Gloves or no gloves?

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Lost count of how many deer I've dressed long ago. The number of times I have worn gloves to dress a deer, or anything else, stands at zero.
Maybe I am stuck in the past, I started hunting long before it became popular to fear sickness and death at every turn.

 

[Armored farmer]

my friend contracted some sort of blood infection from skinning and drying raccoon pelts. He was hospitalized until they finally discovered the problem. He was very ill.
Not worth it.
Wear the gloves.
Its hard to be macho laying in the hospital bed with a catheter and an IV.

 

[Armored farmer]

@Fine Figure of a Man

You must have posted your comment while I was typing mine...not a direct hit at you.
I felt the same way until I realized that my friend might die from it.
I can't remember what it was called. A $7 name.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

@Fine Figure of a Man

You must have posted your comment while I was typing mine...not a direct hit at you.
I felt the same way until I realized that my friend might die from it.
I can't remember what it was called. A $7 name.

No offense taken and no offense meant to any who prefer to wear gloves. I just never have and don't plane to change.
If I was skinning a lot fur bearers I'd probably wear gloves, if for no other reason than the smell.
I like to touch Mrs. Fine Figure. If my hands stink it's not happening.

 

[curtste]

Our circumstances are such that we can hang our deer to gut them. The gut pile drops neatly into a heavy rubber muck tub and becomes a nice frozen bait pile for coyotes later on. We use gloves. We like to use the heavy duty white "Mr Clean" gloves you buy for a few dollars at the grocery store next to the oven cleaner. We just wash them and reuse. We bought two pair years ago, and haven't needed to replace them yet.

 

[Ernie Bass]

how do you get the gut pile in a bag??!? Do you hang and then gut?

I’m trying to picture myself trying to slide or lift a stomach into a plastic bag...Don’t see it going so well. Everything else pretty easy I would assume. Do you do this for all deer or only those that might be tested or potentially have CWD?

I have not done this yet. Just got the message the other day. For me it would in most cases be impossible anyway, but I will as mentioned in my Post, try and bury them as well as possible. You might want to do your own research on this. I am going to do more research as well. I travel light, go pretty far in and usually have a hard time dragging a deer back, sometimes have to get help. But will be looking for a light weight shovel. Ground is Soft in the swamps areas I hunt.

 

[Ernie Bass]

Here is a list of disease's and Precautions for Hunters

https://www.avma.org/resources/public-health/disease-precautions-hunters

 

[Ernie Bass]

How to field dress a deer in10 min without gutting

 

[WisBorn]

I started wearing gloves about 10 years ago with cwd. I wear them now because it keeps my hands clean. Now living in SC it seems like you are not supposed to field dress in the field!?! I will still wear them when cleaning up the game at home.

 

[Aletheia]

There is a theory around CWD that says you are more helpful by leaving the gut pile at the kill site. If CWD is present, then the gut pile will not spread it anywhere else, but if you move the gut pile you move CWD. The same applies to hides and bones. If you dispose of them anywhere other than where the animal was shot, you are risking the spread of the prion. Besides, I have never seen any evidence that a gut pile disturbs deer in any way, and full predators don't have to kill anything for a while.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

But I’m seeing more and more about using full length gloves to field dress a deer (especially with the very low chance of CWD).

You think CWD is the only reason to wear gloves?
https://www.cdc.gov/brucellosis/exposure/hunters.html
https://watermark.silverchair.com/2...gJZrillxXHsrFTvWeiRu65fpwIxRY1lBozxar6ZDmGBZw
https://iacuc.wsu.edu/zoonoses-associated-with-deer/

 

[Sav .250]

Back in the day ,I never wore any hand protection. Such as latex . I didn`t know any better.
Over time and learning more, I never gut stuff (deer,hogs) with out said hand protection. Just the smart thing to do. At least for me.
It`s a personal choice for sure.

 

[bsparker]

You think CWD is the only reason to wear gloves?

Definitely not the only reason, but it was a catalyst for me to reconsider the way I was raised. Never thought anything of it, neither did those I hunted with. Gut and wash always worked alright. Thanks for the additional resources, I’ll check’em out.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I started wearing gloves after seeing the guys that I was invited to camp with use them(decades ago)... Boy!, I thought, what a novel idea! been using gloves ever since!

 

[Duster340]

Yep, I wear fairly tight forearm length rubber gloves when field dressing deer.

 

[gotboostvr]

I always pack them, I sometimes even remember to use them!

Protip: if you don't have a latex allergy, the latex gloves are a bit more tear resistant than the nitrile ones. Also, get a smaller size than you think you need. I'm 6'4" and can palm a basketball, I wear Large gloves. They stretch alot. I can fit into a medium if need be.
A box of 100, good quality gloves (I like the Diamond Grips) are less than $5 in normal times.

 

[buck460XVR]

There is a theory around CWD that says you are more helpful by leaving the gut pile at the kill site. If CWD is present, then the gut pile will not spread it anywhere else, but if you move the gut pile you move CWD. The same applies to hides and bones. If you dispose of them anywhere other than where the animal was shot, you are risking the spread of the prion. Besides, I have never seen any evidence that a gut pile disturbs deer in any way, and full predators don't have to kill anything for a while.

The suggestion by our DNR(Wisconsin) is that if you cannot dispose of the carcass(as in bones) after butchering in a landfill, that you dispose of it as close to the original kill site as possible. The state also provides in many areas, since the discovery of CWD, dumpsters for deer carcasses in many areas.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Definitely not the only reason, but it was a catalyst for me to reconsider the way I was raised. Never thought anything of it, neither did those I hunted with. Gut and wash always worked alright. Thanks for the additional resources, I’ll check’em out.

Yeah, there are plenty of other blood borne maladies that can do really bad things to you. Things that may not have killed you when you were younger may have a much worse result now that you are older.

Interesting that CWD going you to consider gloves given that transmission to humans isn't documented as of yet.
https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html

 

[Axis II]

Wow! You forgot the decimal point I guess.

Yes. I hate typing on the phone especially when you wear a size xl glove. #fathands

 

[sage5907]

I do some taxidermy work and I won't skin, gut or work on the skull of animals unless I use gloves. I like the Radnor nitrile disposable gloves sold by McKenzie Taxidermy Supply. I have become increasingly aware of skin and blood infections that can be picked up from animals and I don't want any part of it. Also, do to bad stuff coming out of the brain cavity I especially want to use gloves when I am sawing the antler cap from the top of a skull and when I am sawing or grinding the dry skull plate to fit the taxidermy form. I also wear a dust mask and do the work on skulls outside with the wind at my back because I understand that Infections that can affect the brain in humans can be present in animal brains.

 

[marksman13]

Deer, no, but I rarely skin and gut them anymore. Way easier to drop them off at a processor.

Pigs, I absolutely wear gloves. I hate skinning pigs, but I help run an organization which takes wounded veterans on pig hunts and those guys often want to take the spoils of the hunt home with them.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I vaguely remember dressing game years ago with Dad (1919-1972) with a bucket of water and bleach mix and towels close at hand. And used often.

Dressing feral pig, I definitely would use gloves. And thoroughly cook the meat.*




*Added: When I have sushi, I roll it in cornmeal with Cajun spices and deep frie it.

 

[der Teufel]

Dressing feral pig, I definitely would use gloves. And thoroughly cook the meat.*


*Added: When I have sushi, I roll it in cornmeal with Cajun spices and deep fry it.

I only hunt feral hogs, so take that into consideration, but I ALWAYS wear gloves. I typically get 5mm thick nitrile gloves, although other options are available.

* Hmm, that might make me consider eating sushi…

 

[Sniper66]

My buddy and I wear gloves when field dressing deer. My buddy also wears a plastic chest high apron. In just a few minutes we have the guts out, the heart in a bag and the deer in the back of the truck. The gloves go in a trash bag and the apron rinsed off. Easy peasy. A bit later we are eating biscuits and gravy at the local cafe, while the buzzards clean up the gut pile.. Unless we decide to shoot squirrels, which we clean without gloves....go figure.
Related story....my brother has shot and cleaned many 100s of squirrels, all without gloves. After retiring from the Army, he decided to get a nursing degree. After taking classes in infectious diseases, he started wearing gloves when cleaning squirrels. I continued without gloves. That was about 30 years ago, in the last 30 years we have killed and cleaned 100s more.....we're both still alive. BTW, after a few years of wearing gloves, he gave it up. Still kicking and shooting squirrels.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I do almost always have a baggy full of them in my backpack....its just the remembering part.....

Same. I usually stick some in my pockets. But rarely use them. Probably should

I don't normally gut in the field. In most cases, getting a fully intact deer back to where I can hang it upside down is pretty simple,

Same there too. I generally hang them and let the guts fall neatly into a 6 gallon bucket. Then proceed to accidently knock over said bucket.

Wow! You forgot the decimal point I guess

Or he is Canadian. Or Californian.

I use the thick black gloves. Sams sells them. Shiney reflective box with a spider on it. Can't recall the name. Venom maybe. Idk. They are considerably tougher than the exam gloves. I try to wear gloves doing a lot of things nowadays. But ive been covered in everything from carb cleaner, bean dust, orthene, down the line in the past.