Kingcreek
Member
Over the years I have been blessed with lots of wild game. I primarily bowhunt for deer but I get an Illinois res firearm permit every year, just in case.
I killed a nice big 11pt in Oct and I've been chasing after 2 big bucks even bigger. Il limits residents to 2 antlered deer per year. One of these bruisers is a big non-typ with a rear leg gimp and the other a big 10 typical. Yesterday, out with my 12g slug gun just before dark when 5 does show up followed by a limping buck with a good sized rack. distance, waning light, and cornstubble background made certain assessment difficult. I had left my optics in the truck because of all the layers of clothes and mittens. Freezing my substantial a$$ off with 10 minutes of shooting time left and the deer at 80+ yards and angling further away, I decided to shoot.
A well placed slug in the center chest dropped the buck after his 25 yard dash. Wasn't the non-typ that I expected but I'm not disappointed. The 2.5 year old 9 point got hung up last night as the snow and sleet was starting. I didn't want to skin him until I round up my helper and had time to butcher, and I figured that would be this weekend.
Well now we're socked in by 2ft snow drifts and still snowing and blowing... and it's gonna get worse. single digit temps tonight with 40 mph winds and I've got a 200 pound deer-cicle in the back yard.
I've butchered 40 or 50 deer and other large game but I've never had to process a deer under these conditions. I've got a heated garage but no way to hang it inside. I guess I'll figure something out. Sawz-all and an axe maybe?
Jeez, I wish I had skinned last night, even if I was tired and cold.
Any suggestions?
I killed a nice big 11pt in Oct and I've been chasing after 2 big bucks even bigger. Il limits residents to 2 antlered deer per year. One of these bruisers is a big non-typ with a rear leg gimp and the other a big 10 typical. Yesterday, out with my 12g slug gun just before dark when 5 does show up followed by a limping buck with a good sized rack. distance, waning light, and cornstubble background made certain assessment difficult. I had left my optics in the truck because of all the layers of clothes and mittens. Freezing my substantial a$$ off with 10 minutes of shooting time left and the deer at 80+ yards and angling further away, I decided to shoot.
A well placed slug in the center chest dropped the buck after his 25 yard dash. Wasn't the non-typ that I expected but I'm not disappointed. The 2.5 year old 9 point got hung up last night as the snow and sleet was starting. I didn't want to skin him until I round up my helper and had time to butcher, and I figured that would be this weekend.
Well now we're socked in by 2ft snow drifts and still snowing and blowing... and it's gonna get worse. single digit temps tonight with 40 mph winds and I've got a 200 pound deer-cicle in the back yard.
I've butchered 40 or 50 deer and other large game but I've never had to process a deer under these conditions. I've got a heated garage but no way to hang it inside. I guess I'll figure something out. Sawz-all and an axe maybe?
Jeez, I wish I had skinned last night, even if I was tired and cold.
Any suggestions?
You could just bring it down here and let it thaw out. LOL
