Spring has Sprung. It is Here

It is finally here.  From one warm day to three cold and windy days in a row, this did not seem like spring.  It was eighty degrees yesterday and today it cooled but brought much needed rain and lots of it.  Spring is here.  The main evidence is the appearance of the Franklin's Gull.  The corn fields to the south of our home were covered with the Gulls.  A small black headed gull of the prairies, the bird follows the plowed fields and eats exposed worms, insects, and mice.

Whenever they come through, warm spring weather is on the way.  They are coming through Iowa on their way to the nesting grounds of the northern Great Plains.  Nesting in the extensive prairie marshes, colonies shift around annually till they find the right spot.

While they usually follow behind the tilling of the soil, the ground south of our home had been turned last fall.  The farmer practices minimum tillage, and leaves a lot of trash from the harvest on the ground to hold in the moisture.  This is then a great opportunity for insects and other creatures to make their home.   The birds walk around on the ground and forage in the minimum tilled ground and find something to eat.  The golf course lake nearby furnishes them the opportunity for wading and swimming.

In our area the gulls are just stopping to feast on the farm grounds and spend time on the lakes nearby.  Then in a couple of days, they are gone heading up to their nesting grounds into Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  In April they come through our location in Iowa and return on their way south in late September or early October. 

I have read that they are considered, "flexible colony nesters."  They shift colonies from year to year.  The nests are actually floating nests made up of cattails, rushes and grasses.  They are somewhat held in place by being attached to grass and other vegetation that is growing in the marsh. 

The gull is a monogamous bird, and they both do the nesting.  Mom and Dad build the nest and incubate the eggs for about 25 to 30 days.  Both then feed the young and there is always one of the pair present.  Remaining in the nest for about 3 weeks, the young will start swimming around.  In approximately one month, they start to fly.

The gulls stayed with us for two days and then they were gone.  We will look forward to seeing them again as they make the fall migration south.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank 

 

 

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You Shot It, Now You Have to Cook It.

You have hunted all day long and it is getting close to the end of the day when shooting time will be at an end.  This is usually when a nice prize shot takes place.  You are tired and worn out from trudging around in the hills, corn fields, and snow drifts, but you cannot pass on this one shot.  This has happened to me many times.  After harvesting the game, I have to clean it when I get home. 

Big game, deer, and elk are easy.  Just field dress them and off they go to the processor.  You may be one of those people that do it all themselves.  Congratulations to you because you probably get it done just the way you want it.  For me, it is off to the processor the next morning providing it is cold enough outside.  The one buffalo I harvested was winched onto a lowboy trailer and taken right to the processor. 


Bass Pro Shops Electric Meat Grinders by LEM Products

If you do your own processing, Lem makes a great grinder.  Click on the link or pic to price and buy from Bass Pro.

I do my own turkeys and they are easy.  Just skin them out and take the breasts, legs and thighs.  The one thing that I do insist on is vacuum sealing.  The processors in my area all do vacuum sealing.  That will keep the meat for almost two years, plus there is no freezer burn. 

All the fish I catch are fileted out and then vacuum sealed.  Right now we are eating fish we caught last summer.  They are still fresh from being vacuum sealed.  I take my sealer right with me, and if possible, seal the filets right in the fish cleaning house if they have an outlet.  Otherwise, they are iced until I get home, then vacuum sealed in my own kitchen. 

FoodSaver GameSaver Bronze Vacuum Packaging System

This is the unit I own.  Click on the link or the picture to buy from Bass Pro.

At the processor, I have my elk burger mixed with 15% pork butt.  This adds really great flavor and the tallow helps keep the burger together.  I was told the frozen pork butt would become rancid, but this has never happened.  We have had fresh tasting burgers up to a year after the animal was processed. 


Foodsaver Large 15 Vacuum Sealer Bag Material

Click on the pic or link to buy from Bass Pro.  I buy all my bags from Bass Pro.  Cheaper ones do not do as good a job.   I do not recommend spending the money on cheap bags.

This year we had the elk mixed with 15% of 70/30 Angus beef, and we can tell the difference.  Also, this animal was a little older than I usually harvest.  You have to work with the steaks and roasts a little more than a younger animal.  Totally thawing the steak or roast the first day, then marinating it for a minimum of 24 hours before cooking, works best.  I did not request the elk burger to be fine ground, and  believe the people in the processing plant ground it like beef burger.  It needs to be fine ground.  Otherwise an older animal will be a little chewy. 

There is a lot of meat here.

The buffalo harvested in South Dakota has 5% beef tallow in the burger.  We noticed that upon cooking, there is a lot of shrinkage.  You actually end up with three nice size burgers and one that is puny.  Since this was an older animal, the meat needs to be well thawed and worked with before cooking.  The flavor is excellent.  Of course, buffalo was the meat of the plains Indians. 

There is even more meat here.

As I indicated before, the turkeys I harvest are breasted out.  I give the legs and thighs to my good friend John. He really likes this part of the turkey and is a master at getting the parts cooked.  We vacuum seal each breast and if the bird is really big, we cut each breast in two parts.  Most of the time we just freeze the breast and have people over to dine on wild turkey breasts.  This is a favorite among friends.  Our preferred method of cooking is to brine the breast for at least two hours.  Then it is salted and peppered, double wrapped in tin foil, and baked in the oven for six to eight hours at 225 degrees.  This makes a really tender and moist breast of wild turkey. 



Look for my recipe book for cooking wild game on line in the future. Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck. Hank.



 

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Good fishing, good hunting and good luck.  Hank

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The Plot for Spring Turkeys

Hunting turkeys is one of the most challenging of hunts I've experienced and it is fun.  With a turkey's brain being the size of a quarter, there cannot be a thought pattern there, but they sure act like it.  It is all in their sight and hearing that makes them such a challenge.  They can see at really long distances but when you are up close, they seem to be confused and become really easy targets.  Getting them up close is the first challenge once you have found where they are running.  It is amazing how they will be right along the shoulder of the highways pecking and scratching, totally ignoring the passing traffic.   Being out in the field and seeing them at 100 yards or more changes things entirely.  When they spot you, they will run like the wind. When hunting, the first rule is to be extremely well- concealed with no movement.

flextone Si Robertson Tea Party Turkey Call and Locator Combo

Click on the link or the pic to buy from Bass Pro.  New Product

This season, another call will be added to the one that is currently used.  Reading all the magazines, the professional turkey hunters have an array of calls at their disposal.  The second item to add is to expand the decoy spread with additional hens.  I currently use the Pretty Boy-Pretty Girl combination and add a couple of hen decoys to the mix along with a jake.  I will definitely add more hens.  My friend John has a decoy with a tom mounting a hen.  He needs to throw that one away.  The attacking toms have beaten and scratched the thing to death.  He claims that when he first put it out, the toms just poured out of the woods and jumped all over the decoy.  It really made them mad and they wanted to fight the decoy.  I have had a tom circle my Pretty Boy decoy.  Trying to get my camera out to take a picture did not work, so he was promptly harvested.  I am in the eating business not the picture business, but it was neat to watch.

Carry-Lite Pretty Boy Turkey Decoy Set

This is the set up I use.  Click on the pic or link above to buy from Bass Pro.

Turkey season opens the closest Saturday to April 15th through May 31st in Nebraska.  Iowa has several seasons, but I hunt the 4th season that runs April 30th to May 18th.  I like to hunt later in the season because the toms should have all the hens bred out and will be more receptive to decoys and calls. I have access to four farms, but will probably only hunt two of them since these hold the most birds.  Hunting private ground is totally unlike hunting public lands. 

Primos Double Bull Double Wide Ground Blind

I own a Double Bull Blind

You have competition in hunting the public lands and it come from other hunters.  First, there is a whole lot of calling going on and it pays not to call too much.  If you have scouted the ground and have determined where the birds are running, on opening day be at that location and harvest a turkey as soon as possible.  It may not be the grand daddy of the flock, but you will have one and can be out of the woods.  Otherwise, I would wait until later after all the hunters have given up and the hens are all bred out.

Winchester Long Beard XR Turkey Shotshells

I shoot this shell.  Click on the link above or the pic to buy from Bass Pro.

If you are hunting private land and will be only one of a couple of hunters on the ground, you have a distinct advantage over the public lands. There is no pressure and the birds have not heard a lot of calling.  Also there is limited human access in the area. You will need to determine where they are running and position yourself in the general area.

RedHead Be The Tree Jacket Pant Suit for Men

I wear a similar suit.  Click on the link or the pic to buy from Bass Pro.

Before the season, I visit each farm and spend time in the early morning just to watch and listen to see where the birds are hanging out.  It has worked for me in the past and continues to each season.  Next is a visit with the farmer.  They see the birds constantly and can head you in the right direction.   The farmer will know where they are roosting.  Being in the general area where they roost, will provide an excellent opportunity for success.  

Hi Mountain Game Bird or Poultry Brine Mix

You will need some brine to moisturize the bird before you cook it.  Click on the link above or the pic to buy from Bass Pro.  

Good Hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank

 

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