The whole hog, (deer) really

[*Big Beast*]

I`m just pondering how many bush-crafters could go the whole hog, well OK deer really.

from setting up camp,gathering the wood,lighting the fire,etc, to hunting/stalking and killing a deer, then not wanting to waste anything, skin,butcher,preserve,cure, and use the skin for shoes,coat,etc, string a bow from sinew,tools from bones, as i say, how many can go the whole deer (hog)?
I could stalk,kill, and as a time served butcher and years spent as a shepherd i could manage the skinning,boning, meat ,and cooking, the rest, humm not sure really

i hope this is in the correct forum.

 

[maddave]

I'd love to but here in the UK it would take too much time and effort to get the permissions. Eastern Europe is the place for that kind of thing i'm afraid, or the far north !!

 

[TeeDee]

I'd love to but here in the UK it would take too much time and effort to get the permissions. Eastern Europe is the place for that kind of thing i'm afraid, or the far north !!

Bushcraft Moot in Poland?! Maddave , you are a genius!!

 

[*Big Beast*]

Bushcraft Moot in Poland?! Maddave , you are a genius!!

and so are you TeeDee, also very lucky with competitions, thank you for allowing me to post your link;
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45644&highlight=hunter+gatherer

 

[JonathanD]

and so are you TeeDee, also very lucky with competitions, thank you for allowing me to post your link;
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45644&highlight=hunter+gatherer

Glad you put that link up, I somehow missed it the first time around... great stuff.


As to your original post BB (see, I can keep on topic if I try), I reckon the flies and maggots would beat me to finishing most things.

 

[bigandy]

i would sadly fall short aswell but recon i could at he meat while you guys/galls did the making bit!

 

[*Big Beast*]

I'd love to but here in the UK it would take too much time and effort to get the permissions. Eastern Europe is the place for that kind of thing i'm afraid, or the far north !!

maybe and it is just an idea, the hunting part could be covered by stalking and killing a rabbit, then from a local farmer an un-skinned carcase, freshly killed of a ewe could be a deer substute, it would add to the skills of what it could be used for, then there`s the skinning,etc, so it might be possible over an extended weekend?

 

[Neumo]

It would be great to have a go at this, perhaps we could get a group togeather as I know a few people that stalk so getting a deer (or sheep) should be doable. I have a couple of DVDs on how to butcher a buffalo and the thing that you quickly work out is how much work is involved in processing all the parts (hide, making meat strips to dry, stomach cleaning, tendons for cordage etc..). What you would need is half a dozen experienced camp ladies who can get on with some of the work while the lads do all the heavy lifting & cutting up the big bits of meat. Trouble is camp squaws that dont mind cutting up animals are a bit thin on the ground in my neck of the woods....

 

[Matt.S]

I reckon this was rarely done as a singular activity historically speaking. Even a roe is a lot of work -- and that's after you've shot/stabbed/trapped it.

 

[Melonfish]

As one person its quite a daunting task and probebly something to be done over many many hours work. as a group perhaps it would be ok, you could divide the jobs to various people whilst still keeping up on things like tending the fire and surviving etc.

 

[Mikey P]

I`m just pondering how many bush-crafters could go the whole hog, well OK deer really.

from setting up camp,gathering the wood,lighting the fire,etc, to hunting/stalking and killing a deer, then not wanting to waste anything, skin,butcher,preserve,cure, and use the skin for shoes,coat,etc, string a bow from sinew,tools from bones, as i say, how many can go the whole deer (hog)?
I could stalk,kill, and as a time served butcher and years spent as a shepherd i could manage the skinning,boning, meat ,and cooking, the rest, humm not sure really

i hope this is in the correct forum.

To get this back on track....

I couldn't. I'd be OK with the camp, fire, etc, but I don't really have the hunting and game preparation skills. I could have a go at the craft bits afterwards but I'd need some instruction.

 

[Tengu]

Id be up for it (provided theres plenty to eat) but know very little

 

[*Big Beast*]

as i said i would be up for the butchering & cooking, helping out with the fire, etc, hunting,stalking, but i would need instruction on preserving,drying, tanning,cord making but i think if we had a range of skills between us this could make a great skill sharing meet and maybe most of the meat would end up cooked and eaten.
if skills are short it could also be a good one to test some of the described methods in the books and see how accurate and practical they really are, from book instructions/illustrations could drying meat be learnt and put in to practice? along with other skills, could be a good one to find out on.

 

[SouthernCross]

I have in the past, and am quite confident of doing it again.

I have both air dried goat meat, as well as both cool & hot smoked it.

Skinning & butchering is no problem either (have a look what I got up to a week ago . BTW, a warning is appropriate. The linked videos show graphic content of a goat being skinned, dressed & the carcass being broken up. If you will find these images upsetting, I'd suggest you don't click on the links ).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFuLY3_NbFk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_OWphZX0Cw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdu49Z6rcRo

Campsite necessities are well & truly covered, as is curing the hide with either brain tanning or veg tanning (we have quite a few native trees that have a high tannin content in their bark). That's of course assuming we aren't in drought and will have enough water available at the campsite for the tannin tanning bath.

Since the bulk of our native trees are really not suited to bow making, I prefer to make a spear & wommera which I have used in the past to take game animals

With a bit of trial & error practice, I'm sure I could whip up some moccasins for shoes. & a poncho for a coat.

So I reckon I'm up to going the whole hog/deer/goat/Roo/wallaby/rabbit/duck/crested dove/etc,etc





Kind regards
Mick

 

[rivergnome]

Evening All,

If you want to learn more about Brain Tanning - then this might be of interest:

I will be hosting a Brain Tanning workshop in June, to be led by a visiting american professional brain tanner; Kfir Mendel - founder of Two Wolves (www.twowolves.org).

The course will take place on June 18-20 in South Devon and is a real one-off opportunity to learn from a Brain Tanning expert.

I also run my own veg tanning courses which take you through all the stages involved in tanning from meeting a recently culled wild Dartmoor roe-deer (head, feet, everything bar the intestines!), using hand-tools to remove the skin skillfully in one piece.

You can find further info on my website: www.tannerbates.co.uk - just go to the Courses section.

Apologies for the rather blatant plug, but thought this was worth mentioning.

 

[FreddyFish]

I'm pretty sure I could do it. I know the skills (could do with some practice) but apart form that it's just time and patience.

 

[FreddyFish]

Humm... This may be of interest as you say, but as a first post it feels pretty spamy to me. It would be nice (polite) to introduce yourself first maybe. We have a whole section for intros.

Evening All,

If you want to learn more about Brain Tanning - then this might be of interest:

I will be hosting a Brain Tanning workshop in June, to be led by a visiting american professional brain tanner; Kfir Mendel - founder of Two Wolves (www.twowolves.org).

The course will take place on June 18-20 in South Devon and is a real one-off opportunity to learn from a Brain Tanning expert.

I also run my own veg tanning courses which take you through all the stages involved in tanning from meeting a recently culled wild Dartmoor roe-deer (head, feet, everything bar the intestines!), using hand-tools to remove the skin skillfully in one piece.

You can find further info on my website: www.tannerbates.co.uk - just go to the Courses section.

Apologies for the rather blatant plug, but thought this was worth mentioning.

 

[rivergnome]

Hi and sorry, you are right. I have just posted an intro post.

Humm... This may be of interest as you say, but as a first post it feels pretty spamy to me. It would be nice (polite) to introduce yourself first maybe. We have a whole section for intros.

 

[ged]

Since the bulk of our native trees are really not suited to bow making, I prefer to make a spear & wommera which I have used in the past to take game animals

I know things are different down under, but just so we don't all get carried away, here in the UK it's illegal to take ANY wild animal with a bow. You also need to have the right, or permission, to do it or it's illegal however you do it. If you do have the permission to take a wild animal in the UK, I think you can more or less only use a firearm or a snare. If it's a snare it must not be self-locking and it must be inspected at least daily. I've seen (and destroyed) snares that haven't been inspected by whoever set them for at least a week and I find it difficult to understand how one of my species can be so hateful as to even set one.

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/conten...xtDocId=809282&VersionNumber=4&filesize=14990

If on your hunt you miss, and an animal runs off injured and you can't catch it, it might suffer terribly for who knows how long. More than half of the animals hit with an arrow are badly injured, but not killed, and escape. I would certainly not risk causing suffering to any animal just to have a fun weekend.

I'm not sure what the legal position is regarding butchery of an animal killed in the circumstances envisaged by the OP, but I'd hazard a guess that it's complicated by all kinds of public health and animal welfare issues. Maybe nowadays you need a lawyer in the camp. Once it was dead, I'd personally have no problem with cutting up an animal to eat it, and I'd want to make sure that nothing was wasted.

Having said that I'd be a real landlubber with all the back-to-the-middle-ages stuff. Yes I could stalk and kill an animal for food, but I'd only consider doing it in an emergency where survival was the issue. Don't get me wrong, I eat meat and I use a lot of things made from leather. I very much enjoy a good steak, and I know an animal has to be killed so that I can eat it, wear it or sit on it. But the animals are killed humanely - or at least they're supposed to be.

 

[*Big Beast*]

I know things are different down under, but just so we don't all get carried away, here in the UK it's illegal to take ANY wild animal with a bow. You also need to have the right, or permission, to do it or it's illegal however you do it. If you do have the permission to take a wild animal in the UK, I think you can more or less only use a firearm or a snare. If it's a snare it must not be self-locking and it must be inspected at least daily. I've seen (and destroyed) snares that haven't been inspected by whoever set them for at least a week and I find it difficult to understand how one of my species can be so hateful as to even set one.

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/conten...xtDocId=809282&VersionNumber=4&filesize=14990

If on your hunt you miss, and an animal runs off injured and you can't catch it, it might suffer terribly for who knows how long. More than half of the animals hit with an arrow are badly injured, but not killed, and escape. I would certainly not risk causing suffering to any animal just to have a fun weekend.

I'm not sure what the legal position is regarding butchery of an animal killed in the circumstances envisaged by the OP, but I'd hazard a guess that it's complicated by all kinds of public health and animal welfare issues. Maybe nowadays you need a lawyer in the camp. Once it was dead, I'd personally have no problem with cutting up an animal to eat it, and I'd want to make sure that nothing was wasted.

Having said that I'd be a real landlubber with all the back-to-the-middle-ages stuff. Yes I could stalk and kill an animal for food, but I'd only consider doing it in an emergency where survival was the issue. Don't get me wrong, I eat meat and I use a lot of things made from leather. I very much enjoy a good steak, and I know an animal has to be killed so that I can eat it, wear it or sit on it. But the animals are killed humanely - or at least they're supposed to be.

you are correct in that bow hunting (long bow/cross bow) hunting is NOT legal, shooting is by permission only, air rifle or bullet so as far as hunting game goes you need permission.
the butchering of the meat and the laws would depend (i think) on who you intend to feed, if it is for sole consumption i think it`s down to the individual, how he/she consumes it.
If you plan on cooking it for a party of folks camping then H&H laws + catering laws would have to be considered.
but if you are in the field with your mates, shoot a bunny and skin it, then cook up a rabbit stew and offer it as a shared meal, who would claim against you for food poisoning? your mates?