I wonder if every hunter is supposed to be good at skinning game.

I just don't like getting dirty. Not to say I won't. When I do go hunting. I will try to stay as clean as possible. When I do oil changes on my car, I wear gloves just so I don't get oil on myself.

Again, I don't really want to do it, but if I want to hunt, I am going to have to get over it and just try to learn how to do it. I am sure I will suck at it the first couple of times, but after thats, I should be good at it.
 
cereal83 said:
I just don't like getting dirty. Not to say I won't. When I do go hunting. I will try to stay as clean as possible. When I do oil changes on my car, I wear gloves just so I don't get oil on myself.

Again, I don't really want to do it, but if I want to hunt, I am going to have to get over it and just try to learn how to do it. I am sure I will suck at it the first couple of times, but after thats, I should be good at it.
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you can't ask for a better attitude than that
 
http://www.keystonecountrystore.com/Field_Dressing/Primos_Guttin_Gloves/Page_2/FDR2664406.html

These kinds of gloves are available from many stores. They will protect you from the worst of the 'mess'. Your pants'll still get a little blood on 'em likely but probably not much. If you're worried about that you can make an 'apron' out of a orange garbage bag real fast - just open up the bottom and cut a slit down the side - then tie the corners of the slit together around your waist.

Hard not to get a little dirty hunting, but you can minimize it if you're so inclined.
 
No wonder our numbers are declining. SO many "My way of the Highway" attitudes in this forum.
 
Levi Garrett said:
First buck I got with my recurve , I remember the older :D fella that was with me said, give me your knife , I did. He wanted the knife so I would not stick him, :eek: . He grabbed up the liver , and caught me across the face , both sides before I could retreat:rolleyes: :D All part of the tradition :rolleyes: ;)
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Maybe tradition for some, never the fellas I have hunted with!
I wouldn't wanna eat a liver that got smacked across some gooffus's face that hadn't shaved in two or three days!:eek: :D
Cat
 
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its not as bad as it looks. don't be afraid to get ur hands dirty . their used to be a saying " u gotta eat a bucket of dirt before u die anywasy" sometihng like that. when i was a young pup and first getting my hunting license i wasnt sure how i was gunna react. but then we watched the deer gutting/skinning video and it wasnt as bad as i thought. and then when i first got to gut sometinhg it wasnt as bad as people say at all. just my 2 cents.
 
I dressed this fall my first moose with the help of friends and my first deer alone. My only advice is: Do it slowly! Put you hands deep in the guts and blood and get familiar with the anatomy.:D
Don't cut you fingers! Be aware of sharp bone fragment! Stay cool! The deer took one hour, but I did a clean job. You are getting faster with time anyways.
 
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One thing I always advise is to get a Normark or similar kevlar style glove for your off hand while using a knife.
This goes a long way to stopping cuts from slips ot not knowing where your offhand is when you can't see your blade.
After a while you will get efficient enough that you will have a minimum of mess!
Cat
 
If you take your time, there is little chance of getting bloody. Remember, the blood is no longer being pumped! It tends to run away, downhill. As for the smell, unless the abdomen is pierced, there is little or any strong aroma. In my opinion, the stinkiest animal s to clean are birds, if the smell of chicken gits don't bother you, everything will be fine. Try buying an undrawn (guts in) chicken at the farmer's market, you will have a controllable size of dead thing to practice on, and will be able to make chicken soup afterwards to comfort yourself. Soup mad from a fresh bird is a whole different thing than using a frozen mass-produced plastic chicken!
 
The skinning I don't mind at all.

The gutting on the other hand... I'm not even a little squeamish of blood (1st aided enough gory work injuries, plus my own) and the sight of guts and bullet damage etc. doesn't bother me in the least. In fact the first deer I shot, I was fascinated by the appearance and texture of the organs.

The smell, on the other hand... I have an uncontrollable urge to retch when I smell guts. And for the record, I've never gutshot an animal nor have I punctured anything while gutting, ever. I just mean the normal 'guts' smell.

I may get laughed at, but I carry a respiratory dust mask in my hunting kit. When it comes time to gut the animal out, on goes the mask.

After that, it's all technique, and it's reasonably easy to learn.
 
SignGuy said:
p226 just go to the library or chapters and looks for books on skinning animals, if you cant find any ask the nearest attendent t o order you books on how to skin dead animals.
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I beg you to go into a Chapters and ask one of the hippy college student staff to order you a book on how to skin dead animals.

I further implore you to ensure that you have at least 2 friends there, filming her reaction with video cameras. :D :D :D :D :D
 
Foxer said:
Well, cleaning animals isn't much different than gutting a fish. A great, big honkin' fish mind you, but still it's somewhat similar slime-wise :)
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LMAO... When I started hunting, I put up a flag on Alberta Outdoorsmen's forum to see if anybody wanted to take a newbie hunting. A decent fellow volunteered, and off we went. We came up empty that first day, but I learned a lot and had a great time.

In the middle of that week, I decided to play hooky from work to go hunting for a morning. Again came up empty, however...

The next weekend the 'tutor' and I headed out again. On the way to the hunting area, I told him I had gone out one day solo.

"What would you have done if you'd shot something?" he inquired. "You've never cleaned a deer before, have you?"

"No," I replied "but I've gutted hundreds of trout... I imagine it's the same."

He almost crashed the truck he was laughing so hard...
 
Doesn't want to get dirty???

laughing.gif
 
I grew up on a mink ranch. I've skinned untold 1000s of those little stinky things. I've shot and gutted many deer and a few moose. I was a commercial meat cutter from 1978-2002. I've cut and skinned alot of stuff.

I don't like getting dirty either, so I work as neatly as possible, but the thing that grosses me out the most is the smell of rabbits. I like eating them, but the smell turns my guts, to the point I don't hunt them very much. :p



...
 
When my wife gutted her first deer, she was proud as punch. She didn't have any blood on her clothes, in fact, she had a little cleaning cloth in her pack, and walked out with no blood on her at all. Bugged us that we were always all bloody.
Second deer, the little cleaning cloth wouldn't quite cut it :D
She was blood up to her arm pits. :D
Different deer, different terrain.
 
Up 'til last year I was collecting hides for the local fish and game chapter. It's an eye opener as to how many seasoned hunters do a lousy job of skinning their animals.
 
gunasauras said:
I always carry a pack or two of anti bacterial wet wipes so I can clean myself up after gutting.....
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This is very imprtant, IMHO, becuase of infection and stuff from bacteria.
bears, for exampple.
I can't even look at abear hide without breaking out in small blisters on my hands unless I am wearing latex glovves whhile skinning - don't know why, but there is some kind of reaction. It doesn't happen right away, but takes an hour or two.
Also, with deer , ticks and stuff ( lyme desease)
Cat
 
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