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Post by inant89 on Sept 19, 2020 10:25:52 GMT -5
So, I've posted on here a couple times now and got a ton of great advice. I know I'm probably a little over confident in assuming I'll kill a deer on my first season hunting, but I'd like to be prepared in case i do. So any advice on field dressing a deer? This will be my first season, and I'm hunting private land by myself so I have nobody to help me or teach me.
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Post by scrub-buster on Sept 19, 2020 10:28:01 GMT -5
Use a sharp knife and don't cut yourself. There are videos on YouTube that will help you out.
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Post by willy7948 on Sept 19, 2020 10:51:09 GMT -5
youtu.be/pFGUNpgfcBcHere’s a good video on how to field dress. I do it very similar, but I do the whole thing with one knife. A sharp knife under the ribs and yank up to get the ribs all separated. What area are you in? I’d be willing to bet you have a member that doesn’t live too far and would be willing to walk you through it when you (or they) take a deer. If you’re near Hendricks/Morgan county I’ll help.
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Post by parrothead on Sept 19, 2020 10:56:21 GMT -5
I carry what I call a gutting bag. Big Zip loc. Inside knives, gloves, pen, shapie, orange duct tape, rags. I will tear off 2 foot piece of duct tape and attach it deer's hind leg and attach tape to itself. Write my ck in number on it then. I also carry 2, 5 gallon buckets of water and an old pair of rain pants I wear while gutting.
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Post by Woody Williams on Sept 19, 2020 10:57:24 GMT -5
This is how I do it., Field Dressing Deer Most "strong-tasting" venison is caused by one thing, improper handling of the deer once it is dead. Most deer hunters are not aware that once the deer is dead it is no longer just a deer, but is now "meat." How that meat is handled determines whether it will be gourmet food or dog meat. Heat is the number one spoiler of meat. Therefore, it is necessary to cool the carcass quickly by immediately field dressing the deer. This is not too difficult of a task if done properly. After making sure the animal is dead you: * TAKE YOUR TIME* If it is as a bow kill, be cautious if you do not know where the broadhead is. * Roll the animal onto its back. * Starting at the sternum or breastbone, cut carefully towards the pelvis through the skin and thin wall of the body cavity. By inserting two fingers in the cut that will slide just ahead of and on each side of the knife blade, you can prevent puncturing the stomach or intestines. * If your animal is a buck, make cuts on both sides of his penis all the way back to his anus. This will free the urine track. You may leave this attached to prevent any urinal flow that may contaminate the meat. If your animal is a doe, simply cutting away the milk glands is sufficient. * Insert the tip of your knife next to the anus and cut completely around the anus. This will free up the end of the intestines. * Rolling the deer onto each of it’s sides, you can then reach in to cut around the edges of the diaphragm separating it from the chest wall. * You then cut the ribs off to the side of the breastbone by pulling up on your knife. Be careful how far you cut if you are planning on mounting your trophy. A word of warning - NEVER pull the knife towards you. Always push the knife away from you. * Reach up into the chest cavity and grasp the windpipe. Cut the windpipe in two ahead of where you are holding. Once the windpipe has been cut, start pulling on it towards the rear of the deer. You might have to use your knife to help free the organs as you pull. * After pulling the organs free, turn the animal over on its belly and elevate the head if possible to allow drainage of blood. * If the weather is warm, the deer needs to be hung in a controlled temperature cooler or butchered immediately. If the weather is cool (no more than 45ø F) the deer can be hung and aged for up to a week out of the sun. * The deer should be hung in a garage or shed to provide shade and keep the neighbor's dog away. A game bag and/or a liberal dose of pepper will help keep away flies.
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Post by inant89 on Sept 19, 2020 11:02:34 GMT -5
youtu.be/pFGUNpgfcBcHere’s a good video on how to field dress. I do it very similar, but I do the whole thing with one knife. A sharp knife under the ribs and yank up to get the ribs all separated. What area are you in? I’d be willing to bet you have a member that doesn’t live too far and would be willing to walk you through it when you (or they) take a deer. If you’re near Hendricks/Morgan county I’ll help. Jennings County. North Vernon
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Post by Russ Koon on Sept 19, 2020 11:57:43 GMT -5
Good advice above. I would add that it's very handy to also have a few short lengths of light rope like paracord or the imitation paracord that comes in 50 foot lengths and only costs a couple dollars at Wally World. I pretty much always have at least one of those in pocket or pack. If you're hunting in hilly country, a couple lengths of such cordage can hold your deer's legs in place on a hillside while you work.
A couple of good sized zip-lock bags are also good to hold the heart and liver, and the tongue, and keep them clean while you drag the carcass out of the woods.
Personally, I always leave the ribs connected and just reach up into the chest cavity as far as I can to cut the esophagus and large blood vessels to free the heart and stomach. If you choose to do it that way, you do need to use some caution using a sharp knife in close quarters to your other hand where you can't see exactly where you're working. I've never nicked myself, but some folks seem to have problems in that area.
I have hunted mostly in hilly terrain, and have found a drag rope to be the next best thing to a wheeled cart, and in some cases even better, depending on the brush and obstacles encountered. My favorite is a 3" wide by about 5 1/2 foot long "Forearm Fork Lift" furniture moving aide, but any strip of sturdy cloth a couple inches wide and close to six feet long should get it done as well. Leaves your hands free to use a couple hiking poles or quickly acquired walking sticks to help get over the hills.
And a headlamp is way handier than any flashlight when you're field dressing or dragging in the dark.
Good Luck!
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Post by parrothead on Sept 19, 2020 13:26:17 GMT -5
This is personal choice i dont gut in woods. For the reason i dont want sticks,leaves and mud inside the cavity. I gut at same spot every year.
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Post by mgderf on Sept 19, 2020 13:49:03 GMT -5
This is personal choice i dont gut in woods. For the reason i dont want sticks,leaves and mud inside the cavity. I gut at same spot every year. To each his own, but dragging an intact deer is MUCH harder than dragging one that has been gutted. O.P. Don't feel too overconfident. I harvested a 9 point buck on the second day of my deer hunting career. First day turned put to be a total bust, after 8 hours in the stand. Second day only lasted about 40 minutes. I had a buck pushing 9 doe directly under my stand. I shot that buck at such a downward angle that it drove him to his knees when that 12ga slug hit him in the spine just behind the neck, and between the shoulder blades. He never heard the shot. At that time, you were only allowed the one buck, no does. I say silently, in wonder, as those 9 doe ran off in different directions. I dragged that deer to my truck and loaded it up, by myself, BEFORE field dressing. That just about did me in, and, now I needed to find somewhere to gut this thing... I called a friend to ask, "what do I do now?" and he replied, "You've dressed out a rabbit before. A deer is a mammal, just think of it as a big rabbit! Don't be intimidated by the minutia. Enjoy the hunt.
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Post by Pinoc on Sept 19, 2020 15:05:04 GMT -5
The first time I ever gutted a deer I was 12 and my Dad’s advice was “Everything inside must come out”.
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Post by greghopper on Sept 19, 2020 15:16:30 GMT -5
This is personal choice i dont gut in woods. For the reason i dont want sticks,leaves and mud inside the cavity. I gut at same spot every year. To each his own, but dragging an intact deer is MUCH harder than dragging one that has been gutted. O.P. Don't feel too overconfident. I harvested a 9 point buck on the second day of my deer hunting career. First day turned put to be a total bust, after 8 hours in the stand. Second day only lasted about 40 minutes. I had a buck pushing 9 doe directly under my stand. I shot that buck at such a downward angle that it drove him to his knees when that 12ga slug hit him in the spine just behind the neck, and between the shoulder blades. He never heard the shot. At that time, you were only allowed the one buck, no does. I say silently, in wonder, as those 9 doe ran off in different directions. I dragged that deer to my truck and loaded it up, by myself, BEFORE field dressing. That just about did me in, and, now I needed to find somewhere to gut this thing... I called a friend to ask, "what do I do now?" and he replied, "You've dressed out a rabbit before. A deer is a mammal, just think of it as a big rabbit! Don't be intimidated by the minutia. Enjoy the hunt. This^^^^..... gut them with head pointing up hill then flip over to get rest of blood to run out then turn back over to its back and drag out head first. Never split the pelvis bone until it hanging... if it’s a Buck I plan on mounting I NEVER split the chess cavity until it has been caped.
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Post by scrub-buster on Sept 19, 2020 19:56:48 GMT -5
This is personal choice i dont gut in woods. For the reason i dont want sticks,leaves and mud inside the cavity. I gut at same spot every year. I do the same unless dragging it out intact is impossible.
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Post by boonechaser on Sept 19, 2020 20:35:14 GMT -5
This is personal choice i dont gut in woods. For the reason i dont want sticks,leaves and mud inside the cavity. I gut at same spot every year. I do the same unless dragging it out intact is impossible. I don't GUT in woods either. I hunt my own properties and majority of time getting to animal with quad with a short drag is possible. 1) Don't want to contaminate meat more than have to. 1). Don't want to attract coyote and bobcat to area. 3.) Gutting at house also gives access to water, towels and a extra set of hands etc.
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Post by freedomhunter on Sept 19, 2020 20:57:25 GMT -5
I usually summons my man to fetch the side by side to promptly retrieve my prize and load it promptly. At which point, I take pictures with my trophy before my man guts the animal out of sight. Nah, I got em right there usually pile gone in a couple days and the deer dont care. Predators get full and happy bother the deer less.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 3:33:49 GMT -5
youtu.be/pFGUNpgfcBcHere’s a good video on how to field dress. I do it very similar, but I do the whole thing with one knife. A sharp knife under the ribs and yank up to get the ribs all separated. What area are you in? I’d be willing to bet you have a member that doesn’t live too far and would be willing to walk you through it when you (or they) take a deer. If you’re near Hendricks/Morgan county I’ll help. Good video for informational purposes, however, I start my field dressing in exactly the same fashion. My first cut is reaming the deer around the rectum, but then I don`t split the pelvic bone, that`s why I ream the animal so I can just pull it through and out once I get into the body cavity. I had not heard of cutting the ribs away before, I do like Russ and try to reach up inside and cut the diaphragm, unless it`s a doe or a buck I don`t intend to mount, then I just use the saw and cut through the neck all the way up to where I`ll cut the windpipe.
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Post by Woody Williams on Sept 20, 2020 7:24:37 GMT -5
The ribs will cut but they need to be cut off to the side of the sternum. The sternum is tougher than ribs. Main thing is to have a good sharp knife and push the blade away from you. Pulling it towards you can get very dangerous if it slips
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Post by medic22 on Sept 20, 2020 8:49:27 GMT -5
Ive tried seperating the ribs from the sternum in the past, at least for me it seems much easier on younger deer.
Now if I eve try it depends on if Ive walked back to the car. I only carry an outdoor edge folding knife, the replaceable razor kind, I keep an ESEE 3 in the car. I never split the pelvis either. I always gut where they lay cause it's lighter to drag.
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Post by treetop on Sept 20, 2020 13:58:07 GMT -5
For you guys that don’t split the pelvic what’s your reason
I go around the butt cut up around penis If it’s a buck than cut up the left and right a bit of inside the legs use a t saw to cut pelvis bone spread legs than cut up the center than reach in cut every thing and just pull everything thing comes right out
I’d say on average if not working in dark or bad conditions 5 minutes or less
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Post by willy7948 on Sept 20, 2020 15:50:45 GMT -5
For you guys that don’t split the pelvic what’s your reason I go around the butt cut up around penis If it’s a buck than cut up the left and right a bit of inside the legs use a t saw to cut pelvis bone spread legs than cut up the center than reach in cut every thing and just pull everything thing comes right out I’d say on average if not working in dark or bad conditions 5 minutes or less I just wasn’t taught to when I learned. I definitely see it being beneficial , but manage without. As far as the ribs go, woody hit the nail on the head. Work up through the ribs to one side of the sternum. Is it necessary, no. But it’s how I do it lol I think it makes cleaning out the cavity easier, and I don’t have to go shoulder deep the get the esophagus. No, I wouldn’t do it to a 🦌 I plan to mount.
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Post by MuzzleLoader on Sept 20, 2020 17:03:19 GMT -5
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