Maybe it’s the fact that I now have two kids. One of those kids just turned two, and the other one has only been here for a cup of coffee. This Father’s Day has me taking stock in the past, present and future. That includes how much the outdoors, and hunting in particular, is part of that a story. I want to ensure my kids have outdoor experiences like mine. I want them to find enjoyment in the process, just like I found with my dad.
At my grandmother’s funeral, I shared with everyone how much her lunches of turkey noodle soup or corn chowder had magically kept me warm when under the snow-filled, steel gray skies of rifle season. I want my kids to know that magic. I don’t have it all mapped out, but I think I know some of the basics to potentially recreate that magic. For the Basic Hunter, there are a few simple things we can do that will go a long way to increase our success and enjoyment.
Define Success
Defining what success means to you is the first step in the Hunting Equation. As I mentioned in previous articles, the Hunting Equation is Time X Property = Opportunity. If you do not have the requisite time to spend and quality of property to hunt to consistently kill a mature buck, then your definition of success should not include consistently killing a mature buck. Plain and simple.
Despite what the comments section of social media may imply, most people don’t care how big your deer is. If someone you don’t know has negative sentiments about how big your deer is, you may want to question why they care and the quality of their life. Deer hunting is not a competition between you and other hunters. If you’re looking for a scoreboard of inches, then the life of a Basic Hunter is not for you. The first thing a Basic Hunter must give up is caring about what anyone else thinks about the deer you shoot.
I say this coming from having a large contingent of family and friends who are deer hunters. I’m not talking about good-natured ribbing or genuine excitement from those closest to you. I’m talking about the general expectation that is set by YouTube, Twitter and the Outdoor channel. I have absolutely nothing against these hunters and they are not the ones coming after other hunters. These guys and gals are so good at what they do that they get paid to do it. No one’s paying me to hunt deer. They just set an expectation that is out of reach of many hunters.
I wrote a moment ago that deer hunting is not a competition between you and other hunters, and I stand by that statement. Deer hunting is, however, absolutely a competition. It combines challenging people both physically and mentally. Your opponents are yourself and the deer, not other hunters. You should always strive to be a better hunter than you were on season ago, one month ago, and even one hunt ago. You want to be a stud at the fundamentals, not mediocre. As both your skills and your life circumstances change, then you can re-examine your definition of success.
Having realistic goals that still challenge you is what I find to be the most engaging (and thus keep me going). My definition of success is to a) fill the freezer for my family b) kill a legal buck of my desired age class and c) enjoy God’s creation. I’m not saying this has to be your definition of success. I’m saying that if, at the end of a hard-fought hunting season, I have a full freezer, a legal buck of my desired age class, and experiences out in God’s creation, then I consider the season a success.
Notice I am not defining for everyone the age class of the bucks I am generally after. Beyond telling you they are legal bucks and not only those bucks that generally considered mature (4+) years, I am specifically not going to tell anyone what is my desired age class of bucks. This is intentional for two reasons. First, the whole point of being a Basic Hunter is that I am not prioritizing antler score or age class. Second, I go off of the rule of adrenaline when I see a buck walking my way. Would I be happy to wrap my hands around that buck? Assuming he’s legal, I’m sending an arrow his way. If not, he walks.
That’s my first challenge to you if you haven’t really taken the time to think this through. What makes you tick? In what situation would you look back on a situation and say ‘that was a good year’. Pulling venison burger out of the freezer in July for the smoker when I know that the only two sets of hands that have touched this meal are mine and God’s, that is a compounding way that I get to enjoy the success of my harvest.
If all I did was chase mature bucks, I would be doing a lot more shaking of my head at the price of meat in the grocery store instead of enjoying the smell of my cooking venison. So, look ahead to next year and truly ask yourself, if I had X, would I consider that a success?
After the Kill
You may have noticed that I use the word ‘kill’ much more than I use the word ‘harvest’ when it comes to referring to deer hunting. I do that intentionally, but not as a political statement to own the libs or anything like that. It’s a reminder to me about what I’m actually doing. I’m taking a life of an animal.
What non-hunters have a hard time understanding is that by killing, I have an infinite amount of respect for the deer. Much more so than if I were to hit a deer with my car before getting mad and driving to the auto body shop. There is a visceral, spiritual experience that occurs somewhere in what is left in my hunter-gatherer brain.
This is partly why I have enjoyed the process of, well, processing a deer myself. I was lucky enough to have a friend show me how to butcher a deer and I cherish this step. Standing around your accomplishment as you have a cold beverage with friends and loved ones is an experience every hunter should have. Reliving the hunt, discussing the features of the deer, all of it. The work that goes into actually butchering the deer makes it taste that much better. I always have a fresh tenderloin for a meal after a kill, because it’s not too often that you can have a piece of red meat for dinner that was running around the woods a day or two ago.
This is not to say you have to butcher your own deer; far from it. I’ve taken deer to be processed before, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that practice. I’m just saying for me, it adds to the enjoyment of my success.
Enjoying the Feast
A few years back I really dove into the different ways you can prepare venison (much to the chagrin of my wife’s tastebuds). I will say that butchering a deer yourself opens up the possibilities of the grill or kitchen as you understand where cuts of meat actually come from and more importantly, what the muscle’s job was before it got to your plate.
Burger is the cornerstone of your venison lineup. It’s the one who shows up, game after game, and just delivers. You can do so many different things with burger, from casseroles to smoked meatloaf to tacos to Asian dishes to the all-American classic on the grill. Up there with burger is sausage. Again, I’m fortunate to have a friend who has a commercial grinder that we use to make up burger, sausage, and all kinds of good stuff. You can find a decent grinder at most sporting goods or kitchen stores. I actually found a small grinder for quick jobs that hooks up to our KitchenAid mixer. I wouldn’t recommend doing a whole deer in it like I did, but if you’re in a bind this is a good option.
While the ground stuff is the cornerstone, the centerpiece is the backstrap. The closest thing you will come to filet mignon on a deer, backstrap is as tender as it gets. You have to be careful with backstrap (and really all venison) as there is not nearly as much fat on venison as there is on beef. That’s why I like to wrap my backstrap in good bacon to help keep it moist while cooking. I’ve tried smoking it, grilling it, reverse searing it, and I have yet to find a way to screw it up.
One of the most underrated venison meals are the slow-cooked variety. These include things like roasts and osso bucco. Osso bucco is quickly becoming one of my favorite (and luckily my family’s favorite) venison meals. It takes what might be the least desirable cuts of meat (the shank) and turns it into a homestyle feast. The key with any cut of muscle that had a particularly vigorous job (such as the shank or various roasts) is low and slow. Crock pots, Dutch ovens, you name. Anything to keep the meat tender and moist as it breaks down the chewy sinew. I’ll share different recipes and failures in future articles.
Solitude in Nature
One of the highlights of hunting for me is just celebrating God’s creation. There aren’t many other times when we can just sit in the relative silence of the woods and just think. As a man and really as a human being, I cherish these times. I can think and pray about serious things. I can let my thoughts run uninterrupted. I can appreciate life, both my own and the show that nature puts on for someone hanging in a tree at dawn or dusk.
Part of being out in nature is the physical element you must overcome. That’s why physical fitness is definitely a consideration even a Basic Hunter needs to take into account. I’m not saying you need to go start trail running marathons, but there is a distinct advantage to not being completely out of breath after climbing up a hill. If you think I’m kidding, do a quick internet search of how many hunters have heart attacks while out in the woods each year.
I am not a fitness guru by any means. I did, however, compete in collegiate athletics for four years, so I know a couple of things about that #squatlifeee. The biggest thing I know is that a Basic Hunter needs functional strength. Functional strength means you can do every movement required of you such as hiking ridges, climbing trees, crossing rivers, shooting, and hauling a deer out of the woods, without wondering if your hamstring or heartstring is going to pop.
The most foundational thing to functional strength? It’s not strength. It’s not even cardio. It’s flexibility. The amount of weird angles you will need to put your arms, legs, and torso into while out in nature is ridiculous. Nature, unlike civilization, is not full of right angles. So get a stretch band, go to a yoga class, or simply (try to) touch your toes standing up. From there, I find a simple routine of jogging a few times per week, medium weight kettlebell Olympic workouts, and body weight workouts such as pushups, pull-ups and sit ups will adequately prepare you for the woods.
One last thing about the woods – ticks. No one likes them. I don’t know why God created them. Lyme’s disease is not something you want to have. Stop and take thirty seconds to check for these pinhead-sized cretans when you’re out in the woods. Wash or hang your clothes when you’re done. This is such a problem that I’ll write more about ticks in a future article.
Family and Friends
There are few experiences that cause as strong of a bond as hunting with other people. If I meet someone and discover they too are a hunter, there is an instant bond in which stories are told and phones come out to share harvest pictures. I had the incredible fortune of growing up in a family of hunters with access to hunting land. Deer season was when I spent the most uninterrupted time with my dad. I’d strategize with my dad, uncles, cousins and grandfather. My grandmother was always ready with a hot meal and encouraging word when we’d return home. This time was formative to cultivating my hunting passion, and I am forever grateful. When I met my wife in college, I was elated to discover that she too was a deer hunter. Talk about a sign from God!
Speaking of my wife, one skill I’ve found to be completely underrated is to appropriately manage expectations of you and everyone around you. The first few sections of this article focused on managing your own expectations but now we will move into managing the expectations of others. You can successfully do this by following this one rule: underpromise and overdeliver.
You’ve probably heard this before, and it works in two different ways with family. The first is if your family is not going to be a major part of your hunting activity. I’m assuming that since you are learning about being a Basic Hunter, you’ve probably got a lot on your plate. You have to maximize your opportunities, and I can’t think of a quicker way to ruin a hunt than by worrying about how little time you have in the woods.
Trying to push the hunt to the last possible minute because I said I’d be home by 7 for dinner when last shooting light is 6:45 ruins the experience. Since my wife expected me to be home by 7 and I rolled in at 7:15, now I’m late (and most likely in trouble). Do that enough times, it becomes a pattern. This is due to the fact that I wanted to sound good to my spouse when first discussing our plans, but in reality I had overpromised and underdelivered. I’d broken trust, albeit it in a relatively small way.
As I’ve learned the hard way, a better way to approach this situation is that if I think I’ll be home by 7, I should say I’ll be home at 7:30. This way, when I roll in at 7:15, I have not only kept my word but exceeded my word. If I’m not sure that I’m going to have the right conditions to hunt Saturday morning, I tell my spouse I plan to hunt Saturday morning. If I actually go, then the expectations have already been set. If I don’t, I have exceeded expectations again. This isn’t about being dishonest, it’s about being honest with myself and others about what you can realistically commit to.
The second way this concept works is if your family or friends are going to be part of your hunting activity. You know what you never, ever want to promise someone who’s new to hunting? A good hunt. You can’t even promise yourself a good hunt, so why in the world would you promise someone else a good hunt?
Setting the expectations of why you think this is a good spot and educating them while finding ways to have fun is the way to go. In these cases, just spending time with someone you care about is reward enough. A good hunt is icing on the cake. If you keep promising a ‘good hunt’ to someone and you keep missing the mark, eventually they will not want to go out anymore. This is a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and I pray that you don’t make the same mistake.
In summary, I think my point in all of these ramblings is to go have experiences outside together. As a father, I just need to start with getting my family into that environment and see what happens. There are a few guideposts to help me along the way that I’ve outlined in this article, but really it’s about being involved in all of the steps of the process. There will be problems to overcome, and we’ll overcome them together. There will be triumphs to celebrate, and we’ll celebrate them together. There will be lessons to learn, and we’ll learn them together. Attaching as many strong emotions, both positive and negative, as we can to something…I think that’s my plan to recreate the magic.