How to field dress a whitetail
deer
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file-field dressing a deer
Field Dressing Deer
Instruction Guide:
A simple step-by-step guide to field
dressing your deer. Whether you call
it field dressing, gutting, skinning
or cleaning a deer, this simple guide
should be helpful.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Well-cared for deer and antelope make
fine table fare for many people. It
is important to properly handle deer
and antelope immediately after the
shot. How quickly the animal is field
dressed and the meat property cooled
determines the quality of the meat.
However, far too many deer and antelope
are wasted or make poor quality eating
because hunters do not follow the
simple, field dressing rules of good
meat handling after the kill. These
directions will help put good meat
on your table.
CHECK EQUIPMENT
Before the hunt, check to see that
you have all the equipment needed
for hunting and field dressing your
deer after the kill. Important items
include a sharp knife for field dressing,
a light rope or nylon cord for dragging,
a signed hide tag with attaching cord,
a cloth to clean your hands, a plastic
bag for the liver and heart, and a
gallon jug of water for clean-up after
words.
AFTER THE KILL
Approach a downed deer with caution,
and be sure it is dead. Assuming a
well-placed shot with modern ammunition,
enough blood vessels will often be
severed to bleed the deer or antelope
without additional sticking in the
neck. Many careful hunters do bleed
their deer by sticking just above
the breastbone.
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
The signed and properly punched tag
must be torn from the permit and attached
to the carcass as soon as the animal
has been killed.
The deer head must
remain unskinned and attached to the
carcass until it has been checked
through an official check station
and a seal affixed to the carcass.
The carcass may be
skinned except for the head prior
to checking.
FIELD DRESSING
Field dress your deer or antelope
immediately.
Admittedly, the field
dressing chore is not the most enjoyable
part of the hunt, but the extra time
spent taking care of the meat will
pay dividends at the table. Field
dressing takes effort, so your heavy
hunting coat should be removed and
your sleeves rolled up so they wont
be soiled. Disposable vinyl or latex
gloves lessen the chances of passing
infectious diseases and make hand
cleaning easier.
Blood and digestive
juices from organs possibly penetrated
by the shot must be removed from the
body cavity quickly, and the sooner
the organs, which deteriorate rapidly,
are removed, the faster the meat will
cool. Field dressing also eliminates
dragging unnecessary weight when moving
the animal.
Before starting the
field-dressing process, keep in mind
that it is important to keep dirt
and foreign objects away from the
exposed body cavity. Removing the
scent glands is not considered necessary,
but is done with care by many hunters.
Some archery hunters save the glands
for use as scent while hunting. Removing
the glands carelessly can taint the
meat.
Roll the deer carcass
over on its back with the rump lower
than the shoulders and spread the
hind legs. Make a cut along the centerline
of belly from breastbone to base of
tail. First cut through the hide,
then through belly muscle. Avoid cutting
into the paunch and intestines by
holding them away from the knife with
the free hand while guiding the knife
with the other.
Unless the deer head
will be mounted, the cut should pass
through the sternum and extend up
the neck to the chin to allow removal
of as much of the windpipe as possible.
The windpipe sours rapidly and is
a leading cause of tainted meat.
With a small sharp knife, cut around
the anus and draw it into the body
cavity, so it comes free with the
complete intestines. In doing this,
avoid cutting or breaking the bladder.
Loosen and roll out the stomach and
intestines. Save liver. Split the
pelvic or "aitch" bone to
hasten cooling.
Cut around the edge
of the diaphragm which separates the
chest and stomach cavities, and split
the breastbone. Then, reach forward
to cut the windpipe and gullet ahead
of the lungs. This should allow you
to pull the lungs and heart from the
chest cavity. Save heart. Drain excess
blood from the body cavity by turning
the body belly down or hanging animal
head down. Prop the body cavity open
with a stick to allow better air circulation
and faster cooling.
A clean cloth may
be useful to clean your hands. If
you puncture the entrails with a bullet
or your knife, wipe the body cavity
as clean as possible or flush with
water and dry with a cloth. Don't
use water to wash out the body cavity
unless the paunch or intestines are
badly shot up.
Part of the satisfaction
of the hunt comes with making a clean
kill and in doing a neat job of field
dressing your deer. Veteran hunters
may have variations in the steps of
field dressing. The important points
are to remove the internal organs
immediately after the kill without
contaminating the body cavity with
dirt, hair, or contents of the digestive
tract and to drain all excess blood
from the body cavity.
All parts damaged
by gunshot should be trimmed away.
If the weather is warm of if the deer
is to be left in the field for a day
or more, it may be skinned, except
for the head, and washed clean of
dirt and hair. It should be placed
in a shroud sack or wrapped with porous
cloth to cool (cheesecloth is ideal).
The cloth covering should be porous
enough to allow air circulation but
firmly woven enough to give good protection
from insects and dirt. Lacking porous
cloth, hunters often coat the inside
of the body cavity with black pepper
to repel insects. Adequate cooling
may take six hours or more, depending
on weather conditions.
AGING THE MEAT
Age the deer carcass in a cool, dry
place. Aging of well cared for carcasses
at correct temperatures yields better
flavored, more tender meat. Best results
are obtained in a near-constant temperature,
preferably from 34 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit.
Aging for one to two weeks is about
right for the best quality venison,
depending on the age and condition
of the animal.
CUTTING THE CARCASS
If the deer carcass is to be placed
in freezer or locker plant storage,
it may be more convenient to use the
services of an experienced butcher
for the cutting and wrapping. If the
intent is to gain experience by doing
the job yourself, cut according to
the diagram shown at the bottom of
the page.
The first step is
to saw the carcass down the center
of the backbone, dividing it into
two sides. If the neck is to be used
for a pot roast, it should be removed
before the carcass is split. Place
the sides of venison inside down on
a table and cut according to the chart.
Trim excess bone and gristle and further
cut meat into family-size packages.