Thanks to camel and company

[shooter]

Thanks to everybody who appreciated the story.

Kanwar 76: Sorry no video this time (hands smeared with blood) but will do the next time esp for you.

OUP: OK i made the same mistake once. I went to a restaurant in the countryside once long ago which spacialised in game cooking. I ordered a venison stake and said i liked it well done. The cook came and told me i was ruining it. Venison has no fat so if well done, it gets dry rubbery and chewy. They said i should have it medium-rare. Since then i always have venison (if grilled stake) medium rare.

I have written a report about this elsewhere (i think it was a post where there was a discussion about shooting does and that doe meat is more tender).

Just to sum up what i wrote earlier:

In indian cooking (which is very tasty no doubt) we stress more on the masala and bhoona. (so well bhoona well cooked meat is associated with succulent meat and tasty flavoursome meat). this is because the spices release their flavours at a higher temperature.

In the west most flavour comes from the meat itself. The more you cook it the harder it gets. (in india we go beyond that and cook it till it gets tender again(second time)).
Test it yourself by feeling raw meat which is soft ; then touch it when cooked halfway (after 2-5 minutes of steam;it is tough, isnt it. Then steam it more so that it becomes tender again.

With a steak you remove it from the heat BEFORE it gets tough.

A guide to determine the relative hardness of steak:

touch your thumb to the tip of your index finger. feel the area of palm below the thumb. That softness is how 'rare' steak is.

now move your thumb to the middle, ring and little fingers.

You will feel the area become more tense (as muscles flex more)
so the guide is as follows:

index: rare
middle: medium rare
Ring: medium
little medium rare.

now thisnt a problem in beef (most common steak consumed) pork (second most) or even lamb (least common). because they have fat and this keeps the meat succulent and soft.

Venison doesnt have this fat so should be eaten medium rare ideally or medium at the most. else becomes dry and chewy. The5re is no fat to keep the meat moist. In our desi cooking we have both oil and water to boil/cook it.

Therefore you will see a lot of game cooked either with skin on (if has fat) or wrapped in bacon (provides fat.

Sorry to go OT.

Note: there also other ways to remember hardness of steak like lip/nose/chin etc.

XL target: us adventure coming soon

Prashant:
muntjac are primitive deer and hence have tusks. roe are more evolutionary advanced. They are native european indegenous deer. Some people might not agree but many believe roe to be the tastiest meat in europe.

roe has short 3X3 antlers and a half-skull weighing 400 grams is considered a real good trophy. mine is an older male as characterised by wide coronets and length. but the antlers arent medal grade. In the pics above you can see vasrious sizes of roe antlers (esp. above the shoulder mount of the red stag).

Khukree is from an officer in the current gurkha regiment who hunts here. No connection to india, im afraid. (I had asked the same question). Even the solar hat visible in the pic has no indian or african safari connection. In fact it is from france.

The bullet hit the upper thorax and got the upper lobe of the left lung and did something interesting but not rare. It got deflected by possibly the clavicle and rode along the spine for some time before exiting almost parrallel to the skin and the spine. Hence the exit woung wasnt a hole but a 10 inch long groove which destroyed the tenderloin cut or erector spinae muscle group.
You cant just make out the groove because the deer has been placed in such a way. The groove begins within a mm of the skin visible in the picture.

engine room refers to the heart/lung shot which results in an instant/near instand death (ideally).
akin to if the engine room shuts down, the power shutting down.

I know many deer shot in the engine room still running for some time before dying but thats another story (and discussion thread).

others like bespoke/timmy/winnie: thanks for your kind words.

MoA : yessir you are right. whatever you say. How many times do i tell you that i AGREE WITH you that shot placement beats calibre but also that i do like african calibres.

[sa_ali]

Oh man i loved it , thanks a ton for sharing the pics and the experience.

Like all the time i would have loved more pics , cant help it

[hunterjack]

enjoyed reading it. can you share some other stories of your past hunting experiences.
would love to read it.

[MoA]

I hope you have started the pickling process.

[rraju2805]

& Nice story....
I like it..
Thanx for shareing ..

I am waiting for more pic & more new story.

[Safarigent]

great writeup.
whats that long yellow thing dangling from the fan in the first picture?

[shooter]

great writeup.
whats that long yellow thing dangling from the fan in the first picture?

good spotting. Im surprised no one asked (presumed then that they all knew.)
Its flypaper for the flies which are numerous as it is summer (nowhere as bad as june but still bad enough to warrant flypaper).

[full_circle]

nice writeup! thanxx for sharing

[Yaj]

Thank you, shooter for sharing your experience with those of us less fortunate . Yes, I would be interested in your dressing /butchering pics/videos too.
Regards,
Yaj.

[Safarigent]

great writeup.
whats that long yellow thing dangling from the fan in the first picture?

good spotting. Im surprised no one asked (presumed then that they all knew.)
Its flypaper for the flies which are numerous as it is summer (nowhere as bad as june but still bad enough to warrant flypaper).

Well, if someone gets that to india, it will be a great hit!!!

[camel]

wah wah...

nice one! i haven't hunted in a while - my fav was the wild boar

BTW, where did this hunt take place?
i am looking to save money and hunt moose/elk in Norway/Sweden

looks like you have a good amount of venision

[357 S&W]

Shooter, Nice write up and a decent size deer for you. I guess next time I am in London, you are taking me to the hunt club.

[Hammerhead]

That's life time achievements you got there