Ended my rifle season

[Seth]

If I had to hunt public land and had to resort to hunting a long ways in, I would definitely be utilizing the gutless method. I'm fortunate to hunt areas where I more often than not just drive right up to the deer and load it so I do the skinning, gutting, etc at home and with the deer hung from a tractor.

[grizwilson]

2 minutes ago, Seth said:

If I had to hunt public land and had to resort to hunting a long ways in, I would definitely be utilizing the gutless method. I'm fortunate to hunt areas where I more often than not just drive right up to the deer and load it so I do the skinning, gutting, etc at home and with the deer hung from a tractor.

Me too, but no such luxury in the mountains with a 800 lb elk is where I got started, only here if have too... 

[Seth]

24 minutes ago, grizwilson said:

Me too, but no such luxury in the mountains with a 800 lb elk is where I got started, only here if have too... 

My dad is heading out to Colorado later this week for a cow hunt. I'm hoping they are successful. I've not had elk in many years. Hopefully in a few years, I will go on my own bull hunt. As of now, I believe I have 12 or 13 preference points for Colorado. Not really sure what unit I am going to try and draw for when I do decide to go, but hopefully I can get a good one when I do finally decide to apply for a tag.

[grizwilson]

4 minutes ago, Seth said:

My dad is heading out to Colorado later this week for a cow hunt. I'm hoping they are successful. I've not had elk in many years. Hopefully in a few years, I will go on my own bull hunt. As of now, I believe I have 12 or 13 preference points for Colorado. Not really sure what unit I am going to try and draw for when I do decide to go, but hopefully I can get a good one when I do finally decide to apply for a tag.

Depends on area, many areas are over the counter.  Bow hunting, calling and chasing are my only interests. But may take my sons for rifle, the draw has became so odds against for out of state for muzzleloader.  It is getting more crowded ever year, used to they could draw every other year.  

[Johnsfolly]

17 hours ago, David Unnerstall said:

Thanks, Seth.  That is interesting.  I read in the Conservationist that a turkey can be processed by removing the breast and legs/thighs and not attending to the feathers or entrails.

Now I do process turkeys that way if I am not plannnig on roasting the bird. You simply skin the bird around the meat you are going to remove. I start with the breast and do remove some feathers so that they don't get stuck on the meat. I don't do this in the field but after I get the bird home.

[BilletHead]

4 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

Now I do process turkeys that way if I am not plannnig on roasting the bird. You simply skin the bird around the meat you are going to remove. I start with the breast and do remove some feathers so that they don't get stuck on the meat. I don't do this in the field but after I get the bird home.

           Basically how I clean turkeys,

  Hang by leg . Pull off skin. Fillet of each side of breast. Cut out "oysters" back meat. Cut off leg and thigh on floating leg. Yank out heart and gizzard if keeping. Separate remaining carcass from hanging leg and thigh. Pretty easy w/o messing with guts. Mrs. BilletHead when I was gone and did her own says I make the process look easy. It is I told her and she frowned . I also if not keeping fan whole and intact cut tail feathers in matched pairs opposing sides for fellow fly tiers. Same with wing secondary's. Primaries got to fletchers that do their arrows. Not much left of a turkey when I get done with it,

BilletHead