Yep. Kinda makes 'ya wonder what the "powers to be" consider unacceptable behavior, huh?
You could have always reported the post.
Yep. Kinda makes 'ya wonder what the "powers to be" consider unacceptable behavior, huh?
Never hunted public land and never will, my son will have more land to hunt than he ever can he has been huntong since he was 3 and skinning ALSO. "Guns don't kill people, wannabe hunters kill people" Unknown
I can't believe I read all five pages of this.
Since I've gone this far, might as well be useful.
Just for the people who really do have a hard time of it and looking for a little advice.
Make it easy on yourself. Don't gut shoot one. Always aim for the heart and don't take wild shots. Wait until you absolutely can't miss shots. Then shoot them through the heart.
Blow out that pump with the first shot and you just make every thing from there on a whole lot easier. You don't have to chase them. You don't have to crawl around looking for blood. Big one here, THEY DON'T GET ALL HYPED UP ON ADRENALIN AND HORMONES. They just drop dead and never know why. That adrenalin and homones and running for their lives makes them stink to high heaven, inside and out. It makes the meat nasty. Just about every thing people complain about most can be traced back to the one most common cause, a bad shot.
I don't always have all this with me but.... if you make a good shot, there's a lot better chance that the truck is not far away from where the deer is laying dead. Go get the truck if you can, where you will have a pair of rubber gloves, a camera, a lantern or at least head lights, a plastic gallon jug of water to drink or wash blood off your hands and knife, tomahawk.
Drive as close as you can and now decide if it's still too far to drag the whole deer up where there is light if it's night. Get your pictures where the deer died. It'll mean more to ya. Get your favorite equipment in there or any thing you want to leave your boy some day. It'll mean something to him to point to a deer with the shot gun dad gave him in the picture. Do it while you can get a classy, clean, natural looking shot.
Now show's over. Any thing you don't want nasty, now is the time to put it in the truck. Get your mind right. It's just a job. Elbow deep in innards ain't any one's idea of fun, I don't care what they are saying here or while they watch you. It's guy fun, teasing the newbie. Forget it or fling some intestines at them.
It's just a job. Do it right. Do it efficiently. Think about the job and just do it. Kinda like poking a hemoroid back in. No body wants to do it for ya, every one is laughing right now thinking some one else may have to do it. None of them laugh when they can't sit down right.
Nick that skin just enough to get a finger or thumb in and DON'T NICK ANY THING INSIDE THERE. Stick your finger in and hook it so it points up toward the head and pull it out like a tight sweater on a hot babe. Now unzip those puppies and let them loose for the world to see but nick any thing underneath, pinch, or make it bleed and the party is over. Now get down there between those legs and really help them spread out. Open that meat all the way to the bone until they will lay flat spread out. Oh they resist? Get that tomahawk and chop the bone one one side, NOT THE MIDDLE, then the other. Nice and light, so a piece just about 3 inches lifts right up off there and those legs fall flat on either side.
This animal should have all her secrets out for the world to see now, start dumping them out on the ground and get that esophagus out as high as you can with our ruining the neck roast. IF it's a throphy don't split the rib cage or cut the cape above the bottom of the ribs. Just get it all out best as you can. Except for the liver, if it don't look like meat, dump it on the ground. Get a good bragging picture if there's any heart left with a hole in it. Throw it out where you can find it for when you wash your hands off..
When all the guts are hanging on by that last bit of intestine on the yucky end just use your skinning knife to "help" it come out with out dumping any nasty in the meat.
Don't think about what it smells like. It's irrelevant. Think about how you get that out of there in whole pieces with out nicking it and making the job worse. Think about how this isn't as bad as you thought and think about what you are doing to keep it that way.
Take a straight blade knife you would want to clean silly putty off in the dark. Not a folder or gimmic doall knife that's going to be filled with crap afterward and you'll consider it a favor.
I can't believe I read all five pages of this.
Since I've gone this far, might as well be useful.
Just for the people who really do have a hard time of it and looking for a little advice.
Make it easy on yourself. Don't gut shoot one. Always aim for the heart and don't take wild shots. Wait until you absolutely can't miss shots. Then shoot them through the heart.
Blow out that pump with the first shot and you just make every thing from there on a whole lot easier. You don't have to chase them. You don't have to crawl around looking for blood. Big one here, THEY DON'T GET ALL HYPED UP ON ADRENALIN AND HORMONES. They just drop dead and never know why. That adrenalin and homones and running for their lives makes them stink to high heaven, inside and out. It makes the meat nasty. Just about every thing people complain about most can be traced back to the one most common cause, a bad shot.
I don't always have all this with me but.... if you make a good shot, there's a lot better chance that the truck is not far away from where the deer is laying dead. Go get the truck if you can, where you will have a pair of rubber gloves, a camera, a lantern or at least head lights, a plastic gallon jug of water to drink or wash blood off your hands and knife, tomahawk.
Drive as close as you can and now decide if it's still too far to drag the whole deer up where there is light if it's night. Get your pictures where the deer died. It'll mean more to ya. Get your favorite equipment in there or any thing you want to leave your boy some day. It'll mean something to him to point to a deer with the shot gun dad gave him in the picture. Do it while you can get a classy, clean, natural looking shot.
Now show's over. Any thing you don't want nasty, now is the time to put it in the truck. Get your mind right. It's just a job. Elbow deep in innards ain't any one's idea of fun, I don't care what they are saying here or while they watch you. It's guy fun, teasing the newbie. Forget it or fling some intestines at them.
It's just a job. Do it right. Do it efficiently. Think about the job and just do it. Kinda like poking a hemoroid back in. No body wants to do it for ya, every one is laughing right now thinking some one else may have to do it. None of them laugh when they can't sit down right.
Nick that skin just enough to get a finger or thumb in and DON'T NICK ANY THING INSIDE THERE. Stick your finger in and hook it so it points up toward the head and pull it out like a tight sweater on a hot babe. Now unzip those puppies and let them loose for the world to see but nick any thing underneath, pinch, or make it bleed and the party is over. Now get down there between those legs and really help them spread out. Open that meat all the way to the bone until they will lay flat spread out. Oh they resist? Get that tomahawk and chop the bone one one side, NOT THE MIDDLE, then the other. Nice and light, so a piece just about 3 inches lifts right up off there and those legs fall flat on either side.
This animal should have all her secrets out for the world to see now, start dumping them out on the ground and get that esophagus out as high as you can with our ruining the neck roast. IF it's a throphy don't split the rib cage or cut the cape above the bottom of the ribs. Just get it all out best as you can. Except for the liver, if it don't look like meat, dump it on the ground. Get a good bragging picture if there's any heart left with a hole in it. Throw it out where you can find it for when you wash your hands off..
When all the guts are hanging on by that last bit of intestine on the yucky end just use your skinning knife to "help" it come out with out dumping any nasty in the meat.
Don't think about what it smells like. It's irrelevant. Think about how you get that out of there in whole pieces with out nicking it and making the job worse. Think about how this isn't as bad as you thought and think about what you are doing to keep it that way.
Take a straight blade knife you would want to clean silly putty off in the dark. Not a folder or gimmic doall knife that's going to be filled with crap afterward and you'll consider it a favor.
What would be awesome is if one could...on their next kill, make us an illustrated version of this.
Never hunted public land and never will, my son will have more land to hunt than he ever can he has been huntong since he was 3 and skinning ALSO. "Guns don't kill people, wannabe hunters kill people" Unknown
Come on guys. Yer really just making this a way bigger deal than it is. You are letting all these "stories" and old timer's bull crap get you worked up over something that is no big deal.
My personal learning mantra is this:
1. Tell me (I'll forget)
2. Show me (I'll remember)
3. Let me try. (I'll understand)
4. Repeat 1-3 as required to reach the skill level desired or required.
I absolutely believe ANY THING can be taught to ANY ONE if those 4 steps are followed absolutely. I don't care if it's rocket science or field dressing a deer, those 4 stepps will teach any one any thing provided the person teaching knows it and most of the time regardless if they know any thing at all, a person who wants to learn will learn it following those steps.
1. Tell me. I know you've read this thread. I know you've most likely been told a dozen times by people bragging how good they are at it and throwing in a little extra "enthusiasm" to convince you what a great thing they have accomplished. Scrape off the bull crap and what is involved in field dressing a deer? You opened up their belly and let the organs fall out that wanted to fall out all their lives any way.
2. Half of you have probably seen it done as they guy winced who is now telling you how great he is at it every time you meet at the watering hole. If not, I'd bet a million dollars if you google, field dressing deer, there are going to be more illustrated instructions by people who are worthy of taking pictures of and people who just think they are than you can count.
3. Only thing really missing here is "Let me try". Take careful note here, "Let me try". Not let me do it, not let me put on a show. Just go kill one and try. More than likely you are going to be by your self. If not and you've got some one so great they may tease you then they should be standing there giving you step by step instructions. If you are alone what have you got to lose? Bloody hands and a jug of water and a messy knife to clean up. That's the worst there is.
If you are taking it some where else to process this is the easiest job in the world. I guarantee if you've even bothered to read this thread they have seen a lot worse than what you are going to bring them and no one is going to say a negative word. YOU ARE PAYING THEM. YOU MEAN MONEY TO THEM. THEY LOVE YOU.
Turn the deer across the hill with the belly facing up hill. Unzip here sweater. Stand on the up hill rear leg and push them apart so all the mess is still in a "bowl" and not dumping out yet. Split those two hams down to the bone and give your self plenty of room to work on that bone with out messing up any thing that LOOKS LIKE MEAT. Remember, you've eaten meat. YOu don't have to be Danial Boone to tell meat from guts.
Now tip the deer down hill so the guts do what they want to do. Push up your sleeves and any thing that's not meat and has something clingy holding it up in there just start cutting "strings" until they start falling out.
Rinse off your hands with the water you brought or a Mountain Dew, what ever. I've honestly had a kid with me who had never done it before and we both washed our hands in one mountain dew when it was done and he wasn't puking he was ginning like a possum eating a gut pile.