seeth07
Well-known member
Yes no doubt. Not exactly a raghorn although he don't have any length. I told my wife any "dark horned unbroken bull" would do. The younger bulls had pure white horns
Seeth and his better half's 2023 outdoor adventures
- Thread starter seeth07
- Start date
Bluffgruff
Well-known member
How's the experience marinating? Y'all really pushed yourselves there at the end! Glad we were able to get that beer. Hope we can do it again sometime!
Congratulations on one hell of a hunt and nice animal!
Congratulations on one hell of a hunt and nice animal!
Pahoundsman
Well-known member
I always look forward to reading your hunt recaps. They are always well written and the pictures are great. Congratulations on your bull and your wife’s buck. I’m looking forward to your next adventure,keep’em coming.
seeth07
Well-known member
It will likely be a mellow fall the rest of the way. Argentina and this trip really ate a lot of vacation time so it will be a lot of hunting at the homestead until Christmas. Then if all goes well, we should be heading back to NM for some fun waterfowl hunting for a week. Our dog is due to go into heat soon and her expected date may prevent that trip as her puppies would be due while on it which isn't going to work.
seeth07
Well-known member
You know it's funny you ask because last night I asked my wife about heading back in the future. While taking down one of the final loads I asked her very well knowing I was going to get a stink eye and a hell no which I did. Last night I got a real answer. She pointed out that although it was physically and mentally a tough trip, she admitted that it is some of the coolest country we have ever been in and the action (amount of animals seen) was so much that there was never a moment of boredom. So yes, it has marinated and we are already ready to go back
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Bluffgruff
Well-known member
That was quick, haha. It took 6 months each to get over my first 2 Alaska hunts, and I may never recover enough from this one to want to go back. I'm pretty sure Afognak and I have said our goodbyes.
seeth07
Well-known member
I wish I would have taken photos of this process because so far I'm pretty amazed at how it is going but this year with all this meat we decided to do something with the fatty scraps rather than just toss them in the woods.
We started with 460# +/- 5# of packaged meat that we brought home. While trimming steaks and preparing the meat for grinding by removing the gristle and tallow, I told the crew helping over the entire weekend (same two helping with the hunt while my wife got lucky to be working both days) that I was ok with them being generous and leaving meat in the scrap pile. I was going to reduce it all down and make some dog food out of it.
After getting all of the meat finally processed and into the freezer last night, the result was I had 53# of scraps. Both the deer and elk did have near an inch of fat on the back hams and we did not remove much of this fat in the field - some but not all. This certainly contributed to the high amount of weight in this scrap pile but there certainly was a good portion of it that was meat as well.
Starting Saturday, we were taking the scraps and after weighing them, tossing them in a pot of boiling water. It has been boiling ever since and twice a day, I pour the water out into a bucket and add more. The water/fat cools, fat is on the top and a large disk of pure lard remains that I can pull out of the bucket and weigh. I have 5 disks of lard, some as thick as 5", for a total weight of 14#. The empty pot of meat leftover right now after the drain this morning was down to 36#. There still is quite a bit of fat to reduce out it appears but my lard discs are getting smaller every time.
I'm curious to see at what point the fat will no longer render out. I wonder how much of that 53# of scrap will turn into pure lard and how much of the "meat mixture" I'll have left. I'm going to add equal parts carrots and rice to it for packaging and freezing dog food.
We started with 460# +/- 5# of packaged meat that we brought home. While trimming steaks and preparing the meat for grinding by removing the gristle and tallow, I told the crew helping over the entire weekend (same two helping with the hunt while my wife got lucky to be working both days) that I was ok with them being generous and leaving meat in the scrap pile. I was going to reduce it all down and make some dog food out of it.
After getting all of the meat finally processed and into the freezer last night, the result was I had 53# of scraps. Both the deer and elk did have near an inch of fat on the back hams and we did not remove much of this fat in the field - some but not all. This certainly contributed to the high amount of weight in this scrap pile but there certainly was a good portion of it that was meat as well.
Starting Saturday, we were taking the scraps and after weighing them, tossing them in a pot of boiling water. It has been boiling ever since and twice a day, I pour the water out into a bucket and add more. The water/fat cools, fat is on the top and a large disk of pure lard remains that I can pull out of the bucket and weigh. I have 5 disks of lard, some as thick as 5", for a total weight of 14#. The empty pot of meat leftover right now after the drain this morning was down to 36#. There still is quite a bit of fat to reduce out it appears but my lard discs are getting smaller every time.
I'm curious to see at what point the fat will no longer render out. I wonder how much of that 53# of scrap will turn into pure lard and how much of the "meat mixture" I'll have left. I'm going to add equal parts carrots and rice to it for packaging and freezing dog food.
TheBenHoyle
Well-known member
This is such a cool idea.
seeth07
Well-known member
31# left after the drain tonight. Probably will cook through tomorrow and then just quit. It's getting old draining twice each day lol
seeth07
Well-known member
My buddy did not have a tag, was just along to help. My wife's stepdad did not fill his deer tag. He saw little bucks but nothing big that he was in range of. There was two good bucks fighting at 600 yards and he wasn't able to relocate them once he got in range.
npaden
Well-known member
Congratulations! Sounds like an amazing adventure and all your homework really paid off. Seems like a decent weather window based on what some have experienced there in the past. Glad that you didn't have any run ins with bears.
seeth07
Well-known member
Down to 28 pounds and calling it good. So apparently it was roughly half fat, half meat.
Making 36 cups of rice and 10# of carrots to mix it all together tomorrow! Should make a boat load of dog food for like 15 bucks
Making 36 cups of rice and 10# of carrots to mix it all together tomorrow! Should make a boat load of dog food for like 15 bucks
BAKPAKR
Well-known member
Your dog(s) will be eating well.
Addicting
Well-known member
Congrats on a very successful trip. Thanks for taking us along.
seeth07
Well-known member
Waterfowl hunting so far has been an absolute bust around my area due to an extreme drought we are in. Almost all my typical marsh/river/potholes are either dry or too dry to hold ducks.
So this last week I started doing some serious scouting. 100s of miles on the truck and many hours glassing mostly bigger lakes. The results weren't great but I did find a big shallow lake with a few rafts of ducks. I've always been interested in hunting this lake before but it's known as a place for the big rich folks hunting club. There are dozens of hunt clubs on it as its marsh all around this big lake. I've heard so many stories and arguments and bad behavior that I've just stayed away.
This morning I was going to go anyways and rather than put the boat on the edge of the marsh, I decided to open water hunt instead (and it turns out right in front of 3 of those fancy heated blinds loaded with hunters!).
Couldn't be happier to shoot a few birds before they could make it to the blinds
they only got a few shots combined. At the launch the one old guy was coming in and actually congratulated me and said good for me to put in all that effort to paddle out there into the best spot.
So this last week I started doing some serious scouting. 100s of miles on the truck and many hours glassing mostly bigger lakes. The results weren't great but I did find a big shallow lake with a few rafts of ducks. I've always been interested in hunting this lake before but it's known as a place for the big rich folks hunting club. There are dozens of hunt clubs on it as its marsh all around this big lake. I've heard so many stories and arguments and bad behavior that I've just stayed away.
This morning I was going to go anyways and rather than put the boat on the edge of the marsh, I decided to open water hunt instead (and it turns out right in front of 3 of those fancy heated blinds loaded with hunters!).
Couldn't be happier to shoot a few birds before they could make it to the blinds
they only got a few shots combined. At the launch the one old guy was coming in and actually congratulated me and said good for me to put in all that effort to paddle out there into the best spot.
seeth07
Well-known member
Morning ducks and evening bucks. Life of a spoiled hunter.
seeth07
Well-known member
seeth07
Well-known member
Mallardsx2
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2015
- Messages
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Waterfowl hunting so far has been an absolute bust around my area due to an extreme drought we are in. Almost all my typical marsh/river/potholes are either dry or too dry to hold ducks.
So this last week I started doing some serious scouting. 100s of miles on the truck and many hours glassing mostly bigger lakes. The results weren't great but I did find a big shallow lake with a few rafts of ducks. I've always been interested in hunting this lake before but it's known as a place for the big rich folks hunting club. There are dozens of hunt clubs on it as its marsh all around this big lake. I've heard so many stories and arguments and bad behavior that I've just stayed away.
This morning I was going to go anyways and rather than put the boat on the edge of the marsh, I decided to open water hunt instead (and it turns out right in front of 3 of those fancy heated blinds loaded with hunters!).
Couldn't be happier to shoot a few birds before they could make it to the blinds
View attachment 299305
View attachment 299306
Is that a Carlston's puddle duck boat? I used to have one like that.
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