Splitting the hips is not at all that big of a job. Cut around the anus a bit then reach up there from the inside and pull it through, use a little force and don't be afraid to get dirty. Rip that baby out and split the bone with a saw. 4 or 5 glides from a saw and its a done deal and your prime meat is cooling.

I core the anus out and it all comes out in one mess. no need to split pelvic bone, leave that for the butcher

I seem to be in the minority here, but I like to split the pelvis. But, as stated in my site (following), there's many correct ways to field dress an animal. This is just the way I do it. I like one of the little folding saws to split the pelvis.

http://www.angelfire.com/bc/canuck2/gutting.html

i use a big pair of loppers.....works great

Canuck; That's one of the very best sites I've seen for gutting big game.... Every new hunter should check it out to make sure they end up with the best end product possible!!!

I used to cut the pelvic...then would disconnect the hip bone from pelvic...now I bone the hams out...don't have to worry about the pee sack..just follow the pelvic bone with your knife...along the backside, then the front (belly side)...then cut around the bottom of the leg bone, and follow the bone back to the pelvic...around all sides of leg bone...and cut, pull hams off...will come off without any bones to go in freezer...you can follow the muscle around bottom of the ham...this runs along the leg bone...and either cut this muscle off...or take off as one piece...after you do 3-4 deer, this is faster than cutting the whole hams off...

If you want to cut the bones...I've found that a miter box saw works
nicely...Good Luck

JRBSR, you were asking how to cut around the anus. First I punture the skin around the anus. I do this in the hair. I see alot guys going staight up in the anus, and this will contaminate your meat. I cut say a 2" circle around the anus. I then (with gloves thru all this) pull out the anus and use my knife going inside working it away from the the inside of the pelvis. You do this about 3" in and that should do it.

I do not split the pelvis because it seems to cause more hassle than it is worth. Sawing is a mess, too.

A lot of guys can't get past this, but to cut the anus out, like bigcountry said, use a long slender sharp knife like a caping or fillet knife. Stick your index finger straight up his arse and use it as a guide to cleanly and smoothly cut around the anus. Once you do it a couple of times, by far the slickest and cleanest method.

I start by cutting aroung the anus. I put a wire tie on the end of the old poop chute. At this point I will split the skin over the pelvis and cut down to reveal the H bone (the ridge on the pelvis). I then split the H-bone with my knife. If you hit it just right, you can pop the pelvis with a knife. I then zip open the gut area with my gut hook, reach behind the outside skirt(diaphram) and bust loose the guts and pull them out towards the back end. The poop chute, pee sack and every thing will come right out without breaking. Get the old heart and lungs and you are good to go. I always make sure to get the plastic wire tie and put it in my pocket when finished.

For field dressing, it's just that; field dressing. I leave the bladder in and just wring the turds down the intestine before I slice it in two. I keep from cutting the hide to a bare minimum to help prevent dirt, etc. from getting on the hams. I'll clean that stuff all out while it's hanging in the garage by breaking the pelvic bone with a hatchet and waterhose.