Nicholas Italiano in Survival

Tales from the Field

Matriarchs of the Prairie

In This Article

Setting Up Camp
Range Time and Education
Into the Field
Some Unexpected Excitement
Taking the Shot
Field Dressing
Getting Into the Meat of It
Final Thoughts
Read More From Issue 72

Outside of a truck stop on a windy autumn day in Nebraska, I mill around waiting on the rest of the group of hunters and industry representatives to arrive. The sound of the wind is broken up by idle chatter and a mass of semitrucks hauling cattle.

It was in that windy truck stop parking lot that I met a nine-fingered man who was short on height and tall on personality — Joe “Hot Chocolate” Arterburn, the proprietor of Arterburn Outdoors and our outfitter for the upcoming hunt. Joe is a short, stocky man who definitely looks like he’d be a handful. Once we got talking, I was not surprised by his sharp wit and charming dry brand of smart-ass sarcasm.

After everyone had arrived, we made our way to a fifth-generation family farm called Reynolds Inc. This 4,000-plus-acre farm grows corn, soy, and alfalfa hay in addition to raising cows and calves. Joe leads our caravan of hunters and brand experts deep into the farm property around bends and over hills larger than anything you’d expect to find in Nebraska. We settle on a flat, mercifully level piece of ground placed between that falls between picturesque terrain features — an ideal location for the Beyond Hunter’s Education Camp.

Nothing beats the nostalgia of a canvas wall tent. This is the commons area tent. Lots of laughs and meals were enjoyed here.

Setting Up Camp

Being that Beyond Hunter called the event a camp, it was fitting we should all pitch in to set up our group camp and our own tents. White Duck supplied each of us with 8×9-foot Rover Scout canvas wall tents. I’ve never encountered a tent so easy to pitch — not a single curse word was uttered while setting it up (which is nearly unheard of coming from me).

Once all the tents went up, we were supplied with accoutrements suitable for tent living. Among the gear we received was the Hamelin sleeping bag by Sea To Summit, and it was the most welcoming sleeping bag I’ve ever used.

Meals were the work of a giant of a man named Brooks who was obviously a longtime friend of Joe’s. Brooks was there representing Camp Chef and Primos. Throughout the day, Brooks and Joe split kitchen duties with no shortage of jokes and sarcastic comments hurled between the two. We ate like royalty at each meal, feasting on elk, moose, salmon, halibut, venison, and other game meats.

Getting Familiar with the Tools of the Trade

Day two consisted of brand representatives talking with us about their companies and familiarizing us with gear we were using over the following days. After talking with everyone and learning about the equipment, it was time to hit the range.

Range time was very low pressure and straightforward. The participants learned the basics of rifle control and get schooled up on responsible firearm handling. Each participant got the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the 6.5 Creedmoor rifles supplied by Franchie shooting Nosler ammo, supported by Primos Trigger Sticks bipods and tripods.

The man, the myth, the legend Joe “Hot Chocolate” Arterburn, the nine-fingered bandit.

Range Time and Education

As an experienced hunter and firearms trainer, range and firearm safety became my unofficial responsibility on this trip. While the inexperienced hunters were there to learn, my role was more to evaluate the course and teach any skills I thought a new hunter would need.

I was pleased to find all key components of firearm safety and responsible handling to be in order. I added a few minor details here or there based on things I encountered in my nearly two decades of teaching — however, nothing glaring was amiss.

Much of my input was unrelated to the range time or firearms handling — having more to do with the visual sensory of animals with horizontally mounted eyeballs, also known as prey animals. While not officially part of the course, I may toss a few impromptu pistol lessons here and there during our down time.

Margaux from Sea To Summit asked if she could put my doe hide to use at home. We spent a little time fleshing out the hide and talking shop.

Into the Field

Our first outing to the field was straightforward. Everyone loaded into the trucks, and I headed off with Buck, my guide, and Hunter, my cameraman, to my pre-positioned blind. Thanks to Moultrie, game cameras had been set up weeks in advance to recon prospective hunting grounds and get a sense of deer movement. This allowed us to find the most advantageous places to hunt as well as rudimentary time frames the deer would move through specific areas.

Many experienced hunters will tell you hunting from a blind can be boring — and they are not wrong — however, it is very forgiving to new hunters who tend to move around a fair bit. Blinds not only shield your movement, but they also stifle small noises that may otherwise give away your position. The bulk of your time is typically spent seeing squirrels and birds until your target species arrives. By the time that happens, you’re ripe with anticipation or bored to tears.

These legs got turned into dog treats.

Some Unexpected Excitement

One of the things novice hunters often forget is that human hunters are not the only things out there that can spook a deer. While in the blind, I watched a scraggly coyote nosing around in an alfalfa field 360 yards to our south. Although this is typically an exciting and welcome experience while nature watching, during a hunt there is the concern its presence would deter deer from entering into the area.

With only 30 minutes left before the end of legal shooting light, a group of coyotes started howling out. The scruffy lone coyote perked up, ran 50 yards in the direction of the call like a kid being called home for dinner. As soon as that one was out of sight, two larger, fluffier coyotes popped out of the corn field howling their heads off, but they didn’t seem to be in as much of a hurry to move from the area. With only 30 minutes left of legal light and two coyotes standing in the middle of the open field we’re hunting, I asked Buck what he thought. Buck responded, “We still have 30 minutes of light left. That’s an eternity for an opportunity to develop. Anything can happen. Let’s let the coyotes leave.” Wise words from someone with a ton of experience, as he later told me he saw two turkeys in the field north of us hanging around and figured they would have taken off had the coyotes been a problem.

Buck Martin, the always victorious guide, proudly poses with our doe and me.

Taking the Shot

Buck was right. At 7:34 p.m., two deer stepped around the edge of the corn field as if they had materialized out of thin air. Two hundred yards for a shot on a deer may sound like a long way — and it surely can be without the right tools. Fortunately for me, Franchi has a great reputation as a trustworthy rifle, and the Mavin RS1.2 with 2.5-15 power magnification mounted had great magnification and very good light transmission. By the time these deer ghosted into our field, there was so little light we couldn’t see them without scopes or binoculars. It is important to note at this time that we were on a doe (female) hunt exclusively. Buck and I had to be positive beyond any doubt these were not small-antlered males, as they are expressly off limits for this hunt.

Had I needed even an extra minute for the deer to be in a position suitable to make an ethical shot, I was going to call it and come back the next day. The light was so low, it was getting iffy. As luck would have it, she turned almost completely broadside and gave me the opportunity I needed.

I asked Buck, “What time is it?”
Buck responded, “7:35.”
“Copy. Here we go. Three, oh sh*t she’s going to turn, two, one … BLAM!”

My ears were ringing. Muzzlebreaks do a lot to reduce recoil and keep the end of the barrel from lifting up, but they do not spare your ears. Buck and Hunter were able to plug their ears due to my countdown.

As the ringing in my ears subsided, we gave the doe a few minutes to make sure she was down and staying that way. She didn’t go far; strangely, she came straight toward us! Thanks to Buck who saw her tail flickering when she laid down, we were able to locate her without much trouble. This is when the real work starts. We loaded her into a pickup truck and took her back to camp for everyone to see.

As the legend goes, whoever gets paired with Buck as their guide will have a successful hunt. As far as I know, his streak is still going.

This is the work new hunters learn about once the hunt is over.

Field Dressing

The field dressing process is something I’ve always rushed through, as I’m usually cold, the darkness is settling in, and I’m ready to get into the kitchen. I was not alone during this time. Prime Cuts Ryan Reynolds, not to be confused with the actor, was there, and he is something of an expert when it comes to field dressing. Ryan explained and walked me through the process like a master class on keeping meat clean. The efficiency of movement with a knife as it pertains to this has always been my weakest point when it comes to hunting — and for the first time I really enjoyed the field dressing process thanks to his expert guidance.

The biggest takeaway for me was to slow down and think logically about what is important during this step and how it affects the next step. For some reason, this is the only part of the hunting process I’d never applied this strategy to. For me, this is an odd revelation, considering the end goal of hunting is high-quality food.
Once the body cavity has been opened, you can decide whether you’re interested in keeping the liver, kidneys, or heart, depending on how adventurous you are. Once the body cavity was emptied out, I attached the carcass to a gambrel and hoisted it up on a tripod. The rest of the evening was spent discussing everyone’s hunt and some of the takeaways everyone had from their experience.

Air-drying meat in the cool breeze helps form a thin crust on the meat to protect it.

Getting Into the Meat of It

After another exceptional breakfast, it was time to prepare our kill for processing. I started the process of removing the hide from the carcass. This may seem like a straightforward process, but over the years, I’ve developed a few rules to follow to keep hair off the meat.

Rule Number 1: Never cut across the grain of hair unless it is necessary. Removing the legs at the joint is the only place I break this rule.
Rule Number 2: Use a knife where it’s necessary. Any time you can use a bit of leverage to pull the hide down, do it.

I’ve run through this process more times than I can count, so it’s not a terribly time-consuming task. I may have spent 30 minutes from start to finish, as I was in no hurry.

After the carcass was devoid of a coat, I opted to leave it on the tripod for another day in the strong, cool Nebraska wind to age until the next day.

On day four, it was time to process the carcass. I have a family of five to feed so I don’t bother with cutting individual steaks at the processing table. Most of my processing is separating into individual large muscle groups to be divided at home. Once I had everything broken down, we vacuum sealed the meat and stored it in a cooler for transportation.

Once the animal is down, you notch your tag before it’s removed from the field.

Final Thoughts

Day five was my least favorite day on this trip. Not because it’s hard work to spike camp, but because it was time to depart from the great people I met. The people are the best parts of these trips, and it is always gratifying to meet people you want to keep in touch with.

Returning home from an experience like this is always bittersweet. I look forward to seeing my wife and kids and sharing the stories of the experience, but I am quickly reminded that life is simple when you’re surrounded by nature, sleeping in a tent, and providing your own food. Thinking about returning the normal fast pace of life, I was already longing for the slower pace of life I was afforded at Beyond Hunter’s Education Camp. Never would I have thought, “I want to go back to Nebraska.”