RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

My thoughts?:D Well, this pretty much sums it up for me. This is my youngest boy at 10 years old with his first deer. I would show him on one side, he would do the other.

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

Critr, that's interesting how you hunt it by the hooves. I skin it out around the tarsal on the ground, cut the bottom of the legs off and hang them by the Achilles Tendon and leg at the tarsal. In your situation it would get the deer higher off the gound but it looks like your on some sort of hoist and that might not be an issue.

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

I do it the same way as shown. Any higher and the deer will "Swing" as you're working with it. Leaving it that low allows the head and neck to act as "anchors" of sorts.

Whoa! I just looked, again.....wrong tendon!... I go to the next one up on the leg to insert my gambrel hooks.

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

Jeff, I'll show you when your up here and down that bruiser.;)

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

When i used to butcher meat for a living we always had it mandatory, if its not cleaned, its not cut, field dress your deer before dropping it off.

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

Rob, I do have a hoist, and we raise the deer as we skin it down. The young-un works closer to the ground than I do, hence the reason for hanging it from the hooves. If it were me I would hang it the same place you do. It was a little deer anyways, pretty easy to get it too high for him.

As a side note to the whole skinning/butchering thing, I think it is a great learning tool for kids on gun safety. I used to have to get onto the kids about muzzle control, that is untill they helped Grampa clean a doe he busted with his 25-06. It made a real impression, both of them are 10 times as safe as they used to be. They realize now that it ain't like T.V., where you get to go to the hospital and get fixed up. You can't fix dead, and that is what you will be if you goof up with a high powered rifle.

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

PreacherTony <-----------Hand in air [8D]


Now THAT is hilarious!!! :D:D

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

NICE idea!!! gonna try that with my oldest this year when we go to clean one that we take...

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

If you cant feild dress your animal you should not be hunting. Butchers will not take deer around here that are not feild dressed.

RE: Dontcha think it ought to be mandatory?
 

Why? I don't have to field dress minebecause I live about 15 minutes from the processor. They'll gut it, skin it, cape it or whatever I want and it isn't an extra charge. It's my meat, guaranteed. They're trustworthy and do a great job. I chose and will choose to again not because I can't, but because I don't have to. For what reason would someone need to be classified as a complete idiot for not field dressing by choice?

Those who think it takes away from the experience are completely within the realm of choice. It may take away from their experience, but not mine. I clean my own fish and steaked and fileted huge sharks, king macks, grouper, snapper and amberjacks filled with worms. I'm not missing anything in deer guts that I haven't seen before. I'm not missing anything.

Inmy experience, those whojudge the choices of others on such trivial matters tend to bethe complete idiots.Why be so close-minded and judgemental?To say it take away from YOUR experiencemakessense to me. To call someone a "complete idiot" over it tells me exactly what kind of hunter and person you probably are.