Skinning and field dressing
- Thread starter Mentokk1
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I learned the art of field dressing reading an old 1960's hunting magazine article over and over again.
Then that very year on a cold fateful morning at age 13 I shot a six point buck and went right to work.
There are plenty of articles in print and then there is always Youtube,which shows ten thousand ways to attain the same results.
Really though if you have others you know more experinced with this they usually will coach you along.
At first it may seem intimidating but in actuality it's really pretty cut and dry.
Then that very year on a cold fateful morning at age 13 I shot a six point buck and went right to work.
There are plenty of articles in print and then there is always Youtube,which shows ten thousand ways to attain the same results.
Really though if you have others you know more experinced with this they usually will coach you along.
At first it may seem intimidating but in actuality it's really pretty cut and dry.
Old bookstores that have used books will at times have hunting books that were written at a time when large numbers of American men hunted and many of these will show you as well.
One night not too very long ago my brother and I watched several Youtube clips of field dressing and skinning and although most finally got to the end result I found most were over done or did not go into enough detail to help the novice.
These hunting magazines today really need to dust their archives off and show some of this with real details as well as the graphic pictures to help the novice hunters of today who,for no fault of their own, were never shown these basic skills.
One night not too very long ago my brother and I watched several Youtube clips of field dressing and skinning and although most finally got to the end result I found most were over done or did not go into enough detail to help the novice.
These hunting magazines today really need to dust their archives off and show some of this with real details as well as the graphic pictures to help the novice hunters of today who,for no fault of their own, were never shown these basic skills.
Are ya joking Mentokk1? Squirrels are a pain to skin, now rabbit theres a nice easy one to skin. I learned by googling it on my phone then... diving in with a knife. Of course... Growing up/working at a vet clinic probably helped.
butcherboy
Member
heres one more option ( that worked for me) i know most of the "butchers" in my area, so i went and talked to them.
they have alot of experience skinning and dressing and see a lot of poorly done field dressing jobs all the time. they are usually more than willing to give you advice since if you bring a deer to them that was properly dressed it makes there job easier.
but for me nothing beats practice.
they have alot of experience skinning and dressing and see a lot of poorly done field dressing jobs all the time. they are usually more than willing to give you advice since if you bring a deer to them that was properly dressed it makes there job easier.
but for me nothing beats practice.
trickyasafox
Member
my old man showed me. gutting is actually quite easy. Don't have much experience skinning.
Sniderman
Member
Any IHEA course, which most if not all state sponsored courses are, will cover field dressing. Most likely not hands on, but it's illustrated in the literature that students are given and mandated to be covered in the class. Any good instructor will be more than happy to answer any qustions you may have that aren't covered in the text.
Squirrels are easy, Snip off the feet at the first joint with a pair of sidecutters, Cut through Just the skin around the neck, Hold the head in your hand with your thumb and trigger finger wrapped around the neck and the top of the skull against your palm, grab the hide firmly at the neck with a pair of slip joint pliers and pull it firmly towards the tail. one naked squirrel.
Don't do this in the house! Not even the basement! (Don't Ask,)
Squirrels are easy, Snip off the feet at the first joint with a pair of sidecutters, Cut through Just the skin around the neck, Hold the head in your hand with your thumb and trigger finger wrapped around the neck and the top of the skull against your palm, grab the hide firmly at the neck with a pair of slip joint pliers and pull it firmly towards the tail. one naked squirrel.
Don't do this in the house! Not even the basement! (Don't Ask,)
Sav .250
Member
It`a a family thing. My dad showed me and I showed my boys. Now the next generation is in line. The gran-son. He got his first lesson this past deer season. I`ll say this, he`s got a ways to go! 
springfield30-06
Member
It's actually not as bad as you may think it is...
chas08
Member
It's not that hard. You just remove the intestines (see attachment 1) from the inside. Then remove the skin (see attachment 2) from the outside. You'll make a few mistakes and you'll learn from them. The two most common are puncturing the stomach or the bladder. There's no better way to learn than to just get elbow deep in it.
Attachments
AKElroy
Member
I have been fortunate to have pro's to hunt with. Nothing like learning skinning / quartering from watching someone with lots of experience. As for gutting, I actually prefer doing that before hoisting game off the ground. It is easier for me to make clean non-perforating cuts on an animal laying on its back vs. hanging from a gambrel.
Makes them easier to lift into the truck when hunting alone as well.
Makes them easier to lift into the truck when hunting alone as well.
Sheepdog1968
Member
In the hunter ed class that I took the did show a video. If you go online to Bass Pro or Cabelas, they carry DVDs that you can purchase for around $20. There is one (by Outdoor Edge I think) that I found to be quite good ... almost to the point of being too slow. It takes you from the initial gutting all the way through carving up the meat.
sansone
Member
I'm really enjoying this thread because most my customers talk "hunting" .. probably because I'm selling them the new deer rifle. I explain to them my ignorance regarding hunting, I'm a paper-puncher on the never ending quest to find the perfect handload. I envy the people who can harvest meat.
I'm sure I could figure it out pretty quick, I worked in a small slaughterhouse for a time in my youth. I didn't do the gutting and skinning, but I watched and did the cleanup afterwards. My biggest problems are no place to hunt, no offroad truck or ATV, and nobody to hunt with. Rasslin' a big dead animal by myself would be no fun, especially with no way to transport it. So I don't even bother.
What AKLEroy says about gutting the animal laying on it's back is true.
Growing up it was absolutely unacceptable to bring a deer into camp with it's guts intact.
For the best care of the meat you were expected after coming upon the dead deer to immediately field dress the animal.
I still do.
Unfortunately in the last twenty years or so I have noticed that people who were not educated in that line of thinking shoot a deer at 7-8:00 a.m. in the morning and they bring the bloated animal completely intact at 10-11:00 a.m. that same morning into camp.
Yuck!!!
The second the first incision is made the out pouring gas will gag anyone.
I advise these guys to make a very small incision into the area most of us call the solar plexus to vent the animal and quickly walk away for a few minutes.
Of course all of this could be avoided by taking less than ten minutes of their morning and doing it in the field in the first place.
Growing up it was absolutely unacceptable to bring a deer into camp with it's guts intact.
For the best care of the meat you were expected after coming upon the dead deer to immediately field dress the animal.
I still do.
Unfortunately in the last twenty years or so I have noticed that people who were not educated in that line of thinking shoot a deer at 7-8:00 a.m. in the morning and they bring the bloated animal completely intact at 10-11:00 a.m. that same morning into camp.
Yuck!!!
The second the first incision is made the out pouring gas will gag anyone.
I advise these guys to make a very small incision into the area most of us call the solar plexus to vent the animal and quickly walk away for a few minutes.
Of course all of this could be avoided by taking less than ten minutes of their morning and doing it in the field in the first place.
AKElroy
Member
I will take the game away from a feeder before gutting it assuming I can lift it, but not all the way back to camp. I never understood why the hunters in camp would want to deal with 30+ lbs of steaming entrails that will need to be hauled off, and then whatever tub contained them cleaned; thus dealing with guts several times vs. just leaving them in the wild. In central Texas, the buzzards, coyotes & pigs have them entirely gone within an hour anyway.
Pigspitter
Member
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- Aug 31, 2007
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If you look on the website course for the Georgia Hunter's Safety course they have a pretty detailed step by step description (with pictures, I think) on how to field dress a deer.
RTMiller
Member
Go to Youtube.com and search for "How to skin a deer with a golf ball"...
Best thing is to go huntin and shoot some game that you know you will eat and do a little trial and error it want take you long to figure out the right things to do.
The deer I gutt'm where they fall. It don't take long and its easier draggin. What the buzzards dont get the coyotes will clean up that night around here. I dont use nothin fancy just a shavin sharp pocket knife.
The deer I gutt'm where they fall. It don't take long and its easier draggin. What the buzzards dont get the coyotes will clean up that night around here. I dont use nothin fancy just a shavin sharp pocket knife.
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