Who

logs,
What I do is move to the edge of my hunting area to field dress my deer. Why? I guess for neatness mainly. I dont want the rancher having anything to complain about. At this spot I have a place where the guts will role down away from the deer and I also have a frame to lift the deer up on to help loading. I also dont want to draw coyotes around where I am hunting.
Rick

Lifes not about knowing the answers, its about asking the questions.

ShadowAce

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As far as TV shows and videos, most of the celebs are probably to lazy, incompetent or sorry to do their own field dressing. Don't wanna get blood on the fancy scent controlled super camo duds... nor on their pretty little hands. That's a function of the &quot;hired help&quot; IMO.
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Umm, if I had the means to get someone else, or one of my buddies for some reason wanted to field dress my deer for me, you had better believe I would let them. I don't believe it makes me lazy, I work my butt off in all other aspects of deer hunting, but field dressing deer I could do without, if I didn't HAVE to do it myself. Of course, I don't shoot enough deer to worry about it, but that's my .02 nonetheless.


Graham Outdoors

Capt Ray

Here in the northwestern panhandle of florida, during all but the last few weeks of general gun seasone the normal temperatures require field dressing as soon as possible. But I have seen many hunters waiting to long (in my opinion) to dress the animal.

Rebel Yell! Long live the south.

titleist

I usually take them back to camp to dress them. Like others say, I'd rather not have coyotes, fox, crow, etc.......... all over the place the next couple of days. Also, how many times when your're field dressing an animal do you happen to see other deer and ultimately spooking them. Think about you and a couple of buddies hovering around the deer and someone telling the war story and with reason usually excited about it. Just my opinion, but I like to get the heck out of dodge as soon as I can. Take the animal off location and then have at it and relax without disturbing anything else. Fortunately for me it's not too far away to bring them. I don't know the coorelation between how long to wait to field dress them before damaging the meat.

elknut1

I agree field dressing is a messy task, I have'nt field dressed a deer or elk for at least 6yrs. When an animal is down I simply take off head and rack, for ease of manuvering animal, then pull back hide on one side remove front and hindquarter then remove backstap and tenderloin at same time at this time I also take any additional meat off ribs etc. I roll animal over on layed out skinned side of animal and repeat process. Deer takes about 35min to do, elk takes less than an hour. I like the heart, so I make small incision and remove it. Job is done, meat is very clean and in meat bags which I always carry. No hatchet is necessary but I do use small pack saw to cut through bone on neck. All you need is a knife for everything else. No gutting necessary. For those of you worried about coyotes etc. this may not work for you. But it is a slick way to take care of an animal and leave the mess in the woods. elknut1.

www.elknut.com
Bugling Bulls & Beyond!

Tazman

90% of my deer have been killed within a 15 minute drive from home, I usually drag them out, throw them in the truck, check them and take them home, hang them, gut them and then skin them, usually they are dressed less than an hour after the kill.

David I prefer the gutting when they are hanging, I just put a 5 gallon paint bucket or old cooler under them and it all falls right in, some of the bigger ones will do a bit of an overflow, but considering the last part out is the lungs it is no big deal, I just flip the lungs over the fence for my dogs.

I will dress them on the spot if it is going to be a long drag or a long drive to the checking station and home. I have been lucky and never gut shot a deer, but if I did, it would be field dressed on the spot.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog

Stump_MN_Hunter

I always gut my deer right when I kill them except if it is early morning or close to dark. I don't want to get out of stand when it's primetime. I kind of want to attract the fox and coyote to my gut piles, because they are killing the deer that I want to shoot, so why not. I do agree with the fellas that hand em in a tree before guttin. We have been doing this for years and it makes it sooo much easier. Just cut out around the arse and etc..., hang em up and start cuttin. Makes it real easy.

dick_cress

Right where they drop. Besided it is much easier handling a flexible animal than a stiuff one.

The first goal is to cool the carcas as quickly as possible and you can't do that leaving the offal inside the animal.

Bowhunter

DJBAD

i always dress them on the spot i have to agree with the others that it is easier to drag them out.. i go right from the field to the butcher so it needs to be all drained by the time i get there but i should really try to dress them while hangin sounds easier....

CAJUNBOWHNTR

I allways wondered why people say you have to dress a deer immediately after it's killed.How many times have you left a deer in the woods overnight only to find it in the am?As long as it's reasonably cool it's not a problem.I never dress a deer in the woods.It's alot easier when a deer is hanging in our skinning shed back at camp.I can usually make it back to camp within an hour or so after killing a deer.Lately I haven't been gutting them at all.I don't usually keep the rib meat unless it's a really big deer.I do however cut the deer open and reach in and grab the tenderloins.I also cut the hindquarters off the pelvic bone so I dont have to worry about removing the bladder etc.This saves a little ice chect room and cuts a little weight if I'm bringing the deer to be processed for ground meat or sausage.Usually I process my own.

CB

WHACKEM N STACKEM