Good Morning!!!!!!

[Gunner55]

Mornin guys, still above normal temps down here as we have 27 now & 47 is s'posed to be the high. That NW wind comes back tomorrow though & will really blow on Wednesday (~25). Still 10-15 predicted for Wednesday & Thursday's temps here. Nothin big on the list, so back to my routine. Have a good day.

[markn]

Off to the bone cracker this morning and then pick up hides. Thinking tomorrow we will pick up the hide boxes and put them away for another year. We're down 140 from last year. It will be good to be done with them and move on to my next project. Which will be getting ready for gun bingo in March, reloading trap loads for next Summer and building a trailing (size to be determined) out of a couple of old ones. Should keep me out of trouble for awhile. Later.....  

[Scenic]

Good morning.  So far the snow missed us.  Currently at 30 and supposed to drop all day now.  Its winter and we are in MN.  Been pretty mild so far.

[LPS]

Darn it!  I see a big ol boxelder fell on or near the water fountain for Bucko and blocked the door into the barn.  I will call a retired buddy of mine and see if he can come help drag it away this afternoon.

[deadeye]

markn, we plan to wrap up our hide collection this week. So far, we have collected very close to last years count (1065) and I expect we will surpass that number before we quit for the year.

[Dotch]

Mornin' fellow gulag comrades! 30 at choretime, heading for a high in the low 40's. Wind is supposed to pick up out of the W-SW, 15 - 20 mph, gusting to 30 so at least there is that. Maybe if they'd quit putting up all those big fans around here, it wouldn't be so windy. Waiting for my tire & rim guy to show up ~ 10:30 - 11:30. Got all the weights loaded into the loader on the tractor yesterday & hopefully have enough bolts to put them on. Have never monkeyed with IH split weights so not sure how that process works. Almost looks like the 1st set goes on the cast iron wheel, then the next set is bolted to that & then to each other as you work your way out. Guess we'll find out. Got my light bulbs in the barn changed yesterday. Needed to climb back up there twice & again this a.m. One of the contacts on the one socket must be a little suspect. Knee took that better than I thought. Been playing the gimp card to my advantage so don't want the Mrs. to find out. Still a lot of Christmas decorating I could get roped into. 

[roony]

Dotch,
Have you considered putting the beet juice in those tires? It's a little spendy but it's not corrosive. Just a thought, I can't imagine this old fat guy wrestling with those heavy wheel weights anymore.

[glenn57]

afternoon fellers......dang near 7 hours at the store again.......  definitely a nap later!!!! last batch of venny inthe dehydrator.  might even get a few other things done too!!!!!!

[Steve-o]

afternoon fellers......dang near 7 hours at the store again.......  definitely a nap later!!!! last batch of venny inthe dehydrator.  might even get a few other things done too!!!!!!

What parts of the deer to you slice up for the dehydrator?  Are you curing it as jerky or just drying it?

[glenn57]

afternoon fellers......dang near 7 hours at the store again.......  definitely a nap later!!!! last batch of venny inthe dehydrator.  might even get a few other things done too!!!!!!

What parts of the deer to you slice up for the dehydrator?  Are you curing it as jerky or just drying it?

anything thats of reasonable size to make a chunk. only thing totally off limits are the backstrap and tenderloin. you'd be surprised how much it takes to make a 5 lb batch.

i use the backwoods jerky seasoning packets. it has both the seasoning and cure in it. i way like the hickory best. i did try the teriyaki, its ok. next year i'm going to try the Mequite.  it has directions on it for partail batches  and for a full 5 lbs. i dont mess around with partial batches, its 5 lbs or nuttin. directions also say to let brine for 8 hours........i go about 24 but i'm pretty anal about mixing it up alot also!!!!!

[Steve-o]

That's similar to what I do.  I usually take the big roasts off the hind quarter whole, but there is always a bunch of really good meat behind the sirloin, that for sure gets tossed in the jerky pile along with all the good sized chunks from the front quarters. 

I do like the Backwoods products as well.  It keeps things simple enough.  I got a cheap jerky gun and also will make jerky out of ground venison.  The dry times are much more consistent.  When I use whole meat chunks, I find myself need to check doneness/dryness frequently to make sure some pieces don't get over dry - and some thicker pieces seem to take forever to get done.

[glenn57]

I have an Lem meat slicer, so my pieces are close to the same thickness.  I don't even bother to check it for 4-5 hours.

I have to many other goodies I like out of venison  to make all jerky.

[Dotch]

Dotch,
Have you considered putting the beet juice in those tires? It's a little spendy but it's not corrosive. Just a thought, I can't imagine this old fat guy wrestling with those heavy wheel weights anymore.

I bought these split weights a few years back, 1500# worth of them to be exact for a decent price. They weigh 75 lbs. apiece which for me is still manageable. The beauty of the IH split weights is they can be used on the inside of the wheel without removing the wheel. I'll have 4 sets on the outside and one set on the inside if I play my cards right. That way they won't extend past the outer edge of the rim. You lose style points if that happens. That's approximately what I had weight-wise in calcium chloride. Not sure I could get quite that much weight in beet juice in these tires without going over rim-full. Beet juice was just starting to show up on the scene when I bought these weights. It was and still is spendy. If it comes down in price, it might be something to consider. There is a demand among pullers for the cast iron weights & they're not that hard for a couple guys to take off.

My brother is coming up on Saturday to get feed at Krause's. Only place he can get one kind of specialty feed on a regular basis. That and he might be running low on butter!  We're both IH guys & like playing with our tractors. All the bolts to the clamps for the rims were badly corroded from the chloride. There are 8 per wheel. They're a special square headed bolt. Only 3 in Bugtussle & none at Faribault. Will have them Wednesday. Need a few more 3/4" bolts & washers for the weights. Takes a little forethought to put the weights on but once you figure out your strategy, it'll go pretty quick. We'll take our two impact wrenches and make short work of it. Then tighten the ever living crap out of them with a 3/4" drive breaker bar and a pipe. May need bail money afterwards however...  

[roony]

I had to replace my rims on my 2510 a few years ago due to corrosion from the calcium chloride. I ended up using the same stuff again. It took 50 years for the rims to get close to failure. If i pay closer attention to leakage I am good for life. Hope so anyway because those rims are spendy.

[Dotch]

Fortunately the 14" x 38" double bevel IH rims aren't too bad, about $385 apiece. These were made by Wold in St. Ansgar. The rims we replaced were the original 1971 models. Might've been able to limp them by another winter but after the tire guy had the valve stem collar break off on him, glad we went ahead with this project. It was leaking slowly prior to that & I was pretty sure if I touched it, the same thing was gonna happen. Interesting to see how much damage the chloride causes to the grass after shooting a stream like it did for at least 5 minutes. I flooded the area with the garden hose after the guy left. Had too much other traffic today with UPS, garbage man, the wife going in and out, etc., to park in the flat where it wouldn't have mattered.   

[Scenic]

Good morning All.  Looks like we are at our high for the day at 15 but the wind is chilly.  Plan for the day is to finish up on the boat we named "Ole Moldy" .   We are running about a week behind my target date of getting that one done.  I have printed and cut graphics 3 times for that thing so far and just did not like them.  Might just go with less is better on that one.

Tractors can be fun to work on.  I have a 1947 2N Ford that I want to restore at some point.  The serial numbers say its a 2N but a lot of the features on it say its a 8N. So not positive if it was right when the change over was taking place or what.   It runs and needs some carb work.  We are hoping to tear the body off it and do a complete body and paint job.  Only takes time and money.   A project for another day. 

[markn]

Hide boxes in the woods and final count for hides is 495. Time to mop up the blood and salt on the floor in the garage today after a visit to the dentist. Ringo just showed up with a half dead mouse. Wish he would quit bringing them in the porch and leave them outside. Have a great day everyone, later......

[Jerkbiat]

Morning boys. 13 here and supposed to make 17. Or maybe 17 was the high at midnight. Not sure. Snow flakes falling again this morning. Moved snow last night. Always like looking at a fresh plowed driveway. I know, I'm weird. Otherwise just another day in the salt mines. Have a good one boys.

[deadeye]

While my wife and I processed the doe I shot on Saturday, I did think about making some venison jerky but didn't really know how to start. I do not have a dryer, but could I use my smoker? I don't have a slicer or grinder.  A lot of the doe I shot back in early October has been eaten so with this last one, I should be set for the year. The trimmings for both deer have been frozen and will probably be used early next spring for brats, bacon and sausage.     

[mike89]

mornin all, 19 here and could see 24 today..  a chance for some snow too..  wind isn't so bad today so far too..  got a few things on the agenda for today but nothing pressing..   have a good day all!! 

[Gunner55]

Mornin all, got 21 now & we might see 31. The clouds rolled in & the wind switched directions late afternoon here yday & that made it kind of chilly. NW ~ 10 to start today but s'posed to be 20+ tomorrow. Got my yearly check up next Monday so I have to go get the lab work done early 1 day this week. That's about the only thing I got going on. Have a good day.

[LPS]

Morning boys.  We have about 17 here too.  I think it is dropping already.  Just going to keep the fire going today and mayhaps blow the new light 2" of snow we got last night.  The new EGO single stage snow blower arrived last night but it is too heavy for me to be lifting yet.  It is 20 lbs.  The Dr warned me not to go over the 15 he mentioned.  Will let the wife play with it tonight.  Made a nice batch of soup yesterday so we will eat good for a couple of days till the cold snap is over.  Have a good one.   PS JB I too like the look of a freshly plowed driveway.   

[glenn57]

m0rning fellers......was 20 when i looked. going to finish up the jerky, i put it in qt zip lock bags, wrap an freeze it. then clean up the dehydrator, and put that away. fill the bird feeders before the cold snap and i leave for the cabin friday. then thats done.

deadeye, i never use ground venision for jerky, all whole muscle meat, but know some that do!!!! i did make some jerky out of burger once and was good but  was a struggle to get it threw the jerky gun.  the initial cost of a dehydrator and slicer might be a why kinda moment but worth it in the long run if you like doing that kind thing, i do!!!


i use the slicer a fair amount. i like to get this boneless ham. i like to slice it, same with summer sausage. nice even same thickness  cuts. also used it with cheese on occasion.

i'll tell ya what..........if your interested in trying it without buying the stuff i'd let you use mine if you want to give it a go.....just let me know.

one trick i learned..........yea from boar.......is to freezethe vennison, and slice it froze.

[Scenic]

While my wife and I processed the doe I shot on Saturday, I did think about making some venison jerky but didn't really know how to start. I do not have a dryer, but could I use my smoker? I don't have a slicer or grinder.  A lot of the doe I shot back in early October has been eaten so with this last one, I should be set for the year. The trimmings for both deer have been frozen and will probably be used early next spring for brats, bacon and sausage.   

You can sure use your smoker.  Just run it as cool as you can and you may need to either crack open the door a bit or open and shut it a few times depending on your smoker.

[mike89]

you don't have to freeze the meat, just temper freeze it for slicing.. 

[glenn57]

you don't have to freeze the meat, just temper freeze it for slicing..

kinda what i meant. mines froze solid.........i let it thaw a bit and slice as it thaws....... beats the hell out of slicing it when not froze or hard!!!!

[LPS]

I've made jerky in the oven too doing that.  Put a wooden spoon in the door to keep it open a crack.  Dries the jerky out nicely. 

[Dotch]

Mornin' fellow gulag comrades! 15 at choretime, heading for a high in the upper 20's. Bracing for a couple colder nights before getting back to our regularly scheduled programming. Still strategizing on the weights today. Looks like a 7" long 3/4" bolt might be the ticket to allow us to to what we really want. Was noticing too that these new rear tires might be higher profile than the last set was. Not a bad thing as the drawbar might be slightly higher. Be nice to get the weights on and the hydraulic leak stopped so I can get into barn cleaning mode. Be especially nice if I don't have to put the chains on to do it. So far, so good in that department. glenn really should have some higher end Pioneer knives for slicing that jerky, don't you think?    

[glenn57]

  waiting for the mailman   

[mike89]

about an hour ago or so I watched 5 otters scampering across the to the outlet  and open water..   fun watching them...