- Location
- London Ontario
head up or down?
Advice for a newbie on field dressing deer
- Thread starter Exidous
- Start date
head up or down?
Best advice - shoot it in the morning. That way you'll have natural daylight and be in no hurry to do the job.
Very true, as long as the deer cooperate and come out in the morning...although you will learn every single lesson at once if you have to field dress your first one by the light of highbeams...
Good Tip! Them bone splinters are crazy sharp sometimes!
head up, guts fall out the bottom.
I'm an "on the ground" guy myself, but have seen guys do this.
Don't be like my husband who was so excited to gut his first deer he just stabbed it right in the gut bag-it stinks!!
When you make your first cut into the abdominal cavity feel along the bottom of the rib cage until it comes to a "Vee" at the breast bone,then stick your knife in aiming towards the lungs.Then cut carefully and go slow the first time.Try to bring a friend with you who has gutted large game before if you can.Getting the bladder and bung out can be tricky the first few times
Good luck and have fun!
When you make your first cut into the abdominal cavity feel along the bottom of the rib cage until it comes to a "Vee" at the breast bone,then stick your knife in aiming towards the lungs.Then cut carefully and go slow the first time.Try to bring a friend with you who has gutted large game before if you can.Getting the bladder and bung out can be tricky the first few times
Good luck and have fun!
- Location
- London Ontario
- Location
- London Ontario
or you can view it right here
That works too....thanks!
Lots of good points already, and many of the u-tube videos are great. A few thoughts.
Go slow. You're not doing anything wrong if it takes you three hours the first time.
Gear-wise the most important things are to have a good knife. If you're not into knives and different steels and stuff, just take my word: get a Mora #1 - low cost, great steel, easy sharpening - get two. Second, if you don't have immediate vehicle or ATV access is a length of rope for the drag, and two flashlights for a friend to hold in case it ends up being late. Hatchet/saw not necessary, although of course you are going to shoot a big one with a tough breastbone, so it is a good excuse to buy that Gransfors-Bruks small forest axe or some such I'm sure you always wanted.
This'll seem a bit gross, but it is absolutely true and worth saying: Don't be squeamish about handling the anus. Deer poop is the least offensive of the poops. If you get a good grip on it, with one hand, cutting around is so much easier. Also - I was just told this by an old buy last year and it is great - put the deer on its belly when you cut around the anus. Then roll it on its side for the rest of the work.
I've never used the tools specifically for slitting the belly. They look like they would be great, but to me it is just one other thing to put down and never find again. If weight isn't an issue, you might want to have a jug of diluted vinegar on hand to help wipe up if you make any mistakes. Take the tenderloins out before hanging (even if just hanging temporarily for a few hours) - they will dry out and/or the birds may get at them. Having a full deer-size game bag on hand is good for peace of mind too if it gets warm enough in the middle of the day for flies to be around. The main stuff 'once you're in there' is covered pretty well in all the videos and other instructions availabe.
RG
<>< <>< <>< <><
Go slow. You're not doing anything wrong if it takes you three hours the first time.
Gear-wise the most important things are to have a good knife. If you're not into knives and different steels and stuff, just take my word: get a Mora #1 - low cost, great steel, easy sharpening - get two. Second, if you don't have immediate vehicle or ATV access is a length of rope for the drag, and two flashlights for a friend to hold in case it ends up being late. Hatchet/saw not necessary, although of course you are going to shoot a big one with a tough breastbone, so it is a good excuse to buy that Gransfors-Bruks small forest axe or some such I'm sure you always wanted.
This'll seem a bit gross, but it is absolutely true and worth saying: Don't be squeamish about handling the anus. Deer poop is the least offensive of the poops. If you get a good grip on it, with one hand, cutting around is so much easier. Also - I was just told this by an old buy last year and it is great - put the deer on its belly when you cut around the anus. Then roll it on its side for the rest of the work.
I've never used the tools specifically for slitting the belly. They look like they would be great, but to me it is just one other thing to put down and never find again. If weight isn't an issue, you might want to have a jug of diluted vinegar on hand to help wipe up if you make any mistakes. Take the tenderloins out before hanging (even if just hanging temporarily for a few hours) - they will dry out and/or the birds may get at them. Having a full deer-size game bag on hand is good for peace of mind too if it gets warm enough in the middle of the day for flies to be around. The main stuff 'once you're in there' is covered pretty well in all the videos and other instructions availabe.
RG
<>< <>< <>< <><
- Location
- Kamloops, BC
^^^^ Agree, with that. The less crap to pack around the better. You only need a knife for deer.
Start at the anus. Thats where you want to start with the sharpest edge on your knife. The rest is just hack an slash. But it sucks going to the anus after you have split the sternum open and your knife is a little duller.
Start at the anus. Thats where you want to start with the sharpest edge on your knife. The rest is just hack an slash. But it sucks going to the anus after you have split the sternum open and your knife is a little duller.
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Many different ways, of course, but here are a few points based on my own experience (6 small-med whitetails, all done solo).
1. Butt-Out 2. This thing is not a gimmick. It works great. One warning though (OK, I'm a little embarassed here, but it's all about helping - right?) - make sure you get the right hole if you shoot a doe. I was trying to dress a doe quickly before dark last year and rushed a bit - ended up with the buttout stuck in the wrong hole! It was a ##### to get out. There, I said it - lol! Seriously though - it's a great tool. Put it in (the anus!), turn gently a few times, then pull smoothly out. The membrane of the rectum tears just inside the deer and you pull the colon out, making it easy to tie off (I use a small piece of string).
2. The gut-hook that someone showed above works great, and prevents many accidents poking a hole in the guts. (but see point 3 below).
3. Consider a "swing-blade" knife for a do-all dressing tool. http://www.outdooredge.com/hunting-knives-swingblade-s/13.htm I bought the set in the leather sheat that comes with a small saw. I'm not crazy about the saw (clogs with bone very quickly - better suited for wood than bone), but the knife is awesome. That curved end of the blade wiht the blunt tip does a great job of skinning down the inside of the legs to get skinnign started, as well as for slicing up the deer to drop the guts.
4. Hanging deer - I agree. My butcher #####ed me out the first time for gutting my deer and then dragging it thorugh bush, filling the cavity with crap. I have done the method that I describe below with my last three deer and it worked great - very clean for the deer/meat and very clean for me as well. For small deer and/or close to your vehicle he suggested dragging the deer whole to where you can hang it. Then hang it on a gambrel, head-down. Use your knife to into the base of the neck at the top of the lung cavity and blood will drain out of the lungs/chest cavity (with archery deer, there seems to be a LOT of blood in there, so good to get it out quick - probably true as well of most rifle shots). Then using a stout knife or a bone saw cut up through the middle of the chest (sternum) until you get to the diaphragm. I use a knife - works for smallish deer and makes less mess. As said above, be careful not to cut yourself on sharp bone ends here, especially if you use a saw. DO NOT CUT PAST THE DIAPHRAGM yet - the weight of the guts are pressing down because the deer is head down and you will SURELY puncture something. Lower the deer, use the butt-out on the anus if you have not already, and re-hang from it's front feet. Now the guts are all pressing down towards the back of the deer, so you can safely start your cut past the diaphragm without puncturing the paunch. Using your gut hook or swing-blade, continue the cut that you made while the deer was hanging head-down, now going downward from the diaphragm to the pelvis. Use more care the further down you go, because the pressure of the weight of the guys is greater towards the back legs with the deer hanging that way. Just be careful to keep the tip of whatever tool you are using from catching in the guts. Stand back - the guts will fall out! Now you can easily gut around the diaphragm and take out the lungs and heart, oesophagus etc...
Now you can skin it (I do this right away if I can - I find it easier on a warm deer, and I don't have a garage etc at home, so best for me is to skin on-site, then go right to the butcher with it on a tarp in the back of my station wagon - this also keeps tick out of my car and prevents spreading them around the province). While the deer is still hanging by it's front legs, I cut around the hocks of the back legs and then slide in the tip of the blunt swing-blade and zip the skin open along the inside of the leg from the hock to the split in the body cavity, on both sides. Then I just pull the skin off the leg enough to get at the big tendon on the back of the leg, and poke a hole through the membrane between the leg and that big tendon.
**SAFETY NOTE*** be very careful NOT to nick/cut that big tendon. My buddy made this mistake a few years ago, and then it tore while he was skinning his deer - he was puling down on the skin hard with one hand, with a knife in the other hand, when the tendor tore, the deer fell of the gambrel, he fell on the floor, and the deer handed on the knife, on the other hand and he very nearly cut a finger off - very nasty.
In my case, what I do now is take another gambrel (I just bought two cheap ones) and put it into the back legs. I hang that gambrel from 4 feet away or so, usually just a little farther down the big branch or whatever "beam" that my first gambrel is, and pull the deer up from the back legs before undoing the first gambrel from its front legs. The reason for this is that the guts and all the blood is right under the deer, so I don't want to lower the deer onto the ground to switch to the back legs for skinning. Some other approaches are to have a buddy or buddies help to hold the deer while you change the gambrel over, or to put a tub under the deer before dumping the guts, so that you can haul the tub out of the way. Either way, it's nice to be able to do you skinning without standing in blood/guts, so I like moving it over a bit. Now the deer is hanging from its back legs, where you have already started the skinning to expose the tendon, and you can start skinning.
***INSERT ADVICE FROM BUCK HUNTERS HERE - a note - I generally shoot does, for reasons that I won't go into here, so I dont' really know about the need to watch out for the tarsal gland when you're skinning the back leg. If you're going to shoot a buck, especially later in the season, I have heard that you have to be careful not to get the musk from that on the meat, but I'll have to leave that advice to someone else. For me, with the only buck I ever shot, I just avoided cutting it at all and it seemed to come away with the skin. I also avoided touching that area with my hands, if possible.
That's about it - the skin seems to come off of a warm deer pretty easily, with a bit of cutting of connective tissue on the underside of the skin with the regular blade of the swing-blade knife.
Other equipment
-a quick knife sharpener - something like a lansky carbide v-notch sharpener, or one of the pocket diamond folding sharpeners from Lansky or DMT.
-a package of "wet wipes"
-a roll of paper towel
-kevlar gloves - I bought a Rapala/Normark filleting glove from Canadian Tire. It's slice-proof keval mesh. It avoids cuts while skinning, but just as important is that it provides great grip on the hide while skinning. Very handy piece of gear.
-Garbage bags -kitchen-catchcanvas "sacks" that you can put over the deer for transport. Blood leaks through, but it keeps crap from getting on the meat itself. I pull this thing over the deer and then put it on my shoulders, or on my new deer cart (I hope - this year!) for transport to the car. A tarp in the back of the car (hopefully you are blessed with a pickup truck, unlike me!), and put the canvas-clad deer on top of that and head to the butcher!
-headlamp
-OK, so that's my method, as best as I can describe it. Works great for a solo hunter who does not have an ATV/truck/garage or some of the other resources that people use. I generally hunt alone, so I can deal with my deer where I shoot it, get it to the car, and get it to the butcher.
GOOD LUCK!
-DW
1. Butt-Out 2. This thing is not a gimmick. It works great. One warning though (OK, I'm a little embarassed here, but it's all about helping - right?) - make sure you get the right hole if you shoot a doe. I was trying to dress a doe quickly before dark last year and rushed a bit - ended up with the buttout stuck in the wrong hole! It was a ##### to get out. There, I said it - lol! Seriously though - it's a great tool. Put it in (the anus!), turn gently a few times, then pull smoothly out. The membrane of the rectum tears just inside the deer and you pull the colon out, making it easy to tie off (I use a small piece of string).
2. The gut-hook that someone showed above works great, and prevents many accidents poking a hole in the guts. (but see point 3 below).
3. Consider a "swing-blade" knife for a do-all dressing tool. http://www.outdooredge.com/hunting-knives-swingblade-s/13.htm I bought the set in the leather sheat that comes with a small saw. I'm not crazy about the saw (clogs with bone very quickly - better suited for wood than bone), but the knife is awesome. That curved end of the blade wiht the blunt tip does a great job of skinning down the inside of the legs to get skinnign started, as well as for slicing up the deer to drop the guts.
4. Hanging deer - I agree. My butcher #####ed me out the first time for gutting my deer and then dragging it thorugh bush, filling the cavity with crap. I have done the method that I describe below with my last three deer and it worked great - very clean for the deer/meat and very clean for me as well. For small deer and/or close to your vehicle he suggested dragging the deer whole to where you can hang it. Then hang it on a gambrel, head-down. Use your knife to into the base of the neck at the top of the lung cavity and blood will drain out of the lungs/chest cavity (with archery deer, there seems to be a LOT of blood in there, so good to get it out quick - probably true as well of most rifle shots). Then using a stout knife or a bone saw cut up through the middle of the chest (sternum) until you get to the diaphragm. I use a knife - works for smallish deer and makes less mess. As said above, be careful not to cut yourself on sharp bone ends here, especially if you use a saw. DO NOT CUT PAST THE DIAPHRAGM yet - the weight of the guts are pressing down because the deer is head down and you will SURELY puncture something. Lower the deer, use the butt-out on the anus if you have not already, and re-hang from it's front feet. Now the guts are all pressing down towards the back of the deer, so you can safely start your cut past the diaphragm without puncturing the paunch. Using your gut hook or swing-blade, continue the cut that you made while the deer was hanging head-down, now going downward from the diaphragm to the pelvis. Use more care the further down you go, because the pressure of the weight of the guys is greater towards the back legs with the deer hanging that way. Just be careful to keep the tip of whatever tool you are using from catching in the guts. Stand back - the guts will fall out! Now you can easily gut around the diaphragm and take out the lungs and heart, oesophagus etc...
Now you can skin it (I do this right away if I can - I find it easier on a warm deer, and I don't have a garage etc at home, so best for me is to skin on-site, then go right to the butcher with it on a tarp in the back of my station wagon - this also keeps tick out of my car and prevents spreading them around the province). While the deer is still hanging by it's front legs, I cut around the hocks of the back legs and then slide in the tip of the blunt swing-blade and zip the skin open along the inside of the leg from the hock to the split in the body cavity, on both sides. Then I just pull the skin off the leg enough to get at the big tendon on the back of the leg, and poke a hole through the membrane between the leg and that big tendon.
**SAFETY NOTE*** be very careful NOT to nick/cut that big tendon. My buddy made this mistake a few years ago, and then it tore while he was skinning his deer - he was puling down on the skin hard with one hand, with a knife in the other hand, when the tendor tore, the deer fell of the gambrel, he fell on the floor, and the deer handed on the knife, on the other hand and he very nearly cut a finger off - very nasty.
In my case, what I do now is take another gambrel (I just bought two cheap ones) and put it into the back legs. I hang that gambrel from 4 feet away or so, usually just a little farther down the big branch or whatever "beam" that my first gambrel is, and pull the deer up from the back legs before undoing the first gambrel from its front legs. The reason for this is that the guts and all the blood is right under the deer, so I don't want to lower the deer onto the ground to switch to the back legs for skinning. Some other approaches are to have a buddy or buddies help to hold the deer while you change the gambrel over, or to put a tub under the deer before dumping the guts, so that you can haul the tub out of the way. Either way, it's nice to be able to do you skinning without standing in blood/guts, so I like moving it over a bit. Now the deer is hanging from its back legs, where you have already started the skinning to expose the tendon, and you can start skinning.
***INSERT ADVICE FROM BUCK HUNTERS HERE - a note - I generally shoot does, for reasons that I won't go into here, so I dont' really know about the need to watch out for the tarsal gland when you're skinning the back leg. If you're going to shoot a buck, especially later in the season, I have heard that you have to be careful not to get the musk from that on the meat, but I'll have to leave that advice to someone else. For me, with the only buck I ever shot, I just avoided cutting it at all and it seemed to come away with the skin. I also avoided touching that area with my hands, if possible.
That's about it - the skin seems to come off of a warm deer pretty easily, with a bit of cutting of connective tissue on the underside of the skin with the regular blade of the swing-blade knife.
Other equipment
-a quick knife sharpener - something like a lansky carbide v-notch sharpener, or one of the pocket diamond folding sharpeners from Lansky or DMT.
-a package of "wet wipes"
-a roll of paper towel
-kevlar gloves - I bought a Rapala/Normark filleting glove from Canadian Tire. It's slice-proof keval mesh. It avoids cuts while skinning, but just as important is that it provides great grip on the hide while skinning. Very handy piece of gear.
-Garbage bags -kitchen-catchcanvas "sacks" that you can put over the deer for transport. Blood leaks through, but it keeps crap from getting on the meat itself. I pull this thing over the deer and then put it on my shoulders, or on my new deer cart (I hope - this year!) for transport to the car. A tarp in the back of the car (hopefully you are blessed with a pickup truck, unlike me!), and put the canvas-clad deer on top of that and head to the butcher!
-headlamp
-OK, so that's my method, as best as I can describe it. Works great for a solo hunter who does not have an ATV/truck/garage or some of the other resources that people use. I generally hunt alone, so I can deal with my deer where I shoot it, get it to the car, and get it to the butcher.
GOOD LUCK!
-DW
That Kentucky Afield vid is pretty good.
I usually unzip my critters from chin to arse. I don't muck about cutting around the arse until the very last.
Key thing I would mention, is to pay the close attention to the way you cut the skin, for a start. Get a hole started with the point, carefully, then cut the skin from the inside out, this will minimize the number of loose hairs you have to deal with.
I try to lay the deer on it's back, on the ground, with the head uphill. I split the ribcage, and split the pelvis, in whatever order is closest to me when I get working. I can use a knife, but I like the small folding pruning type saw I have, or I use the saw on my Swiss Army Knife.
With the whole cavity opened up, I can usually (y'know, unless the innards are all shot to heck) pull the whole works out over the back end of the carcass. Then I cut the anus free. The blood in the body cavity will flow out at the tail end, this way, too.
One thing not mentioned so far, is pay attention to keeping evidence of ### attached to the carcass.
Usually, I cross the nipples or the area of the scrotum and #####, by cutting well to one side, and try to make sure that the flap of skin that the required portion is attached to, is kept on the carcass. When I felt like it, I would wrap a plastic bag around the portion of the belly flap that I kept, as well as another around the tail.
This requirement varies by province. Read your regs. For critters that are quartered, usually the quarter that has the evidence of ###, is the quarter that gets the tag. Easy to keep track of if you are thinking about it up front!
Sharp knife.
Cut from the inside of the skin, outwards.
Don't get too worked up if you have some 'spillage' At worst, you will have to wash it and do some trimming.
Once the carcass is hanging, grab some water and a cloth, and wash out the cavity, trim out any damaged meat, broken ribs etc., and generally clean things up. Gut shot, or spilled poo or urine, isn't the end of the world. Once you get a look around the cavity, you will see that there is not a lot of edible bits in there to contaminate. Better to avoid as much as possible, but having a liter or two of water, and some paper towel or a cloth to wash out with, goes a long ways.
It's food. Treat it like you would anything else you would like to have on your table. Keep it clean, get it cool, and enjoy some quality venison!
Cheers
Trev
I usually unzip my critters from chin to arse. I don't muck about cutting around the arse until the very last.
Key thing I would mention, is to pay the close attention to the way you cut the skin, for a start. Get a hole started with the point, carefully, then cut the skin from the inside out, this will minimize the number of loose hairs you have to deal with.
I try to lay the deer on it's back, on the ground, with the head uphill. I split the ribcage, and split the pelvis, in whatever order is closest to me when I get working. I can use a knife, but I like the small folding pruning type saw I have, or I use the saw on my Swiss Army Knife.
With the whole cavity opened up, I can usually (y'know, unless the innards are all shot to heck) pull the whole works out over the back end of the carcass. Then I cut the anus free. The blood in the body cavity will flow out at the tail end, this way, too.
One thing not mentioned so far, is pay attention to keeping evidence of ### attached to the carcass.
Usually, I cross the nipples or the area of the scrotum and #####, by cutting well to one side, and try to make sure that the flap of skin that the required portion is attached to, is kept on the carcass. When I felt like it, I would wrap a plastic bag around the portion of the belly flap that I kept, as well as another around the tail.
This requirement varies by province. Read your regs. For critters that are quartered, usually the quarter that has the evidence of ###, is the quarter that gets the tag. Easy to keep track of if you are thinking about it up front!
Sharp knife.
Cut from the inside of the skin, outwards.
Don't get too worked up if you have some 'spillage' At worst, you will have to wash it and do some trimming.
Once the carcass is hanging, grab some water and a cloth, and wash out the cavity, trim out any damaged meat, broken ribs etc., and generally clean things up. Gut shot, or spilled poo or urine, isn't the end of the world. Once you get a look around the cavity, you will see that there is not a lot of edible bits in there to contaminate. Better to avoid as much as possible, but having a liter or two of water, and some paper towel or a cloth to wash out with, goes a long ways.
It's food. Treat it like you would anything else you would like to have on your table. Keep it clean, get it cool, and enjoy some quality venison!
Cheers
Trev
Lots of good advice, which proves, I think, there are lots of ways to get it done. It's pretty basic really; everything inside needs to get outside. If your method does that, it's a good method.
I subscribe to the minimalist camp. I carry one good knife, a pair of surgical gloves, and a pair of long plastic gloves that go to your armpit used by veterinarians and farmers working on cows. Put the long gloves on, put the surgical gloves over them, and you will have enough feel to do a good job and keep yourself much cleaner. When done, strip off the gloves inside out, and your are good to go. Don't leave the plastic gloves in the field. Take them home and dispose of them properly.
One truly sharp knife (no gut hook for me), some gloves rolled up in a small ball in your pack is all you need to do a good, safe job on any game.
I subscribe to the minimalist camp. I carry one good knife, a pair of surgical gloves, and a pair of long plastic gloves that go to your armpit used by veterinarians and farmers working on cows. Put the long gloves on, put the surgical gloves over them, and you will have enough feel to do a good job and keep yourself much cleaner. When done, strip off the gloves inside out, and your are good to go. Don't leave the plastic gloves in the field. Take them home and dispose of them properly.
One truly sharp knife (no gut hook for me), some gloves rolled up in a small ball in your pack is all you need to do a good, safe job on any game.
You have enough advise here to get you started. You will develop your own style and methods as time and hunting success gives you the experience.
There are as many ways to gut a deer as there are deer hunters. One thing I have learned for certain over the years is the very best way to start a lively discussion in a hunt camp is to ask, or state what is best calibre to shoot a deer with and then the best way to gut, and dress it. Just sit back with a drink and listen and watch the evenings entertainment unfold, as this conversation will go from diner to bedtime with no problem.
There are as many ways to gut a deer as there are deer hunters. One thing I have learned for certain over the years is the very best way to start a lively discussion in a hunt camp is to ask, or state what is best calibre to shoot a deer with and then the best way to gut, and dress it. Just sit back with a drink and listen and watch the evenings entertainment unfold, as this conversation will go from diner to bedtime with no problem.
One thing to add....You will find conflicting stories on whether to rinse the body cavity out with water as recommended above. Some will say it promotes bacteria growth. Some will add that it depends on how long until it gets to the butchers.
Many say that it is best to keep it cool and dry.
You can research this for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
In any event, you should now have a good idea as to what's involved and how to go about it.
All the best!
Many say that it is best to keep it cool and dry.
You can research this for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
In any event, you should now have a good idea as to what's involved and how to go about it.
All the best!
