wannaBelkhuntin

I allways hang by the rear legs. I split the carcass down the spine with a sawzall and then cut the split side in half at the end of the ribs. If you are having the deer mounted you should remove the cape and head as soon as possible and get it to the taxidermist as soon as possible. I have mine at the taxidermist with in hours and have some great looking mounts on my wall.

rustynobles

i'm with the fellas on the hind legs. that's how my dad, cousins, uncles, and everybody i know does it.

Arkansasmountainman

for the past 5 or 6 years i have hung mine by the head, but everything yall have said makes since to me so i believe i will be hanging them by thwe hind legs from now on

aharley1

"If you plan on having it mounted ,hanging it by the head is best,it prevents all the fluids from building up and swelling the head"

And you know where those fluids go.....yuk. No thanks.

Rebel Hog

I hang it by the Head if it is not a Mounter!

GPMD

Thanks everyone! Well I got a small doe on Monday morning and was able to use these tips. I bought that tripod deer hanger from cabelas with the gambrel in the middle and a hand crank, it was super as i do not have a garage or any trees near the house to hang a deer from. Anyway, i think i did ok for the first time. The skinning was easier than I thought. I almost felt bad because Im sure there was more meat I could have gotten off and I turned some "steak cuts" into "stew cuts" but all in all it was a decent first time. I barely got anything off of the front shoulders (small deer and i was clueless), and the neck i had no idea what to do for the little scraps. I got all of the backstraps and nice meat from the hams. I'm happy. I wrapped the backstraps and froze them and am grinding up the rest today to test out a new smoker. Thanks for the tips again!

skeeter 7MM

Awesome....congrats on the deer and butchering. The front shoulders on a deer don't amount to a lot even on a big one. Small scraps/pieces grind as well so never worry about missing, it will get better with practice. Enjoy the smoker