RE: when do u gut them?
 

I gut them just before they die.

RE: when do u gut them?
 

That way you get in a good round or two of boxing first! :D

RE: when do u gut them?
 

Gut ASAP. Field photos it does look better prior to gutting but the cooling process takes priority for me.

RE: when do u gut them?
 

Gut right away for the following reasons: [ol][*]Get it done with right away[*]I hunt 3/4 mile from the access road over hills, through brush and thicket. Any wt I can take off the other end of the rope is a plus! Plus I hunt alone, so no one to share the dragging with, also no one to help me load it onto my Cavalier. Yes, I take my cavalier deer hunting due to lack of other options. Funny looking site to see a deer tied across the back end of a 2 door cavalier![*]I only shotgun hunt, and the smell should clear in 12 months time, so I don't worry about messing up the area.[*]It seems cleaner to me.[*]I live in an apartment in town, so no where to gut it at home. This is the reason I have no choice but to pay someone else to process it.[*]Feeds the possums and whatever else is in the woods[*]That's the way Dad taught me to do it and he knows a helluva lot more about deer hunting than I do![*]Open up the cavity to tha air to start cooling ASAP, this year it was 50 the day I shot my doe, so i loaded her cavity up with bags of ice.
[/ol]
While I agree pics look cooler pre-gutting, I haven't convinced my wife to come hunting with me yet, so I don't usually get any pics until I get back to town. Something about having brick buildings and parking lots in the background detracts from pics.

RE: when do u gut them?
 

I hunt in the Adirondacks and usually a mile or more from my car. I gut immediately, wash out the body cavity in a small stream, then do a rough sew job with some twine to help keep dirt/leaves out.

I have a hard enough time dragging them once they are gutted. That extra weight would kill me.

RE: when do u gut them?
 

I normally just gut it on the spot. Once we used pig shackles and gut the deer hanging and just let everything fall in a bucket.

RE: when do u gut them?
 

Here in Texas its all private land so damn near every ranch has a cleaning area up near the cabin. we drag'em, truck'em, or 4 wheeler them up to the cleaning station ,hang'em and do the whole proccess, right down to packaging if we choose. Guts get carted off to a designated area of the ranch.
I can have a deer down to 3 lb packages in an hour, if were not celebrating ;)

RE: when do u gut them?
 

Shoot'em, Tag'em and gut them immediately.

RE: when do u gut them?
 

I knew you were gonna post something like that ... LOL

RE: when do u gut them?
 

How do you do that with the guts still in?