Thanks guys! I very much enjoy deer hunting using traditional methods.  Lever action, open sights, no electronic communications or range finders and only a pair of field glasses for optics.  In our wide-open country, it can be a real challenge. I have to pass on quite a few deer at longer ranges that could be taken with modern long-range rifles and optics.  These days, it’s become quite common for hunters in the West with high-tech equipment to spot and shoot game at 600-800 yards and beyond.  Not at all my kind of hunting.

Hunting with our kind of rifles in open terrain requires a much greater skill set, being able to use your wits, the terrain, cover, wind, etc. to get within range of open sights. It’s a much greater challenge and far more satisfying.  For me, it’s much more about the challenge than the kill.

Don’t get me wrong, I like venison very much and our freezer was empty, so there was a certain urgency to harvest a deer this season.  Erin and I just got them processed and in the freezer.  We mix a little bacon fat in when grinding the venison burger, giving it a wonderful flavor.  I’m looking forward to the BBQ’d venison burgers this afternoon very much. 

Best of luck to all who take to the field this fall to put food on the table.  Mark