gutting deer

[swampdonkey84]

What is so hard about gutting a deer the right way. The last few weeks I've been helping at a butcher place skinning deer and 85% of them still have either the lungs and heart still in them or the testicles still attached or the butthole still in them or all three. And some people wonder why there meat taste like crap cuz they left stomach matter from gut shots in them. It just amazes me how many people don't know or are to lazy to take care of killed animals

 

[shopson]

Just my opinion but "don't know" fits.

 

[swampdonkey84]

I mean you can learn how to do it on YouTube even

 

[catman529]

Well I don't take them to the processor unless its a HFTH donation. But when I do it's field dressed all the way. Who leaves the heart and lungs in? Cut the diaphragm and pull that stuff out. I cut the windpipe too.

Also after a few shots that went through the guts and also poking the stomach once while field dressing, I am extra careful to keep stomach contents out of the meat. But after the gut pile is removed, I will swipe the stomach with my knife to see what the deer was eating.

Oh and quartering away shots are a great way to get stomach contents in your deer... If you hit 3" back broadside you are still in ribcage but if you hit a little far back on a quartering away deer, chances are you go through stomach and into vitals. Shot a doe this year where the arrow entered in front of the left hip and exited in front of the right shoulder, making a perfect heart shot but also blowing through the stomach.

 

[Poleaxe]

It amazes me to how many don't gut one and take it to the processor like that. I would bust out laughing if I saw that. I think the hardest is removing the bladder without busting it. Cut a circle through the anal cavity staying completely on the sides of the inner pelvic. The take the chord attached to the bladder and slightly pull as your cutting a circle around it. Wala, out comes the intact bladder. Took me a while to get it right but I always wash out all my deer as soon as I can.

 

[parkerxbowhunter]

I always wash mine out with a hose after dressing as well as taking the tenderloin out as well

 

[slagtown_dfa]

I am amazed that someone would take a deer to a butcher without field dressing it at all and pay the butcher an extra $15 to do it for them.

I have a few spots that are less than 20 acres that if I kill one there I will pay to have it field dressed. Not out of laziness but trying to not ruin the hunting or draw in coyotes. And my processor only charges $10

 

[bowriter]

I am amazed that someone would take a deer to a butcher without field dressing it at all and pay the butcher an extra $15 to do it for them.

I have a few spots that are less than 20 acres that if I kill one there I will pay to have it field dressed. Not out of laziness but trying to not ruin the hunting or draw in coyotes. And my processor only charges $10

Splain that one to me???

No excuse for not gutting one as soon as possble. At White Oak, we had to have intact weights and dressed weights so we gutted at the skinning shed as soon as they came in and washed them out with a hose. They were then skinned and boned out before they got cool.

Other than that, I have always gutted where they fell and soon as possible. I have yet to see the slightest evidence it affected my hunting. The thicket I hunt now is about 25-acres and I still gut right where they fall. Gut pile is gone in 12-hours.

I do my own butchering and if it is warm, have them cut, wrapped and in the freezer often within a couple hours of being shot. However, the washing out does two things. It not only gets the cavity clean, it quickly cools the meat down. Also, on some occasions, I have skinned and boned the hindquarters out, then, put the meat in coolers with ice packs and "aged" it for a couple days. But in hot weather, it is mandatory to gut as quickly as possible.

 

[tailchaser]

I knew a guy that always left the male parts attached,said it was twra rules ,tried to tell him different, but he would not listen.

 

[Winchester]

I hear ya on the sorry field dressing! I helped a processor for many years starting when I was 14. A safe estimate would be 80% of all deer brought in where not completely field dressed, either organs left inside, or crap left behind the pelvic bone, including testicles and all many times! It simply amazes me how many people don't know how or make a big deal of field dressing a deer! You can have one completely field dressed correctly, and never get blood much past your wrists, in about 3 mins in a hurry and 5 taking your time! Its really not a big deal!!!

 

[treefarmer]

I always do a full field dress and remove as much as I can. I notice on a buddy's deer he leaves the male parts attached and wondered if he felt TWRA required it. The TWRA brochure say normal field dressing is ok, and other wording that says something about still being able to tell sex. I always wondered if I was wrong to remove everything but they didn't complain when I checked a deer at the old TWRA check stations.

 

[mathews338]

I process all my own. I always get the guts out but I never remove male parts or all the crap inside the butt. I just hang and skin, then debone. no need to do all that other stuff. it is just a waste of time. my meat has always tasted great.

 

[slagtown_dfa]

I am amazed that someone would take a deer to a butcher without field dressing it at all and pay the butcher an extra $15 to do it for them.

I have a few spots that are less than 20 acres that if I kill one there I will pay to have it field dressed. Not out of laziness but trying to not ruin the hunting or draw in coyotes. And my processor only charges $10

Splain that one to me???

No excuse for not gutting one as soon as possble. At White Oak, we had to have intact weights and dressed weights so we gutted at the skinning shed as soon as they came in and washed them out with a hose. They were then skinned and boned out before they got cool.

Other than that, I have always gutted where they fell and soon as possible. I have yet to see the slightest evidence it affected my hunting. The thicket I hunt now is about 25-acres and I still gut right where they fall. Gut pile is gone in 12-hours.

I do my own butchering and if it is warm, have them cut, wrapped and in the freezer often within a couple hours of being shot. However, the washing out does two things. It not only gets the cavity clean, it quickly cools the meat down. Also, on some occasions, I have skinned and boned the hindquarters out, then, put the meat in coolers with ice packs and "aged" it for a couple days. But in hot weather, it is mandatory to gut as quickly as possible.

Just always been my opinion that in an area I don't have the luxury of moving around that I shouldn't draw more attention than necessary. This includes gut piles and attracting coyotes onto the property that may not have necessarily took that route without smelling the gut pile. This may be ignorance on my part but I'm not as seasoned you sir.

 

[moondawg]

I've always gutted mine. It makes it lighter to drag, and lighter/easier to get into the bed of the truck.

If possible, I'll put the guts in a garbage bag. I do this mainly to avoid attracting coyotes on the inlaws' place. But if I don't have a garbage bag, I don't lose any sleep over it. Scavengers gotta eat, too.

 

[Winchester]

I process all my own. I always get the guts out but I never remove male parts or all the crap inside the butt. I just hang and skin, then debone. no need to do all that other stuff. it is just a waste of time. my meat has always tasted great.

You can get away with this if your skinning and deboning immediately. Leave all that crap in there for a few days while hanging and it will sour, riding right between the hams and all that good meat!! No Thanks.

 

[JeepKuntry]

I have always left the male parts. Thought it was required. But I cut the butt out and remove everything else.

 

[pressfit]

There is no telling how many deer that people have said they would donate to my feeding the hungry deer program but.. when I ask if they would field dress them before bringing it kills the whole deal.. they just plain out dont want to fool with gutting them..

 

[DntBrnDPig]

Maybe this makes me strange, but I enjoy the field dressing process. I actually enjoy the processing too.

 

[plinker22]

Maybe this makes me strange, but I enjoy the field dressing process. I actually enjoy the processing too.

Me too. The more I field dress, the more I make it into a game. Sometimes I go for speed, sometimes a super-clean job. But I do enjoy it also.

 

[Columbia Scott]

Man, I have dressing down to a science and can knock it out in 10 minutes.

 

[Columbia Scott]

My deer this year was dressed and caped before the processor got it. Caping one out sure dulls a good knife! I had to leave a little more meat on the hide than usual. The meat on this deer's brisket/chest area really stuck to the hide. My taxidermist said it was no problem though and complemented me on the job. While I was there a guy brought a huge 10 pointer in and cut the hide from the chin all the way down. The taxidermist said he couldn't mount that deer and the guy was a total jerk. He ended up getting a different cape from the taxidermist's freezer but still. I just didn't have the time to quarter and process my own this year. I can't wait to retire. I'll buy a grinder and go to work!

 

[Vermin93]

I process all my own. I always get the guts out but I never remove male parts or all the crap inside the butt. I just hang and skin, then debone. no need to do all that other stuff. it is just a waste of time. my meat has always tasted great.

You can get away with this if your skinning and deboning immediately. Leave all that crap in there for a few days while hanging and it will sour, riding right between the hams and all that good meat!! No Thanks.

Yeah, you would have to debone the meat on the spot if you were going to leave the lower intestinal tract in place. Question then: If you remove the organs, but leave the intestines under the pelvis bone, do you not get feces leakage when you severe the intestine? I don't see how you could leave on a portion of the the guts without some kind of leak.

I always try to remove the guts in one single motion. If you split the pelvis bone, it all comes out right with everything else.

Obviously the traditional way works just fine, but proper use of the butt-out tool solves this problem quickly and easily without needing to split the pelvis.

 

[DonW]

in some states and some species, like elk in Colorado, you have retain proof of gender and leave it intact to the skin. Some people learn it this way and just assume it always applies.

 

[mathews338]

I process all my own. I always get the guts out but I never remove male parts or all the crap inside the butt. I just hang and skin, then debone. no need to do all that other stuff. it is just a waste of time. my meat has always tasted great.

You can get away with this if your skinning and deboning immediately. Leave all that crap in there for a few days while hanging and it will sour, riding right between the hams and all that good meat!! No Thanks.

Yeah, you would have to debone the meat on the spot if you were going to leave the lower intestinal tract in place. Question then: If you remove the organs, but leave the intestines under the pelvis bone, do you not get feces leakage when you severe the intestine? I don't see how you could leave on a portion of the the guts without some kind of leak.

I always try to remove the guts in one single motion. If you split the pelvis bone, it all comes out right with everything else.

i never leave one hanging. I debone the same day of the kill. I have had some feces leakage before but it is no big deal, just wash it really good. I have killed around 100 deer and they all tasted great to me.

 

[UTGrad]

So I never remove the testicles...didn't know it was necessary???

 

[Shed Hunter]

I'm amazed people waste their money taking deer to a processor to be cut up period. I understand why people take the deer there to get made into special sausage and all of that good stuff, but removing the skin and meat is easy and shouldn't take very long at all. Cutting the meat after removal can be tedious, but ain't nuthin wrong with a little work!

Not trying to make anyone mad by saying that.. Just don't understand why people can't just cut them up themselves.

 

[Hunter 257W]

After I ran 2 entire deer through a hand cranked sausage grinder, and then found out somebody else would do it for only $60, I said "Never again!" On practically everything else I am a do it yourselfer to the extreme but not on this. I only shoot 1 or 2 deer a year, and want everything but the tenderloin and backstrap ground up, so the cost is so little that I'll gladly pay it.

I agree on the field dressing being too easy to do yourself to pay somebody else to do it except under very rare cases. But I always leave a bucks privates attached....I just can't bring myself to heap more humiliation on the ol' boy after I've already shot him!

 

[Grill-n-man]

Here is my take on the subject and my opinion only. For one you can thank the hunting shows that are on right now. I can't think of a single one that shows anything to do with field dressing instead they load them up and take em to the "camp" or at times a butcher and are not field dressed giving a lot of people just getting into hunting the idea this is the norm. Now the second, and I believe the biggest, reason is what has happened to hunting all over in the last 15 or so years. For the most part if you don't own land then you have to lease it. The days of buddies getting together and hunting or setting up deer camp together pretty much where they wanted are gone and will never come back, but that's just the way it is. With this we have lost the opportunity to teach others and learn from others and it didn't matter if you were 6 or 60. It used to be a big deal if you got a deer and everyone was more than willing to help with the gutting, dragging, and so on. But today we have ATVs, utvs, people we pay to do the work for us, and so on. And the third reason I would say is ego. Most "men" will not ask for help or admit they don't know something. And last here is a question for some, when was the last time you offered to teach or help someone to field dress an animal cause YouTube can only show you how to do something it can't teach you only people can do that.

 

[dtwnn]

I am amazed that someone would take a deer to a butcher without field dressing it at all and pay the butcher an extra $15 to do it for them.

I have a few spots that are less than 20 acres that if I kill one there I will pay to have it field dressed. Not out of laziness but trying to not ruin the hunting or draw in coyotes. And my processor only charges $10

Not once have i ever had a hunt ruined by a gut pile laying somewhere nearby.

 

[Snake]

I always wash mine out with a hose after dressing as well as taking the tenderloin out as well

I used to wash mine out also but a guy who's dead now but processed deer and he said not to put the water hose to because of the bactiera , any one want to comment on this take I really don't know ?