hunters, how do you handle your deer once it is down?

[BillyC]

I gut immediately, save the heart for that nights meal. After I’m all done gutting the last thing I do is remove tarsal glands and place in a zip loc bag for use as an attractant for later hunts that year or next. I often hang them nearby to get a buck to stop and sniff, giving me a standing shot in my shooting lane.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Gut on spot to help cool. Also be sure to remove esophagus as it is a good (bad?) spot for bacteria to fester. However, in recent years in Arkansas, because of chronic wasting disease CDW, regulations now require the hunter to take only to meatier hump and shoulder meat and leave the rest to the forest critters.

 

[stikshooter]

65 years ago, I was taught, the first thing was to cut the jugular, then remove the glands, then gut the animals, and even pack the cavity with snow to help cool off the carcass. No I have to admit, I never had to trail a deer (maybe I am more fussy about shots taken) Deer were always down inside 50 yards. Normally I was to them within a minute or two and usually while they were still dying. I seen some pictures of deer on line with descriptions, like this is the buck I shot last night, I had to track it since last night. Yet the guy is clearly on the back of his truck, in daylight and next to a house and the deer hasn't even been gutted yet. On another forum, it seems the older hunters are fussier about bleeding and gutting a deer asap, than younger hunters. Some claim they would rather drag the deer home to keep the abdominal cavity free of dirt. I just remember an old Austrian butcher who ranted terribly about how American hunters ruined their venison with sloppy treatment during the first few minutes. (He provided game meats and dressed game birds to the embassies in Washington, DC.) My record was once shooting a doe at 7:10 am, having it skinned and hanging in a cold garage by 7:35 and still changed and made it to work at 8:00am.

My dad was a county game warden here and 60 years ago, they would often check harvested deer. He and his deputy checked a guy that shot his deer upstate the previous day, slung the deer over the hood of his car and drove a couple hours toward home. And still had not gutted it.

How do you handle them?

Start fire /get bed of coals going while gutting /find log for seating (how ever many were involved in the hunt ) extra long log and eat till you pass out (huntings hard ) !!/Ed

 

[smokepolehall]

Once the heart stops no blood pumps but it can drain while hung. I gut mine soon as i get to it n its dead. I take intestine push droppings back up about a foot. Cut it n tie it in a knot. Then i load tick toter bring to cleaning table n put it on it. I get heart out n both tenderloins. Then while its still warm i skin it on table flipping from one side to the other. Bone it out right then n put into freezer.

 

[2 shots]

i have my gun bearers do it....

 

[Enfield58]

At first I laughed at the Butt-Out tool then I got one. It really does make field dressing easier.

 

[user 31232]

Well it depends on whether we're having it as burger,steak or roast

 

[Eterry]

I live in north Texas, 2hrs north of Ft. Worth.
Here it is rarely cool enough to hang longer than overnight.
We gut it immediately, no need to cut the throat, the blood runs downhill.
We pull the throat, it spoils fast, hang it head up, skin it, often quarter it on the spot, into coolers of ice. I keep a few ziplock bags for Backstrap and tenders.
On the rare occasion during a norther we hang hide on, let it age a few days.
My old hunting buddy had a fridge he'd removed the shelves from, holes drilled in the freezer section, heavy rope and meat hooks in it. We'd hang 2 deer up to a week, sure made them tender.

On a large deer I cut out the rib meat and grind for sausage.
Here's my last batch of bratwurst.

 

[appalichian hunter]

At first I laughed at the Butt-Out tool then I got one. It really does make field dressing easier.

Tip, cut a piece of green hickory limb about a foot long, or whatever type of trees grow in your area about an inch in diam. A limb is what your after with a branch growing off it, trim the branch off leaving about 3/4 to 1 in. stub on it works just as well and no need to carry something extra, clean up after gutting is just pitch the home-made butt plug puller, Besides I am a cheap skate.

 

[Snydly]

I’m in the gut, skin and cool as soon as possible camp. Meat is cut and frozen right away (except what is fried up during cutting). The fresher the meat the better and none lasts six months. Antelope hunting requires a large cooler full of ice to be packed into the body cavity the moment I get the guts out.

When we hunt antelope we get them gutted immediately, clean any dirt off if there is a spot of dirt. We then place milk jugs filled with water and then frozen,, into the open cavity. Normally place 2 of them inside. Take them back to camp and cover with loose tarp with the frozen milk. jugs inside.

 

[Enfield58]

Tip, cut a piece of green hickory limb about a foot long, or whatever type of trees grow in your area about an inch in diam. A limb is what your after with a branch growing off it, trim the branch off leaving about 3/4 to 1 in. stub on it works just as well and no need to carry something extra, clean up after gutting is just pitch the home-made butt plug puller, Besides I am a cheap skate.

I use to do that but the Butt-Out tool is faster and easier. I also don't have to waste time looking for a limb and cutting it.

 

[Rawhide67]

When I hunted out of a camp in the Adirondack mountains, we would gut immediately and go on hunting. Come back to the deer at the end of the day, carry it to the road, and hang it up at camp. Never worried about the esophagus. Depending on temps, it might hang for 2 or 3 days before butchering.

Past couple years, I gut immediately, hang at my house for the night, and deliver to the butcher the following day.

 

[andy52]

Depends on the weather if it's a really warm season I'll put a few 2l bottles frozen in a cooler just in case, less chance of contamination that way, Field dress is first thing, the deer is dead right, what good does it do to cut its throat you're not going to get much blood out anyway. I've never cut the glands off a deer unless I'm using them to make a scent trail.

 

[BillyC]

I’m not sure if it’s coincidence, my imagination or it actually happened but last year was the first time I couldn’t drop my deer off to be butchered due to the processor not being able to find help. It was warm so I skinned and quartered the deer and put it in a large cooler with ice. Had to wait 4 days to get it processed and this meat was the most tender I have had. Also, cost less than half of the normal charge because I did most of the work. I will be repeating this process for the foreseeable future. Maybe aging in the cooler did the trick, maybe I just think it was better because I saved a bunch of money, who knows,

 

[johnraleksa]

I’m not sure if it’s coincidence, my imagination or it actually happened but last year was the first time I couldn’t drop my deer off to be butchered due to the processor not being able to find help. It was warm so I skinned and quartered the deer and put it in a large cooler with ice. Had to wait 4 days to get it processed and this meat was the most tender I have had. Also, cost less than half of the normal charge because I did most of the work. I will be repeating this process for the foreseeable future. Maybe aging in the cooler did the trick, maybe I just think it was better because I saved a bunch of money, who knows,

Once a time beef had to hang in cooler for 3 days before butchered then sold. If I can I will hang my deer for 3 weeks or quarter it and put in cooler with ice for that long. Yes it makes it tender ,aging is the main thing to do.

 

[Century to late]

If temps allow will normally hang a week. If not I will quarter and put them in a fridge for a week. We haul the guts away from our hunting property to keep the coyotes away from the woods. Never freeze a fresh kill it will make the meat tough birds especially.

 

[TDM]

Down here, after quartering, I keep the meat on ice for 3-4 days. Keeping the water drained and ice refreshed. Then debone and process.

 

[Coinneach]

If I am going to carry the deer out I gut it , make it into a pack and carry it out , If it is too far to carry the whole deer I remove the back straps , hind legs and fore quarters , bag them in old pillow cases , put them in my pack and carry them out , Heart ,Liver, are checked for disease and the Kidneys and tongue are also salvaged .
I have seen many pictures of North American hunters hanging deer by the head , here in New Zealand they are always hung head down , by the hind legs . This is especially so if the animal is hung in a tree to be gutted or is gutted on a steep slope , the offal falls forward and out of the gut cavity and in the unlikely event of a broken gut , contamination of the meat is only on the lesser forward cuts .

I have seen many pictures of shot deer and quite honestly the gut cavity often looks like it has been opened up with a hedge trimmer .
The way to cleanly gut a deer is to first make a circular cut around the anus and pull it out a little way then tie it off with a string then push it back in
Make a small incision with your knife just below the breast bone , then with your knife blade pointing up place it between your two fingers of your left hand and slide your hand , palm up , and the knife down the center of the belly towards the legs . This keeps the knife blade cutting the skin from inside, and the back of your left hand pushes the gut away from the knife tip. The tip being between your fingers keeps it from puncturing the gut, while the blade cutting upwards from the inside will not be blunted by hair or drop cut hair all over the meat . Cutting into deer hair is a sure way to blunt a knife
When the gut bag drops out the intestine is pulled with it and the anus with the string tied around it comes out cleanly without dropping poop on the meat .
The thing to remember when you are shooting , gutting and processing a deer you are making it into food and cleanliness is paramount .

PS If you are going to cut a Stag's throat while it still shows signs of life just remember they can still horn you or kick and maybe connect with your knife

All of the above here in Australia.

 

[Coinneach]

Its an interesting read how you fellas over there handle a freshly dropped Deer, here in the great South land Bush regions ("outback" ) we still kill our own Beasts (Sheep and Cattle) and of course Game (Deer if they're to be had, wild Goats and "Roos").

I grew up in the mid north of South Australia, later working as a Stockman in my youth on Cattle stations in the 60's where every property had a Meat House (photo attached); for the routine kills to be hung and set.
We boys were expected learn from shoot to plate meat handling, being a warmer climate a beast was killed around mid afternoon cooler time; then gutted, skinned and cleaned up right away then hung high upside down with a gallows. The hind legs spread and a clean barked stick opening the chest cavity for cooling, with a full length tied off Muslin mesh meat bag drawn over it to keep the Flies off.
Preferably the fresh carcass was taken back to the Homestead Meat house and hung there 2 or 3 days (no longer if the weather was hot, or the meat would spoil) then to be cut down and butchered for Freezer and salting for Silverside etc.

Nothing was wasted, Hides were stretched and scraped later, Wattle bark (no shortage of Wattle trees over here) chopped and pounded flat then soaked in recycled 44 gallon drums used for tanning etc.
We Aussies are big meat eaters, and the bush folk always ate well.

 

[Eterry]

When I hunted out of a camp in the Adirondack mountains, we would gut immediately and go on hunting. Come back to the deer at the end of the day, carry it to the road, and hang it up at camp. Never worried about the esophagus. Depending on temps, it might hang for 2 or 3 days before butchering.

Past couple years, I gut immediately, hang at my house for the night, and deliver to the butcher the following day.

I've hunted many times in 80 degrees plus. Camo underwear is popular here for MANY reasons... .