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are just the opposite. Just as the buck wears the majestic rack, the cock pheasant is adorned in more colors than the sunsets we admire, while the hen is, at best, rather drab. But unlike the white-tailed doe, even on the final day of the pheasant season, hens get up at your feet while roosters are flushing from the field across the highway from where you’ re hunting.
Venison-- great food I think I also know why so many deer hunters say they don’ t care for venison. The only venison they ever taste comes from the body of a buck. Thank about what that buck’ s been doing for the month or so before you hunt him. He’ s run himself ragged. He doesn’ t eat and seems to go round the clock. When he stops, it’ s to urinate on himself.
So the innocent hunter whacks one of these sex-starved creatures, plugs his nose and field-dresses him. He cuts the animal into meal-size portions and freezes them. Then, he waits until they’ re freezer-burned and throws them out, then tells everyone he doesn’ t like venison.
Some year, go shoot a doe, something big game managers and farmers are begging you to do. Carefully field-dress her, strip all the fat and wrap and freeze it. Friends, inside each carefully wrapped package is Nirvana. The flesh on a typical doe is so succulent it’ s a shame any of it goes on a sausage pile.
There’ s little that tastes quite as good as the loin of a mature doe, seasoned only with salt and pepper, coated with olive oil and cooked quickly to medium rare over hot coals. There has never been a white-tailed buck that tasted like this and mule deer bucks rank even lower.
Of course, when it comes to ringnecks, we only eat cocks because unless you’ re hunting on a preserve they’ re the only legal game. But even here I’ d be willing to bet a hen tastes better. And as much as I hold properly caredfor and prepared venison in high esteem, with pheasants, the flavor is somewhat bland and you need to do something with it to make it memorable. But please, please, hold the cream of mushroom soup. The Campbell’ s folks have been
thanking you for along time and I sense that their Cream of Mushroom soup sales zoom after the pheasant opener. And I wonder if it isn’ t related to the belief of many wives that all wild meat is gamey and as long as you have to cook it, you try to disguise the flavor.
Casual Hunting
My favorite way to hunt whitetails is to still-hunt. Nothing more than pussy-footing through woods and spending more time looking than walking. Before you take a step you look to see where to plant your feet to avoid making a sound. And you look and look and look, but you do not look for a deer. Instead, you look for horizontal lines in the mostly vertical timber, in other words, things that do not belong. And as much as I enjoy hunting this way, I know I tip the odds in my favor if I sit in a stand.
Regarding pheasants, the maximum distance for clean kills is nearly always less than 35 yards. I’ ve been hunting pheas-
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