So how many different ways are there to field dress a deer?

[goosifer]

I came across this article link on qdma.com, and read through it to see how it compared to what I was taught. Interestingly, it's basically  in the opposite order, starting at the genitals and working your way up. Here's the way I was taught:

1. butt-out the large intestine
2. Gerber EZ-Zip knife to split the skin, from chest to anus, curving around the genitals
3. Sawbone brisket towards chin
4 Cut esophagus, then use that as a handle to start pulling down, with the entrails along with it
5. When get to the diaphragm, cut it away from the sides, and then keep pulling down on the esophagus handle
6.The end of the large intestine should pull back through the anus and out the cut in the cavity (although didn't work last time for some reason)

The next deer I field dress, I want to try to simplify a few things. I use too many different knives, and keep losing them in the field. For step one, I want to try to use a small pointy knife to cut a circle around the anus. I'm hoping that is enough to loosen the large intestine from the surrounding tissue. I also want to skip step 3, and just reach up under the brisket to cut the esophagus. The thing is, I might have to then remove things like the article (intestines, diaphragm, lungs and heart, in that order( in order to have enough room for my hand to reach up to the esophagus. Which wouldn't be the end of the world, but loses the benefit of using the esophagus as a handle to pull out the entrails. Will give it a shot and see how it goes.

I'm open to suggestions on alternative methods . . . .

[Rattler]

I cut from the genitals up.  I put two fingers under the skin with the knife blade in between facing up, so as not to puncture any innards.  I cut out the pelvic bone to release the anus.  I use a 2nd knife I don't care much about and can hammer it with a rock I find nearby.  (Lately I carry a short hammer in the pack to save the trouble of finding a suitable rock.)   I cut through the brisket/sternum with my 1st knife.  It's not hard to do.  It's soft bone in the middle.  Need a blade about 5 or 6", hold with two hands cutting edge up and pull up towards the neck.  That leaves plenty of room for the windpipe grab.  I don't go as far if I'm mounting the head.  Pull it down towards the tail.  Cut small snags inside the back if need be.  Cut the diaphragm along the ribs and the whole thing rolls right out the bottom.  Very little blood gets on you and you only need two knives and a nice rock to hammer with.  I also like to hang the deer with my drag rope for a short while to let the blood drain out as much as possible.  Less dripping all over later.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Rattler

[Jeremy K]

I start with my havalon and cut the chest down to the sternum ,then I get to the belly and already have a good idea where the skin is so I don't cut any intestines.  I use the havalon bone saw to cut the pelvis bone ,I stand on the legs and pull up on the tail  , this will keep the legs spread fully to the sides .

[turkeyfeathers]

When reaching up to cut the esophagus I use my dominant hand to hold the knife blade up ,grab up as far as I can with the left hand, run the back of the knife with blade still facing up along the top of my left thumb, then when I know my hand clear I flip blade down and cut     Buttout tool makes anus easy peasy as first step of gutting  Pull out 10" slowly and ziptie   Ive never split the  pelvis as some do     8 minutes or so and clean as a whistle. Have done 4 for friend and my buck this year.   Heck, knife barely needs a sharpening    Havent cut any guts,  bladder or anything yet. Key is to cut thru skin using non cutting hands first two fingers as V with palm up and pushing down  with back of rest of hand what wants to pop out back in as you cut up towards upper chest 

Edited December 2, 2018 by turkeyfeathers

[Hock3y24]

I get in between the back legs, cut mid belly up and down, he run cut diaphragm and esophagus, and do anus last. Takes roughly 3-5 minutes. Everyone I’ve ever seen does it a little different. Don’t hit the stomach or piss sac and that’s all that matters to me. 

[nodeerhere]

I cut from where the ribs start down. Using 2 fingers to make sure I do hit the guts. Cut around the anus. And reach up in there and pull it all out. Then rinse it when I hang. Just incase 

[Chef]

I get in between the back legs, cut mid belly up and down, he run cut diaphragm and esophagus, and do anus last. Takes roughly 3-5 minutes. Everyone I’ve ever seen does it a little different. Don’t hit the stomach or piss sac and that’s all that matters to me. 

Yea and honestly the pis sac ain’t the end of the world urine is sterile any way


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[BizCT]

I cut from where the ribs start down. Using 2 fingers to make sure I do hit the guts. Cut around the anus. And reach up in there and pull it all out. Then rinse it when I hang. Just incase 

Pretty much what I do. No need for multiple knives etc. one knife. Start at chest and work down. Core out the butt, pull everything out, reach as high as I can to cut windpipe etc. flip buck over and shake by the head to drain as much blood as possible and start dragging.

No need for bone saws or multiple knives in my opinion.


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[Steve D]

33 minutes ago, Rattler said:

I cut out the pelvic bone to release the anus.  I use a 2nd knife I don't care much about and can hammer it with a rock I find nearby.  (Lately I carry a short hammer in the pack to save the trouble of finding a suitable rock.) 

Rattler

They are hard to come by but if you can find one of these or something similar they work pretty good. Once the anus is removed just insert one end and use the handles to cut in a upward motion and it will make quick work of getting through the pelvis bone. Once it is cut through just stand on each inner thigh and it will easily separate.

Light weight and easy to carry.

 

[Rattler]

I'll bet many guys here could actually do surgery in an emergency if they had to.  A few might be better off sticking to autopsies. 

[Moho81]

I start at the ribs and cut down to the genitals. Cut each side of the diaphragm, then reach in as far as I can to cut the esophagus then cut the anus out. After that it all just pulls out and I flip the deer belly side down to drain the blood before throwing it in the ATV. I've never timed myself but I'd guess I'm pretty slow compared to others. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

Steve Rinella tip: cut
From the sternum to the rectum, not the other way around. Much less hair gets cut and all over your meat


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[grampy]

I use one small three inch blade knife.

Cut around anus, push it in towards guts. 

Cut from anus, over the pelvic bone to bottom of the abdomen. 

Make small incision, insert two fingers from left hand, (right handed) using only the blade tip, facing up, cut to bottom of rib cage.

Turn deer on side, start pulling out stomach-intestines, liver and spleen, while cutting the diaphragm from top side, pulling anus out too.

Once contents are outside body cavity, cut the lower diaphragm still connecting and pull everything free.

Reach up under rib cage until you feel the esophagus. (feels like a ribbed grunt call) Grab with left hand, bring blade with right hand facing away, follow along, turn blade, cut towards spine, then pull out lungs and heart.

Turn deer body cavity down, back legs spread to drain.

Done! 

Takes me about five minutes. And have done close to two hundred in 45 years. I hardly even get messy anymore.

[goosifer]

1 hour ago, Moho81 said:

I start at the ribs and cut down to the genitals. Cut each side of the diaphragm, then reach in as far as I can to cut the esophagus then cut the anus out. After that it all just pulls out and I flip the deer belly side down to drain the blood before throwing it in the ATV. I've never timed myself but I'd guess I'm pretty slow compared to others. 

Do you remove the large intestine before you cut the diaphragm, or leave it in the cavity and just move it out of the way as you cut the diaphragm?

[Moho81]

Do you remove the large intestine before you cut the diaphragm, or leave it in the cavity and just move it out of the way as you cut the diaphragm?

Just move it out of the way. After reading a few others it sounds like maybe removing it first might be easier.


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[Dinsdale]

Just chop that deer right in two like last Buffalo hunt.

After cutting in a mile long recovery road, axe was a bit dull.......LOL

Chef won't like this but it was around 95* and carcass hung all night when it got down to 80*. Best steaks I've had and I raised angus for about 12 years even graded prime a few times.

 

[Daveboone]

step one...make sure its dead. A buddy got real close and personal with a doe that he thought was dead, when he touched his knife to the peri anal area....

Scoot around the anus first with the knife, as deep as I can go, than tie it off (if I remembered the string/zip tie). Then I stand on the lower back legs to hold them open while I slice through the skin/ abdominal barrier from the crotch to the sternum. No reason to split the sternum, it just opens it to contamination., same as with splitting the pelvis. Reach up and cut through the diaphragm fully around, then reach as far up as you can to grap the trachea/ cardiac arteries and valves, wind pipe, and severe them. The winds will pull right out. (SAVE THE HEART). hold the guts to one side, then the other as you severe the connective tissues, roll em out. the rectum will pull through if you loosened it deep enough, and I pinch off the bladder and cut it loose, tossing it aside. if it leakes a bit, not a big deal. all the blood, etc. will help flush the area. 

Tip the carcass, spread the back legs and let drain. Hopefully there is snow to then pack in the cavity, and scrub out nice and clean, or rinse with water.

I have seen guides field dress without opening the carcass....they cut off the quarters, hair and all, then split the hide down the back to get the straps. Do the same on the front of the chest for the brisket, , and take a hand ax to split the spine to get the tenderloin out. Took about the same amount of time but you didn't have to deal with the guts.

There is a lot of leeway on the routine...the critter is dead and doesn't mind, but it is a good idea to allways rinse the cavity when done and hang asap to get the cooling started. The more dirt and crap you get on the cavity/ meat, the more the quality of the meat is affected. 

[GreeneHunter]

7 hours ago, Rattler said:

I'll bet many guys here could actually do surgery in an emergency if they had to.  A few might be better off sticking to autopsies. 

I'm a big fan of Duct Tape !

[mowin]

Start at the genitals and up to the ribs. I Don't spilt the ribs. Reach up as far as possible and cut windpipe then work my way down. If the large intestine is full, I'll reach up as far as I can a cut it there. 

I don't cut around the anus or split the pelvis. Too much dirt and stuff ends up on the inside of the Hinds if I split it in the woods.  I'll split the pelvis then bung it out once home and hung. 

 

[crappyice]

Anyone ever bring it home and gut it as it hangs? I have not but dude across the street had one that he hung by the head, split from ribs to hole, cut diaphragms and wind pipe and allow gravity to help with the pull. He places a large keg pail under it before the process begins to “easy” guy removal later.


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[ATbuckhunter]

Ive field dressed them a few different ways and here is the way I prefer it. 

1-Cut around the anus to loosen it up

2-Move up to the solar plexes(sternum) and cut down till I hit the intestines

3-Cut from the sternum down to the hing quarters

4-Cut the diaphram and stick my hands up the chest to seperate the esophogus

5-While keeping the blade in my domonant hand ill cut as high up as I can while holding the esophogus as low as possible 

6-Pull everything out using the esophogus as a handle and its done

Im not the fastest at it, but If done right it should be done in 10 or so minutes. When everything goes well, its actually a very enjoyable thing

[Dinsdale]

25 minutes ago, crappyice said:

Anyone ever bring it home and gut it as it hangs? I have not but dude across the street had one that he hung by the head, split from ribs to hole, cut diaphragms and wind pipe and allow gravity to help with the pull. He places a large keg pail under it before the process begins to “easy” guy removal later.
 

I've done several whitetail gutting out of the field hunting and many, many more doing crop damage.

Idea is to not leave as much to attract predators.

In all the hunting I have done outside the US/Canada it is very common not to field dress but recover all the animal. In the hundreds I can only remember less then 10 that were gutted and even then much of the entrails were sorted and taken. Other cultures use extensively more then typical hunters from here. Emptying stomach content and saving most of the digestive tract, lungs, typical items like heart, kidneys, and liver, cleaning up tongue are standard fair for many places.

[Moho81]

Anyone ever bring it home and gut it as it hangs? I have not but dude across the street had one that he hung by the head, split from ribs to hole, cut diaphragms and wind pipe and allow gravity to help with the pull. He places a large keg pail under it before the process begins to “easy” guy removal later.


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A pennsyltucky guy I know does it this way but hangs it by the hind legs. Splits it open,cuts diaphragm, esophagus,anus and lets it spill into a Large pale.

It worked but it seemed so bizarre to me as it didn’t seem to save time and it reminded me of that scene from one of the silence of the lambs movies where he gutted a dude and tossed him over a balcony.


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[Robhuntandfish]

When I worked for DOT , hang them with the loader, zip down the back and take out the straps, peel the skin down and take off each hind then drop into debris pile out back and bury with loader.  Lol

 

[BowmanMike]

13 hours ago, mowin said:

Start at the genitals and up to the ribs. I Don't spilt the ribs. Reach up as far as possible and cut windpipe then work my way down. If the large intestine is full, I'll reach up as far as I can a cut it there. 

I don't cut around the anus or split the pelvis. Too much dirt and stuff ends up on the inside of the Hinds if I split it in the woods.  I'll split the pelvis then bung it out once home and hung. 

 

where do you cut the poop chute if you dont pull the anus through? Sounds odd to me,but i am curious..