to gut or not to gut
 

I would just like to know what everyone does when they kill a deer.

Do you gut where it lays?

Or, take it home and gut there?

I gut where it lays as long as it's not near a treestand, usually. But, I am wondering why people take the deer home to gut out. Is it a law, or choice?

I always gut mine where it lays. Unless I feel like it will mess up the hunting.

But I think most people that take them home, only do it because its easier to gut them when they are hanging. That way gravity works with you.

for me it depends on whos yard i shot it in.

I usually drag mine to where I park my truck. That way is not in my hunting area. And then I may throw a rope over a tree branch and hoist it up a little. That way everything falls out and drains. And its alot easier to rinse while hanging.

I gut it at home just for convenience and keeping my hunting area clean. I have a nice deer hang out back made out of two forked trees.

typically, i gut it where it lies, unless after i tag it, i move it to a more favorable location...this is usually on sometype of incline, where i can let gravity do the work of rolling the insides outside

Right where it drops! I can't see dragging all of that extra weight out of the woods.:nonono2: I hunt about a half mile from my truck. The gut pile doesn't bother the deer, not to mention that they get eaten within 24 hours by fox and buzzards.

Gut it where it lays. Starts the cooling process. Don't worry about the mess, the coyotes will have it cleaned up before you get home.

Interesting post..Most hunters I know here in NY and Pa as well as the New England states gut them where they drop.. I've stood over many a deer with my knife in my hand, waiting for it to stop kicking so I could field dress it..

However, many of my friends in the southern states bring thier deer out whole, and gut them at home or in camp..Some even deliver them to the processors guts and all, and let the processors gut them...

i usually gut it somewhere not close to my stands.

I let the processor gut it.

Talk about interesting posts. The only time I've ever been able to "stand over" any deer that wasn't already dead was when I spined one, which I've only done twice in my life. I certainly wouldn't "wait for it to stop kicking", that's for shore! You could at least cut it's throat with a stick like "dude from Georgia" does.:bash:

I do both. I hunt a lot of farms with depredation tags for the farmer. I drag these deer home and field dress them there. I do the same thing in urban hunts. However on public land which I usually hunt I field dress them in the field (woods)which is usually a mile or so from the truck. Can't use motorized vehicles so I leave the extra weight behind. Farmers and city folks generally appreciate no gut piles in there fields or in their yards. Same way by the park swing. When getting permission you might use no gut piles as a selling point.

if ya live on the land that you are hunting..its ok to take it home...but if you live an hour away that aint cuttin it..imo(no pun intended)

on the spot is good...we have a cleaning spot..being on 40 acres, we dont have to travel far to get to it. all deer are tracked after 20 minutes and drug up to there....1 bow season i let one lie for about 2 hours....but other than him the guts spill 30 minutes after the shot or sooner depending on if they drop or not.

It all depends on how far I am away from the truck. I to gut an hour after I shot it.

interesting, is there anywhere where it's against the law to gut them in the field?

Early In... I'm not sure you understand my post...

Perhaps you haven't shot many deer with firearms, or perhaps you've done most of your hunting from treestands or at long range, when it may take several minutes or longer to get to the deer after you shot it.. The kicking would be over by then..

Many of my deer have been shot with a firearm at fairly close range, say under 100 yards...The ones that don't run and drop ( like a heart or lung shot) were hit close enough to the CNS so they dropped on the spot... Many of those deer kicked for a couple of minutes after I walked up to them.. They certainly did not require a finisher, or if they did, I applied it promptly... They were just going through there death spasms...To try to stick a knife in a deer that is still kicking spasmodically is just inviting injury to yourself..

I hope you are not suggesting that I allowed an animal to suffer unecessarily..

i take mine to the creek where i hunt and do it there makes for an easy clean up and wash out and wash off

I kind of was, but now that you icluded the details I understand.

i gut mine right where it lays. so once i get home i can start processing it

I gut them where they lay. Our deer are too big to drag when they are full of guts. Needless waste of energy especially if they are a mile from the truck.

Thanks...Glad to clear that up... No offense taken....

I have no hesitation to administer a "coup de grace" when appropriate... However, many animals, when hit in the neck or shoulders and dropped on the spot thrash around for a couple of minutes before they expire, just like a deer that you double lung with your bow may run 100 yards or so before it cashes in..

Kinda like a headshot turkey or a chicken with it's head cut off flopping around..I've seen THAT go on for 3 or 4 minutes ...

On the spot. Get it cooling and don't have to worry about what to do with the gut pile at home. Less weight to drag too.

Where or very close to where it drops. If I can find a downhill slope really close, I drag it there first, then gut. It probably is easier to gut from a tree, etc, but by the time I get the rope rigged up, I'd already be done on the ground.

I immediatly gut it, perhaps after moving it a very short distance to a knoll or terrain dip to assist in the rolling and draining. It is all about cooling the meat asap. If I am in a farmers field or someplace the gut pile may be unsightly, I just scoop em up and toss them into the brush. Deer are not bothered by the mess left behind. I have seen them hours later browsing near and sniffing the guts without any alarm at all. I actually had a game cam pic of a doe apparently nibbing at the gut pile. I am thinking attracted to the salt in the blood?
My brother in law always leaves the gutting to the butcher, with a delay of hours. Crappiest meat I ever have, year after year.

I'll go the other way on this, I don't gut mine at all. I usually clean them within an hour or two if warm outside. The only thing I'm missing by not gutting is the sweet meat.

I always field dress my deer where they die, or as close as practical. I've been known to drag the deer 20-30 yards to a clear spot to make the task easier. Otherwise there is no good reason NOT to gut them ASAP. The guts are where 90% of the bacteria responsible for decomposition and spoilage are at the time of death, so removing them ASAP reduces the rate of decomp significantly. Also, removing the entrails and opening the carcass greatly speeds the cooling of the carcass (and allows you to pack the carcass with ice if necessary), which also preserves the meat. Thirdly, I don't know about you, but since the guts constitute roughly 1/3 the live weight of the deer, I'd rather remove them and lighten the carcass than drag the whole weight of the deer.

Mike

What in the heck are you talking about?

I prefer to fielddress my animals in the field but not near any of my stand set-ups.

I've talked to several folks who prefer to dress their deer when they get home... they say this is to keep debris like dirt and such out of the cacass.

drag/hang/gut
 

I hunt mostly in my back property. Any deer taken are loaded onto a trailer behind a lawnmower and moved to by skinning pole where I can do the job comfortably and easily and control where all the yuck goes.

This year (Yesterday) I took the carcas and guts from the last deer and placed in the back field to try a little Coyote/Fox hunting over it.

I hate to gut one laying on the ground. Hanging up is a lot easier faster and cleaner.

Gut it where it drops. Also I agree, does'nt mess up your stand. I have had bucks come in and smell the gut pile only to just mosey on their way. Never bothered them at all.

Shoot, recover, gut, drag.

If it climbed in the stand with me i would gut it there.In otherwards right where it lays.

I don't gut mine. I hang my deer and skin it as soon as I can after killing it. I will cut just enough of the guts to get at the tenderloins. After I cut the backstraps out and get the front quarters, I saw the back at the hip and the carcass falls to the ground with guts inside. I never have to touch the guts. The two hind quarters are now hanging, and I saw them in two and put in the ice chest. I can do this whole process in about 20 to 25 minutes. I also wear surgical gloves when I clean deer. It keeps my hands nice and clean.

i don't gut at all. hang it, cut the backstraps out, debone the hams, cut out the tender loin and shoulders and drop whats left on the ground to haul off......tony

Gut it after I get it to camp. The extra weight is not a big deal since I typically can drive my fourwheeler right to the deer.

I maintain that nearly all of the time, it is a REGIONAL thing...

Nearly everyone north of the Mason Dixon lines guts them where they drop, or fairly close...

Many hunters in the south take them back home, to a camp, or to a processor for the gutting..

Hunting methods have a bearing on this.. In the more southern states, much hunting is done from established stands over agricultural areas where it is easy to drive up and throw an intact carcass into the truck, and take it somewhere to be processed..

Up north, we usually have to drag the critter off the top of a mountainous ridge, or out of a God forsaken hollow, and often getting a vehicle to it is not an option..In that case, lighter is better.. Why drag the guts..??..

I have never had a gut pile ruin a stand. My uncle shot a 10 pt in MN this yr. He gutted it right there and I shot a nice 8pt 2 days later right by the gut pile. I don't think they can put the two together.

Gut it where it drops.

Better for the meat and makes it an easier drag. Especially a 200lb + lb buck in the big woods.

For those who bring the guts home, what do you do with them? Throw them in the trash?

Plus, gutting in the field and you can drain all the blood there instead of at your home.

And the guts don't bother other deer. We shot 4 deer out of the same stand in a 3 day period once. All the gut piles were there. I watched a spike sniffing my buddy's gut pile from the day before this year.

I don't gut either, I skin it quarter, back straps, and even tenderloins without touching the guts, and take all the meat off~~~ the ribs and guts are all thats left, then we designate a spot on the lease we don't hunt for a gut pile and listen to the yotes get fired up!