Nice photo of deer feeding

That's nice BB is that outside your place?
I was at my daughters she lives about a mile from me.

We were in the family room and I shot through the patio door.

It was nearly dark I could just barely see them but I used a ISO of 1600 focal length of 404 mm 35mm equivalent aperture f5.6 exposure time 1/100
I think that for such poor conditions it came out pretty good hard to shoot in the dark.
 
I have a classified Forrest across the road from me and when it snows and I get up of a morning I have deer tracks in my front lawn.
We have squirrel feeders and we watch them come over into the lawn and feed.

I thought you big city dwellers would like to see these photos every day thing around here.
 
We cannot keep the deer out of our yard. They eat most anything and dig up the ground looking for stuff. You can get within 25 to 30 ft of them.
 
Fire up the grill, dinner on the hoof.
Some of you know I really like to shoot but I don't hunt. This seems to be a little bit at odds to some. I haven't hunted since my early twenties and this is one of the reasons why I don't. I've had venison 100 different ways. Stewed, bottled, frozen, fried, grilled, roasted, jerked you name it, 50 different gravies to go with the various cuts. I've hunted both white tail and mule deer. I've never eaten a good piece of venison. Seriously, Utah has a lot of deer hunters and every one of them has a special recipe that you will just love, if you know what I mean. I won't shoot it simply for the sport and I can't stand the way it tastes, so it makes no sense for me to hunt deer. I feel the same way about pheasant, duck is just greasy, elk is a little better but I wouldn't trade it for a good beef roast or steak. :D
 
Some of you know I really like to shoot but I don't hunt. This seems to be a little bit at odds to some. I haven't hunted since my early twenties and this is one of the reasons why I don't. I've had venison 100 different ways. Stewed, bottled, frozen, fried, grilled, roasted, jerked you name it, 50 different gravies to go with the various cuts. I've hunted both white tail and mule deer. I've never eaten a good piece of venison. Seriously, Utah has a lot of deer hunters and every one of them has a special recipe that you will just love, if you know what I mean. I won't shoot it simply for the sport and I can't stand the way it tastes, so it makes no sense for me to hunt deer. I feel the same way about pheasant, duck is just greasy, elk is a little better but I wouldn't trade it for a good beef roast or steak. :D
Yes, some of us around here know you as a "paper puncher" (I believe that is your own term) :) Not a thing wrong with that IMO, and I know you are not alone. Before hunting season, we would "kill" tons of clay "birds" on the skeet and trap ranges to brush up on our skills. I never did develop a taste for those either. :D

I'm not a deer hunter either. Never went and never even tempted except for the temptation of camping out with my bird hunting friends who also hunt deer. My aunt/uncle/cousins made a yearly trek to Colorado for their own hunts. Though I've never had a proper venison "steak" (to my memory anyway), but I've had backstrap grilled, dined on pounds of venison sausage and chili. I like it just fine.

I also like the taste of pheasant, though I don't have real close (or affordable)access to good hunting. I had a friend whose wife had relatives up in Muleshoe who provided free land, but alas that marriage is no longer intact.

Now duck, we totally agree. I finally gave that sport up for the same reason as you did with deer. For years, my darling Mrs. Clean put up eating more fair-mediocre-bad duck recipes than any spouse should. I loved the comaraderie in the blind with my two lifelong friends but I just got tired of force feeding the kill.

Still love the opportunity to dine on some dove and quail.

Oddly enough though I love trout, I've been converted to a catch and release guy when fishing up in CO.
 
I'm with you on the trout. We have plenty of places within a stones throw to catch your limit of Rainbow. A short drive and we can get Cut Throat and Brown. I like the flavor of the Rainbow the best. As you said, when we fish rivers we catch and release. To get a river fish of any size you know it's been there a while and worked hard to increase in size.
 
We have "put and take" Rainbow fishing here in Texas. It is funded (in full I believe by the sales of the Trout stamp which is required along with your fishing license). I used to participate in that program annually, but I haven't now in years. That program did, however, provide me with one of my best fishing stories. Cliff Notes version: I went ice fishing in Texas and caught a trout. True story, but it will raise eyebrows every time I tell it. :D

The area I fish in CO is primarily the Rio Grande which provides a pretty good Rainbow and Brown population. In the same area you'll find CutThroat, CutBows and Brookies. Those Brookies will get real thick in some areas, and the locals will just about beg you to harvest your legal limit just to give some of the other species some breathing room.

I prepare my trout (head on mandatory IMO) either on the grill wrapped in foil w/salt/pepper/thin slices of lemon or pan fried. It is a species that just doesn't take too much fussin' about with to bring out a nice flavor.
 
I prepare my trout (head on mandatory IMO) either on the grill wrapped in foil w/salt/pepper/thin slices of lemon or pan fried. It is a species that just doesn't take too much fussin' about with to bring out a nice flavor.

We prepare our trout the same way with the exception of the head. My wife refuses to eat something that is "looking" at her.;) My father in law uses a fillet knife with precision. He'll fillet them and my wife will bread them. It's almost more like a dusting, it's great on halibut also.
 
We prepare our trout the same way with the exception of the head. My wife refuses to eat something that is "looking" at her.;) My father in law uses a fillet knife with precision. He'll fillet them and my wife will bread them. It's almost more like a dusting, it's great on halibut also.
I've heard that exact sentiment from others when I've shared a repast in camp. Admittedly, when I first began preparing trout I also removed the heads. Then an "old timer" explained how the meat remained far more moist and tasty when the head is left intact. I began the practice and found not only was he correct, but it also reduced cleaning time. Now a single cut from the anus to the chin, quickly dispatch the internal organs and air bladder, and then run your thumb along the backbone to remove the vein. I can do it quickly and almost in my sleep. :) My kids especially grew up eating their trout with heads on so they never thought twice about it. Mrs. Clean took it in stride (have I mentioned how lucky I am to have her ;)).
 
Between this and the XMas dinner thread I'm freakin' starving! Knock it off will ya?

Just kiddin boys and some great stories of eating off the land here and some great perspectives on hunting philosophies. When I was a kid growing up in Mass my dad would take my brother and I up to the Allagash Wilderness in Maine and we'd eat off the land and canoe all day to the next rugged campsite. We'd be out in the middle of nowhere for a week or two and it was incredible.

I will admit though, as soon as we emerged back into civilization we'd head straight for a McDonalds!
 
Then an "old timer" explained how the meat remained far more moist and tasty when the head is left intact.

Any explanation as to why the head being intact would hold moisture in? I forgot to mention when we do the tin foil thing we usually put several tablespoons of butter in with the lemon and spices. It of course melts it's way through the fish but the fish just sits and bastes in the butter and juice. Moist hasn't been a problem but I'm not against trying something that has a benefit.

My kids wouldn't eat trout for years unless I would de-bone the fish before they saw the skeleton. It wasn't so much the bones in the teeth thing. The skeleton just freaked them out. :D Their over that now days.

This thread has made me hanker for a good trout. My father in law ice fishes frequently. It's about time I hit him up for the catch.
 
Yeah, the "shoulder" of meat is no longer exposed to direct heat. Obviously no noticeable impact on the rest of the fish heading towards the tail. YMMV, but it made a noticeable improvement to that thickest part of the fish for me.

Butter basting, mmmmm... I'm sure as the butter liquifies it aids in the steaming. Plus the combination of butter and lemon is just wonderful. My Grandmother always served lobster w/drawn butter along with lemon wedges. Wonderful childhood memory that one. :)

Funny, my F-i-L was responsible for getting me up to CO and introducing me to trout fishing. He also gave me my first fly rod, a Browning Silaflex (probably mid to late 60s). They (my Wife's family) went to the mountains in the summer, our family spent our summers at the lake boating/water skiing.
 
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