Field dressing?

[Stuckon22]

I'm right there with ya on this brother.

Ditto, been doing my own processing the last 15 years, much cleaner,leaner and IF know what's in the ground meat.

 

[Lineman73]

I field dress 'em where they drop. I have done it with and without a gut hook. It's nicer and neater with one. It greatly reduces the chance of accidentally cutting the stomach or intestines. I have also done it with and without the "butt out" and I find it easier with it. This tool greatly reduces the chance of ruining meat because the intestine is cut off and tied outside the carcass before you remove the guts from the body cavity. Just sayin'........!

Keep in mind, that you will have no idea how long your deer will "hang around", specially on a busy day, before the processor gets around to gutting it. I've seen some that have hung overnight!! It can be specially nasty if you are dealing with a gut shot deer (stinks very much bad and ruins meat!!!)
.

 

[rnfarley]

Thanks for the quick responses, fellas. I picked up a knife set at Adventure Outdoors today (I managed to get checked out in less than 20 minutes this time!) that has a skinner and a large gut-hook knife. They could stand to be sharper, but they were a good deal. I reckon I should pick up one of those Butt-Out things to pull the intestines and I'll be set. Even if my local processor wouldn't charge extra, I feel like it's something I should know how to do as part of being a responsible hunter. This stuff sure would have been easier if I had grown up hunting! I'll have to make sure when I have kids that they don't miss out.

Dante - it's a shame that this kind of help is so hard to get your hands on. Guys who "have known how to _____ since they could walk" are usually the ones who keep guys like us from learning because they'd rather scoff than teach as they were taught.

For me, hunting is about meat first. So, I want to preserve that meat as best I can. That includes getting the guts out quickly, in the field. If I am far from the truck, I'll leave the ribcage and pelvis whole, reaching in with my arm to clean out the upper chest cavity, and cutting around the anus and pulling through the pelvis. This keeps the chest cavity and (more importantly) the hind quarter meat beside the pelvis bone from getting covered in dirt. If I'm close, I'll still gut it where it lays, but split the ribs and pelvis to make things easier (a small hand saw makes this quick and easy).

I've used a gut hook, and it's nice, but hard to re-sharpen. I've found I'm faster with a Havalon Piranta Edge type knife with a very small sharp blade. A caping knife or sharpfinger works well too. Small, blades seem to make the field dressing go faster. I hang, skin, quarter, and butcher at home to keep as much meat in the best quality as I can.

The butt out isn't a big help. I wouldn't worry about that one. a sharp pointed blade is more useful and works better for me.

I've also killed deer within steps of gut piles from a day or two before. They are used to death, smells, and predation like that in the woods. If they were so scared of the smell of dead deer, they would soon find nowhere to live in hunting or cyoyte woods. Don't overthink that one.

If you have any specific questions or anything, feel free to PM. There are some great videos out there with tricks and tips on making the whole process faster and easier. It shouldn't take you more than 5-6 minutes once you get the hang of it.

 

[rnfarley]

One more thought - if you get some dry dirt/leaves inside the chest cavity or on the pelvis bone whie dragging, that's not going to penetrate into meat like gasses or liquids will. You're probably not going to be eating the inside of the ribcage or the pelvis bone anyway. A little trimming is all it takes and the meat will be great.

 

[Dantethegolden]

Dante - it's a shame that this kind of help is so hard to get your hands on. Guys who "have known how to _____ since they could walk" are usually the ones who keep guys like us from learning because they'd rather scoff than teach as they were taught.

For me, hunting is about meat first. So, I want to preserve that meat as best I can. That includes getting the guts out quickly, in the field. If I am far from the truck, I'll leave the ribcage and pelvis whole, reaching in with my arm to clean out the upper chest cavity, and cutting around the anus and pulling through the pelvis. This keeps the chest cavity and (more importantly) the hind quarter meat beside the pelvis bone from getting covered in dirt. If I'm close, I'll still gut it where it lays, but split the ribs and pelvis to make things easier (a small hand saw makes this quick and easy).

I've used a gut hook, and it's nice, but hard to re-sharpen. I've found I'm faster with a Havalon Piranta Edge type knife with a very small sharp blade. A caping knife or sharpfinger works well too. Small, blades seem to make the field dressing go faster. I hang, skin, quarter, and butcher at home to keep as much meat in the best quality as I can.

The butt out isn't a big help. I wouldn't worry about that one. a sharp pointed blade is more useful and works better for me.

I've also killed deer within steps of gut piles from a day or two before. They are used to death, smells, and predation like that in the woods. If they were so scared of the smell of dead deer, they would soon find nowhere to live in hunting or cyoyte woods. Don't overthink that one.

If you have any specific questions or anything, feel free to PM. There are some great videos out there with tricks and tips on making the whole process faster and easier. It shouldn't take you more than 5-6 minutes once you get the hang of it.

Thanks, Farley!

 

[MRH]

I have gutted so many I can't remember when I did not know how to do it. There's not much to it but it will probably be a little dramatic first time out. It will be bloody and messy. Most of the time I never had any latex gloves but they are definitely nice to have. You are going to get blood on you. You are going to pull the guts out. Might as well dive right in and get it over with. I have never used a gut hook. Nothing against them I just don't use them. Starting down at the butt, pull the skin up and cut right through to the meat. If its a buck, you may want to start with cutting off the balls and prick. Sorry for the visual but those are the breaks. Using your index finger and middle finger on your non-cutting hand, get under the skin and pull it up while cutting right down the middle all the way up, kind of like using those fingers as a guide. Take your time and try to keep from cutting yourself. Try to avoid stabbing the guts with your knife. I am as used to it as a man can be but the smell is rather unpleasant if you stab the guts. The guts will not automatically fall out. You will have to pull them out and make cuts where the skin is attached on all sides. Make sure to reach up into the far places to get the heart also. It is not surgery. It is a messy but necessary ordeal. It may take 10 minutes first time out. After you have gutted one or two deer it will be as simple as anything. Nothing to it, man.