American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 49 Deer Hunting Achievement Completed!

Although the waiting time was short, it felt exceptionally long to Lin Yu'an.

He listened intently to the sounds in the forest, hoping to catch the sound of his prey falling to the ground.

When he felt that the time was almost up, he carefully stepped out from behind the cover and headed towards the spot where the arrow had hit.

On the ground, a pool of bright red blood stood out starkly against the withered yellow leaves and dark green moss.

"The blood was a very bright color,"

Lin Yu'an squatted down and examined the bloodstains carefully. He gently poked at them with a small twig.

"Look here, there's some fine foam mixed in, which is a sign of damage to the lungs or main airways!"

This discovery excited him even more, as it meant that the arrow wounds were very severe and the deer would definitely not last long.

Lin Yu'an began to follow the clear trail of blood in the direction the male mule deer had fled.

This time, the tracking no longer required the arduous task of searching for minute traces, as it had before.

The trail of scattered drops of blood and the occasional larger pools of blood served as the clearest landmarks.

However, the road to tracking them was not smooth sailing.

Driven by its survival instinct, the wounded stag deliberately chose to flee to areas with dense bushes, attempting to use the thick vegetation to wipe away the arrows from its body.

Lin Yu'an had to constantly push aside the dense branches and leaves, and even climb some steep earthen slopes and bushes using both hands and feet.

"Although they were hit in a vital spot, large animals are very resilient and can unleash amazing endurance after being injured."

"I must be patient enough and not give up on any clue. At the same time, I must always be vigilant, because even injured herbivores are more aggressive."

He tracked for another ten minutes or so when suddenly! A slight sound of branches being rustled came from ahead, followed by a heavy breathing sound!
Lin Yu'an immediately stopped and warily raised his bow and arrow; the second arrow was already nocked.

He cautiously took a few steps forward, and finally, under a thicket of bushes, he spotted the prey that had haunted his dreams!
The adult male mule deer lay on its side under the bushes, its body still twitching slightly, with foamy blood constantly gushing from its mouth and nostrils.

The deadly arrow was still firmly embedded in its left rib, its fletching stained red with blood.

Its eyes were still wide open, but they had lost their spiritual brilliance, leaving only pain and resentment.

Lin Yu'an did not immediately step forward, but maintained a safe distance.

He observed quietly for several minutes, taking precautions to prevent the dying animal from using its last burst of strength to harm him.

When he confirmed that the deer's convulsions were getting weaker and weaker and its breathing was barely audible, he slowly put down his bow and arrow and walked over.

He walked up to the deer and gently touched its body with his foot, but there was no reaction.

It has breathed its last!

Lin Yu'an let out a long sigh of relief, a mixture of indescribable exhaustion and immense joy welling up in his heart at the same time!

"I did it... guys... I did it! This beautiful male mule deer is mine!"

Lin Yu'an's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he reached out and gently stroked the still-warm fur of the stag.

A complex and surging emotion, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly overwhelmed his nerves, which had been taut for days.

He looked at the enormous prey before him, at the arrow deeply embedded in its body, and at the land stained red with blood.

The food shortages of the past few days, the difficulties brought about by the bad weather, the confusion and anxiety about the future, and the enormous pressure of being alone in the wilderness.

At this moment, it felt like I had found an outlet for my emotions!

His eyes welled up with tears uncontrollably, and his vision began to blur.

He lowered his head and vigorously wiped his eyes with his sleeve, trying to stop the tears that would naturally well up after his emotional outburst!

"Huh...huh..."

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently, as if he wanted to expel all the pent-up frustration in his heart.

These are not tears of cowardice, nor tears of sorrow.

Rather, it was a release that finally succeeded after being under extreme pressure! It was a catharsis of regaining hope on the verge of despair! He remembered the challenges he had faced these past few days, her gentle smile, and the two little lives in her womb waiting for his return!
These past few days, he has been constantly worried, worried that he will fail, worried that he will have to use the food in his space!

He was worried about losing to himself! Now everything's fine! He doesn't need to use the food in his spatial storage anymore! He hunted a huge beast using only his own strength!

And the whole process was recorded! This ensured he had a reasonable source of food!

No more worrying about being labeled as a cheater!

After a while, the surging excitement finally subsided.

He stood up, looked at the enormous prey before him, his heart filled with awe and gratitude for nature, and looked back at the camera as he spoke.

"Guys, please excuse my tears. I'm not usually one to cry. I was just really overwhelmed with emotion."

"Sometimes, pressure really pushes people to their limits! But luckily, I managed to pull through!"

"The work has just begun, and I need to get it done as soon as possible so as not to waste any of nature's gifts."

"Although this mule deer has lost a lot of blood after being shot with an arrow, in order to ensure the quality of the meat, it is necessary to drain as much of the remaining blood as possible from its body."

"If blood remains in the muscle, it will accelerate the spoilage of the meat, which will not only affect the taste, but also greatly shorten the storage time."

"Dealing with a large prey is a very time-consuming task. I need to speed things up and finish it before dark!"

He located the deer's neck near the mandibular artery, precisely inserted the sharp tip of his knife, and then made a deep enough incision.

Lin Yu'an had already taken out the waterproof storage bag for his sleeping bag from his large backpack.

"This sleeping bag storage bag is made of highly waterproof nylon, so it's perfectly fine to use it to hold liquids for a short period of time."

He carefully brought the opening of the storage bag to the bleeding incision below the deer's neck, trying to catch as much of the precious fluid as possible.

Fresh deer blood has a unique warm, fishy smell, and you can even see wisps of steam rising in the cold air.

The storage bag had a large capacity; he estimated it could collect about a liter of deer blood.

When the blood in the storage bag was almost full and the bleeding from the deer's neck began to decrease significantly, Lin Yu'an removed the storage bag.

Tighten the drawstring of the storage bag and tie a secure slipknot to ensure the bag opening is completely sealed and prevent blood leakage.

"Let's put the deer blood aside for now. I'll think about how to use it after we've finished processing this deer."

He then turned his attention to the mule deer's limbs.

"Now we need to deal with a very important part, which is the glands on the deer's legs."

"There are scent glands near the hock joints of the hind legs of mule deer that have a strong odor and must be completely removed, otherwise they can easily contaminate the surrounding meat."

After locating the gland with his fingers, he carefully cut open the skin with the tip of the knife, avoiding puncturing the gland.

Cut off the area near the gland, including the skin and hair, and discard it quickly.

Then Lin Yu'an adjusted the deer carcass to a supine position.

Position the abdomen upwards with the limbs naturally spread apart, as this makes it easiest to perform the subsequent evisceration procedure.

"To ensure the quality of the meat, the primary task is to open the carcass and remove the internal organs as soon as possible to allow the carcass to cool down quickly and prevent bacterial growth."

"When opening the abdomen, you must be extremely careful when making the incision, especially in that area,"

He pointed to the deer's soft belly and explained to the camera, "The skin and muscle layers here are very thin, and right below them are the intestines and stomach."

"If you accidentally puncture it, the digestive contents and bacteria inside will contaminate the entire abdominal cavity and the surrounding flesh, and the taste will be... unimaginable."

He first used the tip of his knife to cut along the midline of the deer's abdomen, roughly between the end of the sternum and the pelvis.

I tentatively made a small incision, just deep enough to penetrate the skin and the thin layer of abdominal muscles.

"Look, like this, one small opening is enough!"

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(End of this chapter)