Randy's 2023 Public Land Bull Elk Hunt

Randy tells about using his custom 7MMx.404 Wapiti Express rifle, with 175 Partitions, pushing 3240 fps, to harvest his bull elk for the fall of 2023 on public lands.
Though he did not use the two mares we rented for the season, after we lost both of our mules last year, old age and accident, at one point he called the mare he rode, “he”. No, the mare doesn’t identify as a “he”, but we are so used to having gelding horses and mules for decades, that we both slip up once in a while and call the mares “he”.
Later in the video Randy goes into more detail about his rifle [and sorry, no, he won’t build any rifles on his custom wildcat 7MMx.404 Wapiti Express, we can’t get brass for it]. He also talks about the differences among the 7MM’s.
Randy and another gentleman were one of the first to try the 175 gr 7mm Spitzer bullets on elk.
We also share Cathy’s recipe, a blend of 4-5 recipes for corned wild game, for the corned heart he mentions.
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CORNED WILD GAME from Cathy Selby’s Kitchen: The Real Gunsmith’s Wife
This is a combination of several recipes that I found for corned wild game.
In a saucepan combine ½ cup brown sugar and 8 Tablespoons Morton Tender Quick [The only place I found this, locally, was Albertson’s with the salt]. 2 cups water. Stir and bring to a boil. Stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
Add:
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 Tablespoons pickling mix [. It may be available at Walmart or other stores with their canning supplies.]
2 teaspoons ground red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fennel seed
3 bay leaves, crushed
2 quarts water [+ or -, enough to cover meat fully]. Stir well.

3-5lbs. deer, elk or antelope, sheep, moose, buffalo…you get the idea…roast or heart well-trimmed.
Place roasts in LARGE GLASS jar or container [never plastic, ceramic or metal] and pour brining solution over to cover. Place lid or plastic wrap over container. Place in refrigerator. The recipes I used to combine for this mixture said anywhere from 5 days to 12 days, one even said 21 days. I went with the 12 days. In the meantime, every other day turn the roast[s] or heart. Do not use plastic or metal utensils. I used a large wooden spoon. For heart, which is denser, two full weeks works best.
When ready to remove from the brine, drain the brine from the meat. Rinse well. If you are going to freeze to cook later, pat dry, wrap and freeze. I have a LARGE glass container, that was a 36-volt battery container, so it is square sided. It fits well in the back of the fridge. I have had up to 5 large roasts in it at a time. That makes for hard turning so I just reach in and turn by hand.
For cooking: Slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours. Add a touch of brown sugar to the top of roast if desired, a bit of your favorite seasonings. Add, as desired: Cubed potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and/or cabbage, seasoned and added to roast. The meat is quite red even after cooking, that is normal. ENJOY! It is fantastic!! Even the veggies have a different and great flavor!
We chose not to corn this elk heart. Instead, I put it in the Instant Pot, on Pressure, and because of our 6,000 ft altitude, put the pressure time to 1 hour and 40 min, 10 min. more than Instant Pot recipes for large beef heart recommended. The heart is cut in half, lengthwise. Sprinkled with two T of white vinegar [as a tenderizer], salt, pepper to taste, about 4 T of brown sugar sprinkled on the open heart, also as a tenderizer. Then a medium white onion sliced on top. About 3/4 cup of water below the meat trivet. Delicious and fork tender.