I stole a deer from a predator...

[Mesophilic]

...sort of 

Early past week a predator killed a doe in my neighbors yard.  She's probably two years old just based on size as compared to other deer in the area.

He called animal control and they were just going to haul her to the dump so I asked the guy if I could claim it.   He took my info and gave her to me.

The predator only ate a little of the rib cage and shoulder, and pulled out some entrails before abandoning her.

When I gutted her she was still warm on a 27° F morning, so it was fairly recent.

Quartered her and aged her in refrigeration for 4 or 5 days...


...she tastes PHENOMENAL!!!  I've never had venison that wasn't stringy, tough, and gamey to some degree or another.  This doe backstrap tastes like prime beef tenderloin without a hint of the above. 

FWIW, Game and Fish thinks it was a mountain lion kill.  So I can now add to my list of accomplishments...stole deer from a lion

[TimBo]

Nice job!  You can leave a thank you note for the lion...and maybe watch your back for a bit. 

[Mesophilic]

Well, when I was attempting to flesh the hide my neighbors hound started go nuts for no apparent reason.   My first thought was that the lion came back.  So I grabbed a firearm and cleared the yard and up under the deck, didn't find anything.   But you know that feeling when the hair stands up on the back of your neck?

First hide I've fleshed wearing a G20 in a shoulder holster.

[Digital Caveman]

That's quite a story, I'm sure many an Indian fleshed hides with a bow at hand. 

[Hawkdancer]

Yep!  Some jobs seem to go better with a bit of insurance and/or security equipment! !  Glad the meat turned out well.
Hawkdancer

[willie]

But you know that feeling when the hair stands up on the back of your neck?

after living most of my life around both black and brown bears, I know it well, and have learned to not ignore it.

I think we can smell things unconciously.

[Will Tell]

Usually the other way around. In Pa. the coyotes got so bad that if you left a deer overnight they wouldn't be much left the next morning.

[mmattockx]

First hide I've fleshed wearing a G20 in a shoulder holster.

I was just thinking that I would be carrying a sidearm on my belt if there is a cougar around while working on the carcass and then you posted this, I agree 100%. Bears are usually nothing more than a nuisance but cougars are a different matter if they are comfortable enough to come in around people and dwellings.

Nice work on the free meat, too. I hunt in a farming area with lots of crop land. The deer there almost always taste great because they tend to feed off the various crops much of the summer. The only gamey meat we get is a late season buck that is all rutted up and full of hormones. That meat all goes for sausage.


Mark

[Deerhunter21]

First hide I've fleshed wearing a G20 in a shoulder holster.

I was just thinking that I would be carrying a sidearm on my belt if there is a cougar around while working on the carcass and then you posted this, I agree 100%. Bears are usually nothing more than a nuisance but cougars are a different matter if they are comfortable enough to come in around people and dwellings.

my dad lived in Utah with some cougars around. he always told me, if you dont see a cougar, thats ok, but if you know that there's one around and you dont see it, then its scary.