feild dressing the deer

[5.8L95f150]

my first deer hunt starts in 6 days it is in unit 30A and i still dont know exactly where i want to hunt the first day. i plan to stay out there for 3 to 4 days i just could not scout it in time( i went to the scoutting in one area and did not find anything, because there were some mountain lions in the area. that was what a hunter told me that lives down there) i plan to go down to skeleton canyon or outlaw mountain. thats what one hunter told me on this site. any other good ideas on where to hunt in unit 30A. also is there a glan or something that must be removed ASAP after you shot the deer so you don't spoil the meat?

 

thanks again,

[Red Rabbit]

Good luck on your hunt.

 

I use the no-gut method of field dressing. You can get all of the meat without having to pull guts and lungs, unless you want the heart and liver.

Here's a link that shoes that method. I usually skin off the entire top side so there is no hide on th equarters. Do one side first and then roll it over. The tenderloins are located in front of the pelvic girdle and up under the last few floating ribs. You can reach in, push the guts away, and pull/carefully cut them out.

 

http://huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&...=article&sid=27

 

There is no gland that needs removing first. The tarsal gland on the inside of the rear hocks will be removed when you skin the knee joints to break/saw the legs there.

 

Doug~RR

[CouesWhitetail]

I like the liver and heart so I do regular field dressing. And of course, being a biologist, I am always interested in the inner workings of the deer. I check fat levels and cut the rumen open to see what they are eating. Can't do that without gutting the deer....

 

Like RR said, there is no gland you need to worry about. Perhaps you are thinking of javelina. They have a gland on their backs that you need to make sure you don't let touch the meat. But even that one comes off with regular skinning.

 

Amanda

[az4life]

Great method. Looks quite easy and quick.

I have heard of it before but never seen it done.

I think I will try that this year.

[firstcoueswas80]

just gut the thing and throw it ouver your shoulder and walk out! thats what i always do. it will get tough if you do a lot of up or down. you will get a little sore but i like that, gives me a sense of pride!

[recurveman]

I'm with Red Rabbit. My meat never sees the gut pile. If I have the urge to check the guts out I usually do it after I have cleaned the animal. Then I can get nutty and don't have to worry about where all the fluids (or non fluids) go.

 

The only bummer about that link is all the hair the guy has on his meat. He could leave most of the hair off if he did a little skinning before he took the quarters off. But the link is a nice basic idea of what needs to be done.

 

Later,

 

recurveman

[Kevin]

I agree Recurveman. I skin one side of the animal from the backbone to the belly and remove all the meat on that side. Then flip the carcass and repeat. It keeps the meat much cleaner and makes even large animals (elk) doable by yourself. When I'm done with the exterior, I'll remove the rib plates with a bone saw and examine (I'm a biologist too!) the inner workings and remove any edibles (tenderloin, liver, etc).

 

Kevin

[Rembrant]

Thanks for bringing that up Red Rabbit.

Never seent it done quite like that.

I always make the back cut from the neck all the way down to the anus, pull the skin away from the shoulder to remove it, then pull the hide away from the round and remove it on the same side. While you're there, get the backstrap.

THEN flip it over and do the same to the other side.

You can further de-bone the rounds, and carry out a semi-boned out coues deer in a day pack. Don't even need a frame pack.

Firstcoues80, you can feel pretty proud about carrying a coues deer out like this too, and when you get older like me, you can still feel pretty good physically!

Mike

[azhuntsmen]

Wish i knew about RR's method when i got my elk. But i sure will use that this year when i one down. So much easier when yur alone doing. Learn something new everyday.

[COUESAZ]

I always make sure that I have a thing of water just for washing my meat down before I pack it out. I will do that once on the trip back as well to keep the meat cool. If you can keep the meat cool and clean you will notice the better the meat will taste.

[BowhuntCoues]

I carry a big trash bag in my pack, then unload my pack insert trash bag as a liner, debone critter, put meat in trash bag, load remaining equipment back in pack, leave all bones on site for coyotes, proceed back to truck or quad. I wish I knew how to do that when I was younger, it sure would have saved on the back. 1stcoueswas80 will relize that in a few years.

[recurveman]

The other thing I make sure and do is only cut where the small hair is at. That way I don't have nearly as much hair to deal with. I normally cut down the inside of the leg and down the belly. That seems to be where most of the shorthair is at. I also cut from the inside out. That way I'm cutting hide instead of the hair first. It makes a huge difference and only takes a second but saves hours when you get it home.

 

I also like the water idea. I like to keep a 5 gallon jug (with tarp, saw and gamebags) in the truck so I can wash all the meat down immediately. I prefer to not bone the meat out in the field. I really like to keep the quarters intact to decrease the amound of surface area. Less surface area means less hair and crap to clean at home.

 

Later,

 

recurveman

[Redbeard]

I never gut an animal just do the no gut method. When I was guiding it was the only way I'd do an elk and will never go back to gutting. I was surprised to find out that not many of my clients had ever seen it done that way before. It makes doing an elk far from the roads managable. I can't believe how many people will still drag a gutted whole deer out. A boned coues deer will fit entirely in a 2200 cubic inch pack. I put some of my small gear in stuff sacks so I can tie it to the outside of the pack when I fill the pack with meat.

 

I use heavy duty trash compactor bags to line my pack. I debone bigger animals but usualy quarter coues deer since there isn't much weight in the bones and it makes handling and butchering easier to have the bone in. I have a separate bag for all of the loose meat too. The $0.99 panchos you can buy at the checkout stand at Wal-Mart make super lightweight tarps for laying your meat on while boning. They aren't much good for rain but will help for that. When you are done just wad it up and throw it away when you get home.

[Mr Stealth]

I will be taking my 12 year old son on his first hunt this December in 24B. I can't wait. The pictures that I've seen on this site have been awesome. We took the hunter education course and they told us that for safety reasons, you shouldn't carry a deer over your shoulder. Dragging is better. Someone said that it helps tenderize the meat. I tend to disagree with this. I dragged a mule deer about 1/4 mile once and that side was beyond tender. I usually wrap the head and anters with orange tape and carry it over my shoulders. The terrain here is not like back east where you have lots of grass and snow, plus where I'm going, I might be three miles from my vehicle. But this year I am considering quartering in the field.

[az4life]

The biggest problem I have is positioning the darn antlers so if I slip and fall, I won't puncture my own lung or leg or whatever.

 

We all know Coues like rugged, steep country, so This method will make things easier for sure.