Highstone

Does anybody knwo a good reference for field dressing birds? Unfotunatly I am the only one in the family interested in hunting, so learning from Dad is out. I would like to read up for next season.

OhioDuckHunter

Highstone,

I do not know of a reference guide, but what I do is gut the bird and ice it in warm weather until I can finish the job. In cold weather, I just wait until I get home to dress them. Hope this helps.

Strange Biller

I can describe my method of field dressing grouse, which some may like and some not.

When the bird is still warm, lay it on the ground on its back and spread the wings out. Stand on the wings as close as you can to the body. Grab the legs and give a long steady pull. The head will come right through the body and you'll be left holding the legs, skin, feathers and guts all in one piece.

Cut the wings off and rinse. Then ice.

This is a very quick method and I have no idea what birds it would work with besides partridge. And it does have a couple of downsides:

1. It removes the skin which I would prefer to leave on.
2. You lose the leg meat, but there isn't that much anyway.

wernerjd

I don’t know of a good reference site, but on pheasants the best thing I have found is just to breast them out. I think its much easer to do because there are many little bones that are hard to deal with when cleaning. If you just peal the skin back one the front side. Then find the breast bone cut along the bone.

Big Lead

Here is the method I use:
1. Pull a handful of feathers out of the birds breast where the brea
meets the necks. I then stick my finder in the V notch of where the
neck meets the breast. I grab the neck and pull it away from the
breast. This will remove the backbone and the inards and leave you
with the breast and wings. I then use a pair of poultry shears and
snip the wings off. Then I take the part with the back and inards
and cut along where the thighs meet the back. I then nip the legs
off and have the breast and two legs. It is a very clean way off
dressing them. The step on wings method works when the birds are
fresh and not to shot up. I have used this method, but still use
shears to nip of the thighs and leg. There is quite a bit of good
meat in the thighs and legs. I use this method on Chuckars, Grouse
and Pheasants. If the quail are pretty good size I use the same
method. If they are not I just breast them out.

Use a Big Lead to shoot them
were they aint.

hntngirl

I agree with Strange Biller. I've used this method for grouse the last couple years immediately after shooting them and there actually seems to be an improvement in the flavor.

Hunters Edge

Just breast them out. The only bird I will completey clean is a turkey all others are breasted. This way you have meat that can be cooked many ways with no bones etc... I have a friend that takes the legs because of the meat on the thighs the leg part has to many tendons that are like small bones you get while eating fish, but he takes them for the meat on the thigh (pheasants). Then again he even takes the thighs off woodcock. Both have very, very little meat and while cooking you almost need to cook seperately because it can get overdone real easy. Most waterfowl hunters usually just breast them out there is not much other meat to be had and this practice has advantages on the table fare its delicious.

I would highly discourage from so called field dressing in the field for many reasons one is the birds cavaty if not kept clean can start bacteria growth or also have fly's lay eggs while it is in your carrying bag. Also with the threat of West Niles they recommend handling game with rubber gloves not say I do but I would like to wash up my hands as well as rinse the meat right after so I wait tell I get back to camp/home.

drgildy

It seems to me people nowdays are getting too lazy to properly clean a bird s they just save the breast and waste the rest. It takes very little effort to save the entire bird for preparation for the table. If people today had to just go a little hungry once in a while they might just consider saving everything edible off game they have taken. In some states it is illegal to not leave enough plumage for identification. It is also illegal to litter in some states. Lets not give the anti hunting crowd more fuel by wasting half the bird and leaving it for all to see in a ditch or parking lot.

Bullkllr

Not enough meat on a pheasant' s legs to worry about? What are these miniture roosters you guys are shootin' ?

Come on; that seems pretty lazy. Besides being easy to cut off a skinned or partially skinned carcass, the legs are entirely edible, at least several ounces each in weight, and really quite tasty! There are tendons, but its easy to work around them.

Respecting your quarry includes doing your best to make full use of it!

BK

jerseyhunter

I usally just cut the wings off,peel back the skin,then fillet the breast meat off the bone. Don' t throw away the legs and thighs. Throw them in a sepperate bag and freeze them. When you have enough remove the meat,grind it up and you have delicious makins of tacos or chilie.