Deer Processing 101

 November 11, 2021

Birmingham, Alabama

After watching every episode of the Netflix series "Meat Eater," I decided to begin processing my own deer meat. I bought a meat grinder from the local Bass Pro shop, high grade beef fat from the local butcher and started watching YouTube videos from prominent game processors. For my first deer, I soaked the backstrap in ice water for two days and then used the butterfly cutting technique to make nice fillet style steaks. I carefully worked my way through the front shoulders and rear hams and ground the venison into a 50/50 burger. I've made a chili and am Italian meat sauce with the burger and it couldn't taste any better! The meat had very little "game" flavor and, I think, this is mostly due to the ice bath and care used to remove all unwanted connective tissue fatty meat.

Arcole 2021

January 10-14, 2021Arcole Hunting Club
Arcole, Mississippi

Arcole Hunting Club

Mississippi Delta Zone

This hunt started out with near perfect conditions which wasn't a surprise because we've been planning this hunt since December 2019. The moon was new, the weather was cold and the deer were rutting. The first day brought sleet and rain and the following days were filled with early morning frost and endless deer activity. We spent most afternoon eating steaks and staying warm around a wood-fired stove and campfire. Our hunting group saw several rack bucks but let them all walk in hopes of that once-in-a-lifetime deer. I captured most of the deer on video including a big shooter 10 point that I decided to save for another year.

"Prime Time" written by Doug

It's 5 o'clock now, the wind has died down. The sun has said its goodbyes for it has left the blue skies. There is left but a beautiful glow with all the colors of the rainbow. It lingers long enough for you to enjoy the show. It dies away for it is the end of the day. But it's not, it's about to be the best part of a deer hunter's stay. The phone is put away for there is nothing left to say. It's just you and the deer and the hope that he'll appear. All of your senses are in tune, with your eyes enhanced by binocular zoom. Your ears listen for the sound of a hoof breaking the ground. Your eyes scan around for an unfamiliar spot of brown. It's funny how they seem to pop out of the ground. Then it appears, you can see the flickering of its ears. You look at its head looking for bone not yet shed. Your dreams are coming true for it is he that you view. You know him all too well for he is your screensaver at Shell. This is why you never give up, but a problem erupts. Your heart starts racing and your whole body begins to shake. You take off the safety and hopefully, maybe, your shot will hit its mark as the 300 barks. You didn't see him run, nor did you see him fall. There is a moment of hope but then, nope. Maybe I missed are the words that dampen your bliss. I need to go see for the wait is killing me. You try to stay cool but you take off running like a fool. He is not there and you curse the air. Please God let me find blood or a tuft of brown hair. Don't need to though, he fell further back than you know. Now you see where he lies and you break down and cry and kneel down beside the animal that died. Only a hunter understands these feelings that arise. This is your deer that you've hunted all year. Time to go drink some beer.

Grand Canyon

September 16, 2020

Grand Canyon National Park, Nevada

Mom and I have talked about taking a trip out west to visit my brother in Los Angeles for many years now and we finally bought the plane tickets and took the trip. We started in Atlanta and flew to Las Vegas. 2020 was an unpresented year for many reasons but the most impactful event was a global pandemic caused by COVID-19. Because of the quarantine restrictions, most of the traditional Vegas restaurants and shows were closed so we had to settle for watching the fountain show at the Bellagio and losing our change at the slot machines.

After a couple of days in Vegas, we rented a convertible Ford Mustang and made the drive east to Nevada. We made it to the Grand Canyon just in time for a short afternoon hike. The views were stunning and could have been used for the background of a post card. I'll cherish the time spent on this mother-son trip for a lifetime. We stayed in Flagstaff for the night and then drove west to LA to see my brother where we walked Hollywood Boulevard, met my brother's friends, spent time walking the beaches of the Pacific Ocean and shared food and drinks on a beachside patio.

Arcole 2020: The Third Time Wasn't the Charm

December 14-17, 2019 & January 3, 2020

Arcole, Mississippi

Arcole Hunting Club

There is always an optimism in deer camp at the beginning of a hunt and this was my 3rd year hunting at Arcole with David and Mark. Everyone is excited to get back into the woods and reconnect with your hunting partners from years before. Hunts are typically planned well ahead of time so that all of the major factors can be considered and optimized: a new moon is always preferable to a full moon because it's more difficult for the deer to be active at night, colder weather always incites daytime activity and the mating cycle of the local deer population. We started this hunt a little earlier in the year and most of the influencing factors were not in our favor. For most of the hunt we had a full moon and lots of nocturnal deer activity, warm weather and limited reports of rut activity. We saw a few deer but it was mostly during the middle of the day and the pigs on the property were more active during hunting hours than the deer. I caught a quick video of a big black boar one morning running through the woods but he never really stopped so I could get a shot. David continued the hunt in January when the weather was colder and the bucks were rutting and he was able to take a nice 8-point.

Trout Fishing in North Georgia

August 31, 2019
Clayton, Georgia
Tallulah River

My trout fishing trip to North Georgia started well before daylight as I met my friend, Kellan, and his dad to fly fish the Tallulah River. We researched the trout stocking schedule published by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to determine which mountain stream we would fish. We went from fishing "hole" to fishing "hole" roll casting the flies upstream of the strike zone. We caught several brown trout and a few rainbows!

Deep Sea Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

June 27, 2019
Gulf Shores, Alabama

"We need to go deep sea fishing this year." That statement marks the start for the planning phase of our annual family beach vacation. For my dad, it wouldn't be a true beach vacation without some saltwater fishing with his sons. This year we had the whole family together so dad and I were joined by Garrett, Joseph and Kala. We were shocked that some of the women wanted to go on the fishing trip and, I think it's safe to say, that may have been their last fishing trip. 

Saltwater fishing trips come in many forms - early morning bottom fishing, late afternoon trolling and overnight, deep-water adventures. On this trip. we met at the marina before dawn not knowing that we were about to have a world-class fishing experience. We started fishing under the infamous Perdido Pass for baitfish which is where most deep-sea fishing trips begin. After loading the live bait well with mullet we motored out to deeper water in search of some red snapper. 

We caught mangrove snappers and red snappers until we could barely hold our rods upright. The midday sun was our cue to begin the slow ride back to the dock. We smelled like sweat and sea salt but we had caught our limit of red snapper!

Colorado Rockies

February 22-26, 2019
Breckenridge, Colorado

It was a long-time dream to ski the Rocky Mountains while they are covered in late-season snow. This was a memorable trip for so many reason but mostly because of the lack of oxygen. I thought of myself as a resilient young man that could handle the altitude with no problems. I could barely sleep at night because I couldn't catch my breath. Most mornings started with a quick ski lesson and the afternoons ended sharing coffee or hot chocolate in a warm restaurants.

My favorite part of this adventure was riding snowmobiles at Vale Pass. The drive to the outfitter wound through narrow mountains roads covered in ice at times but getting to such a remote location was part of the experience. The snowmobile trail increased in altitude so much that the weather changed at the halfway point and it began snowing and visibility dropped so that you could barely see 20 feet in front of you. The sun came out for just a few minutes at the peak of the trail and I was able to take a quick picture.