Big Bucks and Small Game: Wisconsin Whitetail Deer | S1E10 | MeatEater

on this hunt i'm in southwest wisconsin for a late season mixed bag this is midwest hunting at its finest today is going to be the perfect rabbit day not only are we gunning for cottontail rabbits we got some big plans for deer and squirrel as well there is guaranteed to be plenty of meat for the pot as we hunt up a true heartland feast i'm stephen ranella to me hunting isn't only about the pursuit of an animal it's about who we are and what we're made of it's about sustenance it's survival it's about connecting to the land it's about the purity of the challenge it's about life in each and every one of us there is a primal instinct to hunt and consume i live to hunt and hunt to live i [Music] am right now i'm on my friend doug durin's farm in the driftless area of wisconsin what driftless means is when the glacial epics were coming through the midwest and absolutely leveling the place for whatever reason the ice sheets always skirted around this area and left this beautiful rolling farm country you see now nowadays we know this place for three things packers fans cheese curds and big white tail deer the state of wisconsin has extended the private land whitetail season well into the month of february as a conservation measure which means that deer season has lined up perfectly with prime time winner rabbit hunt all of these good times are going to happen on this man's land douglas dern he's a very careful and conscientious land manager this farm has been in his family for generations about 110 years and he's invited me out to share in the bounty of the land so we can do deer and then also do some small game and turn this into a sort of midwestern gear and small game blowout [Music] [Applause] [Music] doug's awfully generous when it comes to land access on his farm but no one steps foot on the place without getting a debriefing from him on what this place is all about you have a beautiful farm full of like great gorgeous deer you're growing big bucks because you're doing a lot of things right you have a plan that works for deer out here i'm trying to manage this farm for crops i'm trying to manage that woodland to regenerate red and white oak i'm trying to have a balanced ecosystem here i'm not just trying to grow deer around the year 2000 doug and his neighbors began implementing a deer management plan meant to foster more natural population dynamics among the area's whitetail herd this meant a more equal ratio of bucks to does and more bucks reaching prime maturity you know we've got plenty of deer so let's start to control the herd and start let the smaller bucks go and get bigger ones this area is so famous for producing all these big mature deer it's more than just you obviously oh yeah people in the area are just getting on board everybody is sort of practicing management their own way on their land and from the buck management standpoint people are letting little bucks go as an added incentive to adhere to doug's management plan anyone who shoots a buck that's too small is made to wear this sombrero around the house as punishment for the remainder of his or her stay the sombrero signifies a mistake and you've worn it well that's the thing is the sombrero does not discriminate you know everybody can make a mistake and that's kind of the point it's that the attitude is if you know if we're paying attention and we're we're trying to do that and if you make a mistake you wear the sombrero and next year everything's fine again you know you think about what's the best course of actions here i want you to scrutinize deer while you're here and go okay well is that one to take is that a young deer what's the perfect deer to take you get to make that decision yourself you know now let me ask this when it comes to the cottontail rabbits any rabbit right that's right there's no manage there's no rabbit mansion no rabbit management you shot my stun cottontail with a firm understanding of the rules for hunting deer on doug's land we call up some local buddies for the first hunt of the trip [Music] dog and his crew have coined their own term for a unique style of honey they call it moochie it's basically a delicate deer drive with elements of still hunting thrown in doug has a good idea that there's going to be deer bedded in and around an upper pine plantation our plan is to send five guys in there and doug positions me and him on the most likely travel corridors that these deer will be using when they book out the thing about hunting with a group especially on someone else's land is that in some ways you just along for the ride rather than being the driver it can be a challenge if you're more used to relying on your own judgment and decision making but it does teach humility and if nothing else you might learn something about hunting that you didn't know before [Music] the thing that's cool about a guy like doug is you can just see he has the deepest love and appreciation for his land and all the things it produces and also intimate intimate knowledge he has of the ground and land around them so much my life now i've just kind of wandered around just going to places you know just little spouts of time and sort of glossing over the vast tracks land for backpacking into places that i might not ever backpack into again and you start to miss having that really deep intimate understanding of just one spot you know of home [Music] doug and i get settled in now it's just a matter of waiting for the other group to make their way through the pines and hopefully get some deer stirred up [Music] sure enough after a short wait doug's instincts turn out to be dead-on here they are there they are [Music] i've never been a big fan of running shots and especially not through brush one twig can throw a bullet off course and result in a non-lethal hit why couldn't they have slowed down a little bit man here's more those are all small bucks makes me nervous i don't want to shoot the wrong but i can get in trouble and duck and had to wear his sombrero only thing i can do at this point is wait and hope that doug has better luck than i did oh well there's a whole bunch of them every one of them's a buck there's four deer perhaps doug ultimately loves venison even more than big buck racks but whatever the reason he decided to break his own rule in order to put some meat on our plates that's a buck [Applause] like i was saying he's a generous guy now we got a dead deer we may have a dead deer over here did you hit it it didn't fall over it went down over the hill there he is nice sombrero dog you gotta wear your own sombrero i gotta wear my own hat nice doug i'll wear the sombrero for you if i get to eat something all right man dude i'll worry about some rare with pride for you man thanks guys for the push good shot placement too man it's about as well executed as a drive can be while this deer might arguably be a sombrero buck it's certainly an awesome animal that we're all glad to see it'll provide me for our meal with plenty left over to share with friends and family one thing i like about hunt with a bunch of guys it doesn't really matter that much to people who got the deer i mean it'll be like at first doug got a buck but down the road it'll be like oh we got one because after a couple days you just stop thinking about who and you just start thinking about the wii of it mostly it's like we're hunting together we're doing a drive it's a group effort the group's trying to get deer and the group got it here as a team [Music] our venison is secure and hanging in the barn and as the sun comes out so do the rabbits okay i'm going to show the basic like schematic of a rabbit push let's say you just have an isolated patch of brush put a guy here put a guy here put a guy here and then have a pusher come in here and just raise health figuring the rabbits are going to come squirting out some direction around out of there without dogs that's how like 90 percent of rabbits in america get shot is through this kind of maneuvering [Music] it's turned into a gorgeous day the rabbits will be out basking in the sun and they'll be leaving tracks in the snow i've got high hopes for this hunt [Music] [Music] today is going to be the perfect rabbit day [Music] this place is plastered in rabbit tracks oh you can smell those rabbits in here man boys are doing a good job opening those briars now here keep pushing keep stomping [Music] [Music] don't stop to start cursing till the rabbit's gone man there's plenty of time for cursing later what do you think dog couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a scoop shovel full of shell corn we're supposed to be hunting they're supposed to be sneaking out ahead they're in here baby there he is [Music] he's in between you two guys somewhere no he's back behind you there he comes down the hill down the hill paulie's coming right at you now he's coming back towards steve up the hill coming up coming right down to go see him you see him yes sir redemption [Applause] i'll tell you what man there's a direct correlation between the number of scratches on your body and the number of rabbits in your game bag [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is very much where my hunting roots came from busting brush in the midwest you know for bunny rabbits and it's accessible like i still get a big thrill out of it you know sometimes i think you know i'd rather be chasing rabbits and chasing some crazy thing up in the mountains just because it's reminds me so much of you know all the hours and hours and days i spent as a kid doing this [Music] so all together we got eight rabbits we're definitely not gonna go hungry now it's just a matter of getting all hands on deck to skin and quarter these rabbits for eating [Music] we've already got the ingredients for a big feast but i'd love to add some more small game to the mix i figure a couple squirrels should do the trick [Music] wisconsin law states that a landowner can hunt squirrels on his own property regardless of the time of year so with doug on the gun he and i set out to see if we can snag a couple more critters for the bucket half what i know about finding animals and stalking and shooting all comes from hunting [Laughter] squirrels [Laughter] [Music] so [Music] i'm talking about squirrel hunting with people they always base their impressions of squirrel hunt now the ones they see eating peanuts out of people's hands at parks yeah but it's basically like acting like you know about wolves because your party's got a dog coming did you see how i coaxed them up for you thanks steve nothing shatters the silence of the woods like a shot fired at a squirrel oh oh oh yeah yeah yeah with two nice squirrels in hand it's time to start prepping for tomorrow [Music] after butchering out the back hams back and shoulders from the squirrels i get to work on the marinade in a five gallon bucket i combine equal parts apple cider vinegar and water then i add pickling spice some salt and a few chopped onions finally i add in the rabbit and squirrel to sit overnight this is going to be a treat [Music] it's early morning and high time to get all the meat out of the marinade i'm making one of my favorite dishes a traditional german stew called hassan pepper which essentially means peppered hair it's one of the easiest and most sure-fire ways to cook small game [Music] when it comes to haas and pepper the trick is to fry everything to a perfect golden brown and then just let it simmer in its own sauce for a few hours now that everything's braised i just want to take the onions from the marinade fry these onions down then i'm just going to add them into the blend there way to thicken the braising liquid is to use ginger snap cookies that's about perfect there it's like lumpy brown sugar pretty good [Music] while the rabbit and squirrel meat is brazing doug and i head out to the barn to skin and quarter our buck when it comes to consistently good flavor and texture there's really nothing like a crop-fed white-tailed bun it's the game meat that i grew up on and i'm always looking forward to a chance to eat some more i cut a few sirloin steaks off of the back legs for a pre-dinner snack doug fires up the grill so we can get those steaks on while we wait for the main course to finish up all right dougie i'm putting these steaks on [Music] with this amount of food we need a few extra guys to dig in so doug puts out the word to his hometown friends around kazanovia and invites them for dinner this is one of my favorite parts about hunting with a big group of friends after all the good times in the field you get some good times around the table the wrap that's a saddle of rabbit oh do you want bahama now do you want squirrel too i will try a squirrel that's your squirrel that's rabbit that's your business on top yeah it's not supposed to look appetizing it's supposed to taste good well onions thanks a lot [Music] it's really good it's actually really good this is my first time i've ever had marinated rabbit it's uh really pretty good it gets pretty tender you beat the toughness with that my dear wife she always roasted rabbit with wine one bottle of wine and the rabbit one on her well doug i keep wanting to thank you for everything well it's been great having you guys here just uh good clean fun keep thinking about how i never put that sombrero on yeah yeah there you go he promised he'd put it on no i told you i'd wear it for you that's right this might not fit my big old melon though man one size fits all i think it goes the other way oh that's it right there i wanted to wear a cowboy hat fine line between a sombrero and a cowboy hat yeah i thought that's good it looks good on you yeah with doug's fine specimen of a sombrero buck this trip turned into my idea of a perfect midwestern hunt thanks to doug and his buddies we cram damn near a season's worth of hunting into a few long days and we still had time to top it off with some fine family dining even with all the big game hunts that i've done in crazy remote places i still get a major charge out of chasing small game and whitetails in the midwest after all mooch and deer through alfalfa fields and farmland woodlots is how i learned to hunt in the first place and anytime i can get a chance to make it back to my roots i'm in

Channel: MeatEater

Views: 1,329,766

Keywords: meateater, meat eater, steve rinella, steven rinella, hunting, whitetail, deer hunting, venison, small game hunting, rabbit hunting, squirrel hunting, MeatEater Full Episodes, MeatEater Full Episode, MeatEeater Season 1, MeatEater Season 1 Episode 10, Episode 10, Ep. 10, Big Bucks, Bucks, Deer, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Hunting, family farm, small game, whitetails, whitetail deer, Butterfly Venison Steaks, Venison Steaks, rabbit stew

Id: wRn3TLiQV_k

Length: 21min 34sec (1294 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 27 2020