Field dressing deer questions

[PistolBob]

The first deer I ever killed rode home in the trunk of my '65 Grand Prix..

I had a 69 Pontiac Catalina....trunk would hold four deer, a hammock, and three hobos.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I've put them in the trunk of a car with a tarp, wrapped up like a burrito - works ok, just PITA in/out. The Reese/cargo carrier works better.

Field dressing isn't hard, just a pain and it stinks - no one really likes that part. Here are some things that have helped me over the years:

1. I use a Virginia blade that's designed after a civil war field hospital tool. It's all steel, fits in my hand around my fingers, razor sharp, easy to sharpen, with a lanyard I can release it inside the cavity to pull on things, then go right back to cutting and don't need to see my hands.

2. Keep a freezer bag with you if you want to try organ meats (I love heart cooked in a crock pot like roast beef).

3. "Butt-Out". It's a tool that makes cutting around the anus to release the lower intestine very easy.

4. Hunter Safety System has a tail hook that allows you to use your prussic knot/tether to drag - makes it super easy.

5. Milk jugs full of water in case there's no water around to clean up before getting back in the car/truck.

6. Take. Your. Time. Don't rush through field dressing. It's easy to cut yourself and hard to tell with all that blood and not much visibility.

 

[Hookeye]

I actually enjoy field dressing my deer.
It's just part of it.
You get to see what your projectile did, check animal health, and warm up your hands
I'm petty fast at it, and not messy.
My hunting buddy calls it "speed surgery" LOL.

If you don't have somebody to hold the legs, pack some cord/rope.
Not needed but kinda nice.

Knife, rope, jug of water/paper towels for clean up, plastic bag for inner loins.

Have seen some sloppy deer come into check ins/processors.
I find that disrespectful to the critter.
Yeah it's dead...........still no excuse not to do it well.

I've done a few.........one doe seemed to have everything glued in.
And one buck had the smallest pelvic canal.
The others were all the same- no problem.

Your first one might seem a bit overwhelming.........emotions of the hunt etc.
It's just a giant rabbit, with stuff easier to get a hold of.

 

[natdscott]

That's a good post, Hookeye.

I feel the same.

-Nate

 

[Hookeye]

Some see field dressing as a chore.
I see it as a reward.

People process info differently, but IMHO you learn how stuff feels.............by the time you do your 2nd deer you should be a pro.

Funny is when buds that have killed a fair number of deer, seemingly forget how..........first one of the season.
I don't understand that.
Yeah it's been a yr, but should be right where ya left off kinda thing.

 

[Que]

I’ve never learned to fully dress a deer or really wanted to. An old guy chewed me out for not taking the neck meat, because that’s “the best part.” I quarter in the field and hang overnight. Then dry age in a large cooler for a few days before processing. The rest stays in the woods. Of course we take some for camp meat.

 

[bobjones223]

Some see field dressing as a chore.
I see it as a reward.

People process info differently, but IMHO you learn how stuff feels.............by the time you do your 2nd deer you should be a pro.

Funny is when buds that have killed a fair number of deer, seemingly forget how..........first one of the season.
I don't understand that.
Yeah it's been a yr, but should be right where ya left off kinda thing.

Ohhhhh I know someone that forgot one year!......It was very funny to watch when he got down to the bottom of the sternum and just drove his knife to the hilt in the chest cavity!

I just looked and laughed as the stomach started spraying it's contents at him and the dry heaves started!!!

 

[jagee]

Some see field dressing as a chore.
I see it as a reward.

People process info differently, but IMHO you learn how stuff feels.............by the time you do your 2nd deer you should be a pro.

Funny is when buds that have killed a fair number of deer, seemingly forget how..........first one of the season.
I don't understand that.
Yeah it's been a yr, but should be right where ya left off kinda thing.

I'm no pro, and I've done more than 2. It's something I get to practice only once a year (twice this year, first time ever!). I am certainly getting faster and more efficient, but the first time I did one by myself without someone holding a leg/pointing where/what to cut/etc. I was very nervous and slow.

 

[Hookeye]

Ohhhhh I know someone that forgot one year!......It was very funny to watch when he got down to the bottom of the sternum and just drove his knife to the hilt in the chest cavity!

I just looked and laughed as the stomach started spraying it's contents at him and the dry heaves started!!!

Yup, got to watch that myself. I was shocked at how they just forgot everything.

 

[Hookeye]

My first deer? Buddy did it while I hiked a ways to get the truck.
2nd deer............hunting alone, no help.
Intimidating.
When I got done it was "what the hell was I worried about?"
Did a fine job, just took a while.
Next one, the next yr........was smooth sailin'.

Id rather dress a deer than a rabbit.

 

[Hookeye]

I don't try to hurry when field dressing.
But it doesn't take me long either.
The smell doesn't bother me at all, even a stinky buck.
My nose is super sensitive too.
I don't gut shoot stuff so maybe that helps

 

[bobjones223]

My first deer? Buddy did it while I hiked a ways to get the truck.
2nd deer............hunting alone, no help.
Intimidating.
When I got done it was "what the hell was I worried about?"
Did a fine job, just took a while.
Next one, the next yr........was smooth sailin'.

Id rather dress a deer than a rabbit.

+1 on this.. RABBITS STINK!!!!!!!

 

[Michigan Slim]

If a little girl can do it -you can do it.

 

[ghuns]

I had a succession of 1990s Bonnevilles. Always kept several cheap, red-n-white checkered, disposable tablecloths in the trunk for deer hauling.

 

[ghuns]

+1 on this.. RABBITS STINK!!!!!!!

And have more fleas per cubic inch than any other animal.

No rabbit still wearing it's skin rides in any of my vehicles.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

If a little girl can do it -you can do it. View attachment 62620

Cool. TC Renegade? or New Englander?

 

[Michigan Slim]

Renegade. I gave it to my son when he shot his first deer with it. His sister borrowed it this year. I had to get a Lyman Great Plains.

 

[wildcatfan.62]

Here's a decent video from Kentucky Afield that shows how. It's one of many on Youtube. I like it as it follows the way I was taught. Just take your time, use a sharp knife, have some water and paper towels to help clean up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_tae_H7W5s&index=8&list=PL4F39466CBC71BDCD