Field dressing?
 

Here in WI when we harvest a Deer or Bear it gets field dress on the spot,The bigger Bears get skinned and quarteres, unless say it runs into the middle of a logging trial or some such thing. When I hunted in CO,WY,OH,Virginia, and Canada the same was done.

My question is, what do you do in your area and if you don't field dress the big game on the spot why not?

I ask this because when I watch the hunting shows they always are dragging the buck out guts and all. I even see them load non-dressed animals onto ATV and into trucks. On a recent show where a fellow dropped a deer off at a butcher to be used for feeding the hungry and food shelters (WV is the location), the same thing, no field dressing. I can understand them not wanting to photo the open cavity and all the "blood and guts" thing on film but why then just not close the scene and not drag it out on video?

Work hard and be true to yourself.
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RE: Field dressing?
 

Here in NY we filed dress everything on the spot. The only time I haven't field dressed is on elk hunts where we just deboned and took out meat.

RE: Field dressing?
 

Most of the time I don't field dress the deer I kill until I get it to the house an get all the skin off the deer. There just isn't the mess that way and some people say it taste better when you do it that way. I will field dress it if it is a long haul back to the truck or I can't get the 4-wheeler to it.

Since many people don't do anything with the rib cage, they get the backstraps, hind-quarters, shoulders, and as much meat as posible without ever gutting it. Then the throw the carcus away with the guts still in it. I almost alway use the ribs and I love tender loins so I gut the deer, but many people don't bother doing it.

If I am in south Texas where we kill several deer in a trip we don't save the rib cage to make more room in the cooler. In those cases we don't gut them unless it is a big deer that will have large tender loins. Even then we wait until we get it back to camp.

RE: Field dressing?
 

logs i noticed that also a long time ago, i just always assumed its so they weighed more on the scales lol.

RE: Field dressing?
 

I,ve always gutted em where they dropped. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

If I ain't huntin',I'm trappin',If I ain't trappin',I'm fishin'
If I ain't fishin',I'm wishin'!

RE: Field dressing?
 

One of the reasons I field dress on the spot besides it was the way I learned is that it is easier to drag a lighter deer and the meat cools quicker.
Even in WI where the temperature of a normal season are sufficent to keep meat from spoiling the deer cooled better once field dressed and internal heat is allowed to escape. Alot of these shows are done in the south by Southerners so I was hoping to get more answers from Ya'all.
About a year ago I e-mail two of the TV shows about this but never got an answer.

Thanks for the answers fellows.

Work hard and be true to yourself.
http://www.hunting-pictures.com/memb...kas/index.html

RE: Field dressing?
 

In western NY where I hunt,Ive always field dressed deer on the spot. It's much easier to drag them out and they cool faster. However, in some areas (Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area in central Florida for example) they REQUIRE shot deer/hogs to be brought in for inspection etc. prior to field dressing. It may be a regulation in other areas as well. 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.

RE: Field dressing?
 

Bow season is usually hot here so we rip'em and snip'em right on the spot. Loadem on an atv and off to the butcher. The quarters just cool faster and the meat is better if I get the skin off on the spot. I only hunt elk now but did the same for muleys.

RE: Field dressing?
 

i've always gutted them on the spot however i know some guys that take it home or raise it on the tractor loader and gut it, they say it's easier when it's hanging and everything falls out on it's own. i myself generally gut a deer within 5-10 minutes and never get blood more than an inch or two above my wrists. different strokes for different folks i guess.

RE: Field dressing?
 

I think some of these people and guide services require all game to be dressed at basecamps. It serves two functions... the first one is bogus... but they think that the gut pile will ruin the stands. AND, they hunt them a lot. Secondly, I think that if there is a lot of hunting and a lot of killing and a lot of gutting.... it just attracts un wanted critters to the area... ie. COYOTES. Also, who wants to put a guy in a stand the next AM after a kill and have him come back to camp complaining of coyotes, 50 buzzards and misc foxes and possums?

I always gut them where they fall. I did belong to a hunting club in Georgia years ago. The State biologist came to us and wanted to examine reproductive organs and age our deer. We said we'd help them out so we brought all deer to camp for gutting. The first year we shot 93 and they examined just about every one. They came everyday. I tell you, gutting them hanging up is really kind of neat. Just drop it all right in a tub. Gravity does it for you. One day they said we had to shoot more does. Well, there was limited doe days and tags at that time. We told him we didn't want to tag out without shooting some bucks. The guy said he'd be back with a CO. About an hour later he came back with a CO who handed us 50 extra tags to use to shoot some does. Unheard of RIGHT???<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> There were 14 in the club.





Edited by - davidmil on 01/28/2003 18:43:17

RE: Field dressing?
 

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.

RE: Field dressing?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
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.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

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

RE: Field dressing?
 

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.

RE: Field dressing?
 

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.

RE: Field dressing?
 

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!

RE: Field dressing?
 

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

RE: Field dressing?
 

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.

RE: Field dressing?
 

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

RE: Field dressing?
 

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....

RE: Field dressing?
 

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