2020 Deer Season

[Aragorn243]

Now I'm facing the dilemma of getting it tested for CWD or not. I'm probably just being paranoid. First they tell you there isn't a single case of a human contracting it and in the next sentence they tell you not to eat it if it's positive. The test is free but I had to leave the head behind due to not being allowed to remove certain parts out of the CWD area. Brain, spine, lymph nodes, spleen.

It has been moving into the area for years. This buck is obviously healthy. Heavy rut neck, eyes looked good, insides looked good, brain didn't have holes in it that I noticed when I cut the antlers off.

The test is free and I can get my dad to run it in to drop it off. I asked the game commission up there what their opinion was and it's personal preference, whatever the individual is comfortable with and while they are testing some, it isn't all by any stretch and those that are testing positive nearly all showed signs of the disease. I saw two other dead deer this weekend from the same area and all were healthy and none that were running around looked ill either.

This one came out of an early afternoon drive. The driver that went past me said guys had been shooting at it all down the line as it came in toward me, they all missed. It ended up 10 feet from where I was sitting. He was running flat out at a slight angle towards and past me. First shot I was holding on an opening between two trees about 75 yards out and fired as he crossed. Hard hit, stumbled but kept going full tilt. Second shot was broadside in some brush about 30 yards, went down immediately but was spinning in a large circle which brought him almost right to me. Best I can tell the first shot went in just behind the left shoulder but missed the vitals due to the angle and exited through the right hindquarter smashing the leg bone in the process thus the hard stumble. Second shot hit the same spot but due to a better angle went through the heart and then smashed the right fore leg on the way out thus the collapse.

I butcher my own, it isn't that hard. They aren't pretty steaks like you get at the store but the cook and eat the same.

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[usabaker]

Now I'm facing the dilemma of getting it tested for CWD or not. I'm probably just being paranoid. First they tell you there isn't a single case of a human contracting it and in the next sentence they tell you not to eat it if it's positive. The test is free but I had to leave the head behind due to not being allowed to remove certain parts out of the CWD area. Brain, spine, lymph nodes, spleen

I didn't know anything about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) until you posted this. Must be because California is not on the list of areas so it not discussed, or as much, in California. Did you have to leave the Antlers as well?
If it were me, I'd eat it but cook it more than I would normally.

[painter777]

IMO, here in Michigan the State DNR has now made it more complicated than it used to be. Use to have plenty of Drive Thru check stations. But now because of Covid and financial cut backs there are fewer stations that are open for just a few days and fewer drop boxes.

I'm near an area that Bovine TB is more the issue than CWD.
At one time we were Required to have it tested.
Was easy to do, just use a DNR drive thru, they'd take a sample and give you a tag. You were only contacted if there was a Positive, you could also look up your tag number online.
I've always felt it was best to have any Deer tested for the sake of the Deer population.

Miles and miles of corn still standing around here so the harvest is slow right now. Just started getting colder weather and trace snow. Seems like I'm seeing fewer and fewer hunters every year. The price of licenses is turning some away. Not as many young hunters coming up like years ago.

Congrats on your Buck !

[Daan Kemp]

Heidelberg is about an hour's drive from where I stay in Centurion. Nice town, next to the N3 highway Pretoria/Durban.