The last class was just so much fun that I'm doing it again. One more 'deer hunting for locavores' class is scheduled for the weekend of March 27-28. After that, we may or may not be running an April class as well.As covered by the New York Times in their print edition, documented in a video on their web edition, and recently reviewed by We Love DC.
The class will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia with field trips to points nearby.
On Saturday morning we will start out in the classroom covering natural history, anatomy, deer evolution and gun safety. That afternoon a shuttle van will take everyone out to a shooting range. At the range you'll all have the opportunity to try out a variety of deer rifles and cartridges in order to make an educated decision about what you'd want to hunt with. Another experienced hunter and marksman will assist me in teaching basic riflery skills to those with zero to minimal experience and our goal will be to help everyone find out what is the longest shot that they can safely manage on a target the size of a deer's vitals. A catered lunch will be provided at the range.
Sunday will be a similar mixture of classroom time and field trips. I've secured a deer for us from a farm about 2 hours away and arranged for someone to drive there to shoot it, load it into a truck on ice, and bring it to our field dressing location about 15 minutes outside of Charlottesville (a shuttle is provided). Everyone will have the opportunity to try their hand at helping with gutting, skinning and quartering.
Final butchering and some cooking will take place at a commercial kitchen only a few blocks from our classroom. You'll learn how to turn the deer that we dressed that day into meal-sized packages like something that would come from a grocery store. We'll be cooking as we go, making dinner and drinking wines that pair well with venison. The remaining meat will be donated to a local homeless shelter.
Enrollment is limited to 10 students. The fee for the complete course is $380. I regret that I've had to raise the price since the first course, but obtaining a fresh deer and transporting it immediately to our site has added significant cost and logistical complexity. There's just no other way to guarantee a deer for the class to work on.
The fine print:
A 25% deposit is required in order to reserve a spot ($95). This can be made via Paypal, or if you give me your word that you have put a check in the mail then I'll hold the space for you. That deposit is fully refundable for cancellations up to a week before the course starts. After Feb. 13th I will refund the deposit if the vacant spot is filled by someone else. Payment of the balance is due by the start of class on February 20th and can be made through Paypal or mailing a check, or you are welcome to bring the payment with you to the class in person. If an insufficient number of people have signed up by March 13th then I reserve the right to cancel the class with full refunds given.
If interested, please contact me at jack.landers@gmail.com
Photos used courtesy of John Athayde via Creative Commons.
1 comments:
It should be noted what a value this class is at the current price.
A 2 day class on shooting runs about $600. A 3 day class on camping skills can run upwards of $550. A good dinner of really fresh venison is hard to come by and extremely expensive if found.
...just though I'd throw that out there. There is simply nothing else like this available.
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