Mentor

[greg t]

my timing is absolutely horrible as me and my wife are expecting our first child in august, BUT i am looking for someone who can serve as a hunting mentor.

a little background ... my dad had a major stroke when i was only a year old, so he didn't have the mobility or speech required to pass on what he knew. nevertheless, i spent quite a bit of time in the woods while i was growing up and learned as much as i could on my own.

in the fall of 1997, i was all set to take to the forest of west virginia's eastern panhandle. i had no clue what i was doing or even where to do it, but i was intent on doing something that resembled hunting. i scouted around a few times a week for about a month or so, but in october, i took an opportunity to ship out early to boot camp.

ever since, the marine corps has kept me too busy (and my pride has gotten in the way a couple times), and i'm finally at a place where i think i can take the time to learn what i think i need to learn.

if anyone in the southeastern part of the state thinks they can help, i would greatly appreciate it!

-greg t

 

[Request Dust Off]

What kind of hunting? I used to hunt alot & haven't hunted in years. One thing is don't take anyone's word on rules & reg's. Find out from the source - LAWF. A few of my hunting stories involve going with people who had permision to be where we were. I got careful about who I was dealing with pretty quickly. Same for being on boats. Drowning or hypothermia is more scary than trespassing.
I prefer shooting to hunting. People often get into hunting because they like shooting then eventually realize they could do without the hunting. Skeet is cool cause they fly on demand & have no season unlike birds.
You might be able to join a club or lease. Also paid hunts might be good if you can verify the guide service. I skipped a paid hunt this past Thanksgiving that was a fiasco in every way.
Varmint control is sometimes an option.
Being around for your wife at that point will probably serve you better though.
Later,
RDO

 

[spanky]

i've been hunting a decent bit at the red river WMA and also at a camp my in-laws have. all i can tell you is that it's expensive, cold and ADD sucks when you're 20 feet up a tree.

oh, and i've seen one deer in my few years. maybe the ADD has something to do with it, though.

 

[Manimal]

ADD sucks when you're 20 feet up a tree.

oh, and i've seen one deer in my few years. maybe the ADD has something to do with it, though.

Tell me about it, and here I am trying to pick up bow hunting.

I'm already the worlds worst fisherman, even though I enjoy it.

 

[Request Dust Off]

. . . "all i can tell you is that it's expensive" . . .

Every so often my brother figures that deer meat increases by about $20 bucks a pound $180 to $200 to $220 and so on.

I was a hunter when I was younger. As in daily. We would hunt pretty hard too. At one point a friend & I would go deer hunt before school. I had a 1968 chevy van that was the hunting vehicle. I would clean small game on the way home in the back. it was also the grass cutting vehicle, M/C vehicle, etc. It was fairly "red-neck" looking back on it.

Now I'm not too interested. At 1 point I just got tired of killing animals. Maybe I'll try it again in the next few years. Its just too easy to shoot paper & stop at a grocery store.

 

[greg t]

I mainly would like to hunt deer, and I will probably end up just trudging around Pearl River sporadically over the summer and through the fall before the season opens.

I've been combing the WLF site and have a decent grasp on the regulations, but I'm also planning on taking the hunters safety course in September.

RDO, I realize being there for my wife and newborn son will be foremost in my mind - my wife will tell you my timing is pretty horrible MOST of the time

Here's my bottom line ... I want to be able to teach my son all about the outdoors; I want him to experience camping, hiking, fishing, and yes, hunting. It's just one of those things I think I should be able to teach him.

 

[Nick]

wear cammo, grab a shotgun and hit the woods this weekend through the 25th for late spring squirrel season (at select WMA's, I know Sherburne for sure). It's fairly straight forward, you walk in the woods, look for tree rats and take them out. every once in a while stop walking look around, keep quiet and you'll find them

 

[greg t]

I guess the biggest thing I would need help with is after killing a deer. I've read, seen and heard numerous ways of field dressing, and there are just about as many opinions on whether or not you should try butchering it yourself. I have a feeling my first attempt at field dressing will be a veritable "hack job" ...

 

[CajunTim]

If the deer are huge unlike most in SELA and you are having trouble moving it gut his ass and leave it for the yotes and such, then get him out the woods. Skin his ass, quater him so you can get him in an ice chest and drop him off at the butchers.

 

[greg t]

If the deer are huge unlike most in SELA and you are having trouble moving it gut his ass and leave it for the yotes and such, then get him out the woods. Skin his ass, quater him so you can get him in an ice chest and drop him off at the butchers.

see, that's part of what i'd like a mentor for ... i can read about, see pictures of, and watch videos on gutting/field dressing deer, but that doesn't come anywhere near having someone there who knows what they're doing and can talk you through it. hell, even if i field dressed it, i have no clue where to take it to get butchered ... do they even have butchers around here (honest question)?

 

[Request Dust Off]

. . . "i have no clue where to take it to get butchered ... do they even have butchers around here (honest question)?"

I'll get you Names/Numbers.
PM me if too much time elapses

 

[greg t]

I'll get you Names/Numbers.
PM me if too much time elapses

'preciate it

 

[Bearco]

I was taught something very useful this past year. Always cut from the inside of the skin outward. This keeps you from cutting through the hair, which keeps the hair from going all over your meat. If you are not comfortable quartering up your deer, you can just skin it, gut it, cut off feet, and the butcher can do the rest.
Always gut it and get it on ice as quick as possible if temperatures are not below freezing. All meat should be covered in ice when in the icechest.
Never leave a deer hanging unless it is below freezing (you would be surprised how many people think it is ok to leave a deer hanging outside with the temp. nearing 60 degrees.

I am not sure of the NOLA area you are in. If you are close to Covington, I use Service Meats on Lee Rd. (I personally believe he has the best green onion sausage)

Service Meats
79083 Highway 40
Covington, LA 70435
(985) 893-7202

Also many folks around here also use
Double D Meat
11518 Highway 21
Bogalusa, LA 70427
(985) 735-6581

Slidell residents rave about
Armond Meats
2230 Gause Blvd E
Slidell, LA 70461
(985) 649-3666

I used to hunt Pearl River WMA for years. Make sure you follow every rule to the T. They can be very strict. Game Wardens often check persons and cars for anything illegal (wrong kind of bullets, like having buckshot when rifle season for deer is not open). I have not hunted there in a few years, but people used to crowd it on weekends. We used to shoot lots of hogs here. I have seen some nice deer when the season was not open for them.

 

[greg t]

I was taught something very useful this past year. Always cut from the inside of the skin outward. This keeps you from cutting through the hair, which keeps the hair from going all over your meat. If you are not comfortable quartering up your deer, you can just skin it, gut it, cut off feet, and the butcher can do the rest.
Always gut it and get it on ice as quick as possible if temperatures are not below freezing. All meat should be covered in ice when in the icechest.
Never leave a deer hanging unless it is below freezing (you would be surprised how many people think it is ok to leave a deer hanging outside with the temp. nearing 60 degrees.

I am not sure of the NOLA area you are in. If you are close to Covington, I use Service Meats on Lee Rd. (I personally believe he has the best green onion sausage)

Service Meats
79083 Highway 40
Covington, LA 70435
(985) 893-7202

Also many folks around here also use
Double D Meat
11518 Highway 21
Bogalusa, LA 70427
(985) 735-6581

Slidell residents rave about
Armond Meats
2230 Gause Blvd E
Slidell, LA 70461
(985) 649-3666

I used to hunt Pearl River WMA for years. Make sure you follow every rule to the T. They can be very strict. Game Wardens often check persons and cars for anything illegal (wrong kind of bullets, like having buckshot when rifle season for deer is not open). I have not hunted there in a few years, but people used to crowd it on weekends. We used to shoot lots of hogs here. I have seen some nice deer when the season was not open for them.

thank you very much for the tips and especially the meat processor leads

 

[CajunTim]

I like Double DDs in more ways than one

And cutting from the inside out will save the blade on your knife as well.

 

[George]

some of the best sleep ive had was in a tree stand!

 

[Bearco]

<----- Bad ADHD, I bring a book with me (Allows me to stay out there most of the day), read a few lines, look around, read a few more. I usually take a few deer/year.

 

[CrkdLtr]

You sound like me Greg. I grew up a marksman shooting pellet rifels and archery at targets but have yet to actually go out and hunt/kill any live animals. Hopefully that changes this year.

 

[greg t]

You sound like me Greg. I grew up a marksman shooting pellet rifels and archery at targets but have yet to actually go out and hunt/kill any live animals. Hopefully that changes this year.

That's exactly it!

 

[ReilleysMom32]

Gutting a deer is not that bad. The ones I used to shoot were between 130-180 lbs and the easiest thing to do was to gut them and then drag them out to the truck. Or, in this case, use the boat to get home, lol. Just grab them by the base of one of the horns and start pulling. Or, if it's a doe, make sure you have a rope, tie it around one of the front legs along with the head, and make a loop so you can pull easier.

But yes, definitely cutting up the mid-line, knife out, and through the zyphoid process (it's that bone at the end of the rib cage) gives you the best access to get the heart and lungs out. Also, keeps the hair out, no worries about accidentally slicing the stomach or the intestines, which would be bad.

When I was hunting pheasant all the time, we'd get them home and I'd have 7-8 birds gutted and breasted out in less than 15 mins. You get quicker at it as you get more practice. Deer season ran from bow, which was October to December, then shotgun was one week in December, then permits for January-February for both. Between my dad and I, we usually got between 6-9 per year.