Do you gut your deer?

[brewyak]

There was one time I shot one on a friends property. I went with their system. Didn’t drag it at all picked up with four wheeler, and we skinned it before gutting. It was actually pritty slick. And very clean. 99% of the time I do not have the luxury of no drag and they get gutted immediately. I also do all the processing myself too

 

[NotDanielBoone]

Cooling down the meat, removal of the digestive system which holds beneficial bacteria so long as it "holds" that bacteria, are good ideas.

BESIDES the heart is quite tasty, and some guys like the liver, and a hunter haggis needs the lights, the liver, and the heart.....

LD

I've made some good liverwurst from deer. Has anyone tried the kidneys?

 

[ETipp]

I've always gutted them where they fall. Cutting the throat is a waste of time, they have already bled out internally. Throat cutting is for slaughtering hogs, to save the blood.

I've also always processed my own deer, antelope, bear, elk, and buffalo. With deer and antelope in particular, you can do a clean skinning and gutting job. However, when they get to the butcher, they are all cut and mixed with everyone else's meat. Then you get back SOME of your meat, with someone else's gut shot hairy carcass deer added in. Much better to learn to do it yourself.

A couple other things, washing out a carcass isn't a good thing. It promotes bacteria growth. a thin coat of blood coagulates on the body cavity, and helps protect the meat.

Meat saws are a bad thing on deer an antelope. The bone marrow in those will spoil the flavor of the meat. I'm not all that hot on using them on the larger animals either, and don't.

Very well stated!

 

[snakebit]

I've made some good liverwurst from deer. Has anyone tried the kidneys?

My grandad always kept the kidney's. Grandma would pan sear them and make him kidney sammiches with what I thought as a young snot nose kid too big of an onion slice and way too much horseradish. He said he liked it better than biscuit and bacon sammiches which of course I scoffed at. I could never get into eating the organs.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

I guess I'm odd man out. I haven't gutted a deer in years, and have never had anyone complain about a gamey taste. But... I never hunt when it's warm (above the mid 30's) and I skin it right away (within 30 minutes). Then follow up with a quick de-boning and getting the meat into a refrigerator. I do all my processing and turn most of it into sausage. That said, if I did get a deer when it was above 40 degrees I would probably gut it.

Side note. Years ago I had shot a good size elk, and my nephew wanted an elk roast for Thanksgiving. There weren't any elk roasts to give so we came up with the idea of re-wrapping a beef roast in white butcher paper and labeling it as elk. My brother proclaimed it as gamey and wouldn't eat it. His wife claimed it was better than any beef she had ever tasted.

 

[Tenring]

I have always carried a two and a half inch buck folding pen knife to gut deer before dragging out, some of the fellows I occasionally hunt with have said get yourself a real knife and to me it is and it’s always with me. But yes one should gut before you drag out it makes it alot easier and the cavity starts to cool down and that’s what you want.

 

[beardedhorse]

I gut and skin my game animal as soon as possible and tag it before moving in vehicle. Process animal in camp. Kept under ice in cooler if hot. Let hang overnight and cool down before cutting and wrapping. The longer the hanging in 40 degree and colder the less tough the muscle will be. Muzzle loading season for deer and elk in early September here in Colorado can be in warm weather. Don't cut and wrap meat if it (the meat, not the weather) feels even remotely warm. Old sleeping bag used during day to keep hanging game bagged meat cold in the shade and off the ground. Used to have access to refrigeration to age the meat several weeks. Rind trimmed off for very tender, dry aged meat. We used to get sides of beef to process in our restaurant into various cuts. Pronghorn tastes better than elk which is better than mule deer in Colorado if shooting relaxed animals, not running and all adrenaline drenched. Burying meat in snow actually insulates the heat and can make it go sour. I take along 3 ml plastic painter's drop cloth to put meat on. Gut pile also kept far away from quartering. Commercial netted game bags can tear easily. Thrift store pillow cases are tougher but can transfer the laundry detergent taste and smell into the meat. Hides always carefully skinned and brain tanned later. Liver, heart, tongue and eyeballs and sometimes brains kept for food and tanning. Don't eat the brains with chronic wasting disease. Some Game Management Units in Colorado require CWD testing of heads. Only less than half a dozen times have I had a game processor do my animal.

 

[2 shots]

i say, cant gut it ... dont shoot it.

 

[TDM]

I've made some good liverwurst from deer. Has anyone tried the kidneys?

Never tried the kidneys. But I did cut out the tongues for a number of years. They were quite tasty, but a lot of effort for the amount of meat.

 

[beardedhorse]

The latest fad is to process game on its belly. Slit hide along spine and retrieve quarters, loin without disturbing guts under the ribs. Have to move the backbone to access the tenderloins. This method ruins the hide for brain tanning - edges of back are thick and middle of unorthodox skinned hide (ventral part) thin. Since I use liver and heart and hide I don't like nor use this technique.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Kinda like this?

View attachment 294702



I almost got gored by a mean, nasty little 4 point once….Never again.

Yes and with a head or neck shot like that depending on distance.

 

[waksupi]

The latest fad is to process game on its belly. Slit hide along spine and retrieve quarters, loin without disturbing guts under the ribs. Have to move the backbone to access the tenderloins. This method ruins the hide for brain tanning - edges of back are thick and middle of unorthodox skinned hide (ventral part) thin. Since I use liver and heart and hide I don't like nor use this technique.

That's been around for years,and is known as a poacher's cut.

 

[smo]

Yes and with a head or neck shot like that depending on distance.

Head shot???

That was this one…..

 

[Mad Hatter]

I chose to hunt late legal hours, there fore I'm willing to crawl, shinney around or take the long way around to get up real close for the shot. Wanting to be close, I have passed up many oportunities. At this point I am close to the animal allowing me to get there quick to cut throat and gut, dark won't be far away, about 1 third from neck and 2 thirds from gutting runs out-don't know how much is left in the muscle. I was taught to spine shoot head or neck, not gut shoot so there is NO internaly bleeding out or waiting half hour for your poor shot to take effect.

 

[waksupi]

I've seen too many jaws shot off deer from "expert" head shots.

 

[Rob M.]

Leave out in the sun ungutted for a few hours and then complain about how the meat tastes "wild". Doesn't make much sense but it happens a lot.

LOL !!! Exactly !! ... I saw a deer hangin at some city folks camper for 5 days this last hunting season ....and it was WAY too warm for that to be hanging there ! I bet that deer tasted gamey !! LOL .. Geesh ! People are goofy ....

 

[Rob M.]

LMAO !! Yep , gut it and get it opened up as soon as possible . Sticks in the carcass to help keep it opened up to keep it as cooled as possible ... I butcher mine ASAP too but ...everyone has their different ways ...

 

[The Appalachian]

My two sons gutting a pile of deer in the headlights, i would think, speaks for itself.

Pay to gut one?

That ain't how it's done around here.

Processing them either. First I enjoy doing it, second I want to know the hands that's been on it, third we couldn't afford to hunt if we had to pay for it all to be cut up. I have a meat shop in my house. Wild game, hogs, and the occasional beef.

 

[Okie Hog]

yes. i do gut my deer,;sometimes after skinning. My old truck has a handy hog/deer hanger

 

[Treetop]

It's always wise to get that hot brew of flesh eating bacteria out of what you plan to eat. The rot process begins as soon as the lights go out. Very easy to taint good meat! The sweet meat just lays in their danglin' around in a heat, lifeless critter with micro organisms set loose on a buffet . At least get the guts out,,, lungs & heart can be taken out later but not to much later.

Yeeehaw!