on that), developed the handload (150g Barnes TTSX over Varget; this was a very effective load in this case), and done some scouting. I was happy that my knowledge of food prep/canning was useful...that was the most tender and flavorful meat I’ve had in a long time, and I was thankful that the boys enjoyed it so much.