Field Dressing ... Errors and solutions

[Doe.Deer]

I am new to hunting. I have a moose hunt coming up in a week and I want to be as informed as possible. I have been reading up on field dressing and watching video's on youtube. There is so much information on proper techniques, how to hang them, how to cool them, even a bit on if you will butcher it yourself.

My question is... I read so much of "don't puncture stomach, guts, etc..." so now I am researching, well what if you do! What do you do next? So far the only thing I am reading is discard the meat (WHAT A WASTE!!!!!) or drench it in vinegar and butcher it faster so it doesn't hang their for a week and spoil.

So what do you do if you punctured these parts? What would be worse puncturing intestines or bladder? I'm sure not everyone is perfect I just hope I have help when I get mine *crossing fingers* and if not I know how to correct my horrible mistake if by chance I do puncture it.

Tips I found to be useful so far
-I read on one website if you get some bladder on the meat to just wipe it immediately off where it touched and pat dry.
-I also read if you puncture intestines/stomach hang it from the head not the feet so the contamination doesn't run through the deer when draining out/cleaning it.
-Rinse with vinegar and little water to clean it up, black pepper to keep bugs away

[rides bike to work]

Ya just wipe it out quickly as you can. If there is snow on the ground that works good to sop it up and clean out the cavity. It won't contaminate much of the meat.

[Xenomorph]

Don't waste, that's all I can say. We had cases of gut shots, clean through the stomach, all exploded inside. Gutted the deer as fast as possible, dragged it to a creek nearby and washed thoroughly, then skinned, brought home and washed some more. No spoil, no weird taste.

Now, if you're way up there and you're 3+ days out of civilization you're kind of SOL. Clean as good as you can wherever you may be, and then clean some more :)

[Salty]

Don't sweat it too much Doe. if stomach contents contaminate some of the meat by a bad shot or a slip with the knife just wipe it fairly clean and carry on with the job. You can come back to it later once the hide is off and your done breaking it down, and trim off some of the meat if necessary and otherwise clean it up really well. Always good to have a spare knife or two keep one surgically clean only touching clean meat, another for trimming nasty stuff away.

[ydouask]

All good advice so far. I would add; take off your watch, remove any contaminated sleeves ( shirt, sweater) while completing the gutting and skinning, always change knives after getting rid of guts and contaminated parts, and wash your hands. Good luck out there.

[Salty]

I pack a stainless bucket in the truck and a spritzer bottle with water or in the early season water and vinegar mixed (to battle flies). If there's a creek nearby fill the bucket and use it to wash any messy areas I've done this quite a few times. The spritzer is in my pack for when the truck/bucket are far away.

[Gateholio]

Go gutless and don't worry about it.

[Doe.Deer]

Would you butcher it quicker (less hanging time) because of cutting open stomach/intestines/shit sack?

[Doe.Deer]

Thanks for the tips.. Great idea for precaution for the spray bottle!

[mattmckay]

I would start by using the gutless method and remove as much of the meat from the UNcontaminated area first. Watch for where the leakage is and if possible have that side down. When skinning leave the hide on any puncture areas and possibly have a flap of hide to fold over to contain spoilage. Keep any possibly contaminated meat separate and lots of vinegar water.

[Brno22F]

If the guts are punctured during removal or the animal is gut shot, one thing to remember is that the contamination will be within the abdomen and possibly within the chest cavity. The most likely meat to get ruined will be the ribs and the tenderloins. On a moose, this is a small percentage of the meat. For that matter, if the contamination is contained inside the body cavity, you will still be able to salvage a lot of meat from the outside of the rib cage for hamburger. The front quarters, rear quarters and neck are huge on these animals.
As others have said, gut it quickly, regardless of which method you choose to use and then clean it thoroughly by rinsing off/out any contamination. The sooner you get it gutted, cleaned, quartered and cooled the better.
Just my $0.02.

[two-feet]

I started hunting pretty young and as a 13 year old my shooting was...shakey. So several of the first animals that i took were shot a little far back and rumen material was into the cavity. We would do some thorough cleaning and everything would work out ok.
Now, however, i am a firm believer in the gutless method. All of the cuts that you make in the field must be done anyways and if you are careful and well prepared with meat bags everything stays clean and transport is so much easier. I even did a train-hit moose his way and it was great, even though the insides were liquified. Meat stayed clean because the cavity never gets opened.
So just get out there and dont worry too much, there is no issue that cant be resolved.

[zippermouth]

try to avoid doing this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMa44W5jNDA&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DN Ma44W5jNDA&has_verified=1





when I was young I wasn't the straightest shooter, I nicked the guts on a few deer, dad just took the garden hose to them and cleaned as best as possible. they were all good, might get the odd tainted steak but definitely far from all of it being ruined.

[Fred1]

Go gutless and don't worry about it.

yup this... on a shit shot (haha) do this... its far easier than you think!

[skibum]

Cut the rib cage open first and get that all free. Then move to the stomach and backwards. If you puncture something in the stomach region with your knife you don't have to deal with it while you work to cut the lungs and esophagus out.


Gut shot, gutless or just badass quick as you can

[emerson]

So just get out there and dont worry too much, there is no issue that cant be resolved.
This, it's not like some gut contents are nuclear waste. I recommend cutting your own meat to, if you have the time. Every thing you do will help you get better next time you disassemble an animal. Hunting bears and butchering them is great practice. The cost savings of wild meat goes away real fast when you pay hundreds to a meat cutter.

[skibum]

I had a buck last year that wasn't gut shot but some bone fragments hit the stomach. I did the front half first as usual (and saw signs of exploded guts). Had front lungs and such ready to go and quickly did stomach. Have to admit it was not pretty and was not done by the book. just lost the inside tenderloins. A little trimming of the hams and all good

Don't over think it. Just do it

Second cutting yourself. Especially for smaller gamer like deer

[Jelvis]

Doe hey, how yah doin? Your thread is very informative and high calibre.
Those tips you showed on the bottom of the page, the last paragraph is amazingly solid info, thanks for bringing this up deer. Never been to Willy's Pond b4, is it a big town?
Jelvis the Pelvis

[Sleep Robber]

I've gone with the gutless method before and it worked out really well, I also kept the hide on the quarters until I reached camp {or home}, it acts like a natural game bag in itself. Probably better to remove it though if its too warm.

Good luck out there.

[avadad]

I Strongly recommend the gutless method. Here is a great video on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKlj0wIF01w

[Duidery]

I always carry extra water bottles with me while hunting and have had to use them more times than I'd like to admit when nicking the stomach. Between the water and blood in the body cavity, you can quickly wash/rinse away any contaminant.

[jbruce]

heats the killer,snow and water are great,a little brown around the edges is telling you to start butchering or at least start trimming,when things start to smell and get soft to the touch start grinding!If you can't butcher cause you havn't the time toss the quarters into a freezer,ok in there for a few weeks,just make sure when you thaw out the quarters that you cut them up BEFORE the blood runs!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Go gutless and don't worry about it.

Agreed. Some people insist on loading an animal whole for some reason....and that's their prerogative...but it you walk up to your downed animal and see a questionable shot, go gutless to remove meat before its contaminated. Once you get to the point where you go in for the tenderloins and see they have guts on them, keep them separate from the other meat and try to clean them up later.

[M.Dean]

When ever I hunt from a truck or quad, I make sure I've got at least a gallon or two of water with me, if I do get crap on the meat, I try to get the animals body up on the front end and pour water into the chest cavity and wash it out with a rag. I think the most common mistake is cutting the pee bag, I use a small saw on deer to cut the pelvic bone and spread it open to get the pee bag out, on moose I used either my Nor Mark skinning axe, or my 136 Husky chain saw, which I use like a surgeons scalpel I might add! And if by chance you do get gut bile on the inner meat, don't chuck the animal out! As soon as you can, wash it off with water, scrub it some with a rag, dry, and hang it in a cool, fly free area, the meat will be just fine! I keep a roll of bag wire, it's thin wire covered with a green paper, used to close bag's, it's in most stores. And when I have to play around with the Poop chute, I tie the tube with the wire on one end, then cut the tube well holding it closed and tie that end, that way I can pull the bottom part free and clear from the hind end and then finish ripping the guts out with no poop getting on the meat, works for me! Have a great season, and hope to read your success story and see your photo's! Good Luck!

[emerson]

When ever I hunt from a truck or quad, I make sure I've got at least a gallon or two of water with me, if I do get crap on the meat, I try to get the animals body up on the front end and pour water into the chest cavity and wash it out with a rag. I think the most common mistake is cutting the pee bag, I use a small saw on deer to cut the pelvic bone and spread it open to get the pee bag out, on moose I used either my Nor Mark skinning axe, or my 136 Husky chain saw, which I use like a surgeons scalpel I might add! And if by chance you do get gut bile on the inner meat, don't chuck the animal out! As soon as you can, wash it off with water, scrub it some with a rag, dry, and hang it in a cool, fly free area, the meat will be just fine! I keep a roll of bag wire, it's thin wire covered with a green paper, used to close bag's, it's in most stores. And when I have to play around with the Poop chute, I tie the tube with the wire on one end, then cut the tube well holding it closed and tie that end, that way I can pull the bottom part free and clear from the hind end and then finish ripping the guts out with no poop getting on the meat, works for me! Have a great season, and hope to read your success story and see your photo's! Good Luck!
Uncle uses snap tie/cable tie to hold poop shoot closed. Handy things to have in the bush anyway.

[ACB]

Uncle uses snap tie/cable tie to hold poop shoot closed. Handy things to have in the bush anyway.
My dad taught me when I was a kid to have a piece of butcher twine along to tie off the poop shoot and the other end twice and cut between the two knots so no bile gets dragged through the chest cavity. The biggest thing is to washout the chest cavity when you get a chance.

[VanIsleCam]

Hey Matt - how's it going dude! Never heard of the vinegar water trick. Can you share the solution strength? And yes for my two bits and from a guy who gut shot his first deer (The bolt turned inside and emptied the guts), it is a bit gross but rinsing repeatedly works well.