Tulsa Gun Show Report

Well folks, we attended the Wannenmacher gun show in  Tulsa last weekend.  This show is held twice a year, in early April and again in early November.  It is said that this is the largest gun show in the world with over 2,200 tables.  Now we go to this show usually at least once a year and my father-in-law usually has two tables but this year he invited me to share his tables with him.  I had 4 guns ready, three of which were/are for sale and my personal .54 flint fullstock Hawken which was NOT for sale.  I also had a fair amount of plunder ready for sale; a couple of bullet pouches, three knives with sheathes, one of my hand peeled aspen hiking sticks, a moosehide belt pouch, a leather deer drag, and a good supply of 4 oz. tins of beef tallow.  The general consensus of those exhibitors in our area was that folks weren't spending much.  That was certainly true for my father-in-law (a highly respected builder of single shot cartridge rifles) and myself.  The only things we actually sold were off my table; two cans of beef tallow patch lube and gun grease and my .62 Northwest Trade Gun.  My father-in-law did garner a probable order for a single shot Hepburn rifle which is his specialty.

Having said all that, I DID get to talk to a couple of interesting fellers.  I got to visit quite a bit with Jeff Hengesbaugh who had his tables just across the isle and down a couple of tables from us.  Now if you don't know who Jeff is, you haven't been a western buckskinner very long.  Jeff is a legend in the hard core mountain man community.  You see, back in 1973, back from serving his country in Viet Nam, Jeff along with Bill Hamilton and Steve Johnson saddled up their horses, loaded their pack horses and set off from Gila Arizona to ride to the Canadian border!  Yes, I said from Arizona to Canada!!!  They  wore their buckskins, carried their muzzle loading rifles, and did everything as it would have been done before 1840!  It took them six months, living off the land, starving, running out of water, and getting shot at by Indians (for real!), but they made it all the way to Canada!  Jeff now has a mountain man and Southwest history museum in Glorieta New Mexico and is also an expert on the battle of Glorieta Pass. Quite an interesting fellow and I look forward to visiting him in Glorieta, hopefully next summer.  If you want to know a little more about their ride,  go to YouTube and search mountain man ride to Canada. 

The other interesting feller I visited with for a few minutes was Bruce Day.  Bruce is a hiveranno in the American Mountain Men.  These guys are NOT your average, every day buckskinner; they are the most seriously dedicated group of  fur trade mountain man historians and reinactors that you will find.  Anywhere!  Now, it's always been in the back of my mind, although I'm usually not a "joiner" of groups and the like, to join up with this outfit.  The problem is, you have to be invited by existing members and I have never actually run in to any of these guys.  Until now!  Bruce has invited me to contact him with the possibility of  attending some of their camps which would start me on the trail to become a member of this esteemed outfit!  Thanks Bruce, I look forward to visiting more with you about this.  If you would like to know more about the A.M.M. you can find them on the web at http://americanmountainmen.org/  Check them out.

Well that's about it for my first time being a trader at "the world's largest gun show".  I'm now looking forward to the spring show in April.  Looks like I better get busy and build another gun or two, and some more accoutrements as well.  It'll be a busy winter.

Until we meet on down the trail, keep your flint sharp and your pan primed!

TC

P.S. Ive got a couple more videos up on YouTube at Turkey Creek 1823.

Prime Meat Left In The Field!

Well, I just finished muzzleloader deer season here in Oklahoma yesterday.  I was hoping to put two deer in the freezer this week but will settle for one,  a 7 point buck I shot last Saturday.  Hopefully I will get at leasst two more during regular gun season which starts the Saturday before Thanksgiving, with the Lord's blessing.
As I was fixing my lunch last Monday, I got to thinking about a prime cut of deer meat that most hunters leave laying out in the field for the coyotes to eat and how they don't know what a good meal they're missing out on.  You see, I was fixing fresh deer heart for lunch! It's a prime piece of meat; lean and healthy and simple to cut up and prepare.
I carry a large zip lock bag with me when hunting and after field dressing my deer I retrieve the heart and put it in the bag.  When I get it home I wash it and put it in a glass bowl, cover it with water and set it in the refrigerator until I'm ready to cook it, either that day or the next.  Of course you could strike a fire out in the woods right after you dress your deer out and cut it up and roast it right then! I reckon it don't get any better than that!
It's easy to prepare.  It starts out looking like this:

I trim off the fat and then slice it up about 3/8 of an inch thick. I then trim out the vessels,  inner walls of the heart,  etc. It ends up like this:

Next, it goes in the cast iron skillet and gets seasoned to taste. For me that means fried in bacon grease and seasoned with fresh ground pepper.  DON'T OVER COOK IT! Folks are always trying to over cook venison and that is a BIG mistake!  It should still be a little red inside when you pull it from the skillet.

It's really hard not to eat it right from the skillet as it's cooking!

Well, this is definitely a Hunter's Lunch!

This is a great cut of meat that deserves to be utilized and not left in the field.  And if any of y'all are elk hunters, well it's downright sinful to leave elk heart in the field!

Think about bringing the heart home and giving it a try.  Maybe next time we'll talk about the liver!

Until then, keep your nose in the wind and your eyes on the skyline.
TC