field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

hey everyone.. i was just wondering how many people field dress their kill in the field? because my group of hunters never does that everyone i have ever hunted with just takes it back to camp or the house or whatever, dresses it there. then hangs it up to be skinned and quartered in a few days.. we have always noticed that after dressing a deer in the field, (we used to do this) that will attract coyotes to your hunting area and, most importantly, run the deer out of the area for a period of time

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Good points and your right.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I go ahead and field dress, but sometimes I'll drag the deer further away from my stand site. I don't worry about it attracting coyotes as they are already thick as fleas in the areas I hunt.

As to spooking deer, I had the unfortunate experience of hunting over a poached deer carcass this fall. The area was just too hot to not hunt this area. It was interesting to see the reaction the local deer had to this dead deer. It was more of curiosity than fear. Many walked up within 10 feet when they caught wind of it. Deer lack the ability to reason how another deer was killed and death is just a part nature.I found the dead deer Nov. 10 and would guess it was 5 days dead.I killed a 150 class 10 point the fourth time I hunted the area (Nov.24)within sight of the poached deer.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I do it where it lays most of the time and haven't noticed anything differant.Beendoing it that way fo 30+ yrs

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I agree the Gut pile will bring the Coyotes which will run the deer off! I try to drag mine away from the immediate are where I hunt! This last Doe I shot, my arrow broke off with the last 6 inches including the broadhead still in her. I had to drag her all the way back to the truck so I could use the headlights so I could gut her without slicing open my hand!

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I always have and always will gut them out in the place they laststood {in the field} because there always will be coyotes where you hunt and its about 35 to 50 ibs less weight to carry on a deer and the coyote''s wont be killin any deer while the gut pile is there but by the time next hunting season goes by the coyotes will have left and the deer will have moved back in but the bummer is that when the wolves move here they will kill whatever is in the area.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Gut em where they fall. The coyotes are there anyway and unless you keep leaving gutpiles in the same place, they're not going to get used to a free meal in one particular place.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

some people may find this hard to belive but back in NOvember of this year my cousin had killed a doe and when he came to gut it there was a buck standing over top of it nudging it with hoof.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I also gut my deer where they fall! We have coyotes around here but I don't think it is alot! I do agree thatif they are around the deer tend not to be!
This reminds me on the opening day of archery last year me and my Brother-In-Law hunted about 95 yards apart and we had a black bear come by both of us in the morning! He came right to the base of my brother-in-laws tree and stood up checking him out! He then came down past me at 5 yards from my tree! We did not see a thing all morning! I went back out that afternoon in the same tree and got a nice 8-pointer right before legal shooting hours ended! My brother-in-law did not go back out with me that night so I went to get him and his father to help me get my buck out! It was about a half hour to 45 minutes when we got back to where my buck was laying. I gutted him out and as we were gutting him we heard sticks start to snap behind us. I had a cordless spotlight with so we shined it towards the noise and there was a bear looking in our direction! It is pretty wide open hardwoods where I hunt so you can see pretty far. I say the bear was about 75 to 80 yards from us!! He must of been headed towards my buck! I'm just glad we had it gutted before he came! Me and my brother-in-law tied the legs to a small tree and carried him out instead of dragging him! It was much easier anyways! Needless to say the gutpile was completely gone the next morning!

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Always where they fall. The gut pile is usually gone by the next morning. Never seen any ill effects from doing this.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

yup i dont see a point in dragging it elsewhere to do it. seems like a waste of time and effort to me.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

i field dress it in the field sometimes and others i do it at home.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Yea I'll dress the deer out in the field , it's not justthe coyotes that will feed off the gut pile theres other conavors out there.
Like badgers , bob cats , martins , fishers, crows , ravens , hawkesand racoons so it doesn't matter to me where I gut it out as long as don't do it at home , my wife not only hates to see the mess she also hates the smell.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I have never field dressed a deer. In my situation, I just don't see the point. It's only a couple of miles to get them where we dress them out. We cut the legs off at the knees and get the skinning started on the tail gate of the pickup and then hang them upside down, finish skinning and then gut them. It just seems easier that way to me. Now, if I had a long way to go, or it was going to be a couple of hours til I got them dressed, it might be a different story.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Where they drop for the most part, we have no coyotes to contend with. A couple questions here though. If you have a coyote problem why not gut them where they fall and hunt over the gut pile for some coyote shooting and lessen the numbers? When you gut them at home what do you gut them in to dispose of it and how do you gut them on or in anything other than the ground?You use a shovel or what? Just curious.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Always have and always will where they fall.
Rick, the problem with trying to hunt the coyotes over the gut pile is that the likelihood of the coyotes coming in to eat while you're there. It may take them an hour, 2 hours, 8 hours, or longer to find the guts. So it comes down to how much time you're willing to wait! It would be more fun and more successful calling them with distress calls after deer season!
It won't take long for coyotes to clean up a single gut pile. If the coyotes are already in the area anyways, then let them do what they do best! Like RD said, lots of critters will benfit from the gut pile being left in the woods!

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

we have places where we can get within 200-300 yards of the deer to drag it to the truck.. and we always have more than one person.. then we take it to either my grandpas house or the guy who owns the land where i hunt's house.. then we dress him into a gut bucket and either throw the guts away, or the guy who owns our hunting land will set the bucket out and try to get rid of as many coyotes as he can.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Were they fall for me, and as soon as possible. Sort of depends on the temprature though. Early bow season in Michigan is still pretty warm, I want the deer gutted as soon as possible in warm weather.

I don't go crazy when field dressing a deer though, I cut a slit just big enough to get in there and do what I need to, then close it back up so it doesn't get dirty, then I take it to a processor. I don't process my own meat, just not feasable for me.

I don't do the camp thing though, I hunt locally by myself or with one other person in the area.

I'm not worried about yotes, I have killed a deer one day and turned around and killed another in the same spot a day or two later. Heck I have had other deer watch me field dress one before.

Paul

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I gut them where they fall too. I lighten the load as much as I can. The coyotes are already there. A gut pile doesn't bring them in.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

As stated, the coyotes are already there and a deer carcass seems to have no effect on thelive deer in my woods. I havebutchered a deer and shot one in the same place the next day. A carcass is cleaned up within days if not hours by all of the birds, small animals, and other critters in the woods. 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 approx 30 minutes. I have no deer carcass to get rid of and I'm not skinning out some week old, cold or frozen deer.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I never do. I always take it home first and then dump the pile out in a field. Our dogs get into it but I prefer to bring it home than do it in the woods.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

We have always gut our deer where they lay. Sometimes we drag them to a field edge. BUt then again we don't have any coyotes or anything like that. My stand is set where I can see a gut pile and there were tracks that led up to it and there wasn;t sign that the deer had run away from the pile. Just went and checked it out.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

i drag off a short distance to where i can work easily than i gut it . It lightens it up a little for the drag to the truck

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Hardcore.... if you're going to bone it in the woods there's really no need to gut it at all. Just skin, bone it and you're done.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

We have to register the deer before processing, we can skin it and gut it but that's it until it gets it's final tag. Oh yeah gut em where they fell.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

I have always gutted it where it lays. I have never seen a gut pile spook deer out of an area. I do get a little scared if I'm going to the same stand the next morning in pitch dark though.[:-]

A place that I hunt called Camp Ripley if you shoot a deer you just gut it out and drag it back to your stand. Then hunt the rest of the day. The deer look at it, but they don't run away or anything like that.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Thats what I was thinking. Just quarter it out get the back straps and go. The only thing you might be missing is the inner tenderloins and they are awfully good. Sounds like he has it down to a science though. 30 minutes is getting it done.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

You got it Motown; can't leave the inner loins behind. Really guys, the slowest thing to dressing a deer is when the hide is cold on the animal. A warm animal of any species is so much easier and faster to skin. The way I look at it is it has to be done, so just do it. I am lazy when it comes to putting a bunch of effort into dragging a doe out of the woods; especially in my type of woods of up and down ravines and hogbacks. This "laziness" and liberal doe tags in recent years, made me come up with theidea ofprocessing the deer where it lies. A backpack, small gambrel and hoist, trash bags, andlatex gloves is in my truck at all times. I also carry a long strap with two "D" rings that I use to attach the hoist to a nearby tree with. Hey, if aging your deer meat is your cup of tea, age the boned outmeat in your cool garage, fridge, or wherever. I just can't see the pointof dragging a does' bones, hide, head, and other unedible parts over hills and hollersall the way to the truck when I just have to load the damn parts back up and dispose of them later. I have to handle waste parts twice and that is a WASTE of my time and energy. I am 44; dragging deer all over Gods' creation is ayoung kids' work.;)

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

Were it falls.

Hey HCH, no arguements here, one comment though:

I was talking to an old timer on the long drive to Quebec this fall, and he claims that garbage bag manufacturers are putting a chemical in the bags to keep coons/strays/etc from tearing into the bags on garbage day. I don't know if this is true, but he won't use garbage bags for food anymore.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

My hunting area is in close proximity to my home.....and therefore I take a different approach. I don't take anything other than my bow and field glasses with me to the field. When I shoot a deer......I go home and prepare things there for the job ahead. Then....take the 4-wheeler back and get as close as I think I can without busting up the bedding areas. I'll drag my deer to the 4-wheeler or truck.....and I take it back to my home. I'll then take it to a remote spot about 1/4 mile away to gut it. Back to my out-building.....where I have a gambrel hung....and THEN I've got about a 30 min. job ahead of me (Unless I'm caping it out....which is another ENTIRE story!).

I don't leave gutpiles (most of the time)....because of the proximity to people's homes and the thoughts that their pets may get into them. It's simply a courtesy thing.

Jeff

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

My bro killed 3 deer out of the same stand this year and gutted all of them there and it never seemed to spook the deer at all.

RE: field dressing IN THE FIELD?
 

usually dress it right where i kill it....many times i go back to that same spot the next day or two and still see deer....most of the time smaller varments eat it,,no coyotes...ie, fox or coon's usually.....but most of the time they eat it and go... i have not seen it dirupt my hunting spots (blacktail deer though)