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Don' t forget to keep the knife sharp and make sure that saw is a good one. Use rubber or latex gloves too, just for safety reasons.

One thing I' d like to recommend over Bowdacious' s technic is to not cut the pelvic bone. Instead, ring the anus from the outside in being careful to only cut the membranes securing the anal canal in the muscles. This way you can pull the anal canal/intestines out with the guts without cutting the pelvic bone and contaminating any meat around the area. This also aids in draining the blood out of the body cavity, makes an easier drag..again not contaminating any of the ham meat and doesn' t allow the back legs to flop. Try it, I think you' ll really find it a much better way to field dress and drag your animal.

Why cut any bone at all? I' ve never seen any reason to split the pelvis, the sternum, or any other bone during field dressing. It' s not needed and only makes for more dried up meat.

Right Rob.

Ditto what JRW said. If you have a good knife and can get the anus loose to begin with, then cut the deer up to the bottom of the rib cage, cut the diaphragm, and reach up and cut the windpipe...and pull. Out she comes, anus and all. Clean, and quick.

I actually carry a few bread twist ties to close the anus so when I am pulling it up through the pelvis I don' t push out any pebbles.

First of all one thing I do different is once the anus and genitals are free I tie a piece of twin around them.

Okay to split the bone or not, I have done it both ways, the advantage to cutting the pelvis and rib cage is quicker cooling during warm weather, if it is cold enough this is not needed.

Taz,

I hang my deer with a gambrel, by the hind legs. In warmer weather I take bags of ice, stack them in the body cavity, then wrap the carcass in a tarp to make a " chimney" . Cools them down fast, and keeps them that way.

A word of caution though---put a large bucket under the deer' s nose. When the ice melts is will drain and can make a heck of a mess.

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I have a clean garbage can used for this purpose. I also use the technique Rob/Pa. Bowyer and Tazman sugested.