RE: Field dressing essentials!
 

You guys have forgotten the most important part.... Find a good taxidermist before ever going afield. Talk to them and find out what they expect. :D:D

RE: Field dressing essentials!
 

First- I think that waiting to gut a deer is just plain wrong. I cannot remember ever not having a deer gutted in under an hour, usually in under a half hour. Heat is the enemy of good tasting meat. A carcass that is intact stays too warm far, far longer than a field dressed carcass.

In warm weather we butcher right away too. The fillets are removed and eaten with fried onions and potatoes the same day the deer is shot. I have many times been cooking and eating venison WHILE we were still butchering the deer. We do hang the carcass for three days to a week if it is about 30-40 degrees. I can regulate the temperature of the garage somewhat by either opening the door a crack at night to let cold air in and closing the door during the day to keep the cold in, or doing the reverse if it is too cold outside and I'm afraid the carcasses will freeze. In early December when we hunt the temperature is usually about perfect for hanging meat.

My boy hunted with a friend two years ago and the friend shot deer late in the day on consecutive days. They were not found until the next morning. The meat was not right even though it was fairly cold out. It was still safe but we made almost all into jerky and sausage.

If it tastes "gamey" here in Iowa it is because the carcass was not given the respect that it deserves. Good venison is eaten like you would eat beef. For me that is medium rare.



Essentials--


This is the best thing that I have found after a good sharp knife. This is a pelvis saw though it can be used on the sternum too.

To use it, open the belly and hide to expose the pelvis, then cut in deep all the way around the anus, keeping the knife tight against the pelvis to prevent nicking the bowel or urethra. Last, use the saw and make two cuts through the pelvis from the bowel cavity towards the anus. Make the cuts an inch or more apart so that you remove a strip of bone from the center of the pelvis.

When this is done make sure the anus and bowel are free and roll all of the innards out intact. I do not tie anything off first because I am not dragging the anus through the pelvis, I am lifting it out.

This takes twice as long to explain as it does to do.


Bob

RE: Field dressing essentials!
 

I agree with the previous comment. Gut your game as soon as you can. This is the easiest way to cool the meat down quickly.

RE: Field dressing essentials!
 

Mine gets gutted as soon as the tag is filled out. Once home it gets hung and the cavity thoroughly flushed with cold water and proped open to cool and dry. If it's warm I'll pack the cavity with ice in frozen milk jugs. And butchered the next morning.


Take them out before you get you deer butchered.