This year has been the best for hunting the pre rut that we’ve seen in several years! Hunters in a wide range of states (Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and more) have shared how they are seeing more deer than previous during the pre rut.
This most likely will change in a matter of days. Bucks don’t need to move much during the peak of the rut. This is when the highest percentage of does are receptive and bucks don’t have to travel far to pair up with a doe. Once with a receptive doe bucks often tend her for 24-36 hours. Often, neither the buck nor doe will travel far during this time.
Southpaw, a 6 year old buck, is on our hit list.
During the chase phase of the rut bucks aren’t following a food/cover pattern. They are moving throughout their home range in areas they believe they have the best chance of finding a receptive doe.
Hunting stands that were placed overlooking scrapes will not be my first choice at this time. Why? Because bucks or does rarely use scrapes during the peak of the rut.
Bucks and does tend to abandon most scrapes during the chase phase of the rut. It seems bucks don’t wish to spend energy checking and/or maintaining scrapes when checking the wind often yields much better results of finding a receptive doe.
During the rut bucks will focus primarily on checking scrapes that are in a travel path between areas they will be seeking does. If I find scrapes that are maintained during the chase phase of the rut that can be a key stand location!
It is important to think about how bucks will be traveling during the rut. Research has shown that bucks will be up and on their feet, moving up to 4X more than the “normal” distance. This is the time to hunt bottlenecks, pinch points and travel corridors.
As always, there’s usually more deer activity just before and after a strong cold front so I’m always watching the weather forecast!
10 flour tortillas
2 cups cooked, cubed venison loin
2 cups cooked white rice
Jar of red sauce (spicy marinara, salsa, etc.)
2 cups shredded cheese
Toppings:
Lettuce
MORE shredded cheese
Olives
tomatoes
Directions:
Put venison and rice in tortilla.
Roll and place in greased pan.
Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Top with red sauce and shredded cheese.
Cook an additional 10 minutes.
Serve with toppings.
Watch as Pro Staffer Daniel Stefanoff self films his hunt where an incredible Oklahoma buck hits the red dirt! Grant and Daniel punch tags and have to make a tough decision from the stand. Plus, the deer were moving during Missouri’s youth season and we captured some incredible pre-rut buck behavior on video!
Venison loin
Basic brine
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tablespoon canola oil
Dried rosemary, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Basic Brine Ingredients:
3 cups water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Basic Brine Directions:
Heat 3 cups water (I do this for a couple minutes in the microwave).
Dissolve salt, sugar, garlic powder and ground pepper in water.
Directions:
Place venison loin in basic brine/marinade.
Refrigerate for 8 hours.
Prepare roasting pan with raised rack by spraying with cooking oil spray for easy clean-up.
Put loin on rack.
Sauté onions and garlic in canola oil until onions are soft.
Sprinkle loin with dried rosemary and freshly ground pepper.
Top loin with sautéed onions and garlic.
Bake at 375 until done (medium is about 140 degrees internal temperature and took my loin about 45 minutes).
This post was originally shared on the GrowingDeer Facebook page. Click this link to read the original post and comments.
One of my favorite pieces of venison to cook is the backstrap (or loin). This is the piece of meat that hunters crave. It’s one of the most tender cuts. If you’ve had it and not really enjoyed it, chances are that when it was butchered the silvery, connective tissue that surrounds that cut was not removed. If the meat was wrapped in butcher paper some folks leave the silvery sheath on the meat until thawing. This is said to help protect the meat from possible freezer burn. Once the meat thaws (or is partially thawed) remove as much as that silvery sheath as possible. We vacuum package our venison and that sheath is removed before freezing.
Grant shows how to remove the loin in this video.
The backstrap is great on the grill. The simplest way to grill it is to marinade it (find my favorite venison marinade recipe here) and grill over low heat. Some folks like their backstrap rare, while others like it well done. The bonus of the back strap is that it lends itself to all tastes as the thin “ends” will be well done while the thicker middle is medium rare to rare. Some chefs recommend cooking quickly over high heat and only serving grilled venison rare. However, rare just isn’t to everyone’s taste. For our family, low and slow on the grill works to keep everyone happy with the meat that goes on their plate.
A tip from a friend that is a “grill master” is to take the meat off the grill a couple of minutes before it reaches the degree of doneness desired and let it rest, wrapped in foil on a platter for 5 to 15 minutes before cutting. If you want to serve a fancier loin try Bacon Wrapped Backstrap!
I’ve never used a dry rub as a marinade but understand they can be good for tenderizing and adding flavor. I cook most everything as low sodium as possible. Most dry rub recipes rely on salt as the tenderizer. That’s the same reason I don’t brine any of our wild game. It works well but that sodium (salt) is not worth it when there are other methods available.
I would love to hear your favorite ways to cook venison. Let us know by posting your comments to this post on our social media.
Leftover cooked venison loin, cubed
3 15 oz. cans beans (great northern and red chili beans)
3 15 oz. cans diced, seasoned tomatoes
3 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
Chili seasoning (a packet or make your own, below)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients into slow cooker.
Simmer on low for 6 hours or longer.
Serve with toppings of your choice.
Chili Seasoning Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 ½ tablespoons cumin
4 tsp. onion powder
4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. g. powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 ½ tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper
Pinch cinnamon
This post was originally shared on the GrowingDeer Facebook page. Click this link to read the original post and comments.
Guess who is tagged out in Kansas? Lindsey Martin, that’s who! She and Heath recently laid down over 400 lbs of deer when hunting a cold front in Kansas. Watch their hunts plus see three generations of Woods try to fill the freezer at The Proving Grounds!
Like the rest of the GrowingDeer Team, I really enjoy hunting with my kids. The hunting memories that are at the top of my list are those where I watched my daughters take their first deer and turkeys as young girls.
With hunter numbers declining, it’s important to pass along the tradition and recruit new hunters. Hunting is a tradition and pastime that not only boosts the economy but also connects people to their roots. I suspect that many kids might not get to go hunting it if wasn’t for youth season because their mentor would be too busy hunting and would not be focused on taking them hunting.
We always put a lot of work into scouting for youth season. We want the hunt to be enjoyable. If a youth hunt is enjoyable, regardless of a harvest, I consider it a success. The goal is to pass on the tradition of the hunt, a kill is secondary.
By the time youth season starts, we have always made sure both our girls shot a lot of rounds from the bench and hunting positions. They have always been prepared by knowing their weapon. They were confident in their shooting skills and ready to have some fun (watch Rae’s hunt from 2009 here).
This year is no different. Rae has already been hunting with the crossbow while practicing with her Prime Centergy Air. She’s practiced with her rifle. After practice this week she returned proudly showing off her targets. Rae was shooting so well that she cut the same hole on the target! If you followed her season last year (watch Rae’s 2017 hunt here) you will understand why the practice this year is necessary to build her confidence!
My advice for success if you’re taking new or youth shooters out to practice, make sure you’ve got the appropriate safety equipment and what I call “comfort equipment.” I use a Lead Sled to take all the recoil out of the rifle. This way they can concentrate on shooting and having fun with no worries about the kick of a deer rifle.
I hope that this year you invest in the future of hunting. Take time to make it fun. Get some shooting practice in. Put some time into scouting. Pass on the tradition and give thanks to the Creator who made it all possible.
Watch as Daniel gets behind the Prime and lets three arrows fly! See how each hunt resulted with deer within range and the lessons learned after one hunt ended in disappointment.
1 pound ground venison, cooked
½ pound breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
12 eggs, beaten
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
16 oz. small-curd cottage cheese
¼ cup melted margarine
3 cups shredded co-jack cheese
½ cup chopped onion, cooked until soft
4 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
Instructions:
Grease two 9-inch round baking dishes.
Mix ground venison and breakfast sausage together evenly.
In a large bowl combine eggs, flour and baking powder together thoroughly.
Add cottage cheese, melted margarine, shredded cheese and onion to egg mixture.
Spread sliced mushrooms into bottom of one dish.
Spread ½ of meat mixture evenly into each dish.
Spread ½ of egg mixture evenly into each dish. Dishes will be very full.
Cook in 375 degree oven for 35 – 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
This recipe was inspired by the Warm You Up Sausage Quiche recipe here.
