Jerky Question

I'm going to try and make some jerky for the first time. I have lots of venison hamburger meat and some cutlets from last seasons deer etc... my main question is how long to smoke and what temp should I use? I have a wood-burning smoker...FYI. Is there a particular wood to use? I normally use mesquite.
Does anyone have any experience with "jerky shooter" that Cabela's sells?
Thanks in advance,
Lance

I've only done all smoke twice. Ground will not take as long as muscle meat. Keep your fire as low as possible, around 150' if you can. Let it smoke all night. I like to smoke for a few hours then put in the dehydrator. Hickory or pecan work the best for me, but I've used mesquite and oak. I've used the jerky shooter to make hundreds of lbs of jerky.

How long in the dehydrator after smoking? Thanks for all the info!

Depends on the dehydrator, but 3-4 hours of smoke and 8 hours in the dehydrator, give or take a couple.

I think with any kind of jerky the less fat the better. Your ultimate goal is to remove the moisture from the meat. If you like it chewy, take it off a little sooner. Ground jerky will start crumbling if you go too long. Snack sticks take a little bit longer. But, it's all still tasty with the right seasoning! I'll pick at a batch the last few hours until I'm happy.

One last note, I'm a pepperhead. It's never to hot for me...I add ghost or habanero pepper powder to my marinade and put a healthy dose of crushed black pepper on top about half way through the drying.