Camp meat

JerryBobCo

When I was a kid in the 50s and 60s, I remember hearing stories from some of the old-timers about how they used to hunt. Mostly, they were hunting deer, and would hunt for a week or so, from a camp. One of the things that seemed to be a tradition is that someone would shoot a doe or young buck as soon as possible and that would be used as camp meat. As best I can remember, it was not tagged, and no one seemed to think anything unusual about it. It was just the way it was.

Does anyone else remember such traditions or stories?

snake284

Yes, well I remember that one well. Only problem is nowadays the TPWD officers take a dim view of camp meat in that tradition. If you have camp meat, it better be rabbit or armadillo , wild hog or a tagged deer.

They even tell you that up front nowadays, "No Such Thing As Camp Meat Anymore." Kill joys!

One tradition we used to have was we would have a pot for the biggest deer. I had it won once and then the last day the last hunt this ol' foggie comes in with a 12 point with a 20 inch spread. The pot was almost $100. I could have used that money back then.

JerryBobCo

snake284 wrote: »

They even tell you that up front nowadays, "No Such Thing As Camp Meat Anymore." Kill joys!

I think that's just the way it is now, just about every where. Some of the stories I remember hearing as a kid had to do with game wardens telling hunters where a few fat does were and doing sort of a wink-wink type suggestion that they would be good camp meat.

I just can't imagine that happening now.

snake284

Jerry I revised my post. Check it out.

Quinian

Yeah my papaw used to tell me storys about camp meat which always ended with "but nowadays the g d gubment dun ruin ever thang". I typically have "camp meat" when ever I'm in a camp of any kind but it's generally small critters I got at dusk like rabbit or squirrel.. sometimes fish

Jayhawker

When I started deer hunting, Michigan used to sell a "Deer for Camp" permit for a couple of dollars...don't know if that's still the case or not...

Jeeper

Yeah, but things were vastly different back then... there was probably 3-4 times the available area to hunt on (at least), with less than half the population we have now. One extra deer didn't matter back then, but if everybody took one now.........

Luis

sakodude

I don't think it has been done since I started hunting (1983) but do recall my dad telling stories to that effect. Now it was common practice with the group I first started with that the first deer or elk into camp would have a few steaks carved out of it for that nights dinner, this of coarse was a tagged animal. I don't recall ever shooting small game for the pot. Un-necessary shooting was frowned upone.

Sako

MileHighShooter

I recall stories of CO camps doing that. I distinctly remember an ol' fella from AK talking about how it was a cryin shame they couldn't pop a doe on the first day for camp meat anymore. I was probably......8-10 or so, wasn't allowed to hunt yet but I went afield with my dad. That puts us about 20 years ago, and he was talking about many moons before that.

snake284

Yes but here in Texas, back in the 50s and early 60s we had screw worms that kept the deer numbers lower. Today in Texas we have from 3 mil to 5 mil deer in the State each year. A camp meat permit wouldn't endanger the species. Parks and Wildlife has a few Bunny Huggers in its ranks that like to control more than the deer herd.

Fisheadgib

We still do it. In Alabama, you can harvest two does per day per person during the season. We always try to keep some meat in the freezer at camp but if we run out, someone just rolls another doe. We have at least one dinner with venison every weekend during the season. We have some areas on our lease where shooting a doe is almost a no brainer.

snake284

We have as many if not more deer than Alabama. The best I can remember the last time i read something about it all was that we had about half a million more, of course we have a good bit more realestate too. But what I'm getting at isn't bragging on our land mass, I'm just saying that we have plenty so why do our powers that be limit us so much? We are allowed something like 3-5 deer a year, more if you bow and black powder hunt. But if Alabama can shoot two does a day, why can't we?

How long is the season in Alabama? Ours is two months long. That would be about 16 does a year here.

Quinian

Snake we have so many deer in MT you can't drive more than 10 miles without seeing 5 dead in the road and a few hundred off in someones field where of course no hunting is allowed and we're only allowed 2 total you can take em via bow, ML, or rifle but it doesn't matter how you still only get 2

orchidman

Dropping a doe/spiker for camp meat is SOP here. I guess if we ever went to a tag system, that would change, but as our Conservation Dept regards deer as a pest and an unwelcome import, it wont happen in my lifetime.........if ever.

snake284

Ahh, so now we need to discuss my permanent residence to NZ..... I'll be right over, :rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:

bisley

On my first ever deer hunt, my uncle shot a small doe the first evening, that we ate off of for a week, in camp. Of course, this was in the early '60's. Fried backstrap with your scrambled eggs was a nice treat.

DanChamberlain

What are the nursing jobs paying in New Zealand?

woodsrunner

Back when I grew up, in the rural Agricultural South in the late 40's-early 50's, if you had camp meat you either brought it with you or you shot squirrels and rabbits. In fact, if you were in a hunt camp environment, you were there bear hunting or running fox with Walkers, Triggs and Julys. WE HAD NO DEER! I was 16 years old before I saw my first deer track, and that was in 1954.

Fisheadgib

WR, that just reinforces the fact that there are much more deer in the US because of hunters and conservation programs. I'm nowhere near your age and I'm seeing many more deer now than when I started deer hunting 41 years ago.

orchidman

DanChamberlain wrote: »

What are the nursing jobs paying in New Zealand?

Not sure, all the nurses I know have left NZ for greener pastures...........

Will find out for you.

Teach

In Tennessee we can take 3 "antlerless" deer a day, which includes does, button bucks and spikes below 3" antler height, beginning with archery season in late September, all the way through the end of the centerfire season about the 1st. week of January. 3 bucks all year, no matter what harvest method is used. Drop a doe on opening day, log it in on the internet, and the camp could eat for quite a while on totally legal venison. Of course my "hunt camp" is also my primary residence! I could stick a rifle out the dining room window on opening morning and probably whack a deer in my neighbor's pasture across the road, or wait for one to show up beside the barn and drop it from my BIL's kitchen window!
Jerry

snake284

Jerry, how long is your season there?

Teach

We have an archery season that begins in late September and stays open until January, then muzzleloader comes along in early November. Tradidionally, centerfire begins the weekend before Thanksgiving and continues into early January. Last year, they shortened the centerfire season by a week, but they also eliminated a week of archery/ML in early December when centerfire was closed. The number of days of open season remained about the same.

The idea here is to put a lot of hunting pressure on the doe population to reduce the bucks' breeding opportunities. It seems to be working, as we're seeing a slight reduction in the overpopulated total number of deer, and a better selection of mature bucks to hunt. If even one buck in an area survives, he will get around to breeding practically all the does in his neighborhood. The logical method of controlling the total number and the overall health of the herd is to cull as many does as possible. Also, "Ya can't eat horns!"
Jerry

snake284

Your season is a little shorter than ours, but not that much. I think TPWD is full of bunny hugging commies. They can come up with the damndest game laws. And as my friend says, some just want to do away with fishing, hunting, AND guns.

One such idiotic law is that a flounder has to be 14 inches minimum. Now how in blue blazzes are you going to judge that from the deck of a boat looking down into 8"-18 inches of water in the middle of the night with light glaring off the water? That's insane.It makes about as much sense as having a screen door on a submarine. Now think about it. If you gig a short flounder, what are you going to do? Keep it? I don't thing a sane person will because he can buy a bunch of prime beef for the cost of that one flounder if he gets caught. So what do we do? We throw it back. And then you're pretty sure it's going to die. So how many fish are wasted? And when it's brought up at various meetings it is passed over with all kinds of excuses or the one bringing it up gets shouted down. Bunny Huggers!!! They will be the end of us all.

breamfisher

Why do you think they have size limits?

snake284

I'm not arguing that point with you Bream. I realize what size limits are about, but I'm saying that for a 14 inch flounder v. a 12 inch fish is it worth the loss when people will throw them back? Also, even with fish caught on a rod and real, do you think the average person handles his catch with kidd gloves? Most wrench the fish off the hook with its eye balls bugging out and throw them back in to die. I'm just saying put a number limit on them and say when you get this number of fish you stop (I know, we already have a number limit, but I mean decrease the number allowed). I have a problem with catch and release for the same reason. It would be ok if everyone knew what you know or was an expert like Bill Dance, but realistically it ain't happening. Ive been there and seen it happen and seen too many Spotted Weakfish floating belly up after being thrown back for being a quarter inch short.

I say if the size is that critical cut back on the numbers. I would still gig flounder if they let me gig 3 fish or two fish because I've been doing it since i was 7 years old and it is s great sport for me. One thing I think that needs to stop is flounder charters. These guys take parties of people out and everyone gets a limit. Then they take em back to the dock, let em off, and another party gets on the boat and goes out. They do this all night. This really puts pressure on the resource. I don't want to see them outlaw flounder gigging. But I would rather see it than for flounder to become endangered. Also, I would be in favor of a flounder season like deer season where gigging is only allowed for so many months a year (We already have a version of it as November is now off limits to giggers and the bag limit for rod and reel fishing is cut to Two fish for that month). I don't want to see even that, but if that's the alternative I could live with it as I do now with November off limits.

breamfisher

Okay, so you still don't know how the regulatory system works, have been educated, and don't want to learn.


Makes me remember my promise to myself.

snake284

breamfisher wrote: »

Okay, so you still don't know how the regulatory system works, have been educated, and don't want to learn.


Makes me remember my promise to myself.

No I guess I'm not privy to your freaking level of genius bream. Gee I wish I was as smart as you. Then I could bug every body here that doesn't agree with every thing I say and contiunually find arguements on the internet. I just made a promise to myself too.
Say GoodNight Gracie!!!

Fisheadgib

Not to derail things any further but I think that I found my very first signature.

snake284

Fisheadgib wrote: »

Not to derail things any further but I think that I found my very first signature.

This is truly an honor Sir!!! And you are always welcome to take anything I say as a sig line.