In another thread we got " off topic" into this interesting discussion so I thought it deserved its own thread......
FIELD DRESSING USING THE ALASKAN METHOD:
Using the " Alaskan" method you don' t cut the sternum nor the pelvis, you don' t fool with the tricky business of cutting out the rectum or urinary tracts and you leave the gut pile inside the carcass. It works very " slick" if you aren' t wanting to save the hide. An added benefit is that it reduces one' s contact with the areas that are more prone to harbor CWD and it drastically reduces the " blood bath" factor. This is the first year we have used it and all agreed, that unless we want the hide for something we won' t be going back to the " old way." The transition was easy, but you DO need to have it thought out in advance.
Check out the Alaskan Method at:
http://home.att.net/~sajackson/bugle.html
Notes:
(1) We use a box cutter on the " hide cuts" down the back bone, down the sides, and down and around the legs. We we reverse the blade at " half time" and replace the blade after each animal dressed and quartered -- this gives easy " controlled depth cutting" and replaces our Wyoming Knife and/or Gerber Zip Knives which are designed for gutting and but which " suck" at the hide cutting task elsewhere -- they will do it but they are highly erratic. The box cutter makes the initial set of hide cuts in a flash and gets you down to skinning in a hurry plus they are inexpensive.
(2) Keeping evidence of sex on the meat is trickier with this method than with the traditional. I encourage that you make the cuts around/between/through the testicles or udder that will allow the evidence to stay with the meat well BEFORE you get into the wholesale skinning mode -- that way if you are carving away on the " back side" between hide and flesh and work your way " down in there" you will come to your earlier cut rather than blazing right through there and severing the evidence of sex.
(3) We use a " baby knife" (a little, little folder with a 1.25" blade) for getting out the tenderloins (it IS a snug fit -- so DO be careful of your fingers)!
(4) The Gerber folding saws work great for cutting the legs at the " knees" and for removing the head (at the 4th vertebrae) for CWD testing. It is light, yet sufficiently " stout."
Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime,
EKM