Leafing through the 2012-2013 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual Hunting and Fishing Regulations book this month you may want to check out page 88. That is where you will find the Whitetail Deer bag limit, and where you will discover (if you don't already know) that Grayson County, Texas is a bow-only county. We are in the midst of deer hunting season here in Grayson County on Lake Texoma right now, so it seems like a good time to seriously consider bow hunting. Reed WIttliff, in his bow hunting article in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine online this month (Nov 2102) has the following to say about the sport, "Shooting a bow is only half of bow hunting. The art of hunting is just as involved, if not more so. You must be close -- for me, 30 yards -- to the deer while remaining undetected to be successful. This is not easy. Deer have keen eyesight and a hyper-alert sense of smell. Many bow hunters opt to hunt from a tree stand because the height removes the hunter from the deer's line of sight and, hopefully, raises his scent above the deer." In case you are wondering whether Whitetail Deer are worth hunting on Lake Texoma, all doubt will be erased with this story by Lynn Burkhead from Game And Fishing Magazine, the online edition, published in May of 2010, telling the tale of the record-setting buck called "Big Boy," bagged here in the fall of 2009: "... on Sunday, Nov. 4, Sanger bowhunter and part-time taxidermist Jeff Duncan sat perched in a ladder stand at famed Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. As you might already know, the refuge lies along the southern shores of Lake Texoma in Grayson County - home to some whopper whitetails! By the time the warm, damp autumn evening had concluded, the 40-year-old Georgia Pacific employee had loosed an arrow on the 11,300-acre refuge at a giant of a buck. The results of that shot were heard in deer hunting camps across the state. Before long Duncan's name - and a legendary local buck that had been nicknamed "Big Boy" - would stand at the top of Texas' entries in the Pope and Young record book. Closely watched, photographed, and videotaped by local archers for a decade, Big Boy was indeed a monster buck in every sense. Following the official 2 1/2-hour-long panel scoring session on Jan. 7, 2002 by veteran measurers Jeff Gunnels, Ken Witt, and Bob Carroll, the 26-point non-typical sported an official gross score of 230 6/8 inches and a net of 225 7/8." So, let's just flash forward to the day you remove some venison from your freezer, having bagged your limit during archery season this year. Here's a good recipe for Deer Stew for you and your family to enjoy. If nobody in your household is fond of venison, let me know because I love it! Deer Stew Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 1/2 - 2 hours Servings: 6 Ingredients: - 3 tbs. olive oil - 2 lbs. venison stew meat - 1/4 cup flour - Creole seasoning, look for recipe below - 2 cups chopped onion - 1 cup celery, chopped - 1 cup carrots, chopped - 1 tbs. garlic, chopped - 1 cup chopped tomato, peeled and seeded - 1 tbs. fresh basil, chopped - 2 bay leaves - 1 cup red wine - 4 cups beef stock - 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed - 4 tbs. unsalted butter - salt and cracked black pepper, to taste - crusty bread Creole Seasoning - 1 1/2 tbs. paprika - 1 tbs. salt - 2 tbs. garlic powder - 1/2 tbs. cracked black pepper - 1 tbs. onion powder - 1 tbs. dried oregano - 1 tbs. dried thyme 1. Remove all fat/silver skin from venison and cut into cubes. 2. Toss the venison in flour and Creole Seasoning. 3. Over high heat, heat 3 tbs. olive oil in a large pot, and sear venison for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. There will still be lots of seasonings left behind from the venison, set aside for later. 4. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots, sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves and basil to the pot. 5. Deglaze the pot with red wine, scraping the bottom. Add the beef stock AND the rest of the creole seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes. 6. After 45 minutes, add the potatoes. Cover and continue to simmer until the potatoes soften, about 30 minutes. 7. When the potatoes are tender, add the butter and stir until it's completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the stew is still too thin for you, continue to cook over low heat for a few minutes without the lid. NOTE: Stew will thicken as it cools. Serve with crusty bread.