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Spaulding Smails

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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. 23 hours ago, hookemATL said:

    I am taking my first run at butchering/processing whatever deer I bag this year.  Have field dressed and quarted previously (and removed backstraps) but never taken it all the way through the process.  Not looking for anything fancy as an end product, just some sausage, jerky, steaks, and I guess stew/burger meat.  As a noob, I am looking for any of the basic tips or tools/etc. that will help make this a success.  I know there are a lot of off the shelf options when it comes to jerky/sausage kits etc., but I am hoping to tap into the collective culinary knowledge of surly's greatest wild game bouchers/bouchère.

    @Anastasis put together a really nice summary.  This hits close to home as we just did over 300 lb of whitetail, axis and elk sausages this weekend (and still have some elk left over).  A few tips that I've learned over the years in addition to what @Anastasis noted.

    -Get a group of people.  Kind of like making tamales, it's a lot more fun when you turn it into a social event.  If you're doing it solo, keep it manageable.  300 lb between my wife and I sucked and took all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and most of the evenings Monday and Tuesday to get everything packaged and vacuum sealed.

    -Buy the good shit.  Spend as much as you can on the grinder.  Get lots of lug tubs.  You'll need more than you think.  

    -Be diligent with trimming silverskin, removing tendons, etc.  IMO, it makes a huge difference on the quality of the sausage.  So much better when you don't have a big chunk of gristle or a wad of silverskin ruining a bite.  I think I'm going to buy one of these before next year.

    https://www.lemproducts.com/product/silverskin-knife-kit/meat-slicers

    -Keep everything VERY cold.  It's safer and the meat grinds so much better when it's almost frozen.  Clean your grinder parts between grinds, dry it and throw it in the freezer.  The friction will heat it up quickly, and when the fat gets warm it will start to gum up the grinder blade.

    -Add ice water when you stuff into casings.  We do one cup per 5 lb and that seems to be about right.  It'll make it slide through the casing much easier.  

    -Try different seasonings to dial in the flavor.  Keep a skillet nearby and make a little patty to try before you call it done.  We tweaked damn near every run in some form or fashion.  More salt here.  More pepper, there.  

    -Vary the sausage you make.  This year we did pan, Italian, Greek and chorizo (pic below).  We'll do boudain, andouille, regular smoked and jalapeno cheddar smoked later this winter.  We did nothing but smoked sausage at first, and got tired of it after a while.  We bought half a steer as well this summer, so we're set for at least a year on hamburger and sausage.  We won't have to buy a single link of sausage or a single pound of ground.  It's nice to get some variety out of the same meat.

    -Make sure you have a system set up to hang the links.  Cold smoking is awesome, but if you do the other varieties, you need to have a rack to hang them cold so the casings can dry out some.  We use our garage beer fridge and I rigged up some S-hooks to hang them in there.  

     

      spacer.png

    • Hook 'Em 4
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  2. 11 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

    I use them for everything i have to get on paper. Usually at ~50 yds. I’m a big take my time guy on rings/scopes.  Lap everything.  Proper torque on everything.  Your gun being properly torqued all around, including stock, but certainly based and rings, is hugely important in repeatable accuracy.   I shoot in before every season but haven’t had to adjust anything in several years (I hope I didn’t just jinx myself, shooting in on Thursday this week). But my rifles also are hard cased until I get to the blind, they don’t ride in racks in the truck.
     

    several years ago I talked my buddy into checking his rifle right before he left on a mule deer hunt.  Just work and life had him short on time.  He was something like 14” high at 100,  iirc. Maybe 12, something of the sort.  Got it dialed in.  He ended up killing his first mulie that trip, which was a monster.  He still mentions it, with a little thank you. 

    I bought a similar bore sight laser setup after the first snafu with the mount.  Got it dialed in and torqued down with very repeatable accuracy.  To your point about that consistency, I've been shooting the same Savage 270 with a Leopold 3.5x10 and Winchester 130 grain rounds for WT hunting since 1998, and I've had to re-sight the scope exactly zero times.  Always drives tacks.  I (incorrectly) assumed that would be the case here.  The guides seemed apathetic about shooting the day we arrived, so I didn't press the issue to check my zero before we hunted, but should have.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  3. 10 hours ago, 686 said:

    Great write up @Spaulding Smails , thanks for sharing and great pics! That was a nice bull your partner got! Sucks about your scope - what cartridge and scope are you shooting if you don’t mind?

    Do you think your elevation turret could have been turned a full revolution and you didn’t notice? That, or leaving the scope dialed up for some potential shot and forgetting to turn it back to zero is a fear of mine.

    I bought a rifle and scope specifically for this hunt.  I was shooting a Browning X-Bolt 300 WinMag with a Swarovski X5i 5-25x56 scope and Federal 180 grain Nosler AccuBond rounds.  Here's the scoop on the scope.  I bought it at Cabela's and had them mount it.  The first time I took it to the range, I couldn't even get it on the paper at 50 yds.  I had it dialed all the way to the left and was still right of the target.  I took it back, and the "head gunsmith" there told me the first guy put it on the wrong rings.  After that, it was driving tacks.  I shot it at the range twice and at the ranch twice.  Had the elevation turret dialed in with the pre-set markers at 100/200/300.

    I chalked the miss up originally to the elevation turret.  I had it set at 300 yds and didn't adjust it down for the 240 yd shot, and even though that should've only adjusted a few inches, it was my only guess.  And, I had it back to my 100 yd zero for the cow shot.  Now, after being off by 18" at 120 yds, I'm thinking there's something else going on.  MAYBE, I hit it while hunting early in the trip.  But, the rifle was secure in a good case during our travels, and I don't recall anything out of the ordinary from an impact standpoint.  

    If I find out it's something with the mounts, I'll be pretty pissed at Cabela's and sternly worded letter will ensue.  I should have some time this weekend to dig into it further.  

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  4. @Hornbeliever year one went well.  We really didn't do much.  We check the hives once a month or so.  We're fortunate to have a creek about 100 yds from the hives (on a neighbor's property), but we supplement with a little water trough nearby as well.  The beekeeper was adamant that we needed water nearby.  The hives seem to be building, and we see TONS of bees milling around the lantana by our house.  Much more than before the hives were there, so that's a good sign.

    The beekeeper said maybe honey next year.  Probably year three before we see good production.

    @High Plains Drifter it wasn't cheap.  I think around $6K for 8 hives and 8 colonies (which is the minimum we needed to qualify for ag exemption).  Year two is like $1,000.  Much cheaper than what the property tax bill would've been (Hays County).  The other, less involved options, were a bit cheaper, but we didn't want to risk it.  Our property is a new tract carved out of a larger tract that had full ag exemption for cattle and hay, so we were able to put bees on immediately and avoid any waiting period before taking advantage of the exemption.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  5. Posted primarily so I can follow.  Didn't realize this thread existed.  Thanks @Hornbeliever.  

    We got our bees this spring for Ag exempt purposes.  We looked at a few different options, and went with this one.  Year one, bees are delivered and maintained by the supplier.  They're basically "under warranty".  Year two, they teach us how to maintain the bees.  Year three, we're on our own.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. 7 hours ago, PantsTent said:

    Replying to all:  "Please do not reply to all!" 

     

    Equally as bad is when someone DOES NOT reply all when it's inferred or even requested.

    There's an architect we work with who is notorious for this.  It's actually gotten us into a bind before regarding updated plan sets.

    <Project Manager copies whole team plus the owner plus the designer plus the engineer>

    Mr. Smith-

    Great meeting today!  Please send over the updated plans to the group when the revisions are made.  Thanks!

    -Project Manager

    Next day, he sends the plans to my PM and nobody else "here you go!".  If the PM notices it wasn't a "reply all", he'll forward them to the group.  But, there's been times where it's assumed that Mr. Smith is a normally functioning adult and has mastered the art of disseminating information via the reply all feature.  Nope.  Every damn time.  Even if "please reply all" is noted in the email.  It's insane.  

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  7. 2 hours ago, deadshank said:

    Say it ain’t so. 

    Yup.  Unfortunately, it's true.  I was driving tacks at 300 yds before I left.  Shot and missed a 240 yd shot.  Shooting circumstances were less than ideal, so I chalked it up to the Indian not the arrow.  The last night of the hunt, I shot the cow at 120 yds.  Spine shot her.  Thrice.  Finally walked up and put one in the head to get her down.  First three shots were all within a 6" radius through the spine.  I was aiming for the lungs.  I was 18" high at 120 yds, so 3' high on the 240 yd shot.  To add insult to injury, I blew big holes in both backstraps.  

    I need to do some forensics this week.  Either the scope got bumped somehow, or I have something up with the mounts.  Regardless, it suuuuuuuckkkkked and I'm still kicking myself.   More details when I can upload pictures and post them.

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  8. Will post an elk hunt recap later this week or over the weekend, but here's the Cliffs Notes:

    -Northern New Mexico is stunning.

    -Free range elk hunting is bad ass, and I will be back.

    -Check your zero before you hunt so you don't shoot and miss at a bull.  Oof.

    -A cow tastes the same as a bull.

    -Deboning and prepping elk meat takes much longer than a whitetail. 

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  9. After several years of traditional amp setup with a combo of in-wall / bookshelf / outdoor speakers all controlled via Control 4, I'm officially on the Sonos train.  Ditched DirecTV as well for YouTubeTV / Netflix / Amazon Prime Video.  Only downfall there is no Astros during the regular season.

    We're almost roughed in at our new house.  Just had to run power for a few locations and two short runs for the wired speakers from the amp.  Otherwise, all wireless / WiFi.  Going with:

    LIVING:  Arc + Sub + (2) Five

    KITCHEN:  Wired in-ceiling + Amp in attic

    GAME ROOM:  Arc + Sub

    BACK PATIO:  (2) Outdoor 

    FRONT PATIO:  (2) Outdoor

    OFFICE:  Move

    GYM:  Move

    GARAGE:  Move

    GUEST HOUSE:  Move

    MASTER:  Move

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  10. On 10/4/2022 at 4:25 AM, Updawg said:

    Rita and it was a dust bowl and over 105

    Yep.  It was Rita.  That storm was on a bee line for Houston.  We were in Hawaii on vacation and started watching it bear down on Texas.  We were supposed to fly home that Friday through IAH on Continental.  All the flights were cancelled.  Ended up flying American through Dallas on the red eye and went straight to a good friend's wedding in Austin that Saturday evening.  It was hot, the wind was blowing 30+ MPH and it was dusty.  Perfect for an outdoor wedding.  Then, I had to haul ass to East Texas to help my wife's family recover from the aftermath of Rita for a week.  I went from a bad ass, low-key vacation to a sweaty outdoor wedding directly to no sleep for a week busting ass to cut downed trees, patch roofs and clean flooded houses.  Good times.  

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  11. About 15 years ago, I was hunting at my lease in South Texas.  We didn't have any game cameras, but my uncle had seen a big mainframe 10 with matching kickers on his G2s right before the rut.  He was out filling feeders and came across him mid-day.  I hadn't shot a "trophy" buck on that place in a few years, so the following weekend I went and sat in a stand nearby.  Got in the stand on Saturday morning and it was super foggy.  I knew I had deer in the sendero, and when the fog finally started to burned off around 9:00, I saw the buck my uncle had seen at about 80 yards.  I dropped him in his tracks, let him lay for a bit, and got out of the stand.  It was a 10 with matching kickers... but he was only about 18" wide and not super heavy.  It wasn't the same deer.  I shot a 3-1/2 y/o with TONS of potential.  Needless to say, I take my time to be 100% sure on my shot now.  We've all screwed up at some point. 

    • Like 1
  12. 17 hours ago, Reagan1k said:

    Agreed, with the exception that puzzy is undefeated.  We use bow season almost exclusively to hit our doe and cull buck numbers before anyone shoots a mature deer.

    Most of us have been hunting on this property for decades and we don't even venture into our sanctuary areas until we're hunting hard (collective we - I don't chase horns any) after we've reached our management goals.

    I love this strategy.  We always try to take our doe early in the season and definitely pre-rut.  I hunted on a great lease in Live Oak County for 10+ years.  It was 1700 acres and low fenced, but not much pressure on the ranches surrounding it.  We never had a biologist out, but by taking old culls and doe early in the season and waiting on the right deer to mature, we started to see a good balance in the doe / buck ratio and started to get some 160+ deer with some really cool antler traits.  That's without any supplemental feeding.  Just five like-minded guys who paid attention and were honest and smart about what we shot.  Damn, I miss that place.  

    If you're truly working to manage a herd, it just seems logical to shoot your doe before they've been bred.  

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  13. 2 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

    "Prisoners Dilemma"  It stinks.  

    Have you done any aerial surveys of your place the surrounding places?  Do they have fields and food plots?  First off, my guys are bow hunters, so they get out there earlier in the season before the boom-stickers start scaring all the animals.  Second, we're in the process of year round protein feeding and reclaiming the old winter wheat fields my dad used to have maintained before the mesquites launched a counter offensive.

    My thought is to create a "habitat" for them if/when pressured from surrounding ranches.  Google Earth revealed there are no wheat fields within miles of our place, so that's the next step.  Just redid much of the roads, so the next investment will be in a skid-steer with a grubber or a dozer to clear the small field first (few acres) that borders a creek and a tree line (cover/water) of mesquite.  Then we keep tilling and planting.  Lucky for us, no pigs - but I wouldn't think winter wheat would matter with them?

     

    No aerial surveys.  It's way too small to justify that.  We're in far western Kimble County.  It's beautiful country, but pretty rugged and poor soil for any sustainable food plots.  There's one location where I may put a small tank eventually.  If nothing else, I'd like to have a little better dove activity.  Other than that, we do try to leave the northern side of the property alone for the deer.  That's where the water troughs are and where we set up the protein feeder.  

    "Prisoner's Dilemma" is the perfect description.  Heck, we even tried to buy the place next door last year to double our acreage but the guy wouldn't even entertain an offer.  I wish we did have the soil to do some sort of food plot.  I'd love to tackle a project like that.  Good luck and post some pics when you do it.  

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  14. My place is small and low fenced.  We've had it for four years and have taken one cull 5-1/2 y/o 4-pt freak WT buck.  That's it other than doe, axis and a ton of hogs.  We try our best to be smart, but it's a futile effort with small places on two sides that lease out to hunters.  Since we've had it, I've seen decent 3 or 4 year old bucks on game cams around this time of year.  Young bucks that you should absolutely let grow for a few years and would have nice potential.  Every year, they're gone after opening weekend.  I can only assume that they've been shot next door.  I just refuse to be another one of those places that shoots them too young.  And, if a big mature buck does ever wander in range, it'll be that much sweeter to know we waited and maybe played a part in letting him grow.

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  15. 3 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

    Just because it it a high fence place doesn't mean you have a sure kill if you are trying to go after a specific buck. You will probably find one you like in the range you like if you aren't trying to get a particular buck, but I know of instances where nobody was able to kill specific bucks the whole season when they were only in a 50 acre pasture/pen. It's not really for me, though. Even most high fence places that don't have breeding programs or release bred deer are going to have a significantly higher concentration of deer than the surrounding area, which kinda takes some of the enjoyment out of killing a nice buck.

    You're pretty much spot on here.  And, there's so many variables.  Hunting on a 10,000 acre high fence place vs a 100 acre high fence place is completely different.  I have no desire to shoot a buck with a tag in his ear that comes when you shake a coffee can filled with corn.  I have and will, however, absolutely hunt deer on a big, high-fenced place.  I set out to shoot a big 8 pt cull at my uncle's high fence ranch near Freer a few years ago.  Hunted hard for four days and never saw him.  Ended up shooting another big (but totally different) 8 pt that my uncle swore he'd never seen before.  Not even on camera.  You just never know with deer.

    My cousin's FIL raises deer and will occasionally let my cousin shoot an old one.  It ain't anywhere near hunting.  Here's one they were hand feeding last week.  

    spacer.png

    • Like 2
  16. 46 minutes ago, immamac said:

    If you are gonna spend that much on a generator are these diesel? I got a 12KW portable dual fuel generator on prime day for 800 dollars. It peaks at 55 amps. It'll run my entire house as long as it has fuel. 

    Natural gas / propane for the Generac / Kohler whole house setups.  They do offer diesel, but those are rare for residential applications.  They're hard-plumbed to your gas service and hard wired to your panel with an ATS.  The cost jumps even more when you get into the 30-KW+ range because you're moving from air cooled to liquid-cooled.  

  17. 2 hours ago, deadshank said:

    Private land is nice.  Will you be using motorized conveyance to get around the ranch and then walk / bugle / sit?

    If you're surrounded by or front a side of BLM land, look for a choke point coming off the BLM land, sit and wait for a BLM hunter to torch one off on the BLM side and let the elk come to you.  That always worked for us in CO.

    I'm sure you guide will be cow calling to mask your approach on foot and also playing the wind.

    Dial your scope down when in timber for close range shots.  You won't have time to dial from high power to low power if they're right on top of you.

    Have a great time and let me smell you fingers when you get back.  

     

    I think I mentioned it up-thread, but I was a fill-in for a guy who opted for an Alaskan moose hunt, so a spot opened up with a buddy who was on a loooong wait list.  He's been the last two years.  Got 24" of snow the day he arrived year one and didn't see a thing.  Missed an 80-yd shot last year.  I talked him into a rifle hunt this year since I'm not a bow hunter and didn't want to cram practice in and have zero experience when faced with an elk.

    From what I understand, we're flanked by BLM and an Rez.  Jeep from camp with the guide based on his scouting reports then walk / bugle / sit / spot / stalk.  They said most shots are within 200-yds and they have a 97% "encounter" rate with rifles.  

    Solid advice on the scope.  Much appreciated.  My new Swaro has three settings that I dialed in to 100/200/300, so I'll leave it on that closest range when traversing.  I'm going to have a big hamburger, no a cheeseburger, and a hot dog when I get back.  

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  18. @deadshank great write up.  Sorry for your partner, but stoked for the guy that dropped the 6x6.  That is definitely some rough, rough country.  

    I officially got my NM Hunter's ID yesterday.  Should have my elk tags next week.  Depart 10/13 and back 10/20.  Hunt Sat-Wed.  Will start watching the weather next week.  I'm not 100% sure what to expect, but I do know we're on private land, have a cabin as base camp, and a dedicated guide for the two of us.  Other than that, I'm going in blind.

    • Hook 'Em 5
  19. @hornmpa96 and @686 I did a cross between the two of you this weekend.  Got to the ranch around 1:30 Saturday.  Rigged up a ruck sack, made a portable target and took my 300 WinMag and proceeded to hike in circles around our place for 3+ hours.  Trying to combine my training and shooting at various angles / elevations in prep for my elk hunt next month.  Got it out to 285-yds and feel much more comfortable now shooting off of sticks, prone, etc.

    Got back to the house around 6:00, loaded up the dog and the Mojos in the Polaris.  Only saw a few birds and shot two with no signs of improvement in the birds before dusk.  So, I went back to the house, poured a stiff cocktail and snuck down to one of the water troughs near the protein feeder.  Watched seven bucks until it was too dark to see.  Didn't get any pics, but did see a big 6-pt (should be an 8 but is missing his brow tines).  His main beams shoot straight up rather than out.  I'll set out game cameras in two weeks to see if I can figure out his pattern.  Would be a fun buck for my son to take this year.  

    Shot a bit more early Sunday AM.  Back home by 11 AM the next morning.  24 hour trip, but damn it was fun.  I love solo ranch trips.  

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  20. @solamente73 Thanks for the info on the transport.  What was your breakdown on the cooler situation?  I'm trying to figure out my game plan.  I have two 100 qt Igloos and a 120 at Yeti.  Wondering if that's enough or if I need to invest in a 250 qt Yeti before then.  My buddy is bringing his coolers as well, so we'll be doing the Tetris thing for sure.  I have an 8-ft bed with a tool box, so I'm optimistic I'll have enough space, but I may have to add on the bed extender to be sure.  

  21. 6 hours ago, Cajun said:

    @AtxracerOf course I’m biased, but Geromi is a straight shooter and knows his shit.  If you were in his office at any point you should of seen this drone shot of him & me tied up in the middle of Canyon Lake.  I snapped it a couple of months ago.  Your’s truly throwing the Horns up..

    035C0752-10B2-421E-BE6D-E244363B94D3.jpeg

    Geromi is a really solid dude.  Lived down the street from him for almost a decade.  Dude knows the boat business very, very well.  

  22. 53 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

    Don't worry, you'll shoot 86 your next round. Because golf.

    This is 100% my expectation.  Playing with some buddies tomorrow afternoon, and I'm completely anticipating a round in the 90s and the complete inability to find a fairway or hit a green in regulation. 

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