Deer Season Starts Monday

7CardBud said:

Also tis the season for some honkers as well. With the huge take of 45 I usually just pull the breasts and give the rest to my lobster buddy to grind up for his bait bags. To much time to scald and the pluck pluck BS.
They are pretty much at nuisance levels in Southern MA.

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Seriously? I had no idea there were so many geese in MA. How many typically decoy at a time there?
Not to tell you how to do things, but my family enjoys the legs as well. It's not much more work than breasting out the bird.
Once you got the skin pulled back just run your hand along the inside of the skin front to back and down to the legs. The skin slides back pretty easy once you're going. Just run your knife along the inner thigh joint until the leg comes off and pull the leg out and away till you hit the dark part of the leg. Pull the dark part down and cut along the joint. The whole leg should come off just like store bought skinless chicken legs. Grill them, slow cook and shred them, what have you.
The rest of the bird? Yeah grind it. Haha.

They are everywhere now....I mean everywhere. It's not uncommon for a whole flock to walk across a mall parking lot not giving two shits about people or cars. A small 3-4 acre cemetery with a little pond could have 200 resident geese there. Most schools and golf courses are mobbed with them as well. The biggest challenge is getting permissions or finding them not in residential areas.
The local municipalities hand out nuisance permits on a regular basis, but all culled birds must be submitted to EP for destruction.
The culls don't take much effort since the birds are so brazen. You can sit back at 25 yards with a moderated pcp airgun and the flock won't hardly flinch as the birds start to drop.

7CardBud said:

Also tis the season for some honkers as well. With the huge take of 45 I usually just pull the breasts and give the rest to my lobster buddy to grind up for his bait bags. To much time to scald and the pluck pluck BS.
They are pretty much at nuisance levels in Southern MA.

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Like CT border southern mass? I'm about as northern mass as one can get.

Firearms season starts this Saturday. Anyone else heading into the woods?

Gro-n-again said:

Firearms season starts this Saturday. Anyone else heading into the woods?

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Firearms doesn't start here until the 15th, we like to call it "Little Vietnam" I'm surrounded by state land, and there are so many people out there, they are falling over themselves. I just have to walk out to my back 2 acres, sit for 15 minutes, and blast one since the deer know it's safer out back then wandering state land. I can go out there any time of day and spook numerous deer because they are just chilling knowing nobody is out there waiting for them.

Gro-n-again said:

Firearms season starts this Saturday. Anyone else heading into the woods?

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My deer season is over. He's in the freezer and on the table almost every night. I do still have an elk tag that's valid but I've been pretty preoccupied with waterfowl and upland birds. Maybe if it snows more in the high elevations I'll try to find an elk a little lower before my season ends.

Killaki said:

My deer season is over. He's in the freezer and on the table almost every night. I do still have an elk tag that's valid but I've been pretty preoccupied with waterfowl and upland birds. Maybe if it snows more in the high elevations I'll try to find an elk a little lower before my season ends.

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I would LOVE to fill the freezer with some Elk!!!!!!!!! I would eat Elk every day if I could. Too bad the Elk heard in MI isn't that large, and have to apply for the lottery to get a tag, and then PRAY that you can even come across one in the designated area.
There's just something about the taste of Elk that I prefer to even the most expensive beef. It's probably been 15 years since I've been out west and had some fresh Elk.
@Killaki I am jealous that you have a tag and the ability to go hunt them!!!!!!!!!
Good luck and hope you fill your freezer with a monster size Elk this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kgrim said:

I would LOVE to fill the freezer with some Elk!!!!!!!!! I would eat Elk every day if I could. Too bad the Elk heard in MI isn't that large, and have to apply for the lottery to get a tag, and then PRAY that you can even come across one in the designated area.
There's just something about the taste of Elk that I prefer to even the most expensive beef. It's probably been 15 years since I've been out west and had some fresh Elk.
@Killaki I am jealous that you have a tag and the ability to go hunt them!!!!!!!!!
Good luck and hope you fill your freezer with a monster size Elk this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Elk is definitely tasty. Hopefully if you guys can manage your herds well you can have more opportunities in the future.

Killaki said:

Elk is definitely tasty. Hopefully if you guys can manage your herds well you can have more opportunities in the future.

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Our DNR is pretty damn good IMO about managing our wildlife. They have been keeping very good tabs on our Elk herd, but there are only certain areas that they congregate to and roam. From what I understand, most if not all that win a tag in the "lottery" will take home an Elk, just wish I could do it in my back 2 acres like deer!!!!!!!!!

Snow geese are not very common around here but you wouldn't have guessed that yesterday.