Thursday, November 30, 2017

Modern Wild Man ~In the Deer Woods~


It's deer season - In the Deer Woods

It' deer season!

The rifle deer season is open in Kansas and I have been blessed to be both in the deer woods and to take a great buck this season!

Deer hunting is so much more than chasing bucks and filling tags and freezers.  Today I was thinking about deer hunting, about the hunts and trips I've been on chasing deer and it hit me that I have been hunting deer over 20 years now.  I don't feel that old, and I'm sure that I don't look that old!

In the 20+ years I have spent pursuing deer in Kansas I cannot even begin to count the number of hours and dollars I've invested in their pursuit.  Time spent planning and scouting, shooting and practicing before season.  Time in the stand, early mornings, weekends and vacation time dedicated to hunting deer.  I began hunting deer well before game and trail cameras, before crossbows were legal except for handicap hunters and before social media.  The number of bowhunters in the woods was few and far between, and the local gas station or cafe was the best place to see a trophy buck.

The pursuit of deer nation wide has taken twists and turns and ups and downs over the years.  Thinking back over the seasons I can remember many hunts and encounters like they were yesterday.  Hunts with friends, with my wife, with my kids and by myself come to mind.  Some of my most memorable hunts finished without a deer to show for the day.  My deer hunting career started out with a borrowed rifle from a cousin and a dandy Kansas mule buck in the truck, but that's a story for another time.  I have made many close friends that have stayed with me through the years of hunting deer.  Friends like Eric, Frank, Steve and Dave started as deer hunting friends and I'm sure that my deer hunting friend list is not finished.

I have hunted deer from the ground and from trees.  I've hunted and taken deer with a recurve bow, a compound bow and a rifle.  I've used tactics successfully like rattling, grunting, decoying, still hunting and deer drives.  Over the years I have grown to love the deer woods, to enjoy the sit and the wait.    

This years deer tag attached firmly to my trophy.


Being in the deer woods and being quiet and still took me years to get right, but I'm glad I have.  In my youth I didn't have the patience to wait, to sit and to wait on the deer, to take in all the woods had to offer.  A lot of my hunts as a young man were three or four hours at daylight or before dark in a tree stand, maybe a walk along a creek or spot and stalk.  None of these hunting tactics are bad or one better than another, but I have learned to love time in the stand or blind.  I have grown to enjoy long sits, sometimes 8 hours or more, trying my hardest to notice all that the woods has to show me. 

Sitting deliberately still and quiet helps you to slow down, to focus and to discover treasures in the deer woods that you would have otherwise never seen.  A little bird on a limb in the tree you are in, a bobcat hunting along a creek edge or a group of turkeys chasing each other though the timber are all experiences I've had while hunting deer.  The flutter of a fallen leaf spinning across the woods in a north wind or the brightness of bittersweet berries against the grey canvas of fall are little things that become big when you take the time to notice them.  Watching the woods come alive at daylight on a snowy morning, the sound of duck wings overhead and the silhouette of a coyote mousing through tall grass across from your stand brings a sense of wonder to a hunter.  The deer woods for me has become a landing strip where I can ground myself.  It is a form of therapy where I can examine myself, find my thoughts and reconnect to the important things that have begun to fall away.

This year was another great opportunity to find myself in the deer woods in pursuit of not only a trophy deer or meat for my family, but also a pursuit of needed time in the wilderness.  I opted to hunt with a rifle this season, with our family labrador in her second hunting season and showing great promise as a hunting companion I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could.  Choosing to hunt deer with a rifle rather than a bow this year was one compromise I could make to help devote time to bird hunting and Meg's training.  

Opening morning of rifle season was warmer than many I can remember.  I arrived well before daylight to the area I planned to hunt and carefully walked to my ground blind under the cover of darkness with the wind in my face.  Reaching the blind it didn't take me long to get situated overlooking old growth timber stretching along a creek bank on one side and a finger of scattered willows and tall prairie grass bordering a small pond on the other.  The morning was overcast and the air was heavy with moisture.  It didn't take long for a few does to appear from the timber with the morning's first warming rays.  The family group of does poked around a small clearing on the edge of the creek their handsome brown coats seemed to gleam in the bright early light.  Before long another group of does, five in number, joined the first group from across the prairie grass.  The two groups of deer joined together seamlessly and vanished into the standing timber to the north.


The morning had just begun and I had already seen deer, it was already a great hunt.  I sat in my blind trying to notice everything there was to notice, taking in the sky and the grass, the color of the bark on the trees and the song of the birds around me.  A few more does appeared a couple times and then were gone again, slowly slipping in and out of the timber along the creek.  Snacking on a piece of jerky from my pack at mid morning I looked into the clearing the does had fed in at first light and noticed a little coyote with bright eyes and alert ears.  I watched him through the binoculars for fifteen minutes or more, sniffing and scratching and doing what coyotes do.  Finally he vanished into the trees to the south, only to appear again, but acting strangely.  The coyote laid down flat pinning his ears, then unexpectedly jumped up and ran a short distance along the timber edge only to lay down flat again in a posture as if he was ready to pounce.  Once again the coyote jumped up and ran backward again, this time I noticed a large whitetail doe appear from the steep creek bank crossing with a fawn and charge at the coyote.  Back and forth they went, the coyote laying down as if it were trying to hide and the doe chasing it off fifteen or twenty yards at a time.  

Watching the show in front of me I barely noticed a young buck that worked into the clearing, he was watching the same show and seemed curious about the events taking place as well.  A few minutes passed and the young buck began to harass the doe as well.  He chased her further into the clearing and the coyote finally lost interest and wandered off into the tall grass.  Content with the show in front of me only two hundred yards away I was happy to watch the young eight point pursue the doe.  Silently I sat in my blind watching through binoculars the display.  After just a short time, from the same creek crossing, appeared a great mature buck.  A heavy bodied deer with a swollen neck and glistening antlers.  With the shake of his head and a low grunt he moved off the younger deer without any confrontation.  The buck jogged over to the doe in the clearing and before he could reach her she pinned her ears and moved away.  In frustration the seasoned buck walked stiff legged to an eight foot tall red cedar tree nearby and began to rub and thrash it with his antlers and forehead gland.  

In all this excitement it didn't take me long to realize this was the deer I had gotten out of bed early to hunt.  Without hesitation I shouldered my 25-06 Weatherby bolt action and found the deer in the scope.  I didn't feel comfortable with the shot while the buck chased the doe around, and when he went to work on the tree most of his vitals were covered up by cedar branches.  For what was only seconds, but felt like minutes, my heart was pounding and my mouth suddenly went dry.  I calmed myself with a deep breathe watching the cedar tree across the clearing shake back and forth through the rifle scope.  The deer raised his head for a minute and took a couple steps into the clearing and stopped.  This was my chance, and I made short work of it.  I squeezed off a confident round, the shot felt good and in the distance I saw a great buck tip over after only a step or two.  

My 2017 buck was on the ground and I couldn't be happier!  I had a great hunt, and was blessed with the opportunity at a great deer!

Walking up on my downed trophy deer.

Deer hunting has been a blessing to me over the years.  I hope that one day I am able to pass that blessing onto my family and new deer hunting friends.


Modern Wild Man and my 2017 Kansas buck!

This years buck is a great tall eight point I had seen a couple of times through the summer and into the fall.  He's got a couple unique kickers that really add character to his antlers.

Here is a small kicker growing down from his base toward his right eye.



Here is a flyer tine from his left base growing back across his head.


I am grateful for the chance to pursue such a charming and magnificent animal.


Modern Wild Man's 2017 buck.


I hope you enjoyed sharing my deer hunt with me.  If you want to read more of Modern Wild Man, you can follow along here:














Monday, November 27, 2017

Modern Wild Man ~ Creamed Pheasant


Creamed Pheasant - A family tradition and favorite!

Creamed pheasant with a side of mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli.


Upland Pheasant is one of the finest table fairs either domestic or wild.  I grew up hunting pheasants on the western plains of Kansas and the pheasant hunt wass more of a right of passage and a tradition than just a pastime or hobby.  When the north wind blows from a November sky my thoughts often turn to the sight and sound of a flushing rooster pheasant, if only in my mind. 

The holiday season is in full force and folks are meeting and sharing and eating together.  Try out this recipe that I first learned to make from my great grandmother as one of our family traditions.  This is a stomach and heart warming dish to share the bounty of a hunt with friends and family.


Happy Hunting!


Modern Wild Man Creamed Pheasant

Ingredients~

boneless skinless breast from two pheasant

2 C all purpose flour

1 T Old Bay seasoning

2 t Kosher Salt

Several grinds fresh black pepper

2 t Garlic Powder

2 t Onion Powder 

1 gallon zip top bag

Canola Oil

1 Pint heavy  cream

All the fixings for creamed pheasant.

The pheasant breast should be cleaned and trimmed of any connective tissue, feathers or skin.  Cut tenders about 3/8" thick long ways and across the grain.  Pat the cut pheasant strips dry on all sides with a clean paper towel or two.

Add the flour, Old Bay, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper into the zip top bag and mix well. 

In a heavy dutch or deep cast iron skillet pour in the canola oil and turn on the heat to medium or medium high.  I like to use a thermometer and bring the oil up to around 350 - 360 degrees.

When the oil is hot and ready to go, drop the cut pheasant strips into the zip top bag with the seasoned flour for a good shake, rub and shake again.  Add the coated pheasant pieces to the hot oil and be careful not to get splattered.  Don't overcrowd the pan, it may take two or three pan fulls to get all the pheasant pieces done.

Use a pair of tongs or a fry spider to gently turn the pheasant pieces as they brown.  If the heat stays right around the 350 mark the tenders will be done to perfection when they are golden brown on all sides.

As the pheasant strips brown move them out of the hot oil and onto a paper towel or screen rack to drain the excess oil.  Move new pieces into the skillet until all the pheasant is cooked golden and draining on a paper towel.

Next, either pour off the leftover oil you fried your pheasant in, or get a new heavy pan out.  On low heat line the pan with all the browned pheasant pieces you just finished frying.  You might have to work to squeeze them all in, but try and make them fit.  Finally, pour over all the warm pieces of breaded and fried pheasant the heavy cream.  Try and get a good coating on all the pheasant and let it run all around the bottom of the pan.

Slowly cook the pheasant in heavy cream over low / medium low heat until it warms through and thickens to your liking.  Salt and pepper the finished skillet to your liking.

Creamed pheasant is a hearty comforting dish that makes its own gravy to pour over mashed potatoes.


Breaded and fried pheasant in heavy cream.

Serve with a fresh garden salad, a side of mashed potatoes, green beans or broccoli and you've got a meal to write home about!

Thanks for checking out this recipe, be sure to check out my other posts here: Modern Wild Man

If you want to read more about upland hunting here are a couple posts about quail hunting in Kansas:




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~See you out there ~

Modern Wild Man and Meg on a great pheasant hunt!











Monday, November 13, 2017

Modern Wild Man ~ It's Pheasant Season


Hunting Pheasant is an Uplanders Dream

My favorite time of year is fall, and this year's pheasant opener did not disappoint!


Modern Wild Man and Meg on the pheasant opener!

The Ring Neck Pheasant

The Great Plains of North America is a wonder of nature full of vast expanses and true both in heart and deed.  The land of the prairie is honest and wholesome, but rugged and tough at the same time.  Fall on the prairie is a magical time.  Giant cottonwood trees turn a brilliant yellow, the lush grasses of May and June have come full circle offering golden seed to the autumn winds.  The prairie lands produce a bounty of grain; grain to feed countless mouths nurtured by fertile plains, the summer sun and raised by generations of men and women who care for the land.  It is this combination of grass and field, feed and cover across the plains of Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas that offers the sportsman a chance to pursue the magic of the pheasant hunt.

Upland hunting is tradition, right of passage and addictive.  Families gather for opening day with the same institution of any family holiday.  Cousins learn to play together around family farms, smiles and laughter are shared over stories of season openers passed and meals are set around family kitchens and dining tables on opening weekends all across the heartland.  If you are fortunate enough to be invited to such an occasion, count yourself lucky.  The fellowship and camaraderie are second to none.  If you are extra lucky there will be a bounty of birds to go along with the fellowship.

The pheasant is at home on the prairie.


The ringneck pheasant is a sturdy bird, tough and agile.  It is a perfect match for the beauty and the harshness of the plains.  Native to Asia and introduced to North America as a game bird, it is so popular that it is the state bird of South Dakota.  Pheasants make themselves at home in many types of cover including crop fields and grassy prairies.  It's this ability to adapt that makes pursuing the pheasant so addictive.  As a sportsman you must know and understand your quarry.  Trying to find and approach a wary bird that's adapt in so many environments can be both frustrating and fulfilling.  Pheasants become well versed at the game of chase quickly and learn to run and flush early at the sight and sounds of hunters.  Both adept on the ground and in the air, hunters must consider the ground cover, wind and escape routes when in pursuit.

Hunting Fellowship and Friendships are My Favorite

Recently I was able to join a long time friend of Modern Wild Man on an opening weekend hunt.  The experience was full and bursting at the seams.  Through the course of only a day and a half we managed to squeeze in family fellowship and meals, hot cups of coffee in the early morning, nearly 20 miles of walking and game bags heavy with birds.  This was Meg's first real pheasant hunt and an amazing way to kick off her second hunting season.

Modern Wild Man with Meg, a proud dog happy to work!

Opening Day Hunt

Opening morning was cool and damp.  Low clouds hung across the landscape like a heavy curtain.  Hunters rolled out of bed into the early morning darkness with anticipation.  Hot cups of coffee cupped between chilled hands rolled steam above the cup rim around eager faces.  The steam lingering lazily under cap brims pulled low.  The first rays of morning light brought with them a promise and an unforeseen adventure.  Men in leather boots and tan vests patched with orange blocks lined up neatly across the stubble of last summer's wheat in hopes of flushing a wild bird within shotgun range.  Meg quickly went to work, her nose to the ground, lifting it every so often to check the wind.  Step by step our group of hunters worked across the crop field, shotguns gripped at the ready with a bird dog in the lead.  Looking down the line a group of men all together to enjoy a bond of hunting and outdoorsmanship; builders and repairmen, fathers and sons, brothers and friends eyes squinted and steps light across the season's first field.  It wasn't long until the flash of wings and bright plumage took to the air.  The cackle of a rooster in flight.  The flush of a rooster pheasant from cover is explosive and tenacious, almost daring the hunter to shoot.  The nearest hunter in line to the bird snapped his gun to shoulder and just like it was written in a Hemingway novel a shotgun report rang into the morning.  The rooster folded in the air and fell to the ground.  Meg sprang into action at the sound of the gun and had the first pheasant retrieve of her career.

The day and the weekend moved on.  We covered more fields and found more birds.  Meg did not disappoint.  As the hunt moved along retrieves varied from singles to doubles.  Meg found birds in short stubble, tall standing crops and burrowed under weeds.  The confidence she built in the few short hours of that weekend hunt are immeasurable.  The joy and enthusiasm of a good bird dog is contagious.  I find that as many times that I go hunting for me and my therapy, I also go hunting for Meg and her clear love of bird hunting.  Getting to hunt with such a partner is a privilege and a rare opportunity.  Knowing that she has the same passion for the hunt that I do bonds us together beyond what words can describe.  Riding home after a long weekend that seemed so short, watching her curled up on the floorboard in a well deserved deep sleep I can't help but daydream about hunts to come and retrieves she will make.

Meg with a fields take of rooster pheasants.

I cannot express enough gratitude to my Modern Wild Man friend for the invitation to join his family for their opening weekend tradition.  The fellowship, family and willingness to share something of so much value cannot be measured.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Modern Wild Man ~Fried Turkey Tenders~


Fried Turkey Tenders - Wild Turkey at Thanksgiving!

Turkey breast strips fried golden brown!


The seasons are changing and it's my favorite time of year.  The leaves that are hanging on stubbornly to the trees seem to shout in yellow, red and orange voices in their objection to the end of summer.  Hunting seasons are opening almost every weekend now, and soon our fireplace will crackle with winter warmth.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I can think of no greater treat for a Thanksgiving feast than turkey on the table.  Not just any turkey will do, this year when your family gathers around the table share your thanks and gratitude for the outdoors, for hunting and woodsmanship and for the spring turkey woods.

Here is my favorite recipe for fried wild turkey tenders.  Simple and easy, it's a great dish to share.  I pray that your Thanksgiving table is filled with those you love and offers something wild!


Modern Wild Man Fried Turkey Tenders

Ingredients-

1 boneless skinless turkey breast fillet

3 C all purpose flour

1 T Old Bay Seasoning

2 t Kosher Salt

Several Grinds Fresh Black Pepper to taste

canola oil

gallon zip top bag


Turkey breast ready for slicing.

The turkey breast should be cleaned and trimmed of any connective tissue, feathers or skin.  Cut tenders about 3/8" thick long ways and across the grain.  Pat the cut tenders dry on all sides with a clean paper towel or two.

Add the flour, Old Bay, salt and pepper into the zip top bag and mix well. 

In a heavy dutch or deep cast iron skillet pour in the canola oil and turn on the heat to medium or medium high.  I like to use a thermometer and bring the oil up to around 350 - 360 degrees.

When the oil is hot and ready to go, drop the cut turkey tenders into the zip top bag with the seasoned flour for a good shake, rub and shake again.  Add the coated turkey tenders to the hot oil and be careful not to get splattered.  

Use a pair of tongs or a fry spider to gently turn the tenders as they brown.  If the heat stays right around the 350 mark the tenders will be done to perfection when they are golden brown on all sides.




Add some gravy, ranch dressing or homemade ketchup from garden tomatoes on the side and you've got a dish to be thankful for!  

Thanks for checking out this recipe, be sure to check out my other posts here: Modern Wild Man 


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