Beretta Mato Synthetic, 24" barrel, .270 Winchester, 140 gr. Winchester Fail Safe, Leupold 3-9x40.  My go to meat gun...when you absolutely, positively, got to kill every critter in the field....I accept no substitutes.  

These are the three I kept.  We shot A LOT of deer for the farmer on his "block" / depredation permits.   Ranges varied from 30 to 250 yards.  No bullet failures, no lost animals.  

I'll be tanning the hides to commemorate this year's trip...I survived cancer to make the hunt, and had a rollover accident during the trip.  Ahhhh, memories....

Good Job.

That your new truck???

Glad you are OK.

All does?  

They're good eatin'.

I read your thread in team about the accident as well....


I'm so glad you continue to kick cancer's ass and I'm glad you made it up there to fill the freezers!

that is some good eats right there..

Ain't nothing wrong with shooting does. Someone has to do it.

Nice job.

I hope we are that lucky next week. 2nd shotgun season in IA.

Where in Mi did you take them?

That your new truck???

Nope...that's the one I rolled.

Where in Mi did you take them?

At a well known hunting spot called "The Undisclosed Location".  

I'll tell you this...we were north of Monroe, south of Crystal Falls, east of Grand Haven, and West of Sebawing. That ought to narrow it down for you.

This particular farm holds some very, very nice mature bucks.  But we've got to play the game with the farmer and thin out his does and raccoons in order to get sole permission to hunt the big boys.  

The farm (280-ish acres of field, a couple hundred more in woods) has not been hunted in 15 years.  I'm sure the occasional nimrod has snuck on, but for the most part it's really remote and well watched for being so remote.  There's a meth trailer for a neighbor, so the state troopers and DNR are out there constantly, and the farmer comes a runnin' whenever he hears shots...he lives that close.  

Very nice.  Make sure to post the pics of the tanned hides.  I've always wanted to try to do one myself.

Quoted: Very nice.  Make sure to post the pics of the tanned hides.  I've always wanted to try to do one myself.

Only idiots and the ignorant try to tan hides themselves. I'll lump the fledgling traditionalists in with the ignorant.  Yeah, I tried to do a brain tan once.  Once....
After that they are masochists.
 
I learned a long time ago to send them out...turn, flesh, salt, ship to Cambras Fur Tannery in Hayward, CA.  

It costs about 1/4 of what it does to have a retail taxidermist do the work...and with fleshing it's still no walk in the park I'll tell you.  But I've got about a half dozen whitetail hides around the house in various locations, I use them like throws...  

The rest make great Christmas Gifts from Bwana...everybody loves them, and it makes them think of good ol 7M3 whenever they look at it.  I use a sharpie to personalize it on the leather side.

 

How much does it cost you for them to do it, and what exactly do you have to do it before shipping it out?

I might have to do that if I shoot one during muzzleloader season

Quoted: How much does it cost you for them to do it, and what exactly do you have to do it before shipping it out? I might have to do that if I shoot one during muzzleloader season

Cost truly depends on how many you are sending out....some places charge you by the square foot, others, with whitetails, charge by the piece.  

If you are just doing one, you are bettter off taking it to the taxidermist.  Don't let anybody try to talk you into the do it yourself at home kit.  You'll end up with rawhide and chemical burns.  

Gotcha. Thanks for saving me a bunch of time and wasted effort.