| 7 Steps to Proper Field Dressing and Caring of your Deer! |
Properly field dressing and caring for your game will assure that your meat will taste the best
that it possibly can. There are several things that you can do to prevent the contamination of
your meat. Following is a description of the proper way to handle your kill:
No.1- A well placed shot and quick kill will prevent the wild taste some people experience in
their deer. These deer die with a normal heart rate. If your deer has been chased or wounded
for long periods, excessive by-products from exertion and fatigue are deposited in the muscle
tissue. This is what causes the off taste.
No.2- Upon finding your deer, you must first tag your kill! Immediately following, you should
field dress the animal. Below is a brief description of one method of field dressing. Some
additional tips from a taxidermist (Shann) immediately follows these steps.
Roll your deer on its back.
If it's a Doe, skip this first step. If it is a Buck, you start with the sex organ. Pulling on it's
organ, you carefully cut, through the hide, around the front of it and along the sides of the
testes. When you get to the back of the testes, you will cut along the sides of the urinary tract,
all the way down to the rectum (keeping the urinary tract intact) and cut it free from the
body. The complete sex organ, testes, and urinary tract are removed as one unit.
Once the sex organ is removed, I start at the stomach (some people start at the chest, just
below the sternum). Carefully cut through the hide and muscle tissue, making sure not to
pierce the stomach or intestines. Continue your cut towards the chest of the animal and stop
at the sternum. Reverse your cut and cut down towards the tail. When you get in between the
back legs of the animal, stop your cut at the pelvic bone.
Now that the cavity is open, the next step is to free the anal tract. To do this, you cut a circle
completely around the deer's rectum, sticking your knife in as far as it will go and letting
your knife scrape the inside of the pelvic bone, all the way around the rectum. This frees the
anal tract from the hide.
Now were almost down to the last step! Reach inside of the deer's chest cavity and cut the
diaphram free from the ribs, being careful not to cut the stomach (or your hand!). The
diaphram is connected to the ribs, and seals the chest cavity from the stomach and intestines.
Last Step! Reach into the chest cavity, to the point where the neck enters the chest. You will
feel the windpipe and the esophagus. Carefully cut the windpipe and esophagus as far up as
you can. Once these are cut, you can grab the cut end of the windpipe and pull hard!. You
will be pulling the heart and lungs out of the animal. When you get these free, the rest of the
internal organs should follow without too much trouble. You might have to help it along with
your knife, but if you did it properly you should have no problems. Make sure that when you
get down to removing the intestines and bladder, that the anal tract (rectum) comes out with
everything else. Lift the chest of the deer off the ground and drain any remaining blood from
the animal
There, you've field dressed a deer!! It takes an experienced hunter only a few minutes to field
dress a deer. The more you do , the quicker you become!
No.3- Once the animal is field dressed, it is a good idea to wipe out any blood from the inside
of the cavity. Most people don't do this. You can use a rag, or dried leaves.
No.4- Drag the animal, by the head, to your vehicle. Stick a stick between the rib cage of the
deer, to help cool the animal quickly. Don't forget to register the deer!
No.5- When you get home, it's a good idea to rinse the cavity out with a hose, to remove
leaves and debris. Hang the deer up by the gambrels in the back legs (some hang it by the
head), in a cool shady place to cool. Proper cooling may take hours.
No.6- Skinning your deer, as soon as possible, will help in the cooling down of the meat.
There are several different methods of skinning deer, here is one method:
Slice through the hide and up the inside of each of the rear legs to the gambrels. Cut the hide
completely around the leg bone at the gambrels. Pulling on the hide at the gambrels, carefully
help the hide come free with your knife until you've freed the hide from the complete rear
legs and hips.
At the base of the tail, you can cut through the tail-bone and keep the tail with the hide.
The hide will come off of the back rather easily, with very little knife work needed (just
pulling).
When you get to the front legs, cut the hide completely around the lower leg and slice the hide
on the inside of the leg up to the chest. Pulling on the hide on the front legs, free the hide
from the leg up to the chest. Once you've done this, continue pulling the hide down the rest of
the back.
When you get to the neck, it becomes a bit more work to skin, but stick with it!
When you get close to the jawbone of the deer, cut through the meat to the bone (completely
around the neck). Once this is done you can grab the deer's head and twist it's neck
completely around until the head separates from the body.
No.7- Store the deer in a cool place (preferably 36 to 40 degrees) until it cools completely. I
like to age my deer a couple of days to firm up the meat, before it's processed.
If your going to age your deer for any length of time, it's a good idea to cut out the complete
windpipe and esophagus out of the neck. This has a tendency to rot after a short time and
can cause a bad taste in the neck meat. Also cut away any gunshot or bloodshot meat from
your animal. This will also cause a bad taste and possibly ruin what was good meat.
Follow these steps and your deer will taste the best it possibly can!!!
that it possibly can. There are several things that you can do to prevent the contamination of
your meat. Following is a description of the proper way to handle your kill:
No.1- A well placed shot and quick kill will prevent the wild taste some people experience in
their deer. These deer die with a normal heart rate. If your deer has been chased or wounded
for long periods, excessive by-products from exertion and fatigue are deposited in the muscle
tissue. This is what causes the off taste.
No.2- Upon finding your deer, you must first tag your kill! Immediately following, you should
field dress the animal. Below is a brief description of one method of field dressing. Some
additional tips from a taxidermist (Shann) immediately follows these steps.
Roll your deer on its back.
If it's a Doe, skip this first step. If it is a Buck, you start with the sex organ. Pulling on it's
organ, you carefully cut, through the hide, around the front of it and along the sides of the
testes. When you get to the back of the testes, you will cut along the sides of the urinary tract,
all the way down to the rectum (keeping the urinary tract intact) and cut it free from the
body. The complete sex organ, testes, and urinary tract are removed as one unit.
Once the sex organ is removed, I start at the stomach (some people start at the chest, just
below the sternum). Carefully cut through the hide and muscle tissue, making sure not to
pierce the stomach or intestines. Continue your cut towards the chest of the animal and stop
at the sternum. Reverse your cut and cut down towards the tail. When you get in between the
back legs of the animal, stop your cut at the pelvic bone.
Now that the cavity is open, the next step is to free the anal tract. To do this, you cut a circle
completely around the deer's rectum, sticking your knife in as far as it will go and letting
your knife scrape the inside of the pelvic bone, all the way around the rectum. This frees the
anal tract from the hide.
Now were almost down to the last step! Reach inside of the deer's chest cavity and cut the
diaphram free from the ribs, being careful not to cut the stomach (or your hand!). The
diaphram is connected to the ribs, and seals the chest cavity from the stomach and intestines.
Last Step! Reach into the chest cavity, to the point where the neck enters the chest. You will
feel the windpipe and the esophagus. Carefully cut the windpipe and esophagus as far up as
you can. Once these are cut, you can grab the cut end of the windpipe and pull hard!. You
will be pulling the heart and lungs out of the animal. When you get these free, the rest of the
internal organs should follow without too much trouble. You might have to help it along with
your knife, but if you did it properly you should have no problems. Make sure that when you
get down to removing the intestines and bladder, that the anal tract (rectum) comes out with
everything else. Lift the chest of the deer off the ground and drain any remaining blood from
the animal
There, you've field dressed a deer!! It takes an experienced hunter only a few minutes to field
dress a deer. The more you do , the quicker you become!
No.3- Once the animal is field dressed, it is a good idea to wipe out any blood from the inside
of the cavity. Most people don't do this. You can use a rag, or dried leaves.
No.4- Drag the animal, by the head, to your vehicle. Stick a stick between the rib cage of the
deer, to help cool the animal quickly. Don't forget to register the deer!
No.5- When you get home, it's a good idea to rinse the cavity out with a hose, to remove
leaves and debris. Hang the deer up by the gambrels in the back legs (some hang it by the
head), in a cool shady place to cool. Proper cooling may take hours.
No.6- Skinning your deer, as soon as possible, will help in the cooling down of the meat.
There are several different methods of skinning deer, here is one method:
Slice through the hide and up the inside of each of the rear legs to the gambrels. Cut the hide
completely around the leg bone at the gambrels. Pulling on the hide at the gambrels, carefully
help the hide come free with your knife until you've freed the hide from the complete rear
legs and hips.
At the base of the tail, you can cut through the tail-bone and keep the tail with the hide.
The hide will come off of the back rather easily, with very little knife work needed (just
pulling).
When you get to the front legs, cut the hide completely around the lower leg and slice the hide
on the inside of the leg up to the chest. Pulling on the hide on the front legs, free the hide
from the leg up to the chest. Once you've done this, continue pulling the hide down the rest of
the back.
When you get to the neck, it becomes a bit more work to skin, but stick with it!
When you get close to the jawbone of the deer, cut through the meat to the bone (completely
around the neck). Once this is done you can grab the deer's head and twist it's neck
completely around until the head separates from the body.
No.7- Store the deer in a cool place (preferably 36 to 40 degrees) until it cools completely. I
like to age my deer a couple of days to firm up the meat, before it's processed.
If your going to age your deer for any length of time, it's a good idea to cut out the complete
windpipe and esophagus out of the neck. This has a tendency to rot after a short time and
can cause a bad taste in the neck meat. Also cut away any gunshot or bloodshot meat from
your animal. This will also cause a bad taste and possibly ruin what was good meat.
Follow these steps and your deer will taste the best it possibly can!!!
| Following are some suggestions from a taxidermist, and are worth reading! |
Don't remove the sex organs in the field. Make a cut (8 to 12 inches long) just above the sex
organ, and remove the internal organs through this cut.
The small incision will close when done, and help keep the internal cavity clean of dirt and
debris when dragging the deer from the woods.
Once you get to your vehicle, you can use a stick to hold the cavity open, to help aid in the
cooling of the meat. The more area you have exposed to foreign debris when dragging the
deer out, the more meat you will lose.
"If your going to have the deer mounted, visit a taxidermist before you skin the animal."
(Many a trophy has been brought in with the cape cut too short, or wrong.)
DO NOT use water until you've skinned the deer. Water lets bacteria start to grow, and this
causes the hair to fall out.
If you're going to mount the deer DO NOT hang it by its antlers or neck. This causes the
deers neck to stretch and look unnatural.
If you need to put ice in the deer to keep it cool, fill a milk jug with water and freeze it. This
works well and wont leak.
Thanks for the tips Shann!
organ, and remove the internal organs through this cut.
The small incision will close when done, and help keep the internal cavity clean of dirt and
debris when dragging the deer from the woods.
Once you get to your vehicle, you can use a stick to hold the cavity open, to help aid in the
cooling of the meat. The more area you have exposed to foreign debris when dragging the
deer out, the more meat you will lose.
"If your going to have the deer mounted, visit a taxidermist before you skin the animal."
(Many a trophy has been brought in with the cape cut too short, or wrong.)
DO NOT use water until you've skinned the deer. Water lets bacteria start to grow, and this
causes the hair to fall out.
If you're going to mount the deer DO NOT hang it by its antlers or neck. This causes the
deers neck to stretch and look unnatural.
If you need to put ice in the deer to keep it cool, fill a milk jug with water and freeze it. This
works well and wont leak.
Thanks for the tips Shann!
| Mr- Whitetail |
