Nick talks with Rich Wilson, host of the channel Death By Bunjie.  Rich and his trusty crossbow, Bunjie travel the north east in search of whitetails, and the occasional feral hog.  He’s an advocate for crossbows and their effectiveness along with knowing their limitations as archery equipment. A common argument is the discussion among hunters of crossbow vs vertical bow.  His passion is for the outdoors and wild feast he can aquire, method is merely a personal choice within legal means of take. 

His Channel has covered a whole host of topics revolving around crossbows, and hunting in general.  His videos are very informative, yet entertaining at the same time. He brings an old-school feel to a digital platform.  When your 2 dish breakdown involves canning venison and stuffed backstrap, you know this man is in it for all the right reasons.

Show Notes

Rich Wilson can be found at: Death by Bunjie on Youtube.  Along with conversations and group chats on Facebook through his page Death by Bunjie.

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Nick talks with Dan Hruska, host of HP Outdoors Podcast. Dan is gitty for all things waterfowl. From big old Canada Honkers to ducks of every kind. He and his friend Josh scour the country for the next opportunity all along with running a weekly waterfowl podcast.

Show Notes:

Dan hails from Pennsylvania where he pursues birds who are migrating along the eastern flyway. Nick gets some basics on the whys and hows of waterfowling. Couple big take-aways was paying attention to the wind, birds need the wind inorder to land or take off so setting your ambush with the wind at your back is key. Second, championship callers may make a whole library of calls, but when in the field, mimicking what the birds are doing is what callers are going for, and when push comes to shove, motion in your decoys is more effective than calling.

Now to the cutting board. Ducks are divided into divers and puddle. Divers having more of a streamline appearance (fighter jet) can have a fishy taste, especially in their fat. Trimming the colored fat helps mild flavor. Puddle ducks are more balanced in their body shape and can take off almost vertically (Helicopter). Have a milder flavor and their fat can have a very rich flavor. Saving rendered duck fat can be beneficial for enhancing dishes. Not to mention much saving the cash in not buying the store bought stuff.

Pro Tip: When getting a perfectly seared duck breast, start with a cold pan. As heat builds the fat renders allowing you to flip the breast and sear in its own fat. Medium-rare seems to be the target doneness for best flavor. Well done can be livery in taste.

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Nick and Dustin chat about the changes or non-changes to their archery setups.  At the time of this recording, there was 30 days, but realistically it's right around the corner.  Nick put together a formula to use when trying to figure out how much usable weight to expect off your deer. Plus the guys roll out the Otto/Isenhoff (Huntavore) Scoring System.

Show Notes:

Nick and Dustin try to answer the age old question of what am I going to get back from my deer.  With emotions running high you tell your processor you want steaks and sausage, only to return with a tiny box that is “your deer”.  The guys have created a formula to help you set expectations for yourself when picking up your “tiny” box or when you are processing your own.

Break Down of Useable Meat off a Deer

Figured Based on Field Dressed Animal

• Hide and hooves on
• All innards and entrails removed

FD x 1.26 = approx. live weight

FD /  1.331= hanging carcass

HC x .67 = ideal usable meat

IUM x .7 = realistic usable meat

Example:

 PLW’s Buck

Known: 110 is field dressed

110 x 1.26=138.6 Live wt.

110 / 1.331=82 carcass wt.

82 x .67= 55 ideal

55 x .7= 38.5 realistic

Range would be between 55 and 38 lbs

Boone and Crockett, Pope and Young, scoring systems that help measure the side of the animal taken.  However, there is a lot of the story lost in a score. It's not all about the inches. So we have rolled out a NEW scoring system called Otto and Isenoff.  It is more of a whole hunt score, than just about the antlers. So go ahead, and run your next deer through the OI or Huntavore Score.

Otto-Isenoff (Huntavore) Score:

Recovered Deer:  50 pts (15pt bonus if on public land)

    10pt for bringing kids/non-hunting friends on the recovery (max 10pts)

    1pt for every .25 mile unassisted drag/carry (sleds and additional pullers allowed)

Antler Points:  1 pt for every “point” that can hold a ring

5 pts bonus for each sticker (point off of a point) or split brow tine

5th Quarter:  5 pts for each organ recovered and kept (pairs are considered 1 organ)

Hanging Carcass:  1 pt for every pound above 100lbs at Field dressed

      2 pt for every pound above “realistic” side of usable meat scale

Nick chats with Founder of Western Daughters Butcher Shop, Kate Kavanaugh. Recently, she was featured in the New York Times for her very interesting story of becoming a strict vegetarian in her youth to owning and operating a whole animal butcher shop in Colorado.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh @westerndaughters

Nick sits down with generalist hunter and kitchen wizz, Ward Danger. Ward has traveled all over pursuing many types of game, including some time Africa. He has spent time as a guide, worked in the oil fields, and has put together his very own seasoning blend called Musketpowder. This guy is a walking talking story book of awesome adventures.

Show Notes:

Ward takes on his journey of chasing after critter all over the country and even the globe. His story of culling an aging giraffe in South Africa was eye opening. Both to the obserdity of trying to stalk a 16 foot creature without being seen, and how the taking of that animal was used to feed the village for a period of time. His perspective on Texas hogs is also a bite into reality. Having a family member who runs a ranch and has to deal with the pig infestation on a day to day basis, Ward has some strong feelings about what needs to be done.

Ward has also gone through the process of creating and marketing his own seasoning blend. Musketpowder is almost an extension of that famous hot sauce “you can put that sh*t on anything”. The blend really highlights whatever you put it on. The addition of de-caffinated coffee was surpirising to me. Just that little bit of slight bitter, makes the whole dish sing.

If you want to get a bottle of Musketpowder:

I sit down with Steve Brewer of @castironsteve, where he shows off a nice collection of cast iron cooking vessels. We talk basics of cast iron care, bringing a relic back to life, and how cast iron is still the best in 2019.

Show Notes

Cast Iron cookware is a bombproof cooling medium that holds heat incredibly well for searing, yet distributes heat evenly to prevent scorching. It can bake, sear, braise, and boil making it super utilitarian. Cast Iron is porous which is here seasoning comes into play, by filling the pores with a seasoning fat or oil.

Basic Seasoning: 450 degree oven, place cast in for an hour. On hot cast, wipe on oil, lard, or seasoning product. Place back into the oven to let the seasoning bake on. Repeat 3-4 times. This is a long process, that pays off in the long run.

Maintain Seasoning: after scrubbing or rinsing cast iron, place back on heat and add a thin layer of oil and let it cool. Wipe away remaining oil, leaving a dry, not sticky iron.

Steve’s procedure for cooking a steak is: Hot grill skillet, sear one side. Flip and place grill skillet in hot oven to finish. Use a probe to get desired temp, he like medium rare.

Nick breaks down some of his favorite dinner meal dishes to make while camping. Along with some old school equipment that has gotten a modern twist.

Foil Dinners are a favorite of the Huntavore Family. Either burger or diced roasts, diced potatoes, diced onions, baby carrots, corn, haven't tried halved Brussels sprouts but I bet those are good. Salt, pepper, and several tablespoons of butter (oil works, but I find not as well). Pro Tip: double foil, alternate seam sides, as close to coals as possible.

Nick’s goto piece of equipment for fire cooking is the tripod. More versatile than swivels, and lighter than steel fire benches. Quick adjustments, for slow all day cooking, too hot fast searing.

Woody Dutch Oven Www.woodydutchoven.com

Nick sits down with Kory Slye, an editor and writer from Pennsylvania. Kory has a rich history in the outdoors growing up and is passing that experience onto his young family. We talk about nostalgic dishes, social media, and hunting with Flintlock rifles.

Dustin and Nick sit down and celebrate one year of Huntavore. They go over what they have learned, and what they have enjoyed most. Nick talks about his upcoming family camping trip and how he’s going to cook for a family of 5 via a “Chuck Box”. Dustin reveals details of his latest fishing boat project, and much more.

Show Notes:

Survey Giveaway!!: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q2DS2FR

Nick is running solo on this one, Summer has just begun and he hit the ground running. He recaps the Total Archery Challenge in Boyne, MI, an awesome wild game cook-out with the Bowhunter Chronicles crew, and a quick run through of his camp cooking set up that has some application for any DIY backcountry hunter or angler.