Am I the only one doing this?
 

For the last 3 years I haven't drug a deer out of the woods even though I have shot 10. Here in IA, wehave been having unlimited doe tags for $11 after the 1st one at $26. I have a landowner that is overrun with deer and wants me to shoot does and I am happy to do so. When I shoot a deer, I go back to my truck, leave my bow behind, and grab a backpack with a hoist, gambrel, rope,rubber gloves, and a trash bag. Where the deer lies I gut it, tie the hoist to a nearby tree with the rope, lift it, skin it, and bone it, put the meat in a trash bag, and place it in my backpack. I can skin and boneout a deer in 20-30 minutes. I have no deer carcass to get rid of and I'm not skinning out some week old, cold or frozen deer like 90% of the guys around here do. :)

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

That's a great way to do it. Wish I could do it that way but that would be illeagal here in Mich. We can not alter anything that would prove the sex of the animal.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

we have to leave it intact too. Plus, I kind if like butchering deer and drinkin' a few beers on a sunday afternoon.:D


Actually, hardcore, I think our law is more like you said, but with certain limits, but I don't bother with it.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Can't you have the genitals attached to a piece of meat or hide?

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

I do the same thing if I have a long hike back to the road. Except... I leave the deer on the ground, skin out all four legs, ribs and backstraps without having to gut by doing one side at a time. You can get the inside tenderloins if you're careful and then drag the entire remainder of the carcass away from the stand. I carry cheese cloth and put the cheeseclothed meat in a GI duffle bag for the hike. I'm sure you don't... but I wouldn't leave the meat in a trash bag for a long period of time because lots of bacteria prefer oxyegen poor environments.. It takes about twenty minutes to complete after you get the hang of it.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

When I get home I wash the meat and soak it in salt water for 3-4 days; changing the salty water every day.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Mich. dnr has alot of dumb rules and we still have a ton of violaters. They think you need the whole deer to be able to tell the gender.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Good deal they aren't in charge of an elk herd there; you guys would all have back problems.:)

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

I've done it on several occasions in certain instances and places. The place we've hunted the past few years is surrounded by yuppie anti homes with dogs. We always try to low key it and show a low/no profile. The last thing we need is some bow wowzer dragging home a hide. They'd have an investigation and all sorts of things into the murder.[&:][8D] Until this past year we had to take the WHOLE deer, minus guts, to a check station. Well, we were suppose to anyway.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Well, where I hunt you can call in to an automated system and check in your deer. So that would work. I don't shoot much anymore but a friend of mine hunts where he can get his truck to the deer. Gets them home guts an all then pulls his meat and dumps the remains on his back forty for the critters.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

if i shoot one behind my grandmas we'll take the truck back there, but when we're hunting some public land we drag it out ourselves. its not bad....until you get to a hill...

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Fortunatley in most areas I hunt we can drive an ATV right up to the deer, load it and take it back to camp. From there we take some photos and let the butchering begin.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Actually we do have an elk herd here in MI. And the DNR is in charge of that too.

Jay

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Same rules as deer? Bring whole elk in?

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Heck yea we would have bring in the whole elk. That is if you could draw a tag. We only have anywhere from 900 to 1200 animals. Guess elk are to hard to count so the dnr just guess like they do with are deer herd. We don't have any mandated checks for deer.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

That is what my hunting truck is for!
Most places I hunt there is nowhere a deer can go down that I can't drive within about 75-100 yards.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

In Texas you have to have proof of sex with your deer, usually in the form ofthe head. I've got a friend who does it your way in the field and just adds the head (with tag) to the bag.

For myself, that's what I use trucks and ATV's for. I bring them in to our skinning rack and then haul the remains back out when I'm done to a designated "dumping spot".

My deer haulers-

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

"Good deal they aren't in charge of an elk herd there; you guys would all have back problems" - HARDCORE

You sure are right, but a couple hundred pound deer a mile from the nearest road in the hills of southeastern Ohio is almost enough to kill me anyway.I don't understand why we can't quarter them, but we can't. It has cost me many hours, sore muscles, and swear words.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Hardcore, what's the purpose of the saltwater soak for so many days? In a bloodshot bird i'll do that but only for a few hours.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Yeah, whats up with that soakin business???

Jay

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Where I live you have to check in the deer before you can skin it and butcher it. However I have hunted in other states where it is legal to do as you do. The only difference and suggestion I would make for you to try would be to skin it before you gut it. By doing it this way you can keep all that hair out of the inside of the deer and it dosen't seem to cling to the meat as much. Just a suggestion. Mike

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Thanks Mike, I am real careful and don't have a problem keeping the hair away. If I was to gut it after I hung it and skinned it then I would have a pile of guts to work around and smell.[:'(]

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

By soaking your meat in salt water it draws a lot of the blood out of the meat and blood is what gives deer that gamey taste. I will do this for 3-4 days and every day I dump off this VERY bloody salt water and put fresh salt water back on it. It really makes deer meat have a much better taste and smell. My grandpa party hunts deer with a bunch of guys and they have livestock tank that they fill with water and a salt blocks and they drain this every day and repeat the procedure. They put whole quarters of meat in the tank.He has about 20 guys in their party and they shoot a lot of deer. It is the ticket to making deer taste awesome; trust me on this one.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

He is right one. I had had deer meat growing up and it always had a gamey taste to it. When I starting dating my husband hardcorehunter he showed me his method of soaking the meat in salt water and what a difference no game taste or smell, just pure heaven. It is my favorite type of meat now.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

You can do the salt trick by putting the meat for a few second in boiling salt water. A few minutes for a roast.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

For me, it depends on the situation. If I'm far from home, I will debone it where it lays, and then clean, butcher, and package it when I arrive home, or at camp. But when I hunt close to home, I usually just drive home, hang it, and get it all at one time. Plus if it is cold, it gives it time to cool down, and get to it at my convenience.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

That would take away the tenderness of the meat would'nt it?

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

I can't pretend to be a chef, which I'm not by any means. So don't take anything I say as an absolute. But, by leaving the meat in for such a short period of time, the outer layer will start to cook, ever so slightly. I wouldn't suggest leaving it in long enough to cook the meat right through though. Cook on other sources of heat. I've not had a problem with tenderness.

It's a trick that TR Michals taught me. And if I remember right, my Grandmother used to do the same thing with beef.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

I am pretty sure your method isn't a possibility here in PA. I believe we are supposed to discard the animal's remains in the regular trash and not in the area we hunt.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Our garbage collectors and our local landfill do not accept dead animals here.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

It's about the only way to do it in most places up here (unless you shoot your deer on the beach and float them out to the boat). Evidence of sex has to stay "naturally attached" to the meat until delivered for processing. The one thing you guys don't have is the thrill of packing out 60 lbs. of yummy bear snacks on your back in the land of the world's largest land carnivore, adds a whole new dimension to bowhunting!!!

Don't moose have to come out of the field whole in NH? Talk about ridiculous!!!!

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

That would add a twist to it Kodiak. Wish I was rich enough to have that problem. I have always wanted to bowhunt the Alaskan Brown. I've taken 3 blackbears but that would be the ultimate IMO. Hell Yea!! What a rush.

RE: Am I the only one doing this?
 

Hardcore, I use the same method (salting and changing the salt water)for most fish I catch.Especialy from rivers that have alot of shad,or when the heat of the summer is on,fish get a strong algae taste,it works great,the salt water draws out all the nastys and alot of blood.