Jeff - it is better to "tube" the legs and leave it for the taxi to do but out in the field with temps being high it is better to hurry than take your time and it def. takes longer to tube. The main thing that I tell everyone is to look at a mount and see where not to cut and figure 3" - 6" beyond that. I've had them brought to me with the throat cut, etc. The brisket (arm pit area) is the hardest place to conceal a mistake.

TEmbry - the key to that statement is the back of the leg. As stated above if you cut the front brisket area, it is very hard (if not impossible) to hide.

Another important thing that I want to bring to everyones attention is that some states are not allowing deer heads to be brought back in without being cleaned. WV was added to the CWD list this past season and a new one was added this year. PLEASE find out what is expected of you if you are hunting out of state. In NC they will confiscate your vehicle if you are caught bringing an "unclean" deer into NC. Spend some time with your taxi or one that will explain to you how to properly clean and cape out a deer. If you bring a deer that has CWD into a "clean" state and discard the head "out back", you have released CWD into your state. Studies have proven that after 1.5yrs of decaying into the ground deer can contract CWD from the grass growing there. Please use caution and extremem measures to not spread this disease. I cannot stress this enough!!!!

For those of you who may not be familiar with a deer mount........


See this area between and including /\ /\ /\the front legs. DON"T CUT THERE!!!






Also a case of shameless self promotion, at it's finest

Great post, offer and advice! Also, don't forget to anticipate warm weather conditions at the beginning of the season. If you have a chest or extra freezer, buy several bags of ice, throw them in there and forget about them. You can use themto help cool down the deer before you can get it to butcher if you need to. You can always use the ice to cool down some beers or Cokes for your buddies if you don't need it for a deer.

I started hunting 5 years ago on my own and had no idea how to field dress, so I went to a pro shop and bought a $5 video in the bargin bin that showed me everything. But the Web is full of good links showing you how to do this, as the one in this post illustrates. The important thing as GMAAT states is to figure out what you need to do ahead of time. It still took me almost an hour to field dress that first deer with all my fumbling around. Now I can do it in 5-10 minutes. Good luck and good hunting everyone.

It's a ton easier to have someone to learn from. But from the teacher's standpoint, it's hard to teach the hardheaded. Try to approach everything with an open mind, even when it seems a little far fetched. When you have the experience, you can always weed though the BS.