Field Dressing Rabbits?

[robinsroost]

Do you field dress your rabbits, or wait until you return home? We always remove the heads and eviscerate them, right after they are shot. Less weight to carry, and less chance of the offal tainting the meat. Keep yer powder dry........Robin

 

[BrownBear]

Same here. With no closed season and no bag limit, a mess of snowshoe hare can add up to a heck of a load when the hunting is good. Easy math- 20+ hares at 3-5# each live weight....

Got a quick and easy way of dressing learned from a hunting pard that hails originally from Missouri:

Grab the front shoulders and head, and twist the head till you feel the neck part. Now hold your knife blade sideways on each leg just above the foot and press sideways with your thumb to snap the leg bone, cutting the foot free as you withdraw the knife.

Now make a small cut in the middle of the back and grab the hide on each side of the cut and pull your hands apart. Hide and head tear off, leaving only the hairy tail. Nip that off with your knife.

Now cradle the critter's back in your off-hand, head down. Start a cut with just the point of your knife down between the hind legs and cut down toward the compressed guts. Tip the head up so the guts fall back and out the cut and finish the cut right up through the rib cage.

Reach in with your finger and free the lungs/heart/liver and pull down. Use your knife point to split the pelvis and remove the poop chute and your done.

Takes longer to read this than to do the work- something like 20-30 seconds.

 

[satx78247]

SOUNDS like a BETTER way than the one that I've used for years. = THANKS for the tip.

yours, satx

 

[BrownBear]

It's sure slick. First time I tried it about 40 years ago, I absolutely forgot about all other ways to dress rabbits.... And I grew up before then dressing lots of rabbits!

 

[biliff]

For cottontails we'd just squeeze the guts out 'em. Hold by the front paws and shake a bit to settle the innards. Wrap your left hand around the body just below the diaphragm and pinch off. Then press down on the belly with your right hand. The pelvis separates and the guts pop out on the ground.

If it's warm you can open the body cavity with a knife to promote cooling, otherwise just pop 'em in the game bag.

 

[Spikebuck]

Exactly how I clean squirrels too, except I just use a small hawk I carry to cut off the head, feet, and tail first. I like to have them skinned and clean as quickly as possible and then just put them in a clean large ziplock.

But...I wonder if Bill's Cottontail method would work on a squirrel? :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

But...I wonder if Bill's Cottontail method would work on a squirrel? :hmm:

Never tried it, but I kinda doubt it. Squirrel hide is awfully tough compared to rabbit.

 

[Britsmoothy]

It does with a small cut :thumbsup:

 

[robinsroost]

I forgot to mention that I carry a half dozed gallon size zip lock bags, with me in my game bag, our daily bag limit is 5. I do like Brown Bear, but the skin on our cotton tails is not so tough. You can pinch it between your thumb and fore finger and it will tear off. KYPD, Robin

 

[Britsmoothy]

Only the very youngest we can skin so!
Most of ours especially winter rabbits peeling one often takes great effort!

I admire the English rabbit. He is a tough hombra and contends with much. My heart is always pleased to see them :hatsoff:

B.

 

[Robert Egler]

I field dress them in warmer weather, not if it is cold. But I never use the method I was originally taught.

When I was 15 or so I used to hunt with my neighbor who was about 40. He's actually the person who go me into hunting. His method of cleaning rabbits was to cut a slit down the belly then take the rabbit by its hind legs and flip it back and forth as hard as he could over his head. Guts went everywhere! But it did clean the rabbit.

 

[larry wv]

Back when we had Rabbits that's the way I was taught. BUT it was cut a slit and hold the front legs in one hand and rear in the other and flip the Rabbit forward about waist level. That over the head deal is something I will most definitely NOT try. :grin:

Larry

 

[Treestalker]

Where were you standing to avoid the hurricane of rabbit guts? :shocked2: Makes me glad I used to hunt with less acrobatic, mellowed out gentlefolk! :rotf: Treestalker.

 

[gunner69skmc]

You should post a "You Tube" type Video here so we can visually see what's done with this technique. :thumbsup:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Voila!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZ8vPvLfTo

 

[Joshsimonswvu]

"Cuff" the hair at all 4 feet. Press thumbs between shoulder blades and dislocate front legs. They'll pull right out of sleeves. Pull hide down hind legs and wrap it around to belly. Holding rabbit in right hand, wrap index and thumb as tight in front of hips until your wringing the spine. Take that leg hide and push it behind guts near the rabbits pee pee. This hide keeps hands clean of guts. Wring left hand around spine and pull and twist toward the head. You'll be left with rear legs and loins. Guts ribs and all will be inside hide casing. I gut them when back at the truck because I hunt over beagles. Rabbit guts= worms!!!! No knife needed and can be ready for pot in a couple minutes tops. I did one last year in 45 seconds. My dad timed me. Lol

 

[Vaino]

Your way of cleaning rabbits is pretty close as to how I clean squirrels.

Usually the temps are pretty cold when hunting squirrels and rabbits, so the need to field clean is unnecessary. Never had bad meat from these "home cleaned" animals.

Snowshoe hares can be a load so our sons who were too young to hunt wore backpacks and were the "game carriers". When their loads became too heavy, they went back to the truck and unloaded....couldn't get lost seeing they just followed the tracks in the snow.

I prefer cottontails for eating because snowshoes are a little stronger tasting and tougher, but still made good meals.

There's no bag limit on snowshoes in Wisconsin, so when they're on the top of the cycle, 3 of us killed at least a couple dozen many times in a morning's hunt. Early on, .22s were only used, but then I started to use a .45 PRB flintlock and had no problem shooting as many as the guys using the .22s. We mostly got head shots.

At the top of the cycle, there's mostly young hares which aren't very wary and probably never saw a human....close shots were very common. Besides, these young hares were much better table fare than the older ones......Fred

 

[Brokennock]

Kentucky or West Virginia DNR (or whatever they call their game warden agency), had a great video someone copied to YouTube about cleaning squirrels, haven't been able to find it in a long time but wish I could. Haven't tried it bit the same system should work for rabbit if you can get the stub of their tail pinned down with your foot. I prefer squirrel to rabbit for eating so I don't kill and clean many rabbits.

 

[larry wv]

Squirrel is a lot better tasting than Rabbit. I love eating Squirrel.

Larry

 

[palonghunter]

I don't field dress rabbits. It's usually cold enough that it's not necessary, but the real reason is that my beagles will eat the guts unless I hang them in a tree, and there's not always a tree handy.