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My Venison Chili Recipe

Is there anything better than chili in the fall? I think not. Add in some deer meat, and it’s one of my all-time favorite meals. So if you’re needing to clear out some of last season’s venison from your freezer before the new batch comes in, here’s my venison chili recipe. It’s pretty good, if I may say so myself.

2 lbs ground venison (I actually use the venison breakfast sausage my processor makes)
1 lb hamburger (optional)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can chopped, diced, stewed tomatoes (whatever you have)
1 large onion
1 large bell pepper
3-4 jalepenos
4-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp chili powder (or more to your taste)
2 tsp cummin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to your taste)
salt and pepper
1 cup water
1-2 cans black beans, rinsed (optional, black, red, pinto, etc.)

Saute the onions, bell pepper, jalepenos and garlic until tender. Be sure to salt and pepper the vegetables. Then add the ground venison and/or hamburger and brown.

Now add the tomato sauce, can of tomatoes and water. Let that simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. I usually leave the lid on for the first half and then off for the second half to reduce and thicken a bit. Now add the spices. Taste now and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary. Also adjust the other spices if needed as well, if you want more heat.

At this point, you could add a can or two of beans if you are so inclined. I know, here in Kansas, most people like beans in their chili. Go further south, into Texas, and you’d be committing heresy if you add beans in. Do you what you like. Adding 1 can of black beans goes very well in this recipe. If you decide to add beans, cook until beans are done.

Serve with cornbread, corn chips, cheddar cheese or other toppings you like. I’m pretty simple, just some shredded cheese for me. This recipe will make a full crockpot or average stock pot full. Sometimes, I’ll make it the night before on the stove and then rewarm in a crockpot the next day for lunch.

So that’s it. It won’t blow your head off with the heat, but it has a nice burn to it. What is your recipe for chili?

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Deer Hunting With The Northwest Trade Gun

So Bill asked me to post a story of hunting with my North West trade Gun. First the history lesson. I hope this doesn’t sound too lame or condescending.

What is commonly known as the North West Trade Gun (NWG) was developed around 300 years ago by, you guessed it, The Northwest Company! It was designed to be a cheap weapon to trade with native populations around the world.

The NWG was a smoothbore flintlock made by various manufacturers in calibers ranging from .45 (.410 gauge, I know .410 is a caliber not a gauge) to around .72 caliber (12 Gauge). The NWG was crudely made, wood to metal fit was poor; the stock was almost strait. The butt was strait. The butt plate was nailed on with horse shoe nails and the wood had no figure.

However, the lock was made from the same molds as the British Brown Bess musket. The NWG was (contrary to pop literature), easy to use, quite “pointable” and very reliable. It had to be. A gun in the farthest reaches of the Canadian wilderness which did not fire due to lack of maintenance etc. was not going to be of much use to a native whose livelihood and life depended on it.

The NWG can be recognized by the distinctive brass serpent on the off side from the lock. The brass serpent was a sign of quality to native populations. Old photos even show natives wearing the serpents around their neck for adornment (kind of like 1980’s rappers wore Mercedes symbols around their necks).

Well it appears I write the same way I talk (too much). So I’ll just move on to a description of my NWG and tell you about my hunt.

I bought my NWG from North Star West which makes an excellent kit. My father, Wes Lumry put it together for me and the only way it differs from an original is in the fit & finish. My dad has been building muzzleloading rifles for forty years. The fit and finish is probably the best of any NWG in history!

My NWG is .65 caliber (16 gauge). Keeping with Native American tradition we cut the barrel from 36″ to 30″ (That KILLED my dad!). Then we hammered tacks all over it. Dad mad a leather/red wool sling for it also.

The first hunting season I had my NWG was also the first season I decided to “hunt only for horns.” That’s right, this year I was holding out for a MONSTER BUCK!

The first evening of muzzleloading deer season I walked across the road from my house to a corn circle (do you like the way I casually let the reader know I live in the middle of hunting paradise!?). And settled in to a corner. I was soon surrounded by 18 (I am not kidding) does and one spike buck. I just sat there putting a bead on various deer and thinking of where I would place my shot if indeed that deer was a MONSTER! Ultimately the sun set and I returned home and reported the evening’s activities to my dad (visiting from Wichita).

The next morning me and my old man walked to the same corner of field. Soon three does appear walking from west to east. The set up is about perfect. The sun is at our backs, no wind, and deer coming strait to us.

But remember, I am only hunting horns. I’m waiting for the MONSTER! The does stop short and begin grazing about 40 yards in front of us.

The following conversation takes place over approximately the next 15 minutes (cut to hunting show TV whispers).

DAD– Hey Keith, you gonna shoot one of those deer?

KEITH– No dad they’re does. I’m holding out for a buck!

DAD– I think you should shoot one of those does.

KEITH– I told you I’m going to shoot a buck, it’s only the second day of the season!

DAD– I think you should shoot one of those does!

KEITH– No response.

DAD– Hell, I built that gun! I should at least get to see you shoot one of those does!

KEITH– No response.

DAD– Go ahead, shoot one of those does!

DAD– I can’t believe you’re not going to shoot one of those does!

DAD– After I built that gun for you…

Meanwhile those does are still THERE! By now dad is yelling at me (okay, not really, but you know what I mean).

DAD– I’m not getting any younger. I don’t know how many hunting seasons I have left….

(Okay, so he probably didn’t say that last line, but it was definitely implied!).

DAD– Go ahead, I want to see you shoot one of those does with that smoothbore flintlock.

DAD– That I built!

Damn those does! They’re still there! They’re sooo close! And Dad WILL-NOT-STOP-TALKING!!!

I break like a number 2 pencil.

I throw my Northwest Trade Gun (which DAD built! Did I mention that?) to my shoulder put a bead on the nearest doe and fire. The world is consumed by smoke, sparks and fire. I can’t see…

YOU GOT HER! Yells dad.

I pace off forty yards to a huge splash of blood.

I am on the edge of the corn circle, the scene is somewhat macabre. On both sides of the corn stalks it looks like someone has entered the standing corn with a garden hose in each hand spraying blood. The ball must have gone clean through. I am so fascinated that I almost step on the deer.

So I’m standing over the deer with mixed emotions. The NWG had performed flawlessly and was massively lethal. I had a successful hunt. My dad was fit to bust over the performance of “HIS” gun. But it’s only the second morning of muzzleloading deer season and my hunt is over. With no MONSTER BUCK!

Oh well at least that corn fed doe was delicious.

And I could always hunt for horns the next year… but that’s another story.

Lum

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Mid Week Hunting Round Up

Some random articles from around the web…

Hunters Help Feed Homeless, something the anti-hunting crowd doesn’t ever bring up, how much hunters share their bounty with the needy.

Why you should get your kids interested in hunting, I’ve gotten my youngest daughter interested in hunting and took her out for the first time last season. Will definitely be taking her pheasant and quail hunting next month.

After years of 100’s of unsubstantiated sightings, finally, a confirmed cougar sighting in Kansas. My dad claims to have seen one in South Central Kansas, towards the Oklahoma border. He didn’t get a photo though, but he was with his fishing buddy and he saw it too.

State by state quail hunting forecast from the Quails Forever site. Things look good for Kansas in general. It’s been a long time. Nothing more fun than a good quail hunt.

State by state pheasant forecast from Pheasants Forever site. According to them, Kansas should be excellent. Higher populations overall and specifically in the NW part of the state. SW Kansas should be improved also – which is where I’ll most likely be.

And close to my heart, The Possible Shop has an article on sighting in a Hawken rifle and determining optimum loads.

And I haven’t quite determined how I feel about this article yet,  Couple to hunter: ‘Leave without your dead deer’. I totally respect their right, since it is their land, but it just seems a bit mean to me. Of course, being a hunter, it’s hard for me to understand some, SOME, anti-hunters.

And I leave you with this quote (courtesy of The Hunting Authority):

“How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!” -Samuel Adams

That’s it for this week. Keep your powder dry!

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October, Thou Art Cruel

Oh October, how cruel you are! No hunting seasons open for me.

September teases with it’s dove and muzzleloading deer seasons. October is the month where I look back and sulk and reminisce while waiting for November and it’s quail and pheasant season.

If only I bowhunted or hunted for waterfowl, I would have an excuse to get out in the field. But alas, I sit here waiting and dreaming.

Those in the Dakotas mock me as they’re off to their pheasant camps this week.

October, you are are cruel.

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Five Things I’ve learned Deer Hunting

deeringoldengrass

Since I’m still fairly new to this deer hunting thing, I thought I might lay out a few things I’ve picked up that no one seems to tell a new hunter about. Hopefully, this can help other greenhorns out.

  1. Check the weather – religiously. I seem to constantly under-dress for the elements. And check the weather for where you’re going to hunt, not where you live as they could be different. The weather conditions can differ fairly significantly from where I live and where I hunt, and it’s only a 3 hour difference. Bring more cold weather gear than you’ll think you need, because you’ll need it. You can take stuff off if you get hot, you can’t put stuff on when you get cold if you didn’t bring it.
  2. Sorry for being a little gross, but clear all the phlegm and mucus out before you head out to your stand. Nothing is more loud than clearing your throat when the sun comes up in the morning.
  3. Learn to sit still. This is still hard for me to do. Don’t jump and look around at every little noise, most likely it’s not a deer, but the sudden movement can tip them off if they’re sitting in the margins looking around.
  4. In the area I hunt, the deer definitely have have schedules. They seem to wander through the same fields and waterholes about every 2-3 days. This last season, the buck I missed was on a 3 day schedule. Keith picked it up, predicted they’d show that Saturday night, and they did. I had suspected this, and started watching this myself. Other hunters I’ve talked to have said the same thing. But I don’t hear anyone talk about it, even in the hunting magazines. Now if I can just figure out 2 stands that have deer traffic on alternate days, that would be awesome.
  5. This one is the most important, especially to the married guys. Thank your wife for keeping the fort under control while you’re out. Thank her a lot. Really. Let me say it one more time, thank your wife for keeping the house and family under control while your out hunting. A simple thank you will go a LONG way. Believe me. I can’t say this one enough. My wife’s awesome. She let me go hunting on our wedding anniversary. Yes, I said “let.”

Those are just a few things I’ve picked up the last couple of hunts. What other tips have you picked up along the way? Leave your tips in the comments.

Image courtesy of Free Nature Pictures.

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Fall Deer Camp 2009 Revisited

Sunrise on the final Saturday
Sunrise over the waterhole on the final Sunday of the season.

I was able to make it for the final weekend of Muzzleloading Deer Season in hopes that I still might be able to get a shot. But, not being able to leave until after work on Friday, I was only going to get a day and half to hunt. The weather proved to be ideal for the hunt. A cold front moved in Friday night and couple that with a full moon and a clear night, the conditions to get the deer moving.

I did see a lot of deer that morning, all whitetails. Unfortunately, they all stayed out of the field I was in and ran the fences to the north and east of me (which we don’t have permission to hunt). A couple of does started to venture in, but were startled by something and changed their mind.

I left around mid-morning to grab some lunch. I had planned on coming back out later in the afternoon as their were a pair of whitetail bucks that seemed to be coming to the water hole every 3 days in the evenings. I’ve observed this behaviour before, noticing that deer seemed to be on some type of schedule like that and would be seen every 2-3 days. Saturday would be the third day for this pair of bachelor bucks. My hunting buddy and I set back out around 5 to see if it would hold true.

I started to get apprehensive as sunset approached and we hadn’t seen anything up to then. But like clockwork, the two bucks showed about 5 minutes after sundown, rounding a ridge just to the north of our stand. We were sitting in a washout on the side of ridge about 10 feet above a couple of paths leading up to the windmill watering hole.

We watched the bucks pick the closest path to us and realized they were going to pass within 30 yards of out stand. My heart and breathing is racing at this point. My first shot at a buck! I mean, I’m really panting, like I had run a marathon. I’m getting worried they’re going to hear me. My mind is screaming at me, “Don’t move! Sit still! Why are you breathing so hard?”

I pick my shooting lane. I wait until the biggest of the 2 clears a large sunflower plant I’m sitting behind. I see his head, his shoulders. I pick my spot. Wait. Squeeze.

The buck flinched, did a 180 and put the spurs down. My partner had waited for me to take the shot. I hear his ring out and see the puff of dust in a slight ridge over the top of the buck’s back. He’s at full gallop, his white tail flying high. We had both missed!

I have no excuses, total newbie, greenhorn mistake. My buddie’s shot was a running shot. When I fired, he was barely moving. And I should’ve waited a couple more seconds to get a good broadside. Instead, in my excitement and nervousness, I took a quartered shot and probably went underneath him. How disappointing! It was like I had forgotten everything when I sighted that buck in.

We went back out Sunday morning, but nothing seemed to be moving. We left around 10 as I had to get my gear packed up to head back home. The season was over. I still had loads of fun and learned much. And I still have December to give it another try. Like I’ve said before, it’s why they call it hunting and not getting. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to redeem myself in December.

Keep your powder dry.

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Hunting Info From Around The Web

Here’s several stories and articles from around the web I thought were interesting.

I think these guys do a great service, Outdoor Mentors

Why I hunt. It’s a little sappy at times, but interesting. Other good ones are here http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2002/06/why-i-hunt and here http://www.biggamehunt.net/sections/Off_Season/Why-I-Hunt-01190907.html

I’ve always wanted to learn how to tan hides, it doesn’t look too hard, just very time consuming.

The Kansas Upland hunting season outlook is shaping up to be a pretty good season and here is another regional report.

Deer population efforts and how hunting and hunters help: http://www.groundreport.com/Business/How-Deer-Hunting-Preserves-The-Deer-Herds/2908324 and http://bullsandbeavers.com/2009/07/03/for-the-ages/

An awesome sounding turkey and wild rice soup recipe.

This guy has some great black powder and muzzleloading information.

And then some that’s obviously a concern of mine, gun control: The Downside of Gun Control and The Media Bias Against Guns

And this both amuses and horrifies me, The Deer Hunter.

That’s all for now, keep your powder dry.