(Lynn Burkhead photo)
August 19, 2020
By Lynn Burkhead
Last fall, I pushed hard into the whitetail woods, intent on ending a season-long drought that had a collection of unused deer tags sitting in my wallet.
On one trip, I shivered in late November cold on a windy stand high up in an ancient cottonwood tree along a Nebraska river bottom. Those all-day, dark-to-dark sits tested my willpower, not to mention my sanity as I looked for a Cornhusker giant to travel back to Texas with me after a stay at Prairie Rock Outfitters.
A few days later in early December, I was near the Red River with North Texas Outfitters, trying desperately to avoid another round of tag soup recipes, sitting through cold mornings and mild afternoons as I searched in vain for a buck worthy of the unused tag in my back pocket. Once again, all-day sits in a deer stand served as the hopeful pathway to a filled freezer and a visit to the taxidermist.
Finally, after numerous long days on the stand, an 11th -hour opportunity came my way as a good, solid buck slipped in. After days spent hoping for such a moment, I was able to steady the rifle’s crosshairs on the buck’s boiler room, send the bullet downrange, and end my deer hunting drought.
If one of the keys to my late-season success was sheer perseverance—not to mention hunting some great whitetail country—another was undoubtedly the ability to reach into my pack and find an energy-boosting snack that would help get me through the long days.
While there are endless questionable snack choices—from candy bars to potato chips to a sleeve of powdered doughnuts—there are better and more nutritious choices available too. Beef Jerky is one of those options, especially when it comes to the smoky flavor and tender goodness of Old Trapper Beef Jerky .
A company that was born a half-century ago in the back of a small Tillamook, Oregon grocery store, Old Trapper has grown into one of the nation’s largest producers of beef jerky with familiar packaging gracing the shelves of many box stores, hunting supply shops, and roadside gas-and-go locations.
While the company produces its product in a high-tech facility and offers various shipping options—one of those is Old Trapper’s Monthly Beef Jerky Subscription program!—it all begins and ends with the commitment fostered by the Old Trapper himself. And that’s the idea that beef jerky is the company’s only work, producing the best products possible with the best cuts of lean beef, fresh seasonings and real wood-fired smoke.
With that in mind, here are a few reasons why Old Trapper beef jerky rocks in the deer woods and why hunters should consider keeping a package or two in their backpacks this fall:
Jerky Is Easy to Pack When you’re heading into the deer woods at first light, especially when you might have punched the snooze button and grabbed a few extra “Z’s”, the idea of quickly and efficiently loading your pack for the day is usually one pre-dawn idea that brings a few groans.
(Jessyca Sortillon photo) Because as you shake off the yawns, grab a cup of life-giving coffee, and head out the door to the impatient honking of your hunting buddy waiting in his pickup truck, it’s tempting to grab a handful of sugary, non-nutritious snack items that fill the pack along with promising problems later on in the day.
Instead, make a better decision at O’ Dark Thirty and put a package of Old Trapper beef jerky—a 10-ounce bag of Traditional Style Old Fashioned Beef Jerky is among my favorites—into your pack. It’s streamlined and fits between bulky items in the pack, weighs only ounces, is easily reached into without making much noise, and is resealable between snacking sessions or for the trip back to camp.
In short, beef jerky is the perfect snack item to pack into a deer hunter’s backpack, especially as you’re hurrying out the cabin door and trying to beat a fast-approaching sunrise!
Jerky Avoids the Morning Carb Crash Back in the good old days when your grandpa loaded up the station wagon and headed for deer camp, the idea of snacking was to grab a biscuit or two and a thermos of hot coffee. These days, there are endless choices of pre-packaged food that feature heavy payloads of unhealthy fats, big dumps of high fructose corn syrup, and mega-carbohydrate loads.
While there is no denying that some of these snack foods are on the tasty side and offer a quick way to satisfy the growling of an empty stomach, they don’t deliver much more than a few seconds of good taste. They also promise a sugary, carb-loaded “crash-and-burn” cycle in the deer woods an hour or two into your morning sit.
If you’re conscious about your health, worried about falling asleep in a treestand or just simply want to be alert when Mr. Big comes strolling by, a better snack choice is the simple goodness of Old Trapper’s Traditional Style Peppered Beef Jerky in a 3.25-ounce package. Seasoned with the company's high-quality blend of spices, a fair amount of fresh black pepper, and real wood-fired flavor, this jerky is smoked to perfection. Better yet, it gives a deer hunter something of a breakfast replacement option that tastes great and gives the old taste buds a little bit of an early morning kick!
Jerky Delivers Protein-Packed Payload While beef jerky isn’t calorie-free—Traditional Style Teriyaki Jerky carries 70 calories, 0 grams of saturated fats, and 6 grams of total carbohydrates per serving—it is packed with a payload of protein that helps the body function properly along with helping tired, sore muscles recuperate after long days and short nights at deer camp.
If protein is what you’re seeking in a deer hunting snack item, then keep in mind that Old Trapper delivers plenty in this department. In fact, the Teriyaki flavor delivers 9 grams of protein per serving, a full 19-percent of your daily protein needs! And that will help you stay mentally sharp, keep your stomach from growling, and help the body’s internal furnace work properly on those chilly days.
While the Old Trapper Traditional Beef Jerky Zero Sugar version may be better for those following a Keto-style diet, or something like Tom Brady’s TB12 eating plan, there are few better options for protein delivery in a deer stand than a package or two of Old Trapper Beef Jerky.
Jerky Makes for a Quick Meal If you stayed up too late at deer camp playing cards, watching the big game, or simply telling deer hunting stories with your buddies, don’t worry the next morning when it comes time to pack a lunch for the day’s long sit.
(Lynn Burkhead photo) That’s because Old Trapper has you covered in this department too, thanks to such products as the Original Beef & Cheese Snack Stick , the Jalapeno Beef & Cheese Snack Stick , the Original Deli Style Beef Sticks , and the Peppered Kippered Beef Steak .
While these items might not fill you up like a bowl of seafood gumbo, deer camp chili, or venison stew might later on in the evening, they will serve as a solid snack or meal replacement option in the middle of the day when you want minimum movement and fuss. All while keeping your growling stomach quieted down, one less thing to worry about as you munch away and keep scanning the woods for the buck of a lifetime.
Jerky Keeps You Ready for the Big Shot As the old saying goes, deer hunting is one of those activities that is filled with hours of intense boredom followed by a moment of sheer panic. That’s when the ticker kicks into adrenaline-fueled redline overdrive, of course, at the sight of a huge set of antlers suddenly bobbing through the woods.
Where do Old Trapper products like the Traditional Style Hot & Spicy or Old Fashioned Beef Jerky Big Slab play such a role in the daily roller coaster of deer hunting emotions?
Simple—they help keep your mind occupied, of course, in silent munches that stave off the pangs of hunger, give you something to do, and help to slowly pass the time until Big Boy comes calling.
He finally came calling for me last fall at the very end of my deer hunting season. My filled tag, a trip to the taxidermist, and a freezer full of tasty venison left me with only one question afterward.
And that’s this: what flavor of Old Trapper will I carry in my hunting pack this fall? Because in my mind, having a bag of Old Trapper Beef Jerky along is a big key to deer hunting success!