Product Review: Top New Go-To Deer Calls

Posted on October 1, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen

 Great sounds for deer and total confidence for hunters.

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A victim of the Super-Hot Ma-Mah.

Thirty years ago, most hunters hadn’t tried calling deer. Twenty years ago most hunters owned a deer call, but few had success with them. Ten years ago, so many deer calls were on the market that hunters were confused about what to buy. Today, that confusion persists.

Many calls are effective if used properly. But I’ve found two that are not only effective, they’re practically foolproof, and they’ve worked well for me.

Jerry Peterson from Woods Wise Products has been in the callmaking business for many years. And he doesn’t just make calls, he makes sure they work.

A few years ago I was hunting in New York. I climbed a hill in the pre-dawn darkness looking for a buddy’s treestand, but I got off the trail and couldn’t find it. So, I headed straight up the hill to a spot overlooking the bench where the treestand was, figuring I’d go down and climb into the stand after first light.

My mistake turned out to be fortuitous, because if I had blindly stumbled around looking for the stand, I’d have chased a buck out of the area. While it was still dark, I heard some crashing on the bench below me. I also heard grunting and bleating. Obviously, a buck was chasing a doe around down there, but she wouldn’t stand still for him.

As it got light, I glimpsed the doe angling up the hill below me, and about 75 yards behind her was an 8-point buck. I pulled out my Woods Wise® Super Hot Ma-Mah™ call, and gave a few estrous bleats. Even though he could see the doe he was chasing, he turned and came directly up the hill toward me. I had succeeded in calling him off the track of the estrous doe. I shot and down he went.

Do I need to say I love the Super Hot Ma-Mah™? It works. You can work it inhaling or exhaling, and you can squeeze the megaphone to manipulate the tone. It’s more compact than other calls, and I always have it with me. And it’s all rubber, so when it bumps against buttons, a gunstock or a bow, it’s silent.

I just got another call from Woods Wise®, and this one is specifically designed to bring does running. It’s the Lost Fawn Ma-Mah™, slightly smaller and pitched to create the voice of a fawn. This will be great for filling an antlerless tag. On the inhale it produces a higher, younger voice, and on the exhale an older fawn sound. For these and other calls, the Woods Wise® website has some great instructional calling videos.

Another great call is the True Talker® Legacy™ from Hunters Specialties®. You might be familiar with the original True Talker. That was the first call to be completely encased in rubber to dampen any unwanted sounds. I’ve used the True Talker with great results.

The True Talker® Legacy™ has several improvements over the original True Talker, but it’s still completely rubber covered, and it’s still built on the internal hardwood frame which prevents the reed from freezing up gives it a natural sound. The Legacy is easier to master, with three definite finger placements for various sounds – though it still allows you to press at any point between these spots.

The True Talker® Legacy™ works on exhale only, and it’s probably still the best call for making those deep, distinct, gutteral clicking sounds a trailing buck makes when he anticipates a doe is about ready. At the right time during the rut, that’s deadly.

These go-to calls fool deer, are easy to use, and give a hunter confidence he’s doing it right.

***

About Steve Sorensen

steve-sorensen-head-shotOutdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen writes an award-winning newspaper column called “The Everyday Hunter®”, and he regularly provides content for the Havalon Sportsman’s Post. He has also published articles in Deer & Deer Hunting, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow him at www.EverydayHunter.com.

 
 

For more articles by Steve Sorensen, click here.
And don’t forget Havalon Piranta to skin that deer once you’ve called it in. 

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Cooking Venison: Don’t Make These 5 Mistakes

Posted on September 28, 2012 by HavalonKnives

by Steve Sorensen

Just because venison is red meat doesn’t mean it
should be cooked the way you cook beef.

People have opinions about venison. They toss around words like “gamey”, and “dry”, without ever defining what gamey is or considering what to do to prevent dry meat.

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A super-sharp Havalon skinning knife is perfect for slicing your grilled backstraps as thin as you want. (Photo by Steve Sorensen)

Some people even have rigid attitudes without ever tasting venison. Or they tasted it once, poorly prepared, and think you have to “make it edible”. They forget venison was plenty edible for generations of Native Americans who ate well for thousands of years with venison as the foundation of their diet.

I don’t call venison “gamey”. In fact, I don’t even know what “gamey” is. Yes, it is game, but I don’t hear anyone describe squirrel, rabbit, turkey, and pheasant as gamey. The fact is, they’re all different, just as venison is different from beef. And right there is the big clue as to why people make plenty of mistakes cooking deer meat. Just because venison is red meat doesn’t mean it should be cooked the way you cook beef.

Mistake #1 – Allowing Venison to Dry Out

The best beef is well-marbled with succulent, juicy fat. Fat in meat does two critical jobs. First, it keeps the meat from drying out. Second, it keeps the meat flavorful. Health experts argue that juicy beef isn’t good for your cholesterol, but juicy beef doesn’t argue with your taste buds!

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The backstrap is one of the very best cuts of venison. Here it’s being prepared on the grill after being marinated.
(Photo by Steve Sorensen)

Remember that the nature of the moisture in beef and venison is totally different. When you grill beef outdoors you get flare-ups. That’s because the melting fat fuels the fire. Beef can afford to lose some of its moisture into the fire; venison can’t. In fact, the moisture in venison goes the other way – it rises with the heat and nothing can restore it.

What can you do to keep venison from drying out? Lots of things. One is marinade. Ask five fans of venison what they use for marinade, and you’ll get at least four answers. Just in case the fifth person has his own idea, here are five simple and common marinades:

  • Milk and egg batter or evaporated milk
  • Italian salad dressing
  • Mushroom soup
  • Teriyaki sauce
  • Red wine

Check the Internet for prepared marinades and marinade recipes. Five to six hours is usually enough time. Other ways to retain moisture in venison is to wrap it in bacon, cook it in gravy, or lay some strips of beef fat on it.

Mistake #2 – Failing to Trim Fat Away

Let’s chew the fat about fat on another point. Beef fat tastes great; venison fat tastes terrible. It’s tallowy. It coats the inside of your mouth. It’s better used in the candles on your dinner table than on your dinner plate. If the truth is told, fat might be the reason people think venison is “gamey.” Here’s a simple solution – trim away all the fat.

Mistake #3 – Slicing Too Thin Before Cooking

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Fried squash, ripe tomatoes, mini potatoes with sour cream, and grilled venison backstrap. (Photo by Steve Sorensen)

Another mistake people make is to slice venison too thin. If you’re going to slice it thin, it’s better to slice it after it’s cooked, or cook it submerged in a sauce. Venison cooks very quickly, so if it’s sliced thin prior to cooking, it won’t take much heat to dry it out. An inch isn’t too thick. After you cook it, your Havalon skinning knife will slice it as thin as you want.

Mistake #4 – Forgetting the Meat Thermometer

Meat thermometers are in vogue these days, and you should use one for venison just as you would for pork. New guidelines say 145° F is adequate for pork. The same works for venison. When you use a meat thermometer, insert it so the tip is in the thickest part of the meat, and don’t let it touch a bone.

A meat thermometer gives you confidence your meat is cooked through even though it’s still pink inside. Don’t cook until the pink gets gone, because the moisture gets gone too.

Mistake #5 – Adding Salt

Salt has its place. If you’re preserving meat, salt is absolutely necessary (Think Jerky!).  But if you’re cooking meat, salt will further dry it. Let your dinner guests decide whether to add salt or not. Keep in mind if you’ve used a marinade, it may have salt in it already.

Most of these mistakes have something to do with drying the meat out. Avoid drying venison, and find a way to supplement its moisture. Do that, and you’ll put a culinary delight on your dinner plates.

***

About Steve Sorensen

steve-sorensen-head-shotOutdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen writes an award-winning newspaper column called “The Everyday Hunter®”, and he regularly provides content for the Havalon Sportsman’s Post. He has also published articles in Deer & Deer Hunting, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow him at www.EverydayHunter.com.

 
 
 

To read more articles by Steve Sorensen, click here.
For the best skinning knife for your venison, click here. 

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Is Squirrel Meat Good To Eat?

Posted on September 24, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Tips For Great Tasting Squirrel Meat

By Cara Hunt

Cooked squirrel meatHeading out into the woods to do a little squirrel hunting can be a fun and exciting experience, especially when you bag a bunch of bushy tails. But once you’ve got your catch, cleaned it up, stowed it in a cooler and taken it on the long ride home, what do you do with it? If you don’t know how to cook squirrel meat or what to expect when you bite into it for the first time, chances are that your catch is going to remain in the bottom of the deep freezer for a decade or two until you throw the freezer burned bodies into the trash, at long last.

Never fear squirrel hunting newbies! There are plenty of ways to make squirrel meat taste excellent and give you additional reasons to head out into the woods for a round of squirrel hunting many times throughout the season.

Creating a great tasting squirrel meat dinner begins with the cleaning and storage process that leads up to cooking. A complete cleaning with full removal of the entrails of your kills should be completed in the field. While you are gutting your bushy tails you should be certain to remove all of the entrails but be careful not to squeeze too hard on any of them, especially the bile duct. Letting bile loose into the squirrel meat will not only ruin the taste, but will also make it inedible and possibly unsafe, even after cooking. Once you have cleaned your bushy tails, the next step is to completely rinse them with cool water.

A white vinegar rinse or soaking the squirrel meat in cool white vinegar will help to reduce the gaminess of the meat, which can be especially important depending on what the squirrels in your area eat. This is also incredibly important if you’re unable to cook your kill right away. If soaking your bushy tails in vinegar isn’t your idea of creating a flavorful meal, you can also soak your meat in buttermilk overnight. Whether you choose vinegar or buttermilk you can still cook your squirrel meat however you want, whether that’s in a frying pan, baked in the oven or turned on a spit over the grill. For those hunters who like the gamey taste of a fresh kill, soaking in a light marinade overnight or for a few hours will still give your meat a nice flavor but won’t take away that gamey, chewy quality that is natural to squirrel meat.

The general rule of thumb for squirrel meat is that it always tastes best if you cook it right away. While two or three days won’t make a tremendous difference in the taste or quality of your squirrel meat, the fresher the meat is, the better it will taste.

When you’re out hunting you should also consider the age and size of the squirrel. The younger and smaller the squirrels are that you hunt, the more tender and tasty the meat will be. Depending on whether you shoot young squirrels or old ones will change how you spice your meat and how you cook it, though seasoning salt and black pepper paired with an hour on the grill will make both young and old squirrel taste just right. If you elect to grill, your meat will be chewier than if you choose an different cooking method.

What Is Your Favorite Way To Cook Squirrel Meat? Leave a comment: 

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Celebrate Our National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sat., Sept. 22!

Posted on September 22, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Did You Know You’re A Hero Of Conservation?

National Hunting and Fishing Day logo

By Patrick Carrothers
President & CEO of Havalon Knives

Today we salute all the hunters and anglers in our great land. As a group, all 34 million of us, we do more than anyone to help keep our wild places wild. You may not think of yourself as a conservationist, but we support conservation of our natural resources  with every hunting and fishing license we buy. That’s not all, every time we buy a firearm, box of ammo, bow and arrow, or rod and reel, about 10 – 11 percent of the purchase goes to conservation agencies in your home state. As a group, we contribute $1.75 billion with our product purchasing alone to the agencies responsible for managing wildlife, fish and habitat.

What are some of the accomplishments of this natural resource management we pay for? Look at white-tailed deer. Once on the verge of extinction, today they’re one of America’s most popular and plentiful wildlife species. Not too long ago, wild turkeys were nearly gone for good too. Now they are abundant just about everywhere in the US. Unless you’re out hunting for them, of course. Then they’re dang hard to find.

Some of America’s favorite game species, like elk, pronghorns, wood ducks, Canadian geese, bears and many more, all share a similar history. They went from vanishing to flourishing, thanks to hunters.

On the fishing side, money from anglers pays for fish stocking programs, water quality and harvest management. We help fund the careful management of our aquatic resources across the country and thus contribute to making our water’s a haven for fish and wildlife.

Maybe we don’t think of ourselves as heroes of conservation, but we sure do a lot to protect our wild places for future generations. In 1972, Congress recognized our contributions and established this day to honor hunters and anglers like us for our role in conserving wild America.

So that means this is our day to celebrate what we do as a group to protect the things we love about the Great Outdoors. I’m proud to be part of this tradition that dates back to President Theodore Roosevelt. I tip my hat to Ira Joffe, owner of Joffe’s Gun Shop in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania back in the late 1960s, who was the first to suggest an official day of thanks to sportsmen for their role in conservation.

Thanks to the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the efforts of many others, we now have this national day of celebration honoring our contributions. Let’s keep the tradition going by passing along our respect for our resources, and for our fellow hunters and anglers, to the next generation. See you out there.

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Elk Season Day by Day

Posted on September 19, 2012 by HavalonKnives

by Bob Robb

Bob Robb’s “controlled aggression” strategy
to bag that bull elk.  

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When you need to get closer to elk, it’s time to get dirt on the front of your clothing.

Elk hunting is a chess game requiring strategically deft moves and what I call “controlled aggression” – that is, an aggressive attitude that knows when to move hard and fast – but also, when to lay back and wait for the right opportunity.

I’ve developed this attitude over decades of elk hunting under a wide variety of conditions, from wilderness public land hunts to fair chase hunts on private land where a locked gate keeps other hunters out. The one thing these wildly varying conditions have in common is the fact that if you bump the elk too hard, they will run for miles. If that happens, you have to start all over again beginning with finding another bunch to hunt. And that can take forever.

My Daily Routine When I Know Where Bulls Are

Let’s assume you have done your pre-hunt scouting and know, in general terms, where a herd is located. During the early elk seasons I like to be in position hours before first light, listening for bugling bulls. Sometimes that means I leave camp as early as midnight, other times 3:00 a.m. – whatever it takes (this is why that midday nap is so important!).

When I hear a bull, I assess the wind, get into position, and work my way as close as I can in the dark. I try to get on the same level with the herd, knowing that when it breaks light the morning thermals will typically carry my scent up the slope as the sun warms the air. The goal is to try and intercept the elk as they feed toward their bedding area.

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A fresh rub means elk should be somewhere
in the neighborhood.

If I do not get a shot – and early in the hunt, I will not push it too hard – I shadow the elk until they bed for the day. The plan is now to wiggle within 200-400 yards, depending on the wind and terrain, and wait. Sure, I will glass and sniff about, hoping an opening presents itself for a stalk on a bedded bull, but usually there are too many other elk to make that feasible.

So, I nap when they do, and maybe even go over the hill and glass and call down into adjacent drainages. But 3 to 4 hours before sundown I am back in position, waiting. When the elk get up and start to feed again – and often bulls will bugle right from their beds just prior to getting up – I make my move, again using controlled aggression. I figure if I do not get them today and do not spook them, I can give it another go tomorrow with some added knowledge of their exact habits.

My Daily Routine When I Don’t Know Where The Bulls Are

If I do not have a bull to hunt, the plan is simple – cover as much ground as possible searching for elk. Elk herds follow what I call the “pocket principle,” meaning that in any given drainage all the elk will be bunched up into small pockets of country. That means it is my job to hike until I find them. If I have gone three days covering maximum ground without any action and without locating any red-hot sign, I move camp and start over. No reason spending all my time hunting elkless pockets when my pre-hunt research and scouting has told me they are somewhere in the neighborhood.

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If the elk have disappeared and you have to change plans,
a topo map will be invaluable.

There are times when the bulls simply are not bugling much, if at all, not a rare occurrence on heavily-hunted public land tracts. In that case I spend a lot of time glassing meadows, parks, and semi-open forested areas at first and last light while listening. I also will consider employing blinds and/or tree stands over freshly-used wallows or water tanks, depending on circumstances, especially during midday hours in hot weather.

Two things will up your odds at getting a shot on these do-it-yourself hunts. First, commit to as many days as possible for the hunt. Elk hunting is very hard work and success rates are low in the best of circumstances, but never give up. The more time you spend in the woods, the better your odds.

And second, hunt hard, but hunt smart. That means do all the right things. Always respect the wind, and bide your time – but when an opening presents itself, controlled aggression means be ready to attack, hard and fast.

***

About Bob Robb

bob-robb-head-shotFor over two decades, Bob’s articles and photographs have appear in most major outdoor magazines. Currently he is editor of Whitetail Journal and Predator Xtreme magazines. Bob was founding editor of Petersen’s Bowhunting magazines, and the author of many books, including The Field & Stream Bowhunting Handbook, and The Ultimate Guide to Elk Hunting.  Bob sees the value of super-sharp, lightweight Havalon knives.

For more articles by Bob Robb, click here.
And don’t forget your Havalon Piranta, before you head out into elk season. 

 

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