Buck Fever

Well it's "buck fever" time in the Delta and the boys around here can do nothing but walk, talk and dream about hunting. I have to admit I've already enjoyed my share of venison this fall and it's only December. I've already consumed summer sausage, venison balls made from tenderloin, bacon hamburgers (that were divine) and good 'ol tenderized fried hind quarter simmered in brown gravy and served with rice, biscuits and bbq green beans.....Now that's a hunter's buffet.

It started with my stepson Jake bagging his "first deer" on the youth weekend in Yazoo County. Mississippi gives the kids 15yrs and younger a head start on gun season for white tail deer by letting them hunt a week earlier than the official "opening day" where all ages can bust out the shotguns and rifles and hit the woods looking for that "wall trophy" but usually settling for some "meat for the table". He dropped her with one shot (as his father told me, busting with pride) from 120 yards !!! Then comes the Southern ritual of "bloodying" the hunter after his first bag..........

The next outing he got a spike buck (again dropped him, this time at 200 yards with the "big rifle") but that only gave him Buck Fever more than ever !!!! But it did give our freezer plenty of venison to start out the winter. Yazoo has a fine venison meat processor in town that does an excellent and diverse array of sausages, steaks, burger meats, and even hot tamales !!! and is very reasonable and runs a very clean outfit !!! (Milner's Processing, 662-746-6472)...... But back to the Buck Fever.............this big one was out chasing several does this thick foggy morning (12/18/08)and gave "Hunter" the wall trophy he had been waiting for, I got some first hand pictures when they brought him to the beer shop for all the guys to "ooh" and "aah" over, drool is probably what they were really doing .....and it has been the talk of the town today !!!! 17" spread, 22 points....