The old man was almost in tears when we picked the deer up from his stand after putting on a man-drive for deer. As he explained, “I knocked the buck down, and he was lying still on the ground. As I leaned my shotgun up against the tree and approached the deer, I realized that he was the biggest buck I’d ever had the opportunity to take. I reached in my pocket to get my knife out to cut his throat. At the same time I was reaching in my pocket, I grabbed the deer’s antlers to lift his head, when suddenly, the buck jumped-up and ran off. I couldn’t believe it. My buck of a lifetime was gone. I tried to follow him, but I couldn’t find any blood.”
The search for this trophy buck continued until the end of the day, but we never found the buck. A buck of a lifetime was lost because of several mistakes. To prevent this problem from happening to you, follow these steps:
- assume that all downed deer are only dazed and not dead;
- always approach a deer at the ready with your thumb on the safety and your finger near the trigger, and expect to have to make a shot if and when the deer gets up;
- see if the buck’s chest cavity is moving as you approach the deer, which indicates that he’s still breathing, and check to see if any air is coming out of his nostrils;
- touch the deer’s eye with the tip of your gun barrel or the broadhead on your arrow, and if the deer flinches, take another shot.
Then, set your gun and/or bow down, and take your Pro Tool Hunt Utility Knife out of its scabbard. Don’t cut the deer’s throat, especially if he’s a trophy buck that you want to get mounted. Cutting the throat just makes a big gash that the taxidermist will have to repair later. If you’re a long way from camp, use your Pro Tool Hunt Utility Knife to field dress your deer by opening the stomach and the chest cavity, and taking out all the entrails. Pull the deer’s head uphill, or lift the deer’s head to let the blood drain out of the cavity. Then, drag the deer to a nearby ATV, or call a friend to bring help and a vehicle to get your deer from the site where you’ve field dressed it back to camp. Unless you’re a high school or a college athlete, don’t attempt to drag the deer out by yourself, especially if you’re older, because the strain of dragging a 100- to a 200-pound deer can damage your heart, according to various hospital studies.
Once you get the deer back to camp, use your Pro Tool Hunt Utility Knife for caping. Make a cut up the backsides of the two front legs running from near the feet all the way to under the back part of the shoulder of the deer. Next make a cut all around the deer just under the skin, and begin to skin the cape, rolling it forward to just below the base of the ears. Disconnect the meat from the head where the neck attaches to the head. Skin the hide off, and cut the feet off with your Pro Tool Hunt Utility Knife. Then, quarter your animal, and/or debone and cut-up the meat.
The one knife that can help you take your downed trophy animal from the field to the freezer is the Pro Tool Hunt Utility Knife. For more information on this knife, click here.
Once you’ve turned your deer into venison, consider these two recipes.
Venison Creole
This recipe is simple yet delicious and tender.
Ingredients:
Thin slices of venison that you’ve soaked and immersed in salty water overnight in the refrigerator to remove blood, and then rinsed all salt off before preparation.
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 beef bouillon cube
1/2-cup water
Slices of tomato
Slices of green peppers
Flour
Onion slices
Celery pieces
Cornstarch
Mushrooms
Preparation:
Brown the venison in the butter or margarine. Add onion and celery pieces, sautéing until tender. Dissolve bouillon cube in water, and pour over venison mixture. Thicken with cornstarch. Pour into shallow baking dish. Add tomato, mushrooms and peppers. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Chicken-Fried Venison Steaks
Preparation:
Cut venison steaks 3/4-inch thick. Carefully cut-out tough membranes. Pound each piece with a meat mallet. Then soak, immersed in salty water overnight in refrigerator to remove blood, and rinse all salt off before preparation. Season with garlic or onion salt, freshly-ground black pepper and dredge in seasoned flour. Fry in a heavy skillet in 1/4-inch of fairly-hot Canola oil, browning well on both sides. Drain steaks on paper toweling, and keep warm. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons oil; add 3 tablespoons flour; heat; stir until bubbly. Add 1-1/2-cups milk, and cook on simmer, stirring until thickened. Taste and correct seasoning, if necessary.
