grk40x40---As Hot Core mentioned,this will be big news at school. Make up a batch of jerky and let your son help. Ive made jerky by slicing the meat,but couple years ago was introduced to doing it using ground meat and I like that much better. I don't have an electric grinder--probably be getting one--but I do have a hand crank type. Grind the meat and pick out what white parts you can--usually have to as it stops up hand grinders anyways. I buy a jerky spice kit from Walmart. It is made by Nesco and is about $6 for a six pack. It has two packages per pound of meat. One package is curing salt and the other the spices. I have found it to be too salty(and I like salt)using it in that ratio. So I use 3 maybe 4 packs per 6 pounds of meat. Mix this with the ground meat(by hand)real good and cover and let set in the fridge overnight. When mixing,I pick out anymore white parts I see. Then using a jerky gun( a jerky gun is nothing more than a caulking gun with a tube to put the meat in)you can make one continious spiral on the tray of your dehydrator. I use a toothpick and pick out more of the white parts that I see in the spiral. Ground meat will dehydrate faster than sliced meat. Four hours or so in the dehydrator is all you need. When done you can break that one long spiral into length you want. The jerky guns are also sold at Walmart and come with a round or a flat nozzle--I like the flat one better. I don't work for Wal Mart,but I also use a Nesco dehydrator(about $40)from Walmart. Package this up in resealable bags and let him take a bag to school.
Beemanbeme--Glad you mentioned the engraved brass placard,I did this too on my grandsons first buck. Would break me to do it on all of them. Good idea about mounting the cartridge head.

grk40x40---I have never had a problem with the hair falling out. Leaving the hair on makes it easier to mount than trying to cover the skull with cloth all tucked under. You can use small headed screws through the skull and into the mounting board and the hair will hide them. Should you not keep the hair on and have to cover the skull,here's the easiest way I have found. Cut out a thin board to go behind the skull,this can be same shape as the plaque itself which it will mount on. Attach this board--you can use screws through the skull as they will be hidden. Cut strips of the cloth you will be using to cover the skull. Fold each edge of the strip so that the raw edges are folded under. I like about 1 1/2-2 inch wide strip after the fold. Pad the skull with foam rubber or some such. The on back of the thin board you attached,staple one end of the strip and pull the strip across to the back of the other side of the board and staple it down. Keep adding these strips across in random direction until you get full coverage--it will look like a turbine when done. You can then mount this to the plaque by screwing into the thin board from the back of the plaque. It's easier to do the turbine look than trying to get it all tucked under and smooth with one piece of cloth. I like to saw off limbs and run them through my table saw and make boards and join them together to make my own plaque. Here in Texas,mesquites grow wild and are a nuisance. Funny thing,mesquite is a pretty wood and even most Texans don't recognize it when it's made into wood.

My 12 year old son shot his first buck. A 1.5 year old spike. Our stands are back to back in the same tree. We were in our stands no more than 10 minutes, it was just barely light enough to see when BAM. I just about crapped my pants. I never saw the deer till after he shot it. It ran about 30' and dropped. Was only a 20 yard shot with a 243 single shot. I know he's hooked.

Give my congrates to the young man........

Cam

Well congratulate the young man for me but just wondering how old do you have to be in your state to hunt big game here in ny you can hunt small game at age of 12 with parent or guardian and 16 for hunting big game.My dad was a rebel as far as hunting i was lucky enough to shoot my first deer at age nine with a 16 gauge unfortunatly i live in shotgun country.Either way i teach hunter ed here in ny and on my farm i take alot of first time kill deers for hunters young and old some hunted for yrs and others are new and then teach them everything except cooking.Gutting,skinning and butchering.I need to learn how to tan hides cause i've been asked to to teach that but i don't how and i won't lie maybe i'll post that question and try to learn

Here in WI you can hunt (big or small game) when you are 12 and are in direct contact with an adult. You can hunt alone when you are 14. Hunter safety is mandatory.

Greg

That's great he is definetly hooked keep him going does he hunt small game at all???

Here in Arizona they have to be 10yrs old to hunt big game as long as they are with an adult, they also must have hunters safety.

grk40x40----Good looking son and congrats on the buck. Those spikes look to be atleast 3--what the hell 4 foot long. Don't believe it ask the boy. What I like is he is wearing the blaze orange and his knees are dirty as in he obviously helped dressing out the deer. His first buck--mount those horns. If you still have them,make some trophies out of the legs too. If you saw off the leg 3-4 inches above the ankle,and with the ankle bent,drop them into a mixture of cup and a half of 20 Mule Team Borax(get this at supermarket in laundry products section)to a gallon of water and stir real good. Let them soak 3 days then remove and rinse real good. The Borax will keep them from stinking. Let them dry and they will hold the bend. Then make a board you want to mount them on. On backside of the board drill a recess hole the depth of the thickness of a lag bolt head. Then you can screw the lag bolt into the leg from the back and you have it mounted. With the hooves pointed up----makes a dandy rack for a gun,baseball bat,bow or what have you. You can also remove the bone from the tail and throw it in the Borax mix and mount it to the board as trim. Polish the hooves with black shoe polish. For the horns,cut them off leaving the skin on. Soak just the skull in Borax mixture. If you soak the horns,it will discolor them. I do this by putting them in coffe can and adding just enough of th Borax to cover the hair that you left on.

grk40X40---That first buck will be a fond memory for both you and your boy for the rest of your life. Your story brought a couple of my fond memories to mind. My grandsons first buck was also a spike. We were in a box stand together and the spike came in on my side. Rather than us both move,I had my grandson set on my knees. He too was using a .243. A year or so before that we were on side by side stands and he got a doe with a .222. He got his first at age 9 and has gotten atleast one per year ever since. He moved up to .243 when he was 11 and that's all he has used since. He is now 15 and this year he has taken a 10 pointer and a nub buck. I think he is hooked.

Carpetman,
Yes, he did help gut the deer. There is no better way to learn than to get down and dirty. Sorry, i did not keep the feet but i may try the borax on the skull. Will it keep the hair from falling out over time? I have seen a spike with 18" or better antlers but I'll just call this one a 7 1/2 x 5 1/2.

Greg

Hey carpetman, I remember seeing a post from you a good while back, but apparently we have just been interested in different threads. You had to be here somewhere, cause I just noticed your response count. Anyway, good to hear from you and I'm sure the other folks on Big Game will benefit from your posts.

Hopefully one of these other folks can comment on the Antelope taste, I've never shot one.

Congratulations to both of you.

Yah both done good!