If you want to protect your home from threats, you can’t just rely on security cameras and all those fancy-schmancy security systems.

What if the grid goes down?

They’ll be nothing more than decorations.

So to defend your fortress and your survival supplies when things go south, one thing you need to do is put together some booby traps.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

Important Things to Consider Before Rigging Your Booby Traps

Booby traps are devices designed to catch animals or people by surprise. Some can seriously injure or even kill a victim, while others are way tamer.

You can’t just make them for the heck of it. There are a couple of things you need to ask yourself first before you go and set traps all over your backyard:

Is It Legal?

Booby traps have a reputation for being vicious devices used in wars. With the injuries they can inflict, it’s no surprise that it’s illegal to make most of them.

Don’t try building punji stakes or toe poppers or any of those dangerous traps.

You’ll get into major trouble with the law and probably land in the slammer, and that’s the last thing you want when you’re prepping for SHTF.

Is It Safe to Set Up?

While something may be legal, that still doesn’t mean it’s safe. Setting up booby traps may put you in a sticky situation. There’s nothing worse than being taken out by the very things that were meant to protect you.

Think about your family, too. Will you be able to live with yourself if your significant other or kids get harmed?

If you have younger kids, then maybe it’s better for you to go with non-lethal self-defense weapons instead. You can keep these out of their reach but you can’t exactly do the same with tripwires.

Is It Easy to Spot?

Your booby traps should blend in with their environment. If not, it won’t take long for an intruder to discover and bypass them.

You’ll need to learn how to camouflage your traps well. That includes using certain wires instead of others and figuring out what colors to use to trick even the most seasoned thieves.

Also, it will be harder to trick enemies if your traps involve too many bells and whistles. Keep them small and simple.

Now that you know what to keep in mind, here are some booby traps you can make:

What Are the Perfect DIY Booby Traps for Home Defense?

Booby traps don’t need to be deadly to be effective.

All the projects listed below will surprise intruders more than harm them, but they make great deterrents. And if you’re really careful, they’re safe to construct.

Check them out:

Tripwires

A tripwire is a classic booby trap. It involves a wire that extends tautly across a pathway, like in between trees or a doorframe.

Folks usually use braided fishing lines for tripwires because they’re thin enough to be nearly invisible to the naked eye and they also won’t split when a person walks through them.

The line or wire is connected to an alarm that goes off as soon as someone activates the tripwire. There are several types of tripwires that use different alarm systems.

Here are some that you can make at home:

Mousetrap Tripwire

Believe it or not, mousetraps don’t only help you catch the mice that have been stealing your food.

With a mousetrap, a few ring caps, and a fishing line, you can make an effective tripwire alarm. This article shows you how.

Just watch your fingers when you’re working on it — the mousetrap might snap on them. A sturdy pair of gloves should provide you with the protection you need.

Tin Can Alarm

Who says you need a high-tech perimeter alarm to safeguard your territory?

With a few tin cans, paracord/fishing line, and some sticks, you can create one that’s loud enough to surprise intruders and alert you to their presence.

What you need to do is tie at least three tin cans together using a paracord or fishing line. Then, look for two trees that are close enough to one another. Use the paracord to secure a loop around their trunks.

There should be a space in between the trunks. This is where you should hang your cans. After that, you have to make a loose loop under the cans.

That’s all you need to create the alarm.

The next things to do include making the trigger using 3 different-sized sticks, determining your perimeter, and then setting up the trap. These steps are explained in further detail here.

Keychain Alarm Tripwire

If your DIY skills aren’t the greatest, this trap is for you. There are only two things you need: a keychain alarm (which you can easily find online) and a fishing line.

The keychain you pick should have a hole on the reverse side. This is where you tie the line that will attach it to a tree, a door, or a table leg.

Air Horn Tripwire

Hate how obnoxious an air horn sounds?

Well, so will intruders when it disrupts their sneaky infiltration into your property.

To whip up this trap, you’ll need to build a deadfall trap above your air horn.

Choose a flat rock and prop it up on some sticks. Let the trigger stick stay on top of the horn. The trigger stick should be attached to the line. Secure the other end of the line to a nearby tree.

When a trespasser’s leg gets caught on the tripwire, a domino effect happens…

The trigger stick will give out from beneath the rock.

The rock will fall on the horn.

The horn will make a deafening sound that wakes even the deepest sleepers.

The enemy will crap their pants in shock and try to make a run for it.

Pit Traps

There’s probably no booby trap more straightforward than a pit trap. It’s really just a big hole in the ground.

Before you dig the pit, look for a strategic location. Once you secure a spot, use an entrenching tool to do the digging. Keep shoveling until it’s deep enough to prevent an average-sized person from climbing their way out.

When you’re through making the pit, put a net on top of it and disguise it with leaves, rocks, and other debris.

Also, remember the exact place you excavated the trap. You don’t want to faceplant into a hole while you’re in the middle of trimming and pruning your plants.

Dye Device

In a bank robbery, you know how robbers give bank tellers their demands? They normally command them to shove hundreds of thousands of dollars in a bag.

The tellers may seem like they’re giving in to the robbers’ whims, but they actually have a trick up their sleeves — the dye pack. This nifty gizmo stains the cash a bright color, letting everyone know that it’s stolen.

You can take inspiration from the dye pack and apply it to your home defense.

Just fill an automatic spray bottle with semi-permanent dye. You can set this up as soon as you see folks trespassing on your property.

They won’t just get surprised; they’ll be so doused in dye that they’ll look like cheap knockoffs of the creatures from the Avatar movie.

Talking Booby Trap

Most thieves are on edge when they turn up at a mark’s home. They don’t wanna get caught.

So in the unlikely scenario that they breach past your defenses and enter your home, a talking booby trap can scare the living daylights out of them.

This little device involves recording a special message or sound effect meant for home invaders. You’re supposed to hide it somewhere clever, where the bad guys can activate it unknowingly.

Once the gizmo is triggered, they’ll hear the present you left for them loud and clear — they messed with the wrong home.

For complete instructions on how to make a talking booby trap, take a look at this article.

Final Thoughts

Booby traps make a perfect addition to a home defense plan — when you take the law, your family’s safety, and common sense into consideration.

Along with learning self-defense and making key security upgrades to your home, the booby traps we featured will help you win against the bad guys and keep your precious stockpile safe.

Just don’t be too obvious when you build these traps to avoid getting unwanted attention from the neighbors.

We hope you learned something from this! But if you wanna learn even more about home defense or making a foolproof SHTF plan, you should check out our other articles.

Fish finders are the single greatest advantage you can use on the water. Understand how to use them to find bass activity and patterns and you’ll be catching more fish in no time.

How to Read a Fish Finder (The Right Way)

Sidescanning sonar has grown tremendously over the past few years, leading to a nearly endless supply of choices of fish finders.

With brands like Garmin, Lowrance, and Humminbird flush with money, the technology also continues to grow with the competition.

With that, confusion also comes along. When you are trying to figure out what the fish are doing while managing everything else on the boat, the last thing you want is a confusing fish finder.

That’s why understanding a fish finder is a game changer. If done correctly, it will lead to serious results. You will find yourself catching more, and the fish that you do catch will be much bigger.

No serious bass fisherman can expect to compete without one.

Further, they will help you grow as a fisherman since they will teach you about the lakes you are fishing. When you combine sonar with GPS, you can virtually map the bottom topography of any body of water. Developing that understanding will prove to be more valuable than anything else when it comes to catching fish.

Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in! 👇

Properly Reading and Understanding a Fish Finder ✅

You need to understand that your fish finder displays actual fish. Many people doubt their equipment, but fish finders don’t lie. Not only do fish finders display actual fish, but they display them so accurately that researchers are harnessing them to conduct research on bodies of water.

The challenge becomes telling things apart. More advanced fish finders will attempt to do this for you, but with the complexity of variables below the boat and lack of a powerful enough artificial intelligence in fish finders, this is usually inaccurate at best. Therefore, you need to develop your own eye for what fish look like on your fish finder.

If your fish finder displays arches, you know you at least have fish under your boat. Fish taper in mass from one end to another. As the boat passes over them, they return signals that begin weak and then grow strong before weakening again. This results in an arch on the screen. When you are scouting new areas to fish for largemouth bass, this can be a very good sign.

Understanding the size of the arch is essential to determining what the arch actually represents. Looking at the length and thickness of the arch will help you figure out what sort of fish you are looking at, or even if it is a fish at all.

The arch length and color are two crucial features that are instantly recognizable as some sort of fish in the water. From there, you will have to leverage your knowledge as a fisherman to discern what type of fish it is.

Color is also a factor if you have one of the more advanced fish finders. The darker the color, the more dense the thing returning the signal is. This will help you gauge the density of the fish arches. It will also help you determine if the arch is just a big wad of grass that is floating along or if it is an actual fish.

However, just finding arches is only a part of the equation. Having the requisite knowledge to pick out bass from other types of fish is critical. Bass, walleye, catfish, and shad all behave differently and pursue prey in wildly different manners. This results in different patterns being displayed on your fish finder.

For instance, when bass sits on the bottom of the lake, they tend to want their space. This results in dots that are typically congregated near a structure of some sort. However, catfish, carp, and other bottom feeders typically look for depressions. The reason is both are pursuing food in their way. Depressions gather trash, and the structure brings in baitfish.

A note on baitfish, you will often see baitfish in open water as a large cluster of little dots. These large bait balls are easy to identify, and if you see larger, darker arches next to them, you can bet that there are fish feeding on them. However, this does not mean that it is the only place to find baitfish. Often when viewing underwater structures, you will see tons of little dots all around it. This is more often bait fish that feed on the aquatic life growing on the structure.

This is why FISH-ID is viewed as less than accurate. If a fish is swimming along, far away from any sort of cover, then you will likely have a positive identification of a fish from FISH-ID. However, the slightest bit of debris can cause it to misidentify or simply not recognize the fish at all. This is where the operator’s interpretation of the data becomes critical.

Reading Depth and Temperature 💡

There are two primary factors you need to understand with any fish finder. These fundamental factors are depth and water temperature. A mobile vessel such as a high-performance fishing kayak will allow you to reach new fishing areas; seeing what’s under the water is crucial.

While there are a variety of different ways they’re shown, here’s everything you need to know.

Colors 🌈

What do colors mean on a fish finder? We have already touched on how color denotes density on a fish finder. Generally speaking, the denser something is, the brighter the color is. Understanding density will help you discern hardened structures that can be targeted with soft plastics from other, often muddier, elements that hold little to no fish.

Yet, many fish finders offer different color palettes to choose from. Since there is so much information being transmitted on a fish finder screen, you need to make sure that everything is optimized for efficient, fast reading. Choosing a color palette that will allow you to read it no matter if your sunglasses are on or off, the sun is out, or its not, or if you are sensitive to certain colors over others are all factors that should be considered when selecting a color palette.

You should also not be loyal to any one color palette. Many times, conditions will cause you to have to change your color palette. Exceptionally muddy water or soft bottom lakes will often demand you dial up the sensitivity to pick out the hardened structure from the debris. Certain color palettes will make this much easier to read.

Fish Size 📏

Everyone wants to use their fish finder for spotting trophy bass. Though it may seem impossible to the new user, many people know that sonar has been used by researchers for years to find fish and determine their size. This comes down to paying attention to detail and knowing the fish you are pursuing.

That being said, a fish finder is just that, a fish finder. It is a useful tool, but it can only tell you that there is something below the boat returning sonar waves at a rate that is consistent with a fish. It is up to you to make sense of those returns and take action.

Arches will show the size of the return on the screen. If your fish finder is equipped with FISH-ID, it will likely identify a very strong return with a fish icon. However, it will never tell you what type of fish it is simply because it is nearly impossible to know from an algorithmic standpoint. This is where knowing your target fish and their habits come into play.

Trophy bass don’t typically school or move around in open water. This is because it is mostly inefficient to support their mass. Those fish will want to stay close to a structure that is conducive to catching frequent, easy meals. Finding quality structure is key to finding trophy bass.

Another detail that you should always pay attention to is temperature. There is likely not a fish finder on the market that won’t tell you how hot or cold the water is. It is typically displayed proudly on the screen, no matter what setting you have it on. Water temperature is one of the most important numbers to fish as they set their feeding, spawning, and movement plans based solely on water temperature.

If you see a fish that is outside of a depth, water temperature, and away from the structure that would be common to largemouth bass, it probably isn’t one. Many other fish that get quite large behave totally differently from the ambush-loving largemouth. Always keep this in mind when you are trying to decide what kind of fish are showing up on your fish finder.

Bottom Structure 👇

Knowing how to determine bottom structure is one of the key things you should learn early on when getting used to using a fish finder. Knowing what type of structure you are likely to encounter is one of the many things that will suggest the exact variety of fishing line you will need to use, be that monofilament, braided, or fluorocarbon.

Vegetation and mud are the most confusing things to discern on a fish finder screen. This is because they lack density and clearly defined edges that are able to be seen in detail. However, sunken tree tops, logs, stumps, and rocks will have clear edges that are hard to return a bright color. Telling these from other structures is fairly straightforward.

The key thing to know is that you need to match your boat’s speed with the speed and angle the fish finder is set at. Going too fast with a high-frequency, narrow beam will likely produce a lot of noise and less detail than is usable. However, going slow with the fish finder set to a wide, low-frequency rate will make for clear images, but you will be missing out on the detail that the fish finder is capable of producing.

Reading Different Types of Underwater Structure 🎯

Fish finder technology is continually evolving. The military has a unique interest in developing sonar technology as it helps detect an enemy’s presence in the water. However, as DARPA and the Department of the Navy develop technology that supersedes something it already has, it will sometimes allow for older tech to be released to the public.

One such development was the release of CHIRP sonar in July of 1960. When the Navy allowed the civilian sector to see what CHIRP was capable of, a series of papers were published exploring how it could be used and improved.

Today, CHIRP sonar has changed the way marine biologists identify marine sediment. Biologists, geologists, and other interested parties regularly used high-end CHIRP sonars to explore waters that would otherwise be completely inaccessible. However, it wasn’t long before the word was out, and the recreational fish finder market began to explode.

For years, the common man’s fish finder could tell that there was something on the bottom, but it was very difficult to tell what it was. Modern fish finders have changed this dynamic drastically. Today we can tell what vegetation, muddy bottoms, depressions, points, and underwater structures with relative ease.

Vegetation 🌿

Vegetation is one the most confusing things to read on a fish finder, but one of the most important. This is especially true if you are fishing with bass jigs and need to be precise about where your lure is placed.

Baitfish and vegetation often look very similar since they are assembled similarly and have comparable densities. Therefore, their color and distribution can often result in confusion between the two.

Vegetation is most easily identified by where it is relative to the bottom. Typically, vegetation will always be attached to the bottom. Therefore, when you see a large distribution of dots that seems to ascend from the bottom of the lake, you can guess it is likely some sort of vegetation.

Muddy Bottoms 🐾

Muddy bottoms are also a crucial part of bottom terrain that is advantageous to identify when fishing. One of the most crucial things in any sort of fishing is to figure out what the fish are feeding on. Once you understand the common diet of largemouth bass, then you will know that a muddy bottom is not something you want to pursue.

Muddy bottoms are identified by the color the fish finder returns. Depending on your individual color palette, they could look slightly different from unit to unit. However, the main thing you need to pay attention to is the density of the bottom.

If your unit returns a color that indicates a dense bottom, you can bet there is gravel or rock down there. However, if weaker colors are returned, you know the bottom is muddy.

Depressions 🗺

Another key terrain feature you will want to look for is depression. Depressions are simply low points on the bottom of the lake that gather trash that the current pushes along. This can become a major point of interest for fish, depending on the type. Downed tree tops that collect in depressions will bring in the bass, but bottom feeders also will find them since that is where most of the biomass ends up.

Depressions are easy to locate on a fish finder. As you troll along, pay attention to the depth that the boat is at. When you see a sudden drop in depth, zoom out to get a bigger picture.

This will allow you to chart the size of the depression and make sure it is not a drop-off. As the depth comes back up, mark it and turn the boat around. Then go back over the depression and mark the other side.

Points 💡

Every bass fisherman knows and loves points. Points provide fish with multiple escape routes if danger comes, are often choke points for bait fish that can be food, and provide quick and easy access to all depths of water. If you aren’t fishing over underwater points, you are likely missing the fish of a lifetime every time you motor on by.

Yet how do you find a point on a fish finder? Luckily, it is incredibly easy. A point is a terrain feature that jets out into the water, making an arrowhead shape. The point can either be above or below water. Finding points of terrain features below water is where your fish finder really pays for itself.

Look for areas that have rapid changes in depth. There will be a generally shallower area that gives way to the depths. Somewhere in that shallower area, there is likely to be an arrowhead-shaped structure that sticks out.

Run your boat over it, bisecting the long axis of the point. If using a lighter boat such as a kayak, use a trolling motor optimized for kayaks to quietly navigate over the area, ensuring you’re not spooking any fish. Each time you notice a depth drop-off, mark it. After a few passes, you will have a good understanding of where the point is and how best to leverage the tools in your tackle box to fish it.

Hidden Fish and Beam Width

It is easy to find fish when they are just sitting on the bottom, in a depression, or swimming in open water. However, largemouth bass live in structures that really come in all shapes and sizes. This puts the fisherman in a conundrum. You want to fish that structure, but you also don’t want to waste a lot of time on a structure that hasn’t attracted any fish.

The answer to this is beam width. While fish will hide in stumps, trees, and other structures that can be detected by a wide beam angle, they can’t be picked out. You will need a higher frequency, more narrow beam to be able to detect the fish that are held up in the cover.

Think about the beams like a flashlight. You will use a flood light if you want to see a lot. It doesn’t show the detail of anything, but it will let you see enough to know where everything is. However, in trying to find hidden fish, you will need a high-intensity spotlight to see the differences between the structure and the fish.

You should troll, cruise, and scout using a low-frequency, wide-beam setting on your fish finder. Once you have located some structure, mark it and then turn around with a high frequency, narrow beam setting enabled. Go slower on the second pass, and you will be able to pick apart the fish from the structure with relative ease.

Reading Chirp Sonar

One thing to note about CHIRP sonar is that it is incredibly powerful. CHIRP is powerful enough to even read the grain size of sediment on the bottom of the ocean. This is very helpful in finding transition zones in the bottom sentiment. These transition zones often bring in a variety of different types of fish, including bass.

While CHIRP is nothing more than an enhanced way to read sonar returns, this means that there is nothing different that you have to learn or do, just that your fish finder will provide you with a more powerful readout than a non-CHIRP fish finder. However, always defer to the CHIRP-enabled fish finder since it will give you a clear picture of the bottom, which is helpful when a rainy day completely disrupts your surface presentations.

Conclusion

There is no magic bullet when fishing. Even if you get a top-of-the-line fish finder, you still have to know how to fish. In a two-day study of crappie fishermen, researchers found that using a state-of-the-art fish finder had no real impact on the angler’s ability to catch fish. This means that if you control the environment, a good fisherman catches more fish with a fish finder, but a bad fisherman still catches no fish.

The lesson to take away is that a fish finder is just a tool that helps you be more efficient and effective when fishing. It will not be the answer to all your fishing challenges, but if you know how to properly employ it, it can be a great asset.

Understanding a Fish Finder: FAQs

What do bass look like on side imaging?

Bass generally appear as a dot on side imaging. Due to their behavior and preferences for being somewhat distant from other fish, it is often easy to find them sitting on the bottom or around cover. This method of identifying fish can be very effective. Side scan imaging is used widely to determine fish species on artificial reefs.

What’s the best frequency for a fish finder?

The best frequency for a fish finder is around 125 kHz. Fish finders generally range from 50 to 200 kHz. The lower end of the spectrum is better for wide-angle searches, but the higher end is good for high-fidelity imaging of certain areas or targets. Using a fish finder that straddles those two extremes gives you the most versatile tool available on the market today.

Can you see a lure on side imaging?

You can most definitely see a lure when you are using live sonar, but side imaging does not have the high level of fidelity required to give that level of detail fast enough to show your lure. While they are much more expensive, live sonar can be a highly beneficial upgrade to catch fish when they would otherwise be inaccessible.

How do you spot fish on sonar?

You spot fish on sonar by looking for arches or lines on the screen that are above the bottom of the lake. Depending on your setting, speed, and location of your transducer, fish detection can look much different from setup to setup. However, generally, a moving boat will show fish as arches, and a boat that is still will show them as lines.

Do you have to be moving for a fish finder to work?

You do not have to be moving for a fish finder to work. However, it is vital that you have your fish finder settings adjusted to properly compensate for the movement of your boat. If you anticipate moving at a fairly brisk pace, you want to set your fish finder up so that it also scans more frequently. However, if you have your transducer mounted to a trolling motor and don’t anticipate moving very quickly, then you will want to slow the scroll rate down to match the speed of your boat.

What do fish look like on a fish finder?

Fish look like arches on fish finders, generally speaking. However, depending on the setup and speed of the boat, fish can have a slight variance in how they look. As the boat moves over the fish, the fish is hit multiple times by sonar waves. Since they generally taper in size since the tips of tails and noses don’t have as much mass as the middle of a fish’s body, the first returns show a smaller creature. The returns increase the size of the creature it is encountering as it works its way to the middle point of the fish. After this, the returns show the fish decreasing in size. The graphic result of this is an arch.

Reverse Sear for the Win!

Simple equation of: Meat + Heat = Awesome. Yes, but there are some other things at play here. The equation comes out to be: Meat + (rate and intensity) Heat = Awesome, more or less. Scorching hot direct radiant heat is great for caramelizing the outside, creating a desired sear, and getting the fancy grill marks. However a piece of thick steak will get over charred and become well done on the outside while leaving the inside raw, leaving a bitter outside and cold inside. Indirect heat, or placing steak along side of the heat source, utilizes convection heat which slows the cooking process. Smoker grills use this style of cooking because it gives time for the heat to slowly work, allowing for more of the meat to be cooked to desired doneness. However it does take a long time, and getting a sear is difficult.

Reverse Sear embraces both styles of heating; convection and radiation to give your steak the largest amount of your desired sweet spot and a beautiful caramelized sear. Now, I can understand why some would say, “Why would you go through this whole process? My method works great.” Let me explain.

Wildgame is LEAN. Marbled fat in meat can act as insurance, to add moisture to a steak. Where a beef ribeye can handle longer periods of direct heat, venison backstrap cannot, leaving your veni gold overdone and dry. Cooking lower and slower extends your window of sweet spot cooking.

Speaking of sweet spot cooking. Reverse Sear lessens the “bullseye” effect of a steak. When cooking over direct heat, the outermost layer will be well done, and then a ring of medium, and a ring a medium rare, then finally a center spot of rare, resembling a bullseye. Reverse sear allows you to get add heat slowly, allowing the middle to come to desired temp, before the outside has exceeded that desired temp range. Leaving a consistent cook throughout the whole steak.

Sous vide is still expensive. What was once only attainable by restaurants, water immersion cooking, called sous vide is now available in the home kitchen. Set the temp on the machine or wand and the water stays consistently at that temp. Allowing for precise control, and prefect desired doneness. The only drawback is the price for one of these units is still a couple hundred dollars for a quality unit. Reverse Sear can give you similar results without an expensive purchase of a specialized tool.

Reverse Sear can be used on not just small cuts, which prevent from over cooking, but can be used for larger cuts to ensure proper cook all the way through. Using a probe thermometer or thermo-pen, a whole haunch could be cooked to medium rare with the same technique as a tenderloin.

Oh, and seeing how you are already searing in a pan at the end, you might as well make a pan sauce using those stuck on bits. Little bit of stock, little bit of cream, touch of mustard, salt and pepper, and you are adding extra distance to an already home run piece of meat.

What follows is a 9 step breakdown of doing a Reverse Sear. The basic idea is oven before pan, leave it to me to over complicate it. My bold statement is this, follow these steps and you will not be sorry, in fact you will start using this method more and more and get really good at it. I can’t say it will change your life, but bets are that you will post your outstanding results for everyone to see. Just make sure you hashtag Huntavore when you do.

Equipment:

• Sheet Pan
• Wire Rack
• Probe Thermometer/Thermo Pen
• Cast Iron Pan or Grill

Cooking:

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. Season the cut of venison with salt and pepper (or whatever you like). I like to put the salt and pepper on a plate and roll the venison in it, get good coverage.
3. Place wire rack on the sheet pan, then set the meat on the rack. Let the meat come up to room temperature.
4. Once meat is at room temp and oven is preheated, set the whole thing in the oven. Time will depend on size of the cut or thickness of the steak.
5. First thermometer check the center of the meat at 20 minutes. Based on how close your internal temperature has gotten, and how fast its rising, adjust check times. PRO TIP: I set a timer or I tend to check too often. “If your lookin, you ain’t cookin.”
6. Pull the meat 5 degrees before your desired doneness. The current heat in the meat will finish the cook as you rest the venison or steak (5-10 minutes).
7. As the meat rests, get your grill or pan hot. Add oil or butter (personally I add both) and then set the meat in the center. Give each side 30-45 seconds to let a good sear form. Make sure to hit the edges as well. HEADS UP! Steam and smoke will be a factor here, nothing to be alarmed about.
8. Baste butter and oil over the top as the bottom sears. Remove from heat. Total sear time as little as 1-2 minutes depending on how you desire your sear.
9. Slice, plate, serve, be a hero!

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Foxes and coyotes are widely distributed throughout North America. Interactions between these species are common, but the two mostly ignore each other in the wild.

However, a carcass can easily change the social dynamics and turn these animals from tolerant towards each other to aggressive.

Coyotes are about twice as large in size and three times heavier than foxes. They are also faster, reaching speeds up to 43 miles per hour vs. 30 miles per hour for red foxes. Foxes have a bite force of around 307 PSI, whereas coyotes bite with a strength of 727 PSI. In a one-on-one fight, the fox wouldn’t stand a chance.

The table below shows a quick comparison between coyote vs. fox*:

*Data in the table was sourced from research papers, scientific journals, magazines, and other official sources. For comparison purposes, we considered the physical, behavioral, and strength factors of red foxes, which are the most common fox species in North America. Strength facts and characteristics may vary for gray or arctic foxes.

Strike forces were calculated by multiplying the top speed for each species by the top weight mentioned in the table.

14 Differences Between Fox Vs. Coyote

1. Classification

Foxes and coyotes belong to the same family. However, they are rather distant relatives.

While they are both Canidae, red foxes belong to the genus Vulpes (true foxes) and Vulpes vulpes species. They are further divided into 45 subspecies distributed all over the world, with the exception of some territories such as Tasmania.

Coyotes are members of the genus Canis, the same as domestic dogs, wolves, and dingoes. The species – Canis latrans – is divided into at least 19 subspecies which are all distributed across Northern and Central America.

Both red foxes and coyotes are top carnivores in some ecosystems. In shared habitats, coyotes don’t actively hunt or eat foxes but they do have the potential to kill them.

2. Size

Body Length

The most visible difference between red foxes and coyotes – fur color aside – is the size. Foxes are about two times smaller than coyotes, even though larger fox males can grow larger than coyote females.

On average, red foxes reach body lengths between 1.8 and 2.8 feet. Coyotes grow between 2.6 and 3 feet in length. However, some eastern coyote males can be larger, with lengths reaching 4.5 feet in some cases.

If estimating the size could be tricky from afar, the coat color can help tell whether the animal is a fox or coyote.

Red foxes have a reddish brown coat darker on the legs and tail and with white undersides. Coyotes’ predominant color is light gray and red interspersed with black and white. The legs and undersides are whitish.

Both animals have bushy tails, but the coyote tail is mostly dark gray in color whereas a red fox’s tail is a dark reddish brown.

Height

Another crucial difference between coyotes and foxes is their height – coyotes are about eight inches taller than foxes.

On average, they reach a shoulder height of 24 inches. Red foxes, on the other hand, rarely exceed 16 inches in height.

The height difference, together with the length and fur color, can help tell the difference between the two species when spotting them in the wild.

3. Skull Size (Length)

Foxes and coyotes belong to the same family, and their skulls are very similar in shape. The most noticeable difference is the size.

Coyote skulls are about two inches longer than fox skulls. Specifically, coyote skulls are about eight inches long, whereas fox skulls are about six inches long.

The skulls of both animals have an elongated shape with a large braincase and elongated snouts.

The dental formula is also identical. Both coyotes and red foxes have 40 teeth in total, 20 on the upper jaw and 20 on the lower one.

Their dental formula is I.C.P.M (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars) 3.1.4.2/3.1.4.2 for each side of their jaws.

4. Scat Size

Another similarity between foxes and coyotes is the shape and overall appearance of their droppings.

Both species have dark brown scat, more or less cylindrical, and that mainly contains fur, tiny bones, feathers, seeds, and berries.

Foxes and coyotes living in urban areas may have lighter-colored droppings that can contain kitchen scrap traces.

Coyote scat can vary in length from about four to seven inches and is about 0.5 to 1-inch thick. Red fox scat is about two to three inches long and up to 0.5 inches thick.

4. Weight

Weight is an important asset in the animal world. The heavier an animal is, the greater the strike force it can generate.

And even if most animals use their bite to fight off an opponent, being able to make the opponent lose balance by slamming into it is a huge advantage.

With coyotes being about two times the size of red foxes, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they are also heavier.

Typically, coyotes weigh between 20 and 50 pounds. Red foxes are a lot lighter, with weights between 10 and 18 pounds.

5. Paw Size

Another unsurprising fact is the larger paws coyotes have compared to red foxes.

According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, coyotes have a paw size of about 2” by 2.5”. Red fox paws are about 1.5” by 2” in size.

However, the size is not the only factor that could help you identify canid tracks.

Most canids have oval paws with the second and third toes of their front paws pointing away from each other.

In the case of coyotes, the second and third toe are closer together; they both point forward and the claws are oriented toward each other.

This trait makes it easy to tell coyote tracks apart from red foxes, but also wolves and dogs.

6. Speed

Another point in favor of coyotes is the speed: these canids can reach sprinting speeds up to 43 miles per hour.

Red foxes can run at a max of 30 miles per hour, and only for short distances. Their normal running speed is even slower.

Similar to foxes, coyotes can only run at top speed for short distances. However, they are still faster than foxes even when running at normal speed.

7. Strike Force

While the strike force in mammals is seldom measured, this value is easy to calculate by multiplying the speed by weight.

According to these factors, the strike force can be different each time the animal strikes. However, for comparison purposes, we considered the top speed of each species and the top weight coyotes and foxes can reach.

Based on these values, foxes can strike with a force up to 540 lb.-ft./s which is the equivalent of about 16.7 pounds of force.

However, coyotes can strike with up to 2,150 lb.-ft./s, or 66.8 pounds of force. This makes coyotes four times stronger than red foxes.

8. Jumping Abilities

Coyotes, much like red foxes and other canids, are not considered good climbers. However, they can jump – even if their jumping performance is inferior to that of foxes.

In fact, coyotes can jump about three feet up. Despite their smaller size, red foxes can easily jump over obstacles standing up to six feet tall.

While this is the only point in favor of foxes, it might be just what they need to get to safety if they can jump over a fence or up a tree where coyotes can’t reach them.

Climbing-wise, it should also be said that even though they are not considered good climbers, both red foxes and coyotes can climb trees as long as they can reach branches with a smoother incline and that don’t require the use of claws to grip onto the bark.

9. Bite Force

As explained, red foxes are better jumpers and climbers than coyotes. Their advantages end there, though.

As far as bite force is concerned, coyotes are stronger than foxes. In fact, they can exert a bite force of about 727 PSI. A red fox’s bite is about two times weaker, of only 307 PSI.

Both mammals have bites strong enough to kill prey and tear the flesh off bones. To put things into perspective, humans have a bite force of only 162 PSI.

If it would come to a fight between the two canid species, though, coyotes would have a clear advantage.

Despite this, an interesting fact to observe is that red foxes actually have stronger jaws than coyotes when measured pound-per-pound.

The bite force quotient (BFQ) is a measurement scientists use to estimate the bite force of various animals based on their body mass.

In a study on bite forces of various species of mammals, scientists found that red foxes have a BFQ of 90, whereas that of coyotes is only 88.

10. Behavior

Foxes may have a higher bite force quotient than coyotes, and they might be more agile climbers, however, that might not be enough when it comes to a fight.

If strength is in numbers, coyotes have all the odds in their favor.

In fact, while they have a solitary behavior when foraging, coyotes are actually social animals that live in packs.

Packs typically consist of family units – coyotes are monogamous – but unrelated coyotes could sometimes be accepted in a pack. Despite their social structure, coyotes are not known to defend their territory except for the denning season.

Unlike coyotes, red foxes are solitary animals. Females can sometimes live in groups, but this usually happens if they are all mated to the same male.

In fact, female red foxes are typically monogamous. Most males are monogamous too, but some may also seek other partners.

Apart from these circumstances, groups are mostly formed by females and their dependent or unmated offspring.

11. Diet

Coyotes and red foxes are considered omnivores, even though their primary diet consists of meat, and they can compete for resources.

Red foxes usually go after small prey, such as rodents, rabbits, and even birds and reptiles. They also eat insects and arthropods.

Foxes also eat eggs, fruits, berries, and other plant materials. When living near human settlements, they could also take advantage of kitchen refuse.

Coyotes have similar preferences. They go after small mammals, reptiles, insects, and other invertebrates.

As opportunistic mammals, coyotes take advantage of the proximity to human settlements and food scraps. Sometimes, coyotes may also hunt together and take down large prey.

Both coyotes and foxes also feed on carcasses and carrion, when they come across them.

12. Geographic Range

Red foxes are a common and invasive species present in most regions across the globe. The species is native to Eurasia and North America, but it is now found in the southern hemisphere as well.

For instance, red foxes introduced in Australia became an invasive species that is now found in all Australian territories, except for Tasmania. They are also found in South America in countries including Chile and Argentina.

Coyotes are only found in North and Central America, their geographic range spanning from Canada all the way south to Mexico.

Like red foxes, coyotes are considered an invasive species that is known to have expanded its original range over the years.

13. Habitat

Coyotes generally prefer open areas, such as prairies, grasslands, and deserts. Nonetheless, they are also found in open forest areas, urban parks, and suburban areas.

Red foxes prefer semi-open areas, such as the edge of forests and brushlands. They also inhabit prairies, grasslands, and urban and rural areas.

As one can imagine, it is common for coyotes and red foxes in North and Central America to share the same habitat.

Who Would Win A Fight?

Coyotes are larger and stronger than foxes, and when these two species come together in the wild, the former is considered the apex predator.

Yet, coyotes don’t actively hunt foxes. They typically tolerate them, unless a fox comes too close to a coyote’s food. In this case, coyotes are known to kill foxes.

Considering the size and strength differences, as well as the fact that coyotes sometimes hunt and eat in packs, a red fox has no chance of winning the fight. Its only chance would be to get to safety by jumping over a fence tall enough to deter the coyote.

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

With Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s signature this week, new legislation will provide hunters in Alabama with another opportunity to harvest two specific animals. The legislation allows Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship to establish a season for hunting feral hogs and coyotes at night without the need for a depredation permit.

When the season is finalized, Alabama residents will be able to purchase a $15 license ($51 for non-residents) to hunt feral hogs and coyotes at night.

Matt Weathers, Chief of Enforcement with the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division, said the new permit will make it much easier on hunters and the WFF staff.

“To this point in our state, those who wish to hunt feral swine or coyotes during nighttime hours have to get a permit that is only issued to landowners,” Weathers said. “Those landowners can list friends, family or delegates on the permit to take those animals at night for crop damage, property damage or livestock damage. This is done through special permitting through the local WFF District Office.

“The new law provides for a license that allows anyone in the state to hunt feral swine and coyotes at night by buying a license to hunt on any private or leased property where they have permission to hunt. So, if you lease a hunting club, if the person or corporation you lease that property from allows you to hunt at night, you can purchase the license to hunt those animals at night on your hunting club. And you can do that without the landowner coming to us to get a permit.

“It represents a new hunting activity for the state, and it will enlist as many as 200,000 hunters in this fight against two insidious predators. So, a new hunting activity; that’s a good thing. You have more feral swine and coyotes being removed from the state; that’s a good thing, too. It’s a win-win.”

Weathers said the depredation permits will continue to be available to landowners who prefer not to buy the new license.

“However, as long as the landowner gives permission, you can buy that new license to hunt at night,” he said. “This streamlines the process and provides the ability to hunt on very short notice.”

The damage wreaked by feral hogs on agriculture and wildlife habitat is substantial throughout the South. Estimates are that feral swine cause $50 million in private property damage in Alabama annually. The damage to wildlife habitat is difficult to quantify, but feral hogs compete with the native wildlife, like white-tailed deer and wild turkeys, for food and also damage the native habitat.

Coyotes are known to be quite effective predators of whitetail fawns and can have significant impacts on populations of white-tailed deer.

Weathers said the new license is specific to these two species.

“This license does not allow you to take any other game animal at night,” he said. “It’s a good way to control predators on your hunting club or property. And this gives you the opportunity to utilize that property or hunting club during the months when it’s a little too hot to hunt during the daytime. It gives you a little more value in your hunting lease.

“All parties involved, except for the feral swine and coyotes, are going to benefit from it.”

Weathers said several regulations will be amended to allow for equipment used for hunting at night.

“Those who buy the license will be able to use equipment that has heretofore been prohibited,” he said. “During the established season, you will be able to use night vision or thermal optics. You can have lights attached to your firearms. Those technologies are emerging and make the taking of these animals a lot more efficient.”

PCP air rifles are becoming more and more popular, as they provide a lot of power in a lightweight package. But which is the lightest PCP air rifle on the market? Keep reading to learn more!

The AEA Element is a lightweight, portable PCP air rifle that can be easily carried in any backpack or toolbox. Made almost completely from carbon fiber and sporting features like an ergonomic folding stock – it’s both lightweight (2.8 pounds without the scope) yet still durable enough for all sorts of outdoor adventures.

Features:

• CALIBER: .22 – .25
• Weight: 2.8 LBS
• Barrel Length: 16 Inches
• Overall Length: 35 Inches
• Integral Shroud
• Cocking System: Side Bolt Lever
• Magazine Capacity: .22 Cal (10 shots) – .25 Cal (8 shots)
• Air Filling Pressure: 3600 PSI
• Air Tube Capacity: 180 CC
• Muzzle Velocity: .22 Cal (1000 FPS ,14.3 GR) – .25 Cal (850 FPS, 24 GR)
• Muzzle Energy .22 Cal 35 ft/lbs. (45 Joules) – .25 Cal 40 ft/lbs. (55 Joules)
• Optics: Picatinny Rail Scope Mount

(For more on the best PCP air rifle on the market, see this post)

Small game hunting is a time-honored tradition, and it’s the perfect way to get first-time hunters into the woods. Squirrels are everywhere, and they don’t require specialized equipment, scent maskers, hunting blinds or 4 am wake-up calls.

They also don’t require half a day to clean and dress. With a little practice, you can clean and gut a squirrel in under a minute.

Generally, large grey squirrels are hunted for meat. Red squirrels are much smaller, but they still have a substantial amount of meat for such a small body.

I have yet to weigh a squirrel before and after dressing, but I’d guess they dress out to about 60% of live weight. By comparison, woodchucks dress out to less than 30% live weight.

If you’re a small landowner or homesteader, the size of the squirrel isn’t always correlated with the damage they cause. We’ve had a bumper crop of red squirrels this year, and they’ve destroyed more than one crop. When they tore into the side of the house and started noisily defending our attached greenhouse as their territory, they quickly added themselves to the menu.

A few days later, a well-placed shot with a .22 took out this particular squirrel after he left the greenhouse. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to cleaning this particular catch. I assumed it’d take forever to skin a squirrel, but a bit of quick internet research showed me differently.

For the most part, we process hogs here on the homestead, and the hides on those beasts are well attached. It takes a lot of work with a knife to tease meat away from the hide.

Squirrels are different, and you can more or less pull the whole pelt off in one clean piece.

I watched a few youtube videos on skinning squirrels in particular, and all of them showed the same technique. Start by removing the feet, and then cut loose the skin at the base of the tail. Step on the tail and pull up.

The whole pelt should come off in one piece, except for the back legs. Those are peeled off after the fact, by hand or with a pair of catfish skinners.

Sounds simple enough. I ended up using a slightly different technique that’s very fast, and once I got the process down it takes about 1 minute to clean and gut a squirrel. I’ve written up the detailed instructions below, but I also made a quick video showing the process at full speed.

The first step is to remove the feet. My 3-year-old daughter wanted to help, so I gave her a pair of scissors to remove the feet, but a knife works well too.

The bones are delicate, and it doesn’t take much pressure to remove them. Since there are so few cuts, you could clean and gut a squirrel start to finish with a small pair of scissors in a pinch.

After the feet are removed, it’s time to make the first (and only) cut into the hide.

Grab the squirrel by the tail and locate the anus.

Take a sharp knife and slice just above the anus to sever the tailbone. The idea is to sever the tailbone, but leave it attached by a flap of squirrel pelt. Cut up along the back short ways so that there’s a good-sized flap of skin.

Be sure to remove any meat attached to the pelt. If you’ve cut into the squirrel hind quarter meat and left it on the pelt, it’ll pull the squirrel apart when you go to strip the squirrel pelt.

The next step is where my instructions differ from the experts. Perhaps it’s because I’m skinning a red squirrel instead of a larger grey squirrel, but “stepping on the tail and pulling up on the body” didn’t skin the squirrel.

All it did was skin the tail. I now have a piece of tail pelt and a fully stripped tailbone.

So I tried again, this time I stepped up higher on the tail, closer to the base.

The whole tail just ripped right off.

That’s been my experience in general with red squirrels, and they don’t require stepping to come apart. A small amount of finger pressure and the whole squirrel suit comes off in one clean piece.

No need to step on a tail, or get out the catfish skinners.

Just slip your fingers into the skin and in around the hips. Pull the base of the tail toward the scruff of the neck.

The skin will easily pull up off the entire back of the squirrel.

When you get up to the shoulders, slip your finger in and help free the upper arms.

Then go down to the back end and slide the squirrel pelt off of the hind legs.

At this point, the only thing holding the squirrel pelt on is the head.

Since this squirrel, I’ve cut off the head at the same time as the feet at the beginning. That allows for a much smoother process.

And there you have it, with just one cut at the base of the tail (and a few more to remove the feet and head), the squirrel is completely skinned.

The next step is gutting, which goes just as quickly.

Make a shallow knife cut down the center of the squirrel, starting just below the rib cage. Avoid puncturing any of the gut.

Pull out the organs, and then be sure to use a finger to remove the organs in the chest cavity. Those include the lungs and heart, and they’re separated from the other guts by the diaphragm.

If you’ve never gutted an animal before you might miss this part because it’s in a separate internal chamber.

Once all the organs are removed, split the pelvis and remove any last bits of intestine hiding within the pubic bone.

Since the squirrel is so small, it’s easy enough to leave it whole. But if you’d like, squirrel meat also breaks down easily into parts.

Dusting the pieces of the squirrel in flour and browning the meat will help retain moisture, just like they do in this squirrel stew with paprika and greens recipe.

Since making this original tutorial, I made a quick video showing the whole process.

After the initial setup, I do talk you through the whole process in just about 1 minute of video time.

Now that you’ve cleaned and gutted a squirrel, how on earth do you cook it? For the most part, a squirrel is cooked like a rabbit. I’ll have a few squirrel recipes up on the blog soon, but here are a few to get you started.

• Cider Braised Squirrel from Bon Appetit
• Braised Squirrel With Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pinot Noir from Field and Stream
• Instant Pot Squirrel
• Buttermilk Fried Squirrel

Whitetail hunting in Michigan is a time-honored tradition enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Deer season attracts hunters from near and far who seek to land that coveted trophy Whitetail deer. There are many outstanding areas to hunt Whitetail within the state of Michigan, ranging from national parks to private hunting land.

This article highlights some of the best spots for Whitetail Hunting in Michigan so that you can have the best chance possible for success on your next Whitetail hunt. Get ready to explore new lands and come home with a trophy Whitetail buck this season!

Overview of Michigan’s Whitetail Hunting Season

Did you know that Michigan has more registered hunters than any other state in the United States? Whitetail hunting in Michigan is popular with hunters from far and wide due to the large concentration of deer – making it an excellent place to hunt. Whitetail hunting season typically runs twice a year, once in the late fall and then again in mid-winter. It’s important for all hunters to pay close attention to regulations for Whitetail hunting season as each state has their own specific laws.

This includes certain hunting hours, limits on how much game you can take, permits and licensing information specific to Whitetail Hunting. Michigan takes these regulations seriously and provides clear guidelines on what is legal and illegal so it’s important that before heading out, hunters thoroughly look into Michigan’s state regulations.

Michigan whitetail hunting has taken a bit of a shift starting in 2022 with the new required reporting for deer harvests. To simplify things, anyone that holds a state-issued hunting license is obligated to report their successful deer harvest, meaning even those with Deer Management Assistance Permits are not exempted from this requirement.

All harvests must be reported within 72 hours – or before any transferred harvested deer – and even if you plan on processing your own harvested deer you will still have to report it through the same reporting process. DNR-issued kill tags must still be attached where applicable, though there’s no need to worry if self-reporting presents any difficulties; in these cases hunters are authorized to reach out for help from either family members, friends or other experienced hunters who could assist in completing the required documentation.

Best Regions to Hunt Whitetail Deer in Michigan

Michigan is a great state for hunting whitetail deer, with the best regions being located in the Upper Peninsula, Northern Lower Peninsula and Southern Lower Peninsula. The Southern Lower Peninsula is widely considered by hunters to be the best spot in the entire state when it comes to quality.

Counties along the Indiana and Ohio lines are particularly praised for their trophy-worthy bucks that you can find here. If you plan on hunting deer in Michigan, we recommend setting aside time between October 20th to November 15th. With gun season arriving on November 15th, deer tend to hide out in more remote areas until all of the shooting stops two weeks later.

Types of Hunting Properties for Whitetail Deer in Michigan

Michigan is home to some of the best hunting properties for whitetail deer in the United States. Anyone looking for an exciting hunt can find their perfect spot with ample opportunities for success. You can choose between public lands, where you’ll be competing with other hunters, and private hunting land where you have exclusive access to two of Michigan’s top deer species: Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer.

There are a number of considerations when selecting the best property, such as quality of cover, habitat structure and deer herd density – all factors that vary between public and private land offerings. Comparison shopping is the key to success when researching the available choices; public lands can offer amazing experiences with more open competition while private properties come with more exclusivity but require additional investments. With careful deliberation, any hunter can find the ideal location for their dream hunt in Michigan!

Best Hunting Properties in Michigan

Hunting Whitetail deer in Michigan can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. With so many factors to consider, it is important to select the best hunting properties that suit your needs and provide an optimal experience.

The best whitetail hunting properties in Michigan are usually privately owned land since there is less likelihood of other hunters scaring away the game and more of an opportunity to tailor the land and the game that lives on it to suit your needs. Familiarize yourself with world class hunting by researching success stories, talking to experienced hunters, attending hunting seminars and reading up on scouting techniques.

Safety should always be top of mind when out on a hunt – wear blaze orange clothing for visibility and make sure to stress individual safety measures of staying within hearing range of other members for increased safety. Before you go, review all local regulations for firearms and be sure to always apply individual ethical hunting standards. With these tips in mind, enjoy the great outdoors by experiencing one of the best places to hunt Whitetail in Michigan!

Deer hunting seasons are underway in some parts of the nation, so it’s time once again to prepare yourself to venture into the fields and forests. Once you’ve managed to harvest and field dress your first deer, there’s the matter of storing it in the proper environment to get the best tasting meat.

Some people will quarter the deer without aging it, but this is a major mistake if you want quality venison. The deer stiffens during rigor mortis in the 24 hours after being killed. If it is processed during this time, the muscles shorten and contract causing the meat to become tough. You should let your deer hang for 2 to 4 days at minimum before processing to avoid this. For the best tasting deer meat Mississippi State University recommends 14 to 18 days of hanging time. A general rule of thumb is, the older the deer, the longer the hang time. Longer hanging times will allow the deer’s natural enzymes and acids to break down and tenderize the meat and give it a smoother, less “gamey” flavor.

An optimal temperature to hang deer meat at should be temperature above freezing but below 40 degrees F. Many people let the deer hang in their garage, but this far from the proper conditions because of contaminants, pests and temperature fluctuations that come with an uncontrolled environment such as this. If your meat is stored above 40 degrees it will start to rot, but if it is frozen at temperatures below 28 degrees it can become freezer burned. In these situations, having access to a commercial-sized refrigerator that will keep your deer at a constant temperature and free of outside contamination is optimal.

The U.S. Cooler Game Locker provides an elegant solution for proper deer aging. The Game Locker is a walk-in cooler equipped with up to 8 meat hooks on a sliding rail system. These refrigerators have been reinforced to bear up to 800 lbs hanging from the ceiling. Owning your own Game Locker will allow you (and any friends you let use it) the freedom to hang several deer in the perfect environment for as long as you see fit.

It may be hard to justify purchasing a large refrigerator exclusively for use during hunting season. In the offseason, the Game Locker can be used just like any other walk-in cooler to store soda, beer, meat, produce or anything else that requires cold storage. The Game Locker is made of modular insulated panels, so it could be disassembled to save space when not in use. It can be purchased with or without an insulated floor and comes in two sizes: 6’ x 6’ x 8’ and 6’ x 8’ x 8’. If you use the Game Locker with the best practices for deer hanging and processing, you can produce venison that is both tender and has amazing flavor. To learn more and get a price quote, visit the U.S. Cooler Game Locker page or download the Game Locker brochure. You can also download MSU’s guide to harvesting, dressing and cooling deer.

Sources:

1. http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2006/01/deer-hang-time
2. http://www.helium.com/items/168830-how-to-process-a-deer
3. http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is0327.pdf