Question: rabbits and butchers

slushee

slushee

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So i'm new to hunting, prepare for some really newbie questions. (plz no flames)

Im setting up to take my Hunters Safety, and then apply for my H1 Small Game Outdoors card. Also going to call the MNR to find any crown land available for Cottontail hunting as well as call the appropriate Municiple Office to make sure .22 LR is allowed in those areas and get a Municiple License if required.

My question is, as this will be my very first time shooting anything living, what do you do with the carcass? I mean, will I be expected to field dress and butcher the rabbit myself or can I just bag the shot animal and bring to a butcher to do the 'dirty' work for me?

I am sure the first couple of kills will be a bit hard but I am very sure I won't be able to dress an animal right away. Somehow I think i would have prefered to have been taught this as a kid rather then on my own :rolleyes:

Thoughts / Suggestions?
 
Go watch Youtube videos, doing rabbit is very very easy. Dont be intimadated. Its straightforward and simple. Just take your time. Bring gloves if you want and its very clean.

My suggestion, if you are not prepared to cut the guts out of something, saw off heads or drink blood...:p

Dont hunt. Really its not as bad as you think. Just go at it with a system . There are so many rabbit videos on youtube its really easy.
 
As long as you don't waste it have at it... Bit you will need to field dress it first... If the thought of gutting an animal bothers you ib suggest sewing or knitting as your new hobby
 
Cut off the head and paws. Cut the belly open not too deep so you don't cut open bladder or stomach. Grab all the crap that doesn't look like you want to eat and toss it away.
Rip the hide off. Rinse in cold water
Tada ! Your done
 
Don't pay any attention to the suggestions of finding another hobby, they're just messing with you.
Cleaning animals for the 1st time, especially if you've never seen the insides before, can be very intimidating.
As was suggested already, youtube has videos which will make it easy to learn. Take your time and think about the cuts before hacking away. It doesn't matter how long you take; what matters is that you get as much meat from it as possible. And don't worry, it gets easier over time.
 
No knives needed in the gutting process, tried this on the last rabbit and it worked great: (had to give mine a stout "swing" to get the guts to come out though.

[youtube]74oXOr34-WI[/youtube]

For removing the skin I use this guy's method:

[youtube]tQBkrrmmXW0&feature=related[/youtube]


ibloom said:
Don't pay any attention to the suggestions of finding another hobby, they're just messing with you.
Cleaning animals for the 1st time, especially if you've never seen the insides before, can be very intimidating.
As was suggested already, youtube has videos which will make it easy to learn. Take your time and think about the cuts before hacking away. It doesn't matter how long you take; what matters is that you get as much meat from it as possible. And don't worry, it gets easier over time.
Click to expand...

You should have seen the first rabbit I cleaned, had no idea what I was doing....LOL....looked like a dogs breakfast, but it sure tasted good.
 
I found a finger in the last rabbit I cleaned. Be careful they have sharp teeth. :p

What I do is use shears and snip and small part of pinched skin on the back around the spine, pinch upwards. Cut in not to deep. Grab opening and pull the skin over the rabbits head like a sock. Use shears snip off paws and head. Remove gut mass carefully. Once done I notch the pelvis area to clean out and junk bits. Then I section it by removed entire front leg/thigh joint area and the same for the rear. Then cut out side areas. The rib section has some meat on it but is very boney, you could maybe use this in cooking to stew it abit.

While cleaning rabbit inspect liver for yellow spots...if you see it throw rabbit far away and then run away.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia

However there are several different ways to clean rabbits. So pick one you like, that is easy and works well.
 
Since I don't know your age, I will relate my first kill......excluding mice and gophers. It was a typical Alberta jackrabbit and I was 12 yrs old with a single shot .22. I brought it home and my dad helped me (mostly verbal) to dress it out. So my advice is to see if you can find someone to help you as well. It helps take some the nervousness/ uncertainty out of the experience. The reason I say this is I field dressed my first deer at age 40ish with the help of watching many You-Tube type videos before I went hunting....I got through the experience but I was a nervous wreck throughout the procedure. It wasn't the blood or anything else, just the fact I was doing it for the first time. You-Tube is a friend here but a REAL friend will make it a lot better/easier when the time comes to actually do it. As for a butcher as a choice and no buddy to help...no....watch videos and try it yourself. Good luck and enjoy your future dinner(s).
 
i dont know why people make such a big deal watching youtube vids like that make me hungry so does dressing the game i shoot

i like to use as much of the animal as possable i case sking small game and have the hides tanned(im not up to date with the hair on hide stuff)

i cut the meat my self not hard to do
 
slushee said:
...My question is, as this will be my very first time shooting anything living, what do you do with the carcass?...
Click to expand...
Do this:
[youtube]KU0I1PIunco[/youtube]



slushee said:
...I mean, will I be expected to field dress and butcher the rabbit myself...?
Click to expand...
Yes.

slushee said:
..can I just bag the shot animal and bring to a butcher to do the 'dirty' work for me?...
Click to expand...
You could do that. Easier would be to go to a grocery and buy rabbit off a shelf. While not quite hunting, it would be much, much cheaper.


slushee said:
...Also going to call the MNR to find any crown land available for Cottontail hunting as well as call the appropriate Municiple Office to make sure .22 LR is allowed in those areas and get a Municiple License if required...
Click to expand...
It sounds like you have everything figured out.:D
Anyway, let us know how the MNR call goes.
 
Like any other new skill it helps to have someone who knows what to do guide you the first time. Also the method I prefer involves someone to hold the rear feet while you clean the rabbit. If either end is shot up I usually just disgard that piece. Then Hausenpfeffer!
 
See if you can get hooked up with someone that has experience that could take you hunting, you can probably learn much more from them then you would reading about it. Maybe ask around at the course you are taking, the worst they can say is no.
 
I like to skin them first. No tools needed. The hide pulls off very easily. Grab some fur near the belly and pull. Once you get it started, it peels off like a sweater!

Once you have it skinned out, open-up (cut) the belly and pull everything out. Cut off the the head, tail and butt and you're done!

Now you have what you need to make some rabbit stew!

Good luck and Enjoy!

SD
 
I learned on my own. I flip the animal so its belly up and head towards me.
I then cut through the hide all the way around the wrists and ankles. Then from ankle to groin up the inside of both back legs. Then from the breast bone at the base of the rib cage all the way to the groin, be extra careful as you get closer to the groin . For this part I push the knife along from the inside with the sharp edge up, or use a gut hook. Next comes ripping the guts out and trying not to rip them open! If you do by misfortune simply rinse out the cavity with running water to flush away the feces or urine as soon as you can. Fact is these things happen so don't worry,wash!
Cut the diaphragm out and remove heart/lungs/esophagus (after slitting throat)
Then cut along inside of arms from wrist to chest joining all the cuts together. Now slip off the hide as if it were a wet sock (if done soon after the animal dies this is easier than later on). You can continue and skin up over the head or simply cut it off. Now with a good sturdy knife edge/shears/tin snips cut off the paws and wash the meat thoroughly in cool water.
Not only will you learn how to gut and skin a rabbit but also you will learn the value of a sharp knife! I suggest you keep a band new exacto knife handy. You will be surprised how dull your new hunting knife really is when you go to do this chore.
PS black/grey squirrels taste good too. Easy to learn skinning techniques on them too. Practice makes perfect.
Be careful not to cut your self and wash hands thoroughly. Be advised rabbits can carry ticks and fleas. Either do the work outside or, run HOT tap water into a bag containing the rabbit/squirrel and soak for a good 5 minutes.
 
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CyaN1de said:
For removing the skin I use this guy's method:

[youtube]tQBkrrmmXW0&feature=related[/youtube]
Click to expand...

I am by no means an expert but in his second method he uses a knife and pulls forcefully towards himself! I'd recommend never doing this. It only takes one slip-up and then you have a hunting knife in your guts. Always cut away from yourself!
 
Well they say there are a thousand ways to skin a cat - same with rabbits.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you should get the fur off, guts out and cool meat as soon as possible. Make sure that you do not contaminate the meat with the guts. This is avoided by keeping all the guts intact by not cutting them with your knife. Careful to only cut through the skin and fur. If there is a clean cold source of water nearby I use that to clean and cool the meat as soon as possible. All of these things contribute to good tasting meat.

You can see what you are doing if you pull the fur and skin off first. All I do is make a slit along the back of the neck, then pull all the skin and fur off. Then off with the head and feet. Crack the pelvis to get the genitals out.

Skin first, then gut. This allows you to see the careful cut that you need to make to avoid cutting the guts that can contaminate the meat. I wouldn't squeeze the guts out like in the video if you want the best tasting meat possible. I find the squeezing the piss out thing weird to say the least. Snap the feet and spine so you can cut off the feet and head without the need to have shears around to cut the bone.

I know where I live a .22 wouldn't get me many rabbits, but it may work for you. I use a shotgun with 7.5 shot, standard target loads (not high brass or "hunting" loads). I find that the small shot doesn't do too much damage if I have to take a running shot. Love love my 28 gauge side by side for rabbits.
 
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