Gutting a deer away from the kill spot

[Harvest the Land]

Hey folks,

When you're hunting in a good area where you're consistently seeing deer and you manage to take a nice buck and it drops right in the middle of that area, do you drag the deer away some distance before you gut it so that the other deer don't get spooked out by dead deer guts, and so you can go back and keep hunting that area in the future? Or do the deer not get spooked out and it doesn't matter where you gut it in an area that has lots of deer activity?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[HarryToolips]

I don't think it spooks them...I shot 2 deer this year in one area, albeit a month apart...but I've heard that deer aren't spooked by it but who knows..

[J_T]

To kill deer, I hunt out of a treestand. Yes, almost always drag the deer whole to the truck. Drive to a common location for gutting and skinning. Put up a Trail cam to watch the night action on a fresh kill.

I do agree though, I have arrowed deer that drop and bleed out on the spot. And the next day deer are passing through on the same trail.

Question might be, if you do create a disturbance how likely is it you will bring in noise and predator activity that might preclude prey species from coming in?

[takla1]

It doesn't bother other deer at all,or moose,or elk for that matter.Animals die in the woods all yr round.They are not intelegent enough to decern wether the dead deer died from preditation/old age /or your bullet,they are used to comeing across death in their home territories.
My son shot a bull moose a few yrs back as it should over the gut pile of the moose my dad shot the day before.Ive also seen similar in the bush with deer.Of course bear will move in and eat any bear remains...makes little difference from my experience.

takla

[DANOSON]

I think the problem would be all the other activity from the clean up crews ( ravens and eagles bears etc) but once they have done there job back to normal. So my 2 cents would say if you plan on hunting the same spot drag away unless you are not getting back there for a longer period of time. Mother nature gets things done fairly quickly.

[MichelD]

Following up on DANOSON's comments, the clean-up crew ususally has the place spotless in 3 days.

[Glenny]

Saw a moose gutpile last week in the morning and it was gone by the evening.

[Ourea]

Real life example..........
We killed a WT 2 years ago on a site that I was monitoring with a trail cam.
I was very curious to see how the gut pile and nature's clean up crew would affect the deer at this site.
When I pulled the cam a few days later I was surprised to see deer standing within feet of the gut pile feeding away.
This is later the same evening of the kill.

We have even seen scrapes created right beside the gut pile blood stains.

[Big Lew]

Nope, have seen deer wander by later in the day, some even sniffing at the remains.
If the 'clean up crew' is there, I haven't seen other deer.
I have taken my deer 'whole' and gutted them elsewhere so that other hunters don't
key in on that spot though.

[coach]

A friend of mine killed a buck a few years ago, gutted it, dragged it down to a lower toad then hiked back to get his truck. When he drove back to retrieve the deer, two more bucks were feeding right beside it. As someone said earlier, animals don't have the intelligence to link all the cause and effect stuff together.

[Harvest the Land]

Ok, thanks for the great info fellas! I like the idea of dragging it away so no other hunters might key in on your spot.

This website is by far the best on the net. You guys are always so helpful - thanks a lot!

Cheers

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Wth whitetails, yes. Just did that last week. Shot a buck, drug it out and drove it spot to gut it that would make people think "WTF! Someone got a buck there!?!"
I know. I'm just mean. Lol!

[hoochie]

do you drag the deer away some distance before you gut it so that the other deer don't get spooked out by dead deer guts, and so you can go back and keep hunting that area in the future? Or do the deer not get spooked out and it doesn't matter where you gut it in an area that has lots of deer activity?

I would like to put trail cams on the gut piles, because I swear, what ever comes over night an makes it disappear must be something really hungry. At best you might find a leg left over and a blood stain.

[Seeker]

Wth whitetails, yes. Just did that last week. Shot a buck, drug it out and drove it spot to gut it that would make people think "WTF! Someone got a buck there!?!"
I know. I'm just mean. Lol!


Not cool! That's really gonna mess with my gut pile chasing!

[coach]

Wth whitetails, yes. Just did that last week. Shot a buck, drug it out and drove it spot to gut it that would make people think "WTF! Someone got a buck there!?!"
I know. I'm just mean. Lol!

Lmao.. Met some guys who did that where we were hunting last week and returned the favour to the hunting community last night by doing the same thing.. :evil:

[338Schulz]

Thought it was your gut pile with the stomach content still there today,no feed lot within 20k so wasn't to hard to figure where the oats and alfalfa in the stomach came from LOL

[Fred1]

Don't sweat it for certain - unless it bothers the farmer... I have seen 13 moose shot from the same stand over a 21 day period - well I didn't see all of them die, and the field is quite big - but the moose kept coming thru despite the stench and Gbears. I have seen moose come out of the timber and stand over their dead buddies right after we drop em - and have even seen the same moose come back and check out the gut pile two days later. Until this year I have only seen deer hang out around a dead cow - it didn't seem to bother them though. However... leave a dead wolf carcass around or chip it up and spread it around and you wont see shit near there for up to three years...

[brian]

If you think about it, the animal probably doesn't know what a gut pile is. Understanding that a gut pile is your internal organs takes a bit of a logical leap that may be beyond a deers comprehension. Most deer would have a very limited interaction with internal organs until they were being ripped out of them. Certainly they can smell the aftermath in the area, but it may be meaningless to them unless there is fresh predator smell around. On scale of 1 to "get the f**k out of here", I'd say fresh predator smell rates pretty damn high on the scale whereas funky intestinal odors probably rate somewhere down in the odd yet nonthreatening smell that wasn't here yesterday.

[Sofa King]

the only thing about a gutpile that would alter the deers movements in the area would be the attracted predators to the pile.
my pile early in the season was cleaned up entirely, not a trace, overnight.
other deer were moving right through there immediately.

[BiG Boar]

I usually take and gut my animal to a key location if possible. Somwhere I'll drive by twice or a few times a day at 3-700 yards from the main traffic route. If I can put it 3-700 from just out of sight of camp even better. I love checking it and watching it disappear. Obviously in grizzly country this isn't that smart to have near camp, but I have shot wolves and coyotes near or on several gut piles in the last 5 years, and I'm sure it will keep happening in the future. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to get a bobcat, lynx or cougar on a pile. But leaving the pile where you shot the animal, out of the way, doesn't result in seeing as often, and therefore less chance of connecting with a wolf.

[B.C.Boy(100%)]

I move my deer from where they were shot, and relocate them to a place where I can have access to a creek for washing up after the gutting process.
Leave the guts out in the open for all to see.
The next morning the gut pile is gone, and there are fresh wolf scats near by usually.

[wideopenthrottle]

Normally I always gut where it drops....I have only left guts in a couple of times...this year I got a small WT that I was able to drag about 1 km to a road (I honestly thought I was a lot closer to the road ) before gutting it to ensure it stayed clean..the other time was when I had my son with me (he stayed in camp) so I dragged it down hill back to camp to show him the procedure of gutting...

[Citori54]

I gut them where they drop. A few years back my brother shot a large bull moose at our favourite spot. Gutted it, then had to get the truck in as close as possible then winch it out. Fair bit of noise and disturbance, but next morning I called in a smaller bull to the same spot and shot it within 40 yards of the gut pile from the day before. That shows me it doesn't bother them much, even with the ravens on the kill.

[tuner]

Animals don't have a concept of "death", they operate strictly on fear and instinct.

[Daybreak]

Animals don't have a concept of "death", they operate strictly on fear and instinct.

I understand your point and it may apply to some species such as deer. There are animal species that mourn the death of relatives and companions. Elephants, whales, dolphins for example have all shown grieving characteristics. I know this does not apply to us as hunters but I think it's amazing how emotionally capable some species are. Elephants will spend days mourning a loss by staying beside the fallen "friend" and show major behavioural changes. They also have boneyards where they will travel to for the sole purpose of passing away near those who went before them. Others will visit the sites to "remember".


That gorilla named Coco learned a huge vocabulary and was introduced to Robin Williams at one time. Years later when Coco was told of Robins death the gorilla cried and mourned for days despite having only met him once years prior. She had not been told that death means to grieve.

Apparently deer do not have the concept of death but they do recognize the loss of a leader or an offspring from their group.