olsaltydog

Hunting with dogs is unique. Not something i do my father and his buddies do but its unique to say the least. For them on the islands its more like rabbit or dove hunting then running dogs for hours. The guys inland though the dogs have been known to keep going like the energizer bunny.

clydeNY

Gutting a deer is just part of proper butchery. I can understand the desire to skip it, just skin and butcher, but...I dunno, that deer died for you, the least you can do is give it a proper gutting.

My father and law and the couple of guys he hunts with just do enough skinning to remove the backstraps (which is very little) and then leave the whole deer, minus straps, virtually intact, laying in the woods. To me, this seems both wasteful and disrespectful.

MZS

I agree with you. In WI I would categorize that practice as "carelessly wasting game", which is illegal. Maybe talk to him and have him give you (or someone) the rest of the deer. Heck, I even salvage the meat around the ribs - you can use just about anything (that is not spoiled), when mixed with some beef, for hamburger.

MZS

Gutting in the field does two things with respect to cooling:
1. Immediately removes a lot heat that is in the guts.
2. Provides far more surface area for cooling. And cooling is all about surface area - see car radiator or AC fins as examples.

So you are speeding up the cooling process at perhaps more than double the rate. Without gutting, the deer can only cool through the hide, which is made to help keep the deer warm in sub-zero weather.

Champlain Islander

here in Vt all deer harvested have to be checked in at a certified check station which is the law. The deer can't be cut up and needs to be checked in whole after field dressing. When I hunt for elk out west I use the gutless method on them. Remove the quarters, back straps, tenderloins and neck meat without touching the gut cavity. Our average Vt deer weighs between 125 and 200 pounds so dragging them out usually isn't a problem. With a 600+ pound elk it is a different story and a bull elk hind quarter is about all the weight I care to deal with on a pack frame.

RWK

Gut do you want to drag the xtra weight

BigGameHunting

If it is legal in your area I would gut the deer in the field also make sure you are away from other hunter stands and areas and if you leave the guts which I would not it will bring predators to the area spooking game for the other hunters.

sixpointeightfan

What Murdy says, this is how I've operated in almost three dozen years of hunting.

Valentine

I gut them fast. Besides the coyotes will have those guts eaten before you get home.

10 ga

I have heard that too. I am always quick to point out that if they're eating a gut pile they are called "scavengers". I usually get them a distance from my stand to gut but don't haul them too far. Mostly to keep the "scavengers" away from my stand. Nothing like 40 Black and Turkey vultures fighting over guts right next to your stand. Around here a gut pile doesn't last more than a few hours, once the birds find it goes away quick. I really don't leave much but guts too. I use the liver, kidneys, heart and lights. Mostly just leave the digestive tract. Only exception is when hunting in sandhills and dunes and near new plowed fields. Moving deer over them after field dressing will get you some ruined meat with all the sand and dirt on/in them. If only leaves and fallow stubble and crop waste washes out easily and no damage. Yes some of the federal and state areas do not allow field dressing on site and I comply there.

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