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Thread: Newbie advice - gutting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
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    Duncan
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    2,983

    Newbie advice - gutting

    Most new deer hunters put most of their focus on simply catching sight of their prey. Their thoughts are filled with weapons, ammo, and the gear that they need to hunt that animal, but they have given much less thought as to what will happen after that animal is on the ground. That was my experience chasing blacktails in the chilliwack valley. But the reality is the true hard work in hunting comes after that animal hits the ground. You will need to figure out how you are going to get the meat out of the field and back to your vehicle. Now I’m not going to get into hauling meat. There are many solutions to that problem. But I will say this, at least consider how you plan to get the animal out of the forest. If your like me then you will usually be at least a few kilometres away from your vehicle. Adding some decent ropes to your pack is amazingly useful for what will be a long haul out. I am going to give some practical tips for when you are finally looking down at a dead animal with a mixture of disbelief, elation, and possibly remorse. I am giving advice on conventional field gutting, I like to try and keep the pelt so I have little experience with gutless method.

    First off, let the adrenaline subside if you still have any shakes. Cut your tag and take a breath. Get out your headlamp if light is dwindling. If you don’t have a headlamp, then remind yourself to get one. You’ll be happy to have both your hands free. Move the deer into the best position you can, it’s best if you can keep him on his back with minimal effort (they always want to roll on you). If there is a slope then it is best to have the butt end pointing downslope. You do not need a large knife for gutting. In fact I tend to use a small folding pocket knife for most field gutting. Big knives can become a liability in the abdominal cavity.

    I start my cut up on the sternum. That way I never risk cutting too deep into the stomach itself. The abdominal cavity has a layer of skin then a thin muscle wall that you have to cut through to open it up fully. Getting the cut started in the abdomen itself without piercing the stomach is the toughest part. Take your time, go slow and just get through the layers. Just get a hole large enough that you can get two fingers into the cavity. Then palm up use your fingers to guide the blade and keep it from cutting into the stomach contents. Just zip that cavity open all the way down to the pelvis bone. The intestines will try to escape before you are finished, let them. Roll the deer over onto its side just scoope them out of the way. They will be encased in a layer of lacey fat. I would recommend trying to keep that!

    First thing I do is find the end of the colon. It will likely be full of poo pellets. I simply squeeze them out in both directions to get a long clean length of the colon. I cut it and tie both ends off with a simple granny knot. I do not core the anus out in the field! It’s just another place to get lots of dirt into the meat. Now most of the intestines are loosely connected to the body. You can rip these connections out by hand. In fact this is my preferred way, less chance of cutting into the tender loins. There will be one tighter connection point that you will want to cut. This connection also houses the main artery. The process will be very blood free until this cut is made. This cut will cause blood to fill the abdominal cavity. Just try to clear it away. You will find large clots begin to appear quite quickly. Don’t worry, this is normal. Keep freeing up the intestines, stomache, liver etc. One note, the bile duct is a small pale sac on the liver. You can remove it by tearing it with your fingers. The fluid inside is pretty pungent, try your best to leave it in the bile duct.

    After all this you will find a thin wall of muscle separating the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. This is the diaphragm. Simply cut it all the way around on both sides. You will now have access to the heart and lungs. Pull at them and free them up. The only thing holding everything in now is the trachea. You can work it free with your knife and tugging quite hard on it. You can also just cut it and leave it in place, you only risk a bit of food falling into the cavity. I’ve done both and it turns out just fine. The gut pile should be completely divorced from the rest of the deer and you can happily start the long haul out. Of course it’s best for a mentor to show you this process for the first time, but don’t be afraid to get in there if you don’t have someone there to guide you. It’s not that difficult. Hope this helps.
    Last edited by brian; 12-13-2021 at 09:50 PM. Reason: Adding paragraghs

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Bulkley Valley
    Posts
    8

    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    I would suggest breaking this into paragraphs. Makes it easer to read. Great post otherwise.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    6,437

    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    very good ..also use your rope to hold legs apart...also if you gut shoot it, you will have a mess but no worries...just get it hung and thoroughly washed out asap...after washing,wipe any missed bits out then no more water.....then skin it ....always remember to skin the ankles before hanging so those little hairs don't fall into the meat..if your shoulder is bloodied up , cut it off and clean it up scraping blood off the meat....clean it, cool it and dry it asap for good meat...
    Last edited by wideopenthrottle; 12-13-2021 at 05:14 PM.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    North of Hope
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    2,486

    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    Step 1, cut your tag. Step 2 cut off the scent glands with a different knife than you are using to gut with. Then proceed with the process.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
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    Duncan
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    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    I got step 1 in there, I don’t do step 2 though. The more you handle the glands the more you risk tainting the meat with them. I don’t cut the glands off even when I skin, I just avoid handling them. It works for me.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    North of Hope
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    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    It's how you learned to do it, much better for a newbie to learn how to take them off properly at the start IMHO. Interested to hear more about how you deal with them when skinning?

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    1,041

    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    I never touch the glands either...never skin the leg down that far.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
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    Duncan
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    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    All right Cain, I added paragraphs. Hopefully it reads a bit better.

    HappyJack, I am mostly self taught. Like Danny says, I don’t deal with them. I simply don’t skin that far down. I skin by making my first skinning cuts on the ground and then hoist it up with a gambrel by the hind legs. Never had a problem with them.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Walnut Grove, Langley
    Posts
    14,191

    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    I also never touch the glands. Stay far away. Take the advice above and head on to Youtube and search field dressing game/deer. Get a beverage, you'll be there a while!
    Take a kid hunting its more rewarding than shooting an animal yourself!!

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    761

    Re: Newbie advice - gutting

    Keep your mouth closed when opening up the abdominal cavity.

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