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This Week in the Outdoors: Sausage, ducks, city deer, hunting quails
BY Luke Clayton, Special to Star Local News
Now is the time of year when many of us have an abundance of wild pork and venison in the freezer.
For many years, I've been making deer burgers and sausage at home; grinding the meat with an old fashioned hand crank grinder, which will definitely get the job done if enough horsepower is supplied.
Recently, I've been using an electric Grinder by Lem (distributed by Bass Pro Shops).
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| Luke Clayton |
Frisco Spices (friscospices.com) is a one-stop shop for anything to do with meat processing and outdoor cooking.
Curing pork at home is also very easy to do.
All that's needed is a packet of cure, a refrigerator and a method of smoking the meat. I frequently cure two- to three-pound pieces of wild pork and begin by rubbing the appropriate amount of cure into the meat and placing it in the refrigerator for seven days at a temperature between 35-39 degrees. Then, using my Smokin Tex electric smoker, I cold smoke the pieces at 130 degrees for six hours.
The result is some of the tastiest and most lean ham I've eaten. Curing meat is simple and provides another great way to transform wild pork into excellent meals.
Ducks plentiful during first split of season
Waterfowl guide Larry Large noted that duck numbers have been high on several reservoirs in North Texas.
"There were tons of ducks on Lake Cooper and Sulphur Lake during the first split of the season," Large said. "The number of early-arriving mallards, which usually are the last ducks to come down the flyway, was amazing. Many limits of mallards were reported by hunters in north Texas."
Hunters reported good shooting on gadwall, widgeon and wood ducks.
Cedar Creek Lake waterfowl guide Jason Barber reports good duck numbers during the first split with an above average number of mallards. Resident wood ducks and teal provided a bonus to the early-arriving mallards.
Biologists predict more ducks will be coming down the flyways this year than anytime in recent history.
Large says the two-week period between the first and second season is a great time to give decoys a good cleaning and brush up the blinds. I've hunted with Large many times and will share his method of making a quick, comfortable blind. Begin with a 10-foot 2x12 and two four-foot pieces of 4x4 sharpened on one end. Simply drive the posts into the ground and nail the plank on top. This makes a comfortable and sturdy seat. Drive a few stakes or T Posts in front and behind the blind and wrap with chicken or rabbit wire. Brush in with natural weeds or willows.
The ducks will never know you're there.
Hunting "city" deer
My friend, Seth Vanover, who is a police sergeant for the Longview Police department and crappie/catfish guide at Lake Fork, recently invited me to hunt deer on some great property he has access to within the city limits of Longview.
I didn't manage to arrow a buck on the short hunt, but I'm confident that I could have with more time.
Deer hunting opportunities are abound within the city limits of many towns and cities across the state, but it's important to do a bit of research.
Most towns have ordinances regulating hunting within the city limits and, in some hunting is not allowed. In many cities, hunting ordinances are designed to keep deer numbers in check. Some towns allow only bow hunting, others allow shotguns and some have provisions for rifle hunting on larger properties. It's important to check with city officials in the town you wish to hunt and make absolutely sure you are following the letter of the law.
Deer hunting in close proximity to people is a bit different.
On this recent hunt, the sounds from vehicles, barking dogs and even a marching band from a nearby school added to the more familiar deer woods sounds of falling acorns, cawing crows and hooting owls. On an afternoon and morning hunt, I observed a total of about 12 deer, several of which were within 12 yards of my bow stand. I watched them closely and they paid absolutely no attention to the sounds of civilization, but they were wired to what was around them. I accidentally scratched the bark on a tree and instantly had several deer peering into the tree.
So, if you've been looking for a spot to hunt deer close to home, you might wish to do a bit of research with the city officials and then, if legalities permit, talk to some people that own property on the outskirts of town.
In many instances, these yet-developed tracts of land are loaded with deer.
New quail-hunting operation
The Poetry Shooting Club (poetryshootingclub.com) just opened its gates to hunters last month and the new hunting operation has been well received.
Located near the community of Poetry, a few miles north of Terrell (just off Hwy 34), this new hunting operation provides an economical alternative to hunting wild quail. Walter Patton, the owner and manager, grew up shooting quail on the same land where his preserve is located.
"We're not a fancy preserve, but we do provide great shooting on flight-conditioned quail and pheasant," he said. "Wild quail are all but non existent in much of the state and hunters have to make a long drive west or up into Oklahoma to hunt wild birds; numbers are low just about everywhere. We're a great place to work your own bird dog. We're big on getting kids out to experience the thrill of walking up behind a pointer that is locked down on quail. So many kids these days have never hunted quail."
Patton says his preserve has several ponds for working retrievers as well as training fields for pointing dogs.
For more info, go to: poetryshootingclub.com or call: 214-728-2755.
Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton at: catfishradio.com. Contact Luke via the website with hunting and fishing news from your neck of the woods.
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