Deer hunters...hunting traditions question????

[canaan]

Ok, so this may be an odd-ball question...but what deer hunters here keep a record of their kills?

You see, my family has a tradition of marking guns with a notch/dot cut in the stock near the butt-plate for every buck killed with a gun.
I have my great grand fathers 30-06 and it has a ring of notches all the way around the butt-plate, and I was there to help him clean quite a few of those kills.

Right now, I have a few guns that I have personally marked for 'buck-kills'. My first was an old Universal .30cal carbine. I was 7yrs old and dropped a spike buck in his tracks at ~65yrds w/ that old M1.

I can still remember (I'm 26 now) that my dad handed me his pocket knife and told me to mark that old M1 for a kill w/ a small dot carved into the stock. We took that little spike back to the camp and cooked the backstrap, heart, and liver that night. Great memories.

So, to this day, everyone in my family marks their guns for any buck-kill with that firearm. Its just a tradition with my family, but I wonder if anyone else has a similar family hunting tradition?

Hell, I have that old Universal .30cal, Ruger mini-14, Rem700 .50cal, and Rem700 7mm-08 with many notches now cut in their stocks. Its just a reminder of good times hunting. I would love to put a notch in the stock of my new Armalite M4 this fall

[TCS_XDM]

My family makes you either eat a piece of the heart or drink the blood of your first kill. I will hold that tradition with not only my children but any new hunter that comes to hunt with me.

[SonOfOdin]

Originally Posted by TCS_XDM

My family makes you either eat a piece of the heart or drink the blood of your first kill. I will hold that tradition with not only my children but any new hunter that comes to hunt with me.

We painted runes on our face in blood.

[canaan]

Originally Posted by SonOfOdin

We painted runes on our face in blood.

That is the same w/ my family...
Anytime someone has their first kill, they get painted w/ the blood.

Possibly the best 'painting' w/ blood we have ever had was with a foreign exchange student from Czechoslovakia what was staying w/ my uncle. He had never held a gun in his live, but we taught him gun safety and had him shoot a buck that year. He was so fired up about killing a buck that he freaked out. He started drinking vodka while we cleaned the deer. By the time the we had cleaned the deer are where about to put the quarters in ice-chests, he was plastered after watching us clean and quarter the animal.

We told him it was tradition to bob-for-kidneys in the gut bucket. (think bobbing for apples). He was so drunk what he dove in!!!!!!!!!!!!

To make things worse, he came up w/ intestine in his mouth.



lol

Hell,
Another ritual we have here at the camp is....
If you miss a deer, you get your shirt-tail cut out.

LMAO, in the old camp on Davis Island, I remember seeing dozens of shirt tails. If someone missed a shot....you catch them off guard and cut a chunk out of their shirt. Then you sign and date it....and tack it up on the wall of the camp!!!!!!

[canaan]

Originally Posted by TCS_XDM

My family makes you either eat a piece of the heart or drink the blood of your first kill. I will hold that tradition with not only my children but any new hunter that comes to hunt with me.

In our family....the 'first kill' gets 'painted' with the blood of the kill.

It just tradition. Also, you must eat from your first kill. All kills must be eaten.

[Happypuppy]

Eat the liver over an open fire.


Sent from my 300 baud modem

[Groo]

My dad started hanging up the antlers up at the camp, and we usually eat the hearts of whatever we get. Heart tastes great fried up with onions. No pagan-like or gun mutilating rituals.

[dbruynell]

I'm one for one, nice 10 pointer. No real tradition for my family, just bragging rights. I have to say the best kill however was my Uncle from 100 yards with an M1 Grand w/ just iron sights. (it was my grandfathers gun). We're from NJ but have land in Missouri that we use in November.

[apexhunter]

Other than wiping some blood on one's face following their first kill we don't have that many "traditions" following subsequent successful harvests. We definitely do not notch rifle butts and I would kick somebody's arse if they took a knife to the stock of my X-Bolt or Montana rifle. Now there is a celebration of a kill with a cold beer or some Maker's Mark...and the enjoyment of marinated & grilled venison cube steak a few weeks later.

[.hero.]

There is a group of us that bowhunts. About 8 of us.
30 dollars at the beginning of season.
Your money pays---
10-first buck
10-best buck(no set criteria. a good stalk is worth more than a tree stand shot, etc.)
10-first doe.