The First Hunting Trip

 

Mister Dreamer and I went on our first hunting trip last week. Even though we were both raised here in rural Alaska and have seen hundreds of deer hanging in sheds and garages over the years, we had never gone out hunting for our own meat before. We are avid campers but a hunting trip is a whole different ball game and there is a very different mentality to a hunting trip which I wrote a little about in another article.

I was worried that I would lose my lunch when we were gutting it (I didn’t), or crying like a baby over this poor, beautiful animal we had killed (Not a single tear shed), or worse yet, get buck fever and shoot at any branch that so much as twitches. None of those things happened. In fact, I was rather zen through the whole experience. I was able to take a shot at a grouse but missed and wasn’t able to follow it where it flew. Yes, I am bummed that I missed it but am also thankful that it was an easy way to see if I would mentally be able to look down the barrel of a gun and willingly take a life to feed myself and family. I believe that I will be fine to take my own deer next hunting trip, should the opportunity present itself. I can understand now why people enjoy hunting so much. It reminds me A LOT of fishing, actually. Just because you are out there does not mean you are guaranteed anything whatsoever. You get lucky or you don’t. Kind of like “It’s called fishing, not catching” the same applies to hunting. There are numerous ways that people successfully hunt and even the best of the best will fail sometimes. Having backup plans for securing your winter food is always wise and part of being a homesteader, and prepper. Anyway, back to the hunt!

I was the driver and the hubby was the hunter as we roved our way all over Prince of Wales island. We walked up old logging roads, tried to spot deer from the road and then track them up into the forest, froze our backsides off at night in the 28 degree, clear and cold weather. Thank the heavens above for wool. There were a few things we brought along that were new for this trip and I will be writing a separate post all about the “Gear of the Hunt” so keep an eye out for that next week along with a giveaway on a Purefire Tactical Firestarter!! I will tell you now that this was the easiest alternative fire starting method I have ever used. I frickin LOVE it. The weather was bitter cold and made for some numb fingers in the morning as we made coffee and warmed up in the truck as the sky lightened up enough to identify whether or not it was a buck or doe. Right now in Alaska, there is about 8.5ish hours of useable daylight and for the first couple days, we would come back to camp for some lunch before heading out again. We learned (quickly) that this was a waste of time. On the last day, we packed a lunch and stayed out the entire time which was a really great move.

I am happy to report that we did manage to get one buck on the last day of the trip (pictured above. Please forgive Mister Dreamer’s hair, we had been camping for 4 days at this point)! As I write this, Mister Dreamer is skinning and butchering it up so I can process some for the freezer and of course jar some up for the pantry. I absolutely love to jar up my own meat in the pressure canner for many reasons, the least of which is knowing how it was handled and what is in it. Jarring venison will be something new and I am always up for trying something new in the kitchen. I was really hoping we would have come back with three deer: one for us, one for Mom, and one to be turned into jerky for all. Alas, we were not so blessed but I am incredibly grateful for the blessings we did get. We weren’t skunked!

We already have plans for next year and how we will do things differently. I have gone down the list and so far we will change:

• Sleeping arrangements. We will be renting a little cabin or staying at a friends instead of tent camping. I LOVE the new tent we got but ohhh boy it was cold.
• Length of trip. We were only there for four full days of hunting and car issues for those we traveled with lost us over half a day alone on hunting time. I am planning on having 6 full days instead. Leave on a Friday, come back on a Friday and have the weekend to process and unpack.
• Time spent hunting. Next year, we will be out from just before it gets light until just after it gets dark. Lunches will be packed and eaten on the road. We are there to get food, not a ‘pleasure’ trip per se. Slacking is not an option. There is plenty of downtime after the sun sets.
• Packing more high energy foods. It is crazy how much energy you go through when hunting. I felt like I just never really got enough to eat but by the time the food was ready and consumed, I was so tired I just fell into bed. There was no extra energy to spare. I think the colder temperatures had a lot to do with this, too.
• NOT underestimating ourselves. Even though we are newbies to hunting, we are not idiots (well…who doesn’t have their moments, eh?). We know more than the average person about processing and preserving our own food including fish, berries, and veggies. We are simply adding venison to the list of things we want to ‘shop’ for in the forests we live in. Yes, you can mess up when butchering food. Yes, you can ruin it if you do not get the bladder out of the animal untouched and intact. On the flip side though, you are not dealing with store bought meat that will go rancid much faster than fresh meat you harvested.

I am not sure if we will go it alone or with friends next year but the one thing I am 100% certain of is that we will go hunting again and add it in to our yearly cycle of providing as much for ourselves as we can. The first hunting trip was all about learning and understanding not only how it all worked, but how we would react to harvesting deer. The timing of it really couldn’t be anymore perfect. By the time the rut comes and it is prime hunting season, the garden is all done and everything harvested and put up for Winter. The freezers are more empty than usual because I also jar up any meats that were vacuum sealed more than a year ago and the regular meat sale hasn’t happened yet. We would normally make room for the turkeys for the holidays but this year, we might just have to have some venison pot roast instead. 🙂