MiddleFork Veterans Group

02/01/2026

Heavy little fella

02/01/2026

I wasn't sure I would see anything today because of the weather but I was wrong. 0830 I spooked up two Doe's, then shortly after that I saw a handful of turkeys. Found a few more deer then eventually found me a Squirrel honey hole.

01/25/2026

Hope everyone has had a great start to the year! Deer season might be over but we still have time for a squirrel hunt. I'm assuming it'll still be as cold as Frosty's carrot so we'll have soup or chilli to warm our belly.

01/11/2026

Snow might keep the average cat from hunting but it's a blessing, way easier to track movements... Who's going out tomorrow?

01/07/2026

Just a heads up. You are allowed to hunt squirrel's at Middlefork with a .22LR! Still able to archery deer hunt till January 18th too, won't get them from your couch.

12/27/2025

Think I'll go blast some squirrels today!

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

12/24/2025

Yep, that's a dang deer leg!

12/20/2025

My wife has the vegetable soup with meat cooking so it's got time to sit & marinate, always better the next day!
Just gonna throw this out there... I have been sick but went to the doctor yesterday, she said I'm not contagious & what's left is my asthmatic issues. I'll understand you cats not trying to risk it being so close to Christmas. Hope to see you guys tomorrow at 0600! If the gate is closed we will meet at the parking Spot #1 right before the gate & adjust from there!

Update: If the gate is closed due to weather we will meet at Parking Spot #1 right before the gate!

Let's meet at 0600 at the Middlefork community building right in front of the campsite entrance.. I'll post a picture in the comments. Message me with any questions! We'll get situated and map out where we want to hunt for the day! If you don't want you can always fish or just come eat & chat with other veterans.

I thought once I got that deer I'd settle down but honestly I'm just getting started! My veteran community needs to feel what I felt when I dropped that deer, so many feelings, regrets & accomplishments all went through my mind... It's hard to explain. It's gonna be harder than before after two firearm seasons but the deer are definitely still moving.

We still have donation money we received from Sons of the American Legion Post 203 Georgetown, IL 61846 & will most likely be doing a chilli being that these temps are dropping! Who knows maybe I can convince the wife to make some of her legendary cornbread. 🌽 Please let me know if your coming for sure that way we have enough food!

Veterans, I'm trying to build that community where we can be comfortable amongst each other, a place to be ourselves. I've found that I'm more comfortable with veterans I've never met than I am with strangers or sometimes even with folks I've known for years! If you served in the military & are wanting to connect with other veterans then come check us out.

12/13/2025

12/13/2025

I thought the hard work was getting the deer, well turns out it's a whole other job processing the meat into something we'll enjoy! Got a cheap $85 meat grinder off Amazon with good reviews, it got the job done but can definitely tell we didn't spend $600 on it, just hope it makes it through this deer & the pig I'm about to process!

This was our first time making jerky so we just tossed something together from a few recipes we received from friends. My wife made the jerky & I focused on grinding our pork fat in with the venison then we stuffed them into bags, definitely easier with two people lol. I wanted to make breakfast sausage but thought we'd keep it simple the first time around.

We have plenty more meat in the freezer to try different recipes so if you got any toss them in the comments.

12/12/2025

Good luck to the old school muzzleloaders out there!