How do you hang your deer head up or down

BIGREDD said:
You are so new you are shiny Kenny... :p
All I am going to say is I have gutted skinned and butchered more deer than you will probably see in your lifetime.
I gutted or helped process 21 deer last year in three weeks... this was just our camp during the gun and muzzle loader hunt... how many did you put the knife to?:eek:
Take a number and sit in the waiting room.... I'll debate you when you have the semblance of a good argument.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Why thank you, I always thought I was the bightest one here. By the way, I was joking :D about having the butcher skin and gut your deer, so relax, take a deep breath. No need to show me yours is bigger then mine.

If gutting and processing everyone elses deer in camp makes you feel important, then more power to you. We have one like you in our camp too, our attitude is "if he wants to get all bloody and gut my deer for me, fine, have at it". Nevertheless, I have done my share of gutting. In fact I gutted or helped process 22 deer last year in 2 weeks :rolleyes: all 10 point bucks or more :eek:

I didn't intend to debate anything with you, because I don't care. Fall-guy is right, just opinions so far. I will continue to hang my deer the wrong way (as the circumstance dictates), and risk going to hell for it, but thats my choice :p


Oh, FYI my skinning/processing record is: 1-2 moose/year for the last 12 years, 1-2 deer/year for the past 20 years and a few hundred furbearers, so I have managed to figure out where the pointy end of the knife is..... I'm Serious
 
Last edited:
If gutting and processing everyone elses deer in camp makes you feel important, then more power to you.
Click to expand...

I think Bigredd is a guide, not the camp hero. It's part of the guide's job to skin/cape animals for the tourists (Non-resident hunters).

Could be wrong, maybe he is the camp hero:D :p
 
We always hang head down.

Now - i HEARD that this common method is actually a throwback to the days when freezers were still just a gleam in mr fridgidaire's eye, and deer may hang a while in less than freezing temps.

So goes the story - contamination and rot starts in the blood much faster than the meat. If it gets started there, it'll run thru the whole vein/artery network fast and ruin the animal, even tho the meat is fine.

Thus - hanging it neck down with the head removed promoted the draining of the blood from the major arteries in the neck and reduced the chances of that kind of thing happening. The blood and other fluids tended to drain forward and leave the animal, while hanging it head up tended to keep the fluids in the artery system and thus promote faster rot.

This is also apperently why you should be carefull to keep the neck clean.

How true is this? I don't know. But it was told to me by a long time meat butcher who's work on wild game before he retired was little short of legendary. He said he'd seen it before.

So take it for what you will. My big reason in hanging them head-down is 'that's how i did the last one and things seemed to work out'. :)
 
When they hit the ground the one legs is skinned (sometimes still kicking) rope on that leg up a tree and off comes the hide and taken to butcher shop to cool. All done in less than an hour.
 
Just for the newbies, Bigredd is NOT full of S**T when he talks about numbers. I've been to his place, I've seen the proof.

I respectfully disagree on the hanging though, and it's mostly because we let ours hang outside for a week or two, with hide on. (Or until someone is going out)
We sometimes skin with an atv or a vehicle, and head up is the best way for that too.
If it snows, that hide sheds it beautifully. If you hang it head down, the hide fills with snow and freezes. I tried it one year. PIA.
That hide forms an insulating blanket should you get a warm spell, enabling you to put a few bags of ice in the cavity to hold it over 'tll the cold returns.
Is there a difference in the meat? Not that I can tell.
I remain heads up and unconvinced!
 
2fat2fly said:
I think Bigredd is a guide, not the camp hero. It's part of the guide's job to skin/cape animals for the tourists (Non-resident hunters).

Could be wrong, maybe he is the camp hero:D :p
Click to expand...

I don't guide... I do P/H contract work... but I don't count those animals cuz if your getting paid to pull the trigger it is just killing not hunting.;)

I have heard many good reasons to hang deer head down on this thread... I have not heard one good reason to hang them the other way.:confused:
I will leave the hide on like J/C does in many circumstances... but I also agree with Super that the hide is easier to remove immediately and is a good idea most of the time.:cool:
I have butchered my own many times... but I much prefer to take whole animals to my meatcutter who makes excellent sausage... he gives discount rates if your total meat weight is over 2000 lbs a season:eek: ... I'm serious:)
 
head up or down :rolleyes: has no way of making the meat more tender....
great field cleaning and meat handling are the main things to worry of..
and as mentioned...... its head down for easier butchering;)
 
Well I haven't seen one single reason to change
from "Head Up" either REDD :D

Our camp skins twice a day when neccessary, lunch & dusk, soon as the skin comes off, the deer go from the skinning rack to a covered hanging pole protected from the elements:)

Never had a venny I didn't like!

Had some venny once off a deer hung from the Head Down position, but the steak was the wrong side up on my plate :( :p
 
The way I see it from this thread is that most folks that hang by the head do so in camp while the hide and head is still on. The deer is hung by the head.

The reverse also applies for folk that hang head down do so when the carcass arrives home and the head and hide is removed. The deer is hung by the rear tendons on the hocks.






sc
 
Ok - side question ... who cares? :)

If what you're doing is working for you - and the meat is tasty come suppertime, really i think whatever you're most comfortable with is probably the best.

This is a little like our 'premium bullet' debates - it's interesting to talk about and think about, but if the animals are coming home with you and they're good to eat, we're talking about stuff that makes such a tiny difference it's probably inconsequential.

Now - if anyone can actually TELL by eating the deer if it was hung head up or down.. THEN i'll start worrying about it :)
 
like uh.........:p heads up or down a great debate......now are the legs off or on?or how about....... do you split the pelvic bone???:p ...is your meat pole a pine tree or a maple?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom