FanHouse Deer

A grassroots movement is a powerful force. (See: the Obama campaign, American Revolution and the "Napoleon Dynamite" fanbase). And put the local food crowd in that category, too. Unless, of course, your source of local food is living next door to a Cheetos factory. As the mantra of "know what you eat" catches on, it's great to see the public rediscovering farms just outside the city limits.

But, the local food movement is falling short in one category: meat. The idea of knowing the foostuff's source is important and something us huntin' folk have been appreciating for centuries. Looking at a fine cut of steak is mouthwatering. Seeing the cow's head or a full side of beef is inspiring. As a hunter, butchering a whole deer is a humbling reminder of what it takes to fulfill our gastrointestinal system. Respecting the food source is the most important part of eating well.

My thinking about this was spurred by watching "A Christmas Story" on endless repeat over the last week. You know the final scene in the Chinese restaurant? Not the singing, but instead, the reaction when the peking duck is served with the head still intact. Imagine the same drama playing out today. Our food culture is more sanitized than church camp film festival.

I'm not arguing for a total breakdown of cleanliness. Washing hands and scrubbing kitchen pots are fine, but shrink-wrapped meat is not. Seeing an animal intact is a great start, but compromise is the mark of civility so I'm willing to concede a couple of points. Perhaps leaving the feet on the chicken legs (they're great fried) or a head on the pig will give the average consumer the same reverence for flesh that hunters have when they shoot a deer or boar or goose. Also, those extra parts that we discard make a fine meal, too. I'd say along with eating local, we should start eating whole. So, step one: go buy your hunting license.

For a hunter there is nothing worse than being strapped to a desk during the fall. You look out the window and see gray clouds and cold winds rolling in. Everyone else is happy to stay inside, but you know this is prime weather for chasing (white)tail.

So you're stuck in the office. What to do, what to do...I'd suggest feeding your addiction to horn porn. Field and Stream has set up a website of photo galleries to tease any online hunter. Luckily this site is SFW. It's full of user uploaded pictures of deer captured on trail cams. (And there's a million dollar prize if one of the trail cams captures an image of Sasquatch.)

The images even have a seedy, voyeuristic quality about them, hence the pornography reference. Mostly taken at night, the photos are grainy and the deer are unaware, but you get a great look at the animal's rack...the kind of stuff that makes a hunter go weak in the knees. Take a look and try to stay calm.

For those of you unfamiliar with a trail cam, I'll explain what it does on the next page.

Well, the headline says it all. But take solace that it wasn't a pigeon or rat or any other urban legend animal that seems to (supposedly) make its way into ethnic dishes.

The culprit in this story was the China King of Hamburg, NY. Restaurant sanitation employees caught the staff hacking up a whitetail deer in the kitchen. And the Outdoor Pressroom has the money quote:

It was unknown whether the whitetail originated as roadkill or was taken by a hunter.

And the sanitation officials were quick to point out that the meat's source is irrelevant. ""In general, you can't have a dead animal in a food services establishment." I hope not.

Legally, hunters cannot sell excess meat to restaurants or butchers. This is both a conservation and sanitation measure. Read on and I'll explain.

What a terrible way to start the season. Or to end it. Or to happen at all. Period.

WPBF in northern Florida reported that a 73-year-old man died over the weekend when he tried to remove a loaded muzzleloader rifle from his truck. The gun accidentally discharged, hitting Johnny G. Hurst in the chest. He was pronounced dead on the scene. And what makes it even worse is that his wife and two sons witnessed the accident.

Hunting, as a sport, has to deal with a lot of public relations issues, probably more than any other recreation. For instance we all hear from the bunny huggers that try to shame and guilt us for "slaying bambi." But that stuff is trivial compared to safety issues. No doubt the worst thing to happen in our community is when someone is killed.

So, I'm going to have to be a nagging teacher. A few reminders from the hunter safety handbook are after the jump. Study up. We all have a responsibility to be safe in the woods.