Gut then skin?

or

Skin and then gut?

I have always skinned and then gutted so there isnt hair all over the meat.

I skin then gut

gut first. i dress it in the field to get it cooling as quick as possible, then skin it and quarter it back at camp.

I skin and then ½ gut my game

I hang the deer by the back legs and the remove the hide. After the hide and head are removed, I then cut off the front shoulders. Next, I cut the back straps. After that, I then cut open the body cavity and remove the tenderloins. Since it is hanging from its back legs, most of the guts fall down in the rib cage. After the tenderloins are removed, I then saw the carcass in half right next to the hind quarters. From there, I take the hind quarters to the ice chest and cut between the two of them and then remove the legs.

This way really makes it go fast, at least for me. Also, I really don’t get that much blood on myself or my knife. Yeah, I might not get all the meat between the ribs, but I get every other piece

gut it where it falls, skin and quarter at camp. I've never understood why people take the whole deer all the way back to camp only to have to deal with the guts in a trash can later. That's a nasty way to do it-

I posted this on another thread...

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Hang, skin, gut, cut off front feet, cut off front quarters, trim meat off ribs/neck, cut out backstraps and tenderloins, cut spine off just below hind quarters (toss it), spit hind quarters with a saw or limb loppers, cut off hind feet, done.

I tried a couple without gutting last year, and it's faster to gut instead of pushing everything aside and trying to get to the tenderloins. That was a PITA.

From the time you hang it to the time you have it in the ice chest should take no more than 30 minutes per deer. Gambrel with pulley, sharp knives, gut hook, and meat saw are all you need.

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Towns,

I don't like dirt and hair and grass on my deer's meat. It's that simple.

This may be a dumb question, but what about the tag? When you take a cooler full of fresh venison to the processor, how does he (or the game warden who stops you on the way) know if it was a legal kill or not (or the sex of the deer)? I've just gutted in the field and took the carcass to the processor.

86pilot-
the head has to stay with the meat while being transported.

yeah, always keep the head with the tag in the ear. i had a guide once tell me that you can use the leg as proof of sex. i asked him how he could tell the difference with the leg and his response after thinking about it for a while was "you just can." I later snuck the head out of the gut bucket and put it in a trash bag and threw it in the ice chest with my deer.

We put the heads (tag on ear) in sealed garbage bags on ice with the quarters. Don't make the mistake of leaving it on the back of your truck for too long. Nasty times.

Just copying and pasting specifically for deer.

The following is considered proof of sex and must accompany the carcass until it reaches its final destination and is finally processed:

*the head (skinned or unskinned) of a buck deer with antlers attached;
*the head (skinned or unskinned) of an antlerless deer

EXCEPTION: Instead of proof of sex, the hunter may obtain a receipt from a taxidermist or a signed statement from the landowner or the landowner's agent containing the following information:

*Name of person who killed the wildlife resource;
*Date the wildlife resource was killed; and
*One of the following, as applicable: whether the deer was antlered or antlerless

Personally---I keep the head sealed in the cooler with the quarters.

Skin and DON'T gut. This is what I do with everything I shoot:

http://home.att.net/~sajackson/guttless1.html

Real men gut the animal where it falls. It's how God intended.

I havent gutted a deer in years. I use a method very similar to what Log posted but I do hang the deer on the skinning rack. Hang it from the hind legs, cut off front and rear legs at the knees, skin it, pull the straps, remove neck meat and flanks, remove the shoulders, pull the tenderloins and lastly the hind quarters.

[This message has been edited by RRAggie99 (edited 10/5/2008 2:52p).]

You guys are better men than me.

I just gut it and take it to the processors.

I second Cowtown's post

we do it just like tx4guns, it all goes alot faster when their hangin rather than screwing with em on the ground.

aTmarc, you should know all this already, your roomate is one of the greatest outdoorsman of all time.

[This message has been edited by greenmachine (edited 10/5/2008 11:29p).]

I just skin enough to carve the straps out. Let nature do the rest.

[This message has been edited by Urban Ag (edited 10/6/2008 12:42a).]

If hunting near a feeder I suggest dragging away from said feeder approx 30 yards. Simple field dressing (i.e. full gutting including balls and such). Then hanging from the head and skinning then quartering as you go. I usually reclean and trim/de-bone at the house.

Only time I ever keep anything other than the meat is when it is a buck. I have never kept a skillet head. I have never been asked to show proof of sex either. Maybe because of the MLD tags?

I do it like RRaggie. I don't even bother with gutting. I process the meat myself and this is the easiest way for me. I hate paying someone a bunch of money to process meat that I bring in.

I might make an exception this year for some link sausage, though.

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aTmarc, you should know all this already, your roomate is one of the greatest outdoorsman of all time.

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I had no idea of this hidden talent.....I have more questions.

Gut, skin, quarter...

all this talk about hair on the meat and such... y'all must be messy skinners. I take my time and still have the deer skinned and quartered within 1.5 hours, little to no hair on the meat.

And how the heck would gutting the deer after you skin it prevent hair from getting on the shoulders hams or back straps? Those are all external muscles that lie against the skin the risk is the same gutting before or after.