Deer hunting, first time....how to bucther 101

ranger_dave

ranger_dave

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I am REALLY hoping to go deer hunting by Dec. 2010....I know its a long time away but I need to save some money and invest in a new rifle and PLAN and PLAN. Now my biggest concern is what to do AFTER the deer is down as I lack the knowledge to field dress it and butcher it myself, I would love to learn this and try it but I don't think thats really possible? Does anyone/anyplace teach this? I know the theory of how to do it but I want more info then that, I really don't wanna put it to waste. What do you guys do who don't do it yourself? Drive it to the closet butcher? How much does that cost? What if its too far away? How long do you have before its been too long? Would asking someone along, a hunter who knows their stuff to come along only for the aid and teaching me to butcher it too much too ask? I would be willing to part with as much meat and/or cash as they wanted as this is something I truly want to learn.

Thanks, ranger
 
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It's mostly just practice. You tend to watch an experienced hunter do it a few times and then go at it yourself. Not much different really than watching some videos and then going to it - only that it is handy to have someone giving you pointers the first time or two you do it yourself.

You can usually count on the first couple of times being a bit of a mess and a gong show. It will also take you a lot longer than it should but hey, that's what learning is all about. You'll end up puncturing a gut sack or two and, depending on your intestinal fortitude, various degrees of wretching that will range from a gag to outright cookie tossing. You'll end up with your fair share of cuts on your hands and forearms, both from your own knife and from rib/pelvic bones.

Get the field dressing/skinning down to a manageable level and you can take them in to be butchered. At some point you'll probably end up wanting to tackle butchering, or at the very least deboning, but for now you should just concentrate on the field dressing/skinning - one thing at a time.
 
Okay thanks.......how long would I have after I field dressed the deer and skinned it and all before the meat will spoil, say in nov-dec? How much on average would it cost me to get an averaged sized deer butchered?
 
ranger_dave said:
Okay thanks.......how long would I have after I field dressed the deer and skinned it and all before the meat will spoil, say in nov-dec? How much on average would it cost me to get an averaged sized deer butchered?
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In Nov/Dec, you shoudl have lots of time, since it's cold. Still, you dont' need to hang a deer longer than a week or so.
 
ranger_dave said:
I lack the knowledge to field dress it and butcher it myself, I would love to learn this and try it but I don't think thats really possible?

Does anyone/anyplace teach this?

What do you guys do who don't do it yourself?

Drive it to the closet butcher?

How much does that cost?

What if its too far away?

How long do you have before its been too long?

Would asking someone along, a hunter who knows their stuff to come along only for the aid and teaching me to butcher it too much too ask?
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Dewd! ..... You got a whole yr to learn this stuff. One question at a time, or you'll self destruct. ;)


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starpuss said:
if you go to a good butcher shop and your DEER IS CLEAN it would most of the time be 60-80$$
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"Good butcher shop" - underline, highlight, bold, and flashing.

Do it yourself - it's not difficult and you'll do it with more care than most who do it for money.

Because we are only 2 people, I cut mine into 2lb - 4lb roasts. That way, I can decide later on whether to cook a small roast, cut it into steaks, or make cubes. Takes less wrapping/bagging, too.

"Dressing & Cooking Wild Game" has a very good section on "breaking down" a carcass.
 
When I started hunting 8 or 9 years ago, the shop I took my animals to was charging $1.15/kg. Lately I've seen prices more like $1.25/lb!

I like to hang my deer about a week.
 
Silverado said:
When I started hunting 8 or 9 years ago, the shop I took my animals to was charging $1.15/kg. Lately I've seen prices more like $1.25/lb!

I like to hang my deer about a week.
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They are charging .55/lb here for moose.

I do it for my friends for free.

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I started hunting last year with absolutely zip experience.

There are a lot of good field dressing videos out there, but this is by far the BEST butchering video I've found so far:

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/video/deerfield.wmv

Got my deer with the temps hovering around zero. Was -1 at night and +3 during the day. Hung it for about 3 days and then got worried about it warming up too much and butchered it. The vid made it uber easy. Hung the deer from a tree in the back yard, skinned and butchered it, cleaned it and bagged it, then filled my freezer. :)


P.S. You can get meat grinders anywhere from $5- $25 at value village and similar places. Get a nice big one, it's easier. I thought about buying a sausage maker too, but then realised you can make them pretty easily. Just regrind your meat, mix in some pork and whatever else you want and go on your merry way.
 
I have taken quite a few new hunters out usually i will dress the first deer for them with them around to help and observe, if they pay attention usually they pick it up, if not the next time i will give advice but that's all.
 
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