logs

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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BIGAMENY

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.

WThunter

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.

TREEDOG

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

trapperDave

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'!

logs

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

bugsNbows

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.

gleninAZ

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.

jroot

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.

davidmil

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