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I've seen them they look like big stainless steel caulking gun. I could never get my self to buy one. I figured out years ago my wife's cheap little plastic pastry/cookie gun worked just fine. If you plan to use it a lot big stainless deal probably nicer. I don't make jerky that often so always figure if I break the little plastic gun no big deal.. Can also make your jerky in shape of them little butter cookies if ya want. LMAO! I just squirt it out flat or round.
I had one and used it once. The texture of the jerky did not appeal to me. The stuff that comes out of the gun is no where near a real piece of jerky. The taste was alright but the texture was weird. I threw mine away.
I agree ^ the texture was off for my liking.. I just slice when its slightly frozen.. i like to chew the jerky.. When I used a Jerky Gun it wasnt chewy enough..
The part of jerky I like is the toughness. I like grabbing a piece of jerky and pulling hard to get a chunk off and then chewing, and chewing on the piece of meat. With the jerky gun, in my opinion, you just get a chunk of mush.
I like cut strips better because of the texture but if you get a gun get a big one or all you do is spend time filling it. Wife made her own batch and just rolled it out on a sheet of wax paper and cut it into strips works as good as the gun and free.
If you have a round dehydrater I suggest you get a small gun. The big guns are to hard to hold and use when you are spinning the tray and pumping the jerky out. I've made hundreds of pounds of ground and straight muscle jerky in a round dehydrator. Nesco sells them for around $15-20 and I've used the same one for 7 years. 5 pounds of ground will fit into 9 round trays and it takes 10 minutes to put into the trays. After you mix your jerky make them into balls as big as the gun. Push them into the gun with the plunger and your hands stay clean and it goes real quick. I have one of the big guns and it never gets used.
If your using a different system for drying I'm not sure what to tell you.
I have the smaller version , I like it. We make 30 to 50 lbs of deer jerky a year out of venison Hamburg , couple things, meat has to be ground twice to shot easily. I spray my trays with Pam cooking oil, meat doesn't stick to them. We mix 10 lbs at a time, freeze 5 and dry 5. I have a Nesco dryer, use 7 trays , done in 6 to 9 hrs.
My heart belongs to my family. My body belongs to my work. My soul belongs to the woods.
I had the small Nesco jerky gun, but it didn't hold much. Bought a bigger one, holds close to 2 lbs. I love it, has different tips to make either the flat jerky, or round slim jim style. With the bigger gun, what I do is clean off the kitchen table and make sure it's nice and clean. I then use the jerky shooter with the flat tip, it actually makes to rows of flat strips about 3/4" wide. I start on one end of the table and just run the gun down the entire length, (looks like jerky train tracks). Once you empty the jerky shooter by doing this, I just use a pair of scissors and got back and just cut to whatever length you want. (I usually cut around 6" or so).
All you have to do is pick up pieces and lay on dehydrator, by doing it this way it's a lot easier to place them on the trays without fumbling around with the jerky gun. I set the dehydrator on high (about 158 degrees) and let it go around 4 - 5 hours. Kids love it, it's not mushy at all, may not be as tough chewing as muscle strips, but turned a lot of non venison eaters into loving it.
You can make great jerky, Just as tough as whole muscle meat if you follow the directions on the High Mountain Seasoning. I dry mine pretty dry and everyone loves it. about 8 hours in my dehydrator for 5lbs of meat. Makes a big gallon bag of jerky.
I use the Cannon to stuff sticks and other casings as well.
Cabela's carry a really good one. I bought mine 10 years ago and use it every year. I usually make the entire deer into jerky, something nearly everyone likes. Grandkids can eat up a deer in no time. Much better than candy.
Order the tips from LEM if ya have a grinder. Run the tips on the end of the grinder. Like how you would make sticks or stuff them worthless hamburger bags. It saves several steps, and cleaning a shooter or cannon is a pain in rear unless it's the kind that goes BOOOOOM. Ya just run your screens(thats right-stainless steel door screen) on a cookie sheet or pizza pan, in a left to right fashion. when they screens are full ya put your screens in the dehydrator or smoker. Just spray Pam on the screens first. I do this with my sticks but don't care for the ground meat jerky. That i like solid.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure,the creed of ignorance,and the gospel of envy,it's inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery- W. Churchill
I have had the jerkey guns from both cabelas and LEM. Both work good but I would say the one from LEM is built better. I use it to make all my Jerkey and everyone that has tried it has liked it. I like sliced Jerry too but the the jerkey gun is so much easier it is the only way I have made it and it is easy to clean up. If you take it apart and clean it right after using the brush that it comes with will take everything right off.
So the texture isn't great with the ground jerky I get that. But it does allow you to use scraps that you normally would grind for burger or sausage. So why not? I don't care much for venison burger. So I'll make the ground jerky instead and carry it with me back in the woods while hunting more deer? I like the simple idea of rolling it out on a sheet of wax paper.. Not sure how easy you can move the strips?? But it's really easy with the gun to shoot it right on the drier racks.
Here's how I do it. I make a LOT of bear and deer jerkey each year. I have thought about using the gun but it seems like it's just one more thing to clean up and you lose that good jerky flavor and texture.