Muskoka Outdoors

This unique game cam photo captured the moment before (and quite possibly during) a crossbow bolt stopped a huge Renfrew County buck. The successful hunter was not only fortunate enough to harvest a great buck, but has a unique photo associated with the event.

Whether, it was the bolt or the deer that triggered the camera (had to be the deer) this kind of photo (click photo for larger view) racks up some confidence in a Spypoint Camera.

The view from the 2nd shooter: a Spypoint ir-c camera

After seeing this photo, I wondered how infared sensors worked. I ‘googled’ the topic and found several articles regarding their function. A quick scan of 2 articles I read (Article 1 and Article 2), shared that the sensors worked by being able to detect changes in temperature within the detection zone of the sensor. How that actually works was not clearly said.

It would appear that more expensive cameras tend to have better sensors. This rewards the user with less ‘mis-fires’ and an increase in detection range.

The After Shot - Allen and his Renfrew County Buck

Not very far from the lair of the Swamp King on Grandpa’s property, there is a dense cluster of nebula evergreens. I came across the elevated tree grouping on a deer drive this past rifle season. It is now flagged on my navigational charts. I marked it not because of it’s unique location nestled amongst a large section of hardwoods, but because of my ‘first contact’ experience with a Romulan Buck.

He’s the new buck in town.

Buck Photo by David McDougall

Unfortunately for me, my long range scanners needed some re-calibrating as I noisily made my way down the large hardwood hill towards the nebula. Bella, our hound of debatable ability, was ranging somewhere to the right of the unfamiliar anomaly and appeared to have no interest in its existence. To cover more ground, I thought it might be advantageous for me to explore and enter the heart of the evergreens. So, I changed my course and started moving towards the trees at approximately half impulse.

Long range sensors picked up nothing. Neither did, Bella.

Within seconds of entering the initial picket of thick tamarack branches, I heard the snap of twigs about 30 yards ahead of me. I could have reacted faster, but my hat and rifle were in the clutches of the various evergreen branches that surrounded me. In frustration, I managed to scan ahead of me (with my hat stuck in the tree behind me) and watched a thick main beam and a brown deer flank cloak into the depths of the organic nebula.

There was no time for a shot or even a look into my scope. Of course, it would have been pointless anyway. Cloaking devices always helped those pesky Romulans on TV.

The deer’s technology was so effective, that Bella barely whimpered when she scurried past his last known location. I don’t think she’s calibrated to pick-up tachyon emissions.

The thing that stands out to me is that this buck was quite content to stay bedded down in the middle of these out-of-place evergreens. He would not have moved if I had skirted around the dense ‘swath’ of land. When you do your own deer drives, make sure you find a way to enter the thick cover-even if it seems to small to be of any value.

Bring your tricorder or Starfleet Engineer.

*My reloaded blog posts are some of my favorite previous posts made current again.

One of the secrets to a great venison recipe is not found within the walls of the kitchen. In fact, it begins shortly after a clean, ethical shot in the field.

According to Wild Game Chef and Author, Georgia Pellegrini, “The key to good venison is aging it properly. Just like a good 12 ounce T-bone at Peter Lugers, venison needs a lot of hang time. The “gameyness” and “chewyness” disappear when you treat ‘er well.”

Ageing the meat properly includes basic deer processing protocols like,

1. Ensuring the deer’s body cavity is washed out with cold water after removing it’s organs and associated parts
2. Hanging the deer by it hind legs and facilitating a way for cool air to circulate in and around the venison
3. Allowing enough time for natural bio-chemical processes within the deer’s body to age and tenderize the meat (Georgia recommends 3 to 4 days at 40 degrees F or 4.4 degrees C). This is why you commonly see hunters hanging up their deer or moose during the hunting season. It is something you can take for granted when you buy your packaged meat at a grocery store.

The second key is found in the recipe and ingredients. Here is where Georgia can help you become a hero in your own hunt camp or home kitchen. She has given me permission to post one of her favourite venison recipes.

It is called Braised Venison Shoulder and serves 4.

For the Marinade
1 Bottle Dry Red Wind
2/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Carrot
1 Onions
1 Stalk Celery
1 Clove Garlic
1 Whole Clove
2 Bay Leaves
Sprig of Thyme
Parsley Stems
8 Peppercorns
Oil

For Braising
4 Small or 2 Large Venison Shoulders
Olive oil
3 cups Veal or Beef Stock
1 cup Onions, diced
1 cup Carrots, diced
4 Garlic Cloves
1 cup Ripe Tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup Celery, diced
1 1/2 cup Red Wine
2 Sprigs Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
2 Cloves
Salt & Pepper

Preparing The Marinade

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and sweat the vegetables. Add the wine and vinegar and remaining aromatic ingredients and simmer slowly for 30 minutes.
2. Cool thoroughly and pour over venison. Let it soak for several hours.

Preparing the Venison Braise

1. Remove the shoulders from the marinade and pat them dry.
2. Heat a roasting pan and add the olive oil. Add the venison shoulders and sauté on all sides until nicely browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the onions, carrots, garlic cloves and celery to the pan and cook until well browned. Pour off any grease and add the herbs.
4. Add the wine and deglaze the little carmelized brown bits at the bottom of your pan, scraping them with a wooden spoon. Add the stock and tomatoes and a little salt and pepper. Return the venison shoulders to the liquid.
5. Tightly cover the roasting pan with tin foil and place in a 300° F – 325° F oven to braise for approximately 2 ½ hours.
6. When the shoulders are tender, remove the roasting pan from the oven. Remove the lid and let the shoulders rest for 10 minutes.
7. Carefully degrease the cooking liquid by skimming the fat off the top with a ladle.
8. Remove the shoulders from the pot and set aside in a warm place covered. Strain the braising liquid through a fine mesh seive. You can reduce some of this liquid in a separate sauce pan until it is thick, and pour it over your venison to serve.

Georgia Pellegrini

This recipe was used with permission from Georgia Pellegrini. Many of you might know her as the author of, Food Heroes. A book that illuminates sixteen international culinary artisans who are fighting to preserve their own food traditions (like cooking wild game). Pellegrini has worked in two of New York’s most esteemed restaurants-Gramercy Tavern and Blue Hill at Stone Barns-as well as in one of the premier restaurants in France, La Chassagnette.

With tank-like shielding and and a flight pattern that gets updated from a broken GPS, Ontario’s ruffed grouse can quickly become a hunter’s fall season nemesis. The perfectly camouflaged game bird helps Ontario hunters pass the time between big game seasons and the ‘down’ times experienced in a hunt camp.

This blogger has been fortunate enough to enter the forest realm of these game birds twice this fall. Both trips have proven that the grouse still has a significant home-field advantage. A third, upcoming, trip could prove to be the end of the bird’s current advantage.

I will be armed with these ‘unofficial’ tenets of grouse hunting:

1. Where there is one grouse, there is more. Do not get frustrated when you scare one grouse out of cover. Shoulder your shotgun and scan the tree (or ground cover) it flew out of. Chances are there is another bird waiting and watching for you to make the next move.

2. Grouse can be bunkered when wet. Not sure where to start your hunt? Look low and under evergreens when hunting for grouse in inclement or cloudy weather. The branches offer protection and dry hiding spots.

3. Grouse can be sun strutters and roosters. On my last grouse hunt, the grouse were invisible until the clouds rolled out and sunny skies moved in. This was when we caught glimpses of them strutting across logging roads or roosting in sun-kissed hardwood branches.

4. Grouse have cloaking technology. When you see a grouse walking into cover, time becomes limited for the hunter. The moment you are sure of your target and what is beyond, waste little time pulling the trigger. Waiting gives the stealthy chickens time to spool up their forest-cloaks hyperdrives and the bird you thought would materialize on the other side of the log will have vanished.

5. Grouse will fly erratically into thick cover. Unless you are hunting grouse along the tree lines of large fields, expect a spooked grouse to fly in a way that makes it difficult to anticipate much lead time. Tree branches will snap, crackle and pop when a grouse flies through them to evade your shotgun’s bead. Try to get them on the ground before they launch.

6. Grouse react to a hunter’s stop. If you see a grouse on the ground, resist the urge to stop, look and raise your gun. Instead (with practice) be fluid in raising your gun while walking and stopping only to aim your bead at the bird’s feathered body. It has been my experience that the grouse become more alarmed by becoming motionless when you suddenly stop and prepare your shot. They will wait until you begin to raise your gun to take off for a more difficult shot.

A cloaked grouse

* My tenets are only generalizations. Tenets may vary in your area

There has not been much activity on our game cams this fall. That was until, a hesitant, young bull moose considered making an appearance on our hidden camera. He chose ambiguity.

With an upcoming moose season, I hope we will snap a few more pictures of these wary animals. For some game camera set-up tips follow this link from Moultrie Game Feeders.

Have you captured a buck or doe (on your camera or game cam) that has reached the top of your Most Wanted List for 2010? Why not enter the Muskoka Outdoors Most Wanted Deer Photo Contest?