September Dreams…
Well, this will be a quick one, because I’ve got too much going on at work today to do more.
I just booked tickets for Kat and myself back to NC for the September 11 archery deer opener! Happened to stumble onto a pretty great deal, as airline deals go, and had to jump on it. My little brother’s got me pretty stoked about the amount of activity he’s seeing around his food plots, especially since there’s a major clearing project going on not too far from his place. He said the deer are about as consistent as he’s ever seen them in there, although he wasn’t real specific about any big bucks. Hopefully he’ll get the game cams going soon and send us some eye candy.
Of course it doesn’t matter to me if it’s a buck or a doe. I’m looking to restock the venison in my freezer, and a set of horns would be an unecessary bonus.
The other kicker is, this year they’ve approved Sunday hunting (bowhunting only, on private land). If, by some chance I can’t fill a tag on the opener, I get a short chance at redemption on Sunday. I’m hoping that won’t be necessary, though, because I’d like to get Kat out to enjoy the beach or the river a little bit.
Yeah, I’m a little excited… now I’ve just got to bide my time for a month and a half!
NOTE: If you’re waiting to hear about my recent quest in search of the mythical, A-zone, blacktail buck, you’ll have to be patient.
That sounds great! And yeah, I’ve been wanting to hear about your exploits this last weekend… I actually wanted to tag along, but alas.
July 26th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
How will you transport meat from that far away? Will you process it, freeze it then pack it in a cooler or will you let it hang, have it processed then ship it?
July 26th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Now…that sounds like an awesome little trip.
July 26th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Josh, it would hardly have been worth your time. I drove almost 8 hours, round-trip, for a total of about 4 hours of hunting.
I did see pigs, including a group at about 65 yards, which, accounting for the extremely steep hillside, would have put them in range of my 60 yard pin. But that’s a real stretch for archery, especially since pigs almost never stand still. I watched them go, and would have followed, but they crossed the creek and headed toward the property line (where they always go). No way I’d have caught up.
Once again, with rifle in hand… a slam dunk. I love bowhunting, as long as I don’t need meat.
JR, when I go back to hunt in NC, I cut and vacuum pack the meat and have my brother freeze it for me. Once it’s hard-frozen, I’ll get him to overnight it. It’s not cheap, but it’s a great way to ensure it doesn’t spoil. On trips to Texas or Colorado, I generally cut and pack the meat and then load it with dry ice. That freezes it hard and fast, and it’s usually good for the duration of the flight (or drive) back to CA.
If I’m flying, by the way, I take out the dry ice before I check in. Most airlines will allow a certain amount of dry ice in a checked cooler, but you have to check in advance. In some cases, they’ll want you to pay a “hazardous material” fee. Others have rules about how much you can have. They do NOT want people flying with bagged or loose ice, which makes sense. You can freeze soda bottles full of water if you have time, and that will help keep it cold in transit as well.
Bottom line, so far I have not lost any meat on out-of-state trips, including flying fish back from Mexico. However, it can happen… it’s a risk you have to take into account when you travel to hunt or fish.
July 27th, 2010 at 6:01 am