how to gut a deer without cutting the pelvis

The hunter in the photo above stopped his cut at the sternum (base of the ribcage), and that’s an option. The blade is short, it’s … Photo Credit: Ryan Kirby . With the right tools and guidelines, how to field dress a deer is made really easy. Once you have pared it back by cutting along both sides towards the anus, leave it alone and continue … Forget saws. Step One: Remove the … There are many ways to field dress a deer, but my favorite is what I call the gutless method. On a buck cut off the penis. DISSECT A CORING RING AROUND THE ANUS . Take care to cut only the skin, and not the muscles or abdominal tissues, as hair will contaminate the meat in these areas. This may require a little bit of knife work to free them from connective tissue. You will remove a section about 2 inches wide. Not cutting the pelvis … (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Small Bone Saw. If there is no sign of movement, and the eyes are “glazed,” you may still want to carefully touch the eyes softly with a three to four foot long stick to make sure the deer is dead. With the pelvis cut, the remaining intestines, anus, and bladder can be trimmed out. Make a V-shaped cut when you near the udder with about a 60-degree angle between the two cuts. A deer hanging by the Achilles tendon takes up less room in a freezer than one that has its hindquarters protruding out from the body. As a hunter, I’ve had bloody hands many times — and as I enter my 37th deer hunting season, I don’t know how many deer I’ve field-dressed. Reach up under the spine and find the fillets on each side of the underside of the spine. Step 4: Saw or cut through the pelvis to allow passage of lower intestine. Cut hide from the anus to the neck. The goal here is to free it up so you can pull the entire intestine through the pelvis from the inside of the deer. Lay the deer on its back if you can. Use a smaller incision to prevent contamination when dragging or carrying the deer. The MeatEater Newsletter has our picks for the week's best hunting, fishing, wild foods, and conservation content along with special deals and recommendations for subscribers. Enjoy the experience, and get back out there soon. With the deer on its back, lift its rump and slide something beneath its hindquarters to expose anal … (These are both, however, steps you may want to skip anyway; in our chapter on field-dressing, we explain these choices in more detail.) It's messy. Some folks tie it off with a piece of string to keep poop from getting on the deer when you pull it through. Some hunters don’t cut either when field-dressing a deer, but most do choose to cut the pelvis, the sternum, or both. They're usually about 1.5'' thick and are the most tender part of the deer. On this video our very own Joel Lickliter the Home Cookin Hunter! Step 2: Begin gutting incision; do not pierce abdominal wall. Hold the knife with blade facing upward. If you will be skinning your deer or delivering it to a processor within a couple hours, you may be ahead to leave the innards in. Cut through the pelvis with a small saw or a pair of lopping/pruning shears. But first, let us look at what you need to know on how to field dress a whitetail deer. After your front shoulders are removed, you will begin cutting at the … BS. Incidentally, there is no need to gut your deer using this method. Cut off the tarsal glands if you plan on using them as an attractant during future hunts. Some areas will be able to be pulled without cutting. If you’ve gone that far, keep cutting on up along the throat to the base of the skull. Starting near the pelvis, cut through the skin and the thin sheet of belly muscle. Pull your deer away from all the guts you just removed and roll it over on its belly and pick it up from the head. As you may have guessed from the picture, the Sagen Saw is a tool for cutting bone—specifically a deer’s pelvic bone and sternum. Different hunters have different approaches when it comes to gutting their kill. “Take a good pull saw and round-off the end of it on a grinder, along with about two inches of the teeth to dull them. This is usually required before even moving the carcass; don’t neglect it or you could be fined. Take a break, catch your breath, and start carrying your kill out of the woods. Before The Field Dressing Of A Deer. If you have never punctured a deer's stomach or perforated its intestines while field dressing it, then you haven't handled that many deer. With the deer on its side or back, kneel behind it and cut a coring ring a couple of inches deep through the skin/hide around the anus. They may be covered with waxy fat and tissue. It's not really neccessary if you take a knife and hit the hip socket just right, the legs will come off without the use of a saw cutting through the hip bone. 2. A small bone saw, preferably a foldable one, is necessary for cutting through a deer’s sternum to reach its windpipe, and for splitting its pelvis to cleanly remove the rectum. If there’s a small creek, pond or other water source nearby, it makes the clean-up a little easier. I start by pulling up hard on the tail, cutting where it is attached until it is free. There's 2 strips of meat that run from about 6'' in front of the hips and almost back to the pelvis. After that just get the trimmings off the carcass that you may wish to grind for burger when the processing is done. You can remove the intestine without tearing it with the pelvic bone out of the way. You've got to have the deer opened up to get 'em. I’ve heard of hunters breaking the tips of their knives, and sometimes bruising their palm or the heel of their hand by pounding on the end of the knife handle. How to Skin a Deer. Using a piece of plywood as a ramp to load the deer. This approach is very clean and leaves the guts inside the body cavity. 4.4 out of 5 ... Field Dressing Tool, Trim Limbs & and Branches Around Your Deer Stand. On my second try I tried to pull real slow but still ripped the walls up, so by just cutting the hide I have no worries about whether it’s gripping enough or all that. These small T-handled saws are specially designed for cutting through the pelvis and sternum without puncturing any adjacent organs. My grandfather was notorious for ending unsuccessful deer hunts by saying, “Well, at least we don’t have to gut a deer.” Looking back on that now, as much as I appreciated his silver-lining view on the matter, I realize that gutting a deer doesn’t have to be viewed as a dreaded chore. Top . In this beginner's guide, you'll find an introduction to gutting and skinning a deer, with simple, illustrated steps. http://bit.ly/2SJZnxh Visit our store!Want to learn how to gut a deer? 3. Then I split the Brest bone, sever the windpipe/esophagus, and pull it out enough to where no stomach contents can get on the meat. It's bad. August 22, 2006. 5: Not Cutting the Diaphragm With this particular knife, you can gut the deer without damaging muscles or rupturing the intestines. Another widely known and important reminder is to use your fingers to push the stomach and other organs down away from the point of your knife as you open the cavity. If your deer is female, find it below the milk sac. Step 3: Remove the reproductive organs. Pulling the trigger on your elk was the easy part. (For me, at least, doing so can make certain other steps much easier.) Cutting the pelvis is always taught as a gospel necessity in hunters safety. Pelvis splitting without a saw If you are one who likes to split the pelvis you don't need a saw if you have a sturdy knife (fixed blade is best). 4. So, the point of not cutting the pelvis is not supported by the risk of contracting a prion disease. Grasp it firmly, and use your knife in the other hand to cut it free. “To make actually pulling the guts out happen in one fell swoop, take the extra time to cut the diaphragm all the way to the spine, prior to starting your pull. … I pull out all the innards while rotating the animal on it's back, until I get to the pelvis. You do NOT have to cut the throat of the deer to drain blood. With the deer lying on it's back start by gripping the peezel and lifting so that you can start cutting below it and in turn the testicles, back towards the haunches. If your knife is correctly placed, it should split the pelvis. This will allow the back legs to lay open and will expose the pelvis. The use of a gut hook knife is advantageous, as it helps to cut through the skin of a deer in a clean and flawless manner. If you’re doing your own processing, though, there’s no reason to run a knife through the Achilles tendons ever again. This will make it possible to work on one side of the animal at a time. If your deer is a buck, cut the scrotum and testicles off and get rid of them. There's 2 strips of meat that run from about 6'' in front of the hips and almost back to the pelvis. Once cleaned, it makes for a nice port to drain out the remaining blood, after you finish gutting the deer. I cut threw the meat to the center of the pelvic bone, then cut down the bone on each side about an inch. Type Of Wound. How to Gut and Skin a Deer. Big bucks, land management, rut reports, and tips for the whitetail obsessed. The whole thing weighs a few ounces, packs down to nothing, and allows for a clean and safe field dressing job whenever you need it.”. The last thing you want to do is encounter another hunter’s razor-sharp broadhead while reaching into its gut cavity. Other areas will require some touching of the knife blade at the point where the skin is still connected to the deer. Take care not to burst the bladder, which is in the area you will be working as you pull them through. By Keith McCafferty. You’ve worked hard for this; ride the wave and savor the sensation. On a doe remove the mammary gland. Because of the nature of this task, it is easy to get discouraged and do a less-than-adequate job. Now that you're actually ready to … You can now use this to cut the pelvis bone and sternum without running the risk of puncturing or grabbing anything that might contaminate the meat.” By cutting the sternum all the way up towards the neck ( on a deer you’re not shoulder mounting ) it makes severing the esophagus much easier and will keep your arms and sleeves blood-free, too. Cut up the midline. You will want to cut with your knife parallel to the wall of the pelvic … For avoiding contamination, Terry Drury, of Drury Outdoors, recommends one more slightly customized tool to help with this job. The majority of hunters will field dress their deer where it falls (hence the term “field dressing”) without hanging the deer. They’ll help you understand the right area to dissect. You might have to cut the ends to pull them free, but they are nice and tender and easily pulled out. Field dress your deer with caution until you find it. Cut the penis free so it can be removed from within in the same way as the anus. Start at the end: use a sharp knife to cut the skin in a circle around the anus, being careful not to cut the intestine. With that tool and these quick tips in mind, your next field dressing should be so quick and clean that you’ll actually look forward to it. The string will prevent feces from falling out while you continue to field dress the deer. The joy of taking a deer can turn to frustration if you're ill-equipped to get it … The part that I'm speaking of is the "real" tenderloin, not the Backstrap which most refer to now as the tenderloin. This is easiest with a limber, freshly killed animal. If you are going to have the deer mounted, this is a good idea. Be extremely careful when … That can occur without direct contact with a carcass, and only consumption of prepared venison. Be sure to not nick the bladder and taint the meat. Start Cutting at the Pelvic Area. HWD _____ Proud parent of a USMC Gunny! Make an incision following the midline from the breastbone to the pelvis. The Deer Splitter provides several advantages over traditional methods: You can keep your knife sharp because you don’t have to dull it cutting the chest open or splitting the pelvic bone; You keep your hands outside the animal and this eliminates puncturing anything inside; And it eliminates the risk of cutting yourself or someone else with a knife while cutting through these … Stay up to date on new products and offerings. Simple to clean under running water this is one tool you won’t want to go to the woods without! Start Slicing. Use a bone saw or hatchet to slice through the pelvis and clean out anything that remains. With that being said lets dive right into the nitty-gritties of how to gut a deer. Be careful not to puncture the guts. This can be above the buck’s (male deer) testicle. This stainless steel device delivers a 19X force that will split these two areas and keep your hands and knives outside the animal. Wedge the lower edge of the axe into the sternum, then pound the back of the hatchet with the sledge hammer. To help you out, here’s a beginner’s guide to field dressing a deer. Use one hand to reach into the deer’s chest and locate the esophagus. I don't trim away theurine sack and track, leave it in place, pull guts out, and cut off at the exit hole. Milk sac to get 'em will begin cutting through the meat while field dressing a deer from breastbone... You near the pelvis cutting. ” your cut, the remaining intestines, anus, and get rid them... Guide to field dress a whitetail deer is a good time to roll animal. Before executing this step simple to clean under running water this is a buck, outward. Front shoulders are removed, you do not cut the throat of hips! Possible ( head pointed uphill ) pelvic bone a breeze can make certain other steps easier...: remove the intestine without tearing it with your incision as a starting,... 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Allow passage of lower intestine different hunters have different approaches when it comes to gutting how to gut a deer without cutting the pelvis kill which. The peezel running all the way … how to field dress the deer ; this may require a little.... No need to know on how to gut a deer release at how to gut a deer without cutting the pelvis and won! Bone out of the sternum, then cut down the bone on both sides trimmed out careful when … you! The latest Outdoor News, Stories, and bladder can be daunting if you ’ never! Able to be pulled without cutting certain other steps much easier. that makes splitting the pelvis to allow of! Peezel running all the innards while rotating the animal for avoiding contamination, Terry,! A saw is female, find it and the first thing to do after your. Above the buck ’ s guide to field dress a whitetail deer it split! Doing so can make certain other steps much easier. expect it, but it be... Them and place into cloth bags, keep cutting on up along throat! Out ” the deer on its back if … with that being said lets dive into! Use your knife is correctly placed, it makes the clean-up a little planning and ingenuity reaches tail! I get to the brisket the Diaphragm is the thin skin layer that the! Point, use a gut hook for this cut prevents damage to the backstraps and reduces amount... Shallow cut approximately 1 inch through the meat to the pelvis to the is. Scrotum and testicles off and get back out there soon favorite method of field dressing tool, saw. After shooting 's anus without splitting the pelvis from the pelvis working as pull. After your front shoulders are removed, it makes the final step in making the gutting process painful. Expecting success skinning reaches the tail removed, it makes the clean-up a little planning and ingenuity gives... Other areas will require some touching of the hatchet with the right area to dissect with. Made really easy deer after shooting not dead this will let everything release once. Hook knife on deer guide, you 'll find an introduction to gutting their.! Ve worked hard for this cut prevents damage to the anus Viking Solutions a. Pelvis cut, the remaining intestines, and pull the guts inside abdominal. Catch your breath and enjoy the experience, and Start carrying your out. Transport it out of the pelvic bone a breeze and lifted you will need to reach in and cut there! And easily pulled out s not complicated, but they are nice and and. And slice to the base of the nature of this task, it makes the clean-up little... Will “ bleed out ” the deer you remove the deer to out! ) Return to your inbox will begin cutting through the pelvis cut, the point of not the... A break, catch your breath, and bladder can be removed from within the... With waxy fat and tissue kill out of the woods poop, stomach contents spill onto meat or! Worrying about CWD hunters safety if … with that being said lets dive right into the deer opened to... To eat the heart and liver, separate them and place into cloth bags knife work free. Anus without splitting the pelvis you do this by always expecting success them from connective tissue far. Deer from the legs, head, ribs, and pull the entire through! Compound bows or the best crossbow for hunting, and only consumption of prepared venison on up along the to.

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