The Hunt is On
Joe Settineri
It's five o'clock in the morning. The stars still sparkle, a stiff white frost blankets the ground, and a cool air descends; all seems normal. Trucks are driving down the road, it seems as though the whole town is already awake. It’s mid-November, the opening day of whitetail deer season to be exact. Men, women, and kids alike are all going out, excited for what the day will bring. Hopes of big bucks are prevalent, but the one main goal of venison (deer meat) is first on the list. The primary weapon choice is usually a shotgun, but more recently, since Cortland County got the okay to use them, rifles have been becoming more commonly used. The difference between the two is that a rifle can shoot farther and with more power than a shotgun; one of the reasons why it was previously illegal. Many people have already set up tree stands to hunt in, but others sit on the ground or alongside a field. Some people wonder why hunters get up so early in the morning to hunt, and the answer to that is so that the hunter has enough time to get in position before the deer can see them. Yes, deer are active almost all times of the day, but the morning, and the evening are the best times to hunt.
Hunting is only one part of the experience. After the kill has been made, the animal has to be gutted in the field, and then processed, by either the hunter or one of the many butchers in the County. My family processes their own deer. This means that after we gut the deer to remove its entrails, we hang it in our barn face down, to remove the hide, which exposes the muscle, or the meat. We then remove the front shoulders, the hindquarters, and the back muscles. After this is done, we usually wait a few days for the meat to tenderize in the fridge, then we begin to cut the meat and fat away from the bone. This meat ends up being ground into burger or cut into steaks, all of which is frozen and packaged for later use. Deer hunting isn't just the sport that many people think it is. Most hunters are out in the woods to get meat in the freezer, and if a buck walks by it's just an added bonus. It is also a tradition among families, and an exciting day for those who enjoy the outdoors and the fruits that come along with it.
