To gut or not to gut/ to hang or not to hang

[jikkyo]

i'm in the need of some professional advice. This is gonna be my first time out. I'll be looking for deer and bear, but i want to know how to take proper care of the meat after the shot.

I'm leaning towards the gutless methods, i've done some reading on the forums and a lot of you guys seem to really like it. Is there any point in using the original method other than wanting the liver/heart?

umm and i live in an apartment, so i have no place to hang my meat. It all has to be done in field. Is hanging absolutely crucial to have good meat? Because i'm probably not going to hang it.

advice? :biggrin:

[Dually]

Alway's gut the animal as soon as possible, bring meat bag's for the heart and Liver if you want to keep them. It is good practice to hang meat before it is butchured but in the past when I have hunted late in the season and did not have a place to store the meat without it freeezing I have cut it after it only hung for very little time and it was still excellent. Also when you are skinning out the deer remove all bloodshot meat, I made the mistake of not doing that only once and it sours meat around the wound for quite a way's. Also try to get the meat cool as quick as possible, if you shoot somthing big late at night and cannot get it out, get it gutted and get the legs pryed open as wide as possible for efficient cooling.

Good Luck

[Gun Dog]

"Normally" I shoot, gut in the field, hang and skin back in camp, and off to the butcher when I get home (days later). In late October, early November the temperature is good for hanging on the game pole. That's how I learned from friends and just haven't tried the gutless method or doing my own butchering.

I'm not a professional; I just pretend to be one on the Internet.

[husky30-06]

I was taught by my Dad that the animal should be gutted as soon as possible and make sure that for deer you take off the scent glands right away with a knife that you would NOT use for gutting or skinning. to hang the meat, we have tried not to hang it to long because it could mold. If it does it still can be processed but the best way, If you do not have anywhere to hang it, is to contact your local wild game processor and find out he cost of hanging. they would be the best for this as they would know when it would need to be butchered. Also try to get the hide off the animal as soon as possible, this will help with the cooling.

[dougal]

gut the beast as soon as possible got a mule deer this year and had to drag it up a steep hill "left the guts and skin on for this as to save dammage to the meat " gut on the trail and skin in camp if you are in a warm area take the meat into town and find a place with a cooler to hang it they dont charge much we hung in a tree stand for four days and into the bucher as soon as possible. mmmmmmm meat any thing under 5 degrees is ok but not for long

[dukester]

Alittle confusion on the gutless method,, but yes its a great way to reduce weight by removing the quarters , back loin and tenderloin(takes practise). good luck ..post some pics when you get your animal down..

[huntingfamily]

Here you have it:

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

:biggrin:

[NaStY]

From what i here you loose alot of meat by doing it gutless?

[kennyj]

I de-bone all my animals on the spot.Most of the animals we shoot are a long ways from the road and it is a lot easier to pack it out on your back.I'll build a rack off the ground to allow for air circulation all around the meat.With the bone out of the quarters they cool very quickly.You don't need to loose any meat with the gutless method. Huntingfamily's post covers it.Just go one step further and remove the bones.They're heavy!

kenny

[abbyfireguy]

If I can get a vehicle or quad near the animal quickly I drag it out to where I will be loading it without gutting it first(saves dragging open cavities through dirt). Field dress the animal and open up ribs.If its a cool day I will stop then and have a breather and a beverage. Pat myself on the back for successfully not going home empty handed. Load animal whole into truck. I have a winch in the box which helps when loading a large back breaking bull moose like this year's beast.
Quickly back to camp and hang the beast . Skin off as quick as possible, then another break if any meals need to be had.
If it is evening now and going below freezing we have left the carcass whole on the winch line and quartered and bagged in the a.m., but generally I like to get it all done the first day.
For me the most critical things are :
-Keep the darn meet spotlessly clean.
-Cool it down ASAP(at least open the cavity up )
-clean up bloodshot areas
-wash blood and hair/dirt off
-cover with game bag material

We pride ourselves in presenting quarters to our butcher that are darn near slaughterhouse clean. This means we have never been turned away by our butcher no matter when we call with game to cut. He knows we are bringing properly cared for meat in to butcher ,not stuff he has to be concerned about contaminating his other hanging quarters .
You would be shocked at the sad state a lot of quarters arrive at the butcher in. It quite literally makes me sick when some hunters don't take the time to learn carcass field dressing and care or are too darned lazy to spend the time to do it. If an old fart like me can do a large bull moose this year with two torn up knees most everyone can.
I feel if I'm blessed to harvest an animal I'm darned well going to get every bit of meat processed and in prime consumable condition.
That might just be me but thats the only way I will take an animal.
If its blazing hot and I have no reasonable expectation of getting it to the butcher without spoiling, it walks..:wink:

[Jagermeister]

I think that in either case, you need to be in the company of an experienced hunter, unless of course, you're a trained butcher. This is not something that you should be doing by yourself.

[Wildfoot]

gut it out. you lose ribs, loins, tenderloins with gutless method. Its not like it keeps you any cleaner doing the gutless method.

Hang the animal at a butchers. Tastes way better after being hung. Not bear though, dont hang bear. Unless you want to attempt to butcher the animal yourself, you are going to take it to a butchers anyway.

Do you have a deep freeze lined up for storing the meat? A deer most likely wont fit in a fridge's freezer...

I would go out with someone who knows what to do first. You do not want to take a long time gutting an animal. It doesnt take long for flies to start laying eggs and dirt to get all over the meat.

Bring 2 knives and a sharpening stone. Keep your knives shaving sharp - if you cant shave your arm hair off, skinning an animal will be very hard.

[jml11]

From what i here you loose alot of meat by doing it gutless?


Not really all you are leaving behind is the bones and guts. Also it's all in the desire of the hunter, taking all 4 quarters is easy but rest you have to trim of the spine. You can pick between the ribs if you want but IMO unless it's a big bull moose it's not worth the effort for the little amount of hamburger you would get out of it.

Here's a graphic photo (sorry to the quezzy folk) of a small bull elk I took a couple years ago. It was a fly in back pack hunt so reducing weight was important. After shooting the elk we took of the quarters and deboned the meat. We didn't take much from the neck on this guy as he was shot twice in the neck and there really wasn't much good meat to take. We were able to dig out the tenderloins as well. Pretty much all that is left are the guts, hide, ribs and spine. Can't say I lost too much meat. The meat cutter I took it to would have cut the meat off the bone anyways. http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/jflex48/P9090114.jpg

[bigmike]

I think that in either case, you need to be in the company of an experienced hunter, unless of course, you're a trained butcher. This is not something that you should be doing by yourself.
best advice yet

[Mr. Dean]

Deer Processing 101.

It's a DVD. Buy it ($20)
All of this 'what if' stuff will all be disolved.

Seriously,,,,, BUY IT! Don't let others sway you from thinking that this can't be accomplished by yourself, and you end up not trying. Trust me, it can!

[Mr. Dean]

PS. Hanging isn't crucial, just makes it a bit nicer. Hang for as long as you can.

[Mr. Dean]

gut it out. you lose ribs, loins, tenderloins with gutless method. Its not like it keeps you any cleaner doing the gutless method.


No you don't. All meat is taken.

Doin it this way is mostly an advantage when deeper in the bush, for lightening the load OR it's a critter that you can't move/load by yourself. Once done a time or 2, it saves time and is very effective.

Deer I just gut and toss in the back of the Jeep and go to the cooler. The less time in the bush with a dead and bloody critter, the better IMO. Especially when by yourself.

400 pound bears are another story. One needs to get creative for that task... :rolleyes:

[jikkyo]

what would you do for bear? lol someone on an earlier post suggested that bears shouldn't be hung, which works for me

and im still leaning towards gutless method, but i am gonna try both. Mr. Dean, how long do you hang for? and is the meat still good if i don't hang at all and just put into the coolers with layered ice to cool?

[jikkyo]

best advice yet
i know no experienced hunters lol
its just me :mrgreen:

[moosinaround]

Leo.sun, wax on wax off!!! A little Karate kid humor! Anyways, each form of field dressing has it's place. If you are close to the road and can get it out with the bone in, do it! If yah got to pack it bone it out! Take your time, Keep things clean, and dont cut the piss sack! It is not the end of the world if it gets a LITTLE dirty from leaves or grass, soil is bad!!, but just remember, you are putting it in your mouth, so keep it as clean as possible! Take your time think about how each part of the carcass comes apart. Good luck, hope you have to gut it and hang it!! Moosin

[Mr. Dean]

what would you do for bear? lol someone on an earlier post suggested that bears shouldn't be hung, which works for me

and im still leaning towards gutless method, but i am gonna try both. Mr. Dean, how long do you hang for? and is the meat still good if i don't hang at all and just put into the coolers with layered ice to cool?

I typically hang a deer for ~1 week. The rule of thimb is 3 days/100 pounds (venison/beef) At a temp of under 40F.

Bear I'm not so sure. I've only taken one and it was decided before-hand that it was going to all be sausaged. He was a biggun'; I winched him to a road and did the gutless thing. Took all the meat and hide, tossed it into a freezer 2 hrs later. A small genny is all that's needed to run one in camp.


I'm also experimenting using a normal freezer as a cooler. I got a gizmo that will cut it in and out, at a preselected temp. A buddy has one and he tried it out on a deer last month. It seemed to work OK. I modded mine and installed a fan to circulate the air. I'll be takin' it on my upcoming 2 week hunt, again powered by a 1000 watt Honda.

[Allen50]

i'm in the need of some professional advice. This is gonna be my first time out. I'll be looking for deer and bear, but i want to know how to take proper care of the meat after the shot.

I'm leaning towards the gutless methods, i've done some reading on the forums and a lot of you guys seem to really like it. Is there any point in using the original method other than wanting the liver/heart?

umm and i live in an apartment, so i have no place to hang my meat. It all has to be done in field. Is hanging absolutely crucial to have good meat? Because i'm probably not going to hang it.

advice? :biggrin:
where do you live, in what area,, it will all depend on how close you are to the road, and is there a butcher you know close to your area, check it out first, to see if they can hang it and how much, were all after the meat, right, so take care of it,, hanging is good,, i'll hold my toung on the rest for now, if you like to pm me you can good luck,,

[hunter1947]

My point is that if your going to shoot a big game animal ,moose ,elk or other and you want more meat off it ,then clean it out.

Reason being is if you like the liver and hart there is about 12 pounds of eating in them two organs.

There are the 4 tenderloins inside as well ,2 of them are near the rear and the other 2 are even with the shoulders.

Then there is all the meat to carve off of the ribs as well.

If you shoot a smaller big game animal like a deer or other then leave the guts inside the animal ,not much meat to worry about on a smaller game animal.

[oldtimer]

We always gut the animal right away. How else do you get the liver and heart as well as those yummy strips along the backbone. Also after the quarters are cut off and all the meat is taken fron the outer backbone we cut the ribs off with a saw, can't do that with the guts in.
In my opinion you have to hang your meat for at least a little while.
Mike

[Mr. Dean]

After removing all the outside meat, it's a sinch getting in and getting anything else that you may want. if ya want organs though, it needs to be opened up. Rib meat can still be removed though. You just need to be a little careful and not use a huge knife. Set the animal up in a way that the internals settle away fron the area you're working.

[dukester]

From what i here you loose alot of meat by doing it gutless?
Ribs and some neck meat,, thats it,, unless you like organ meat:eek:

[MichelD]

I take everything I can. Heck, on elk and moose, my wife demands the hooves. She boils 'em, peels 'em and uses them for soup stock.

I keep the liver, heart, kidneys and head and take the tongue out and my wife boils the head for soup. Like I said. I don't leave much behind.

Thus I gut my animals and part them out to take home. I like the ribs of even a small deer, baked with tomato sauce and onions. Yum.

With deer I'll take them back to camp gutted, hang and skin immediately, cover with a cloth bag either immediately if there are flies around or after cooling if the bugs are not present.

When I was traveling to meet a buddy in another area immediately after getting a doe near Wiliams Lake two years ago, I gutted it, skinned it on the ground, bagged it and tossed it in the truck.

To do this, I lay it on one side, skin it out on that side, then lay the carcass over onto the stretched out hide and skin the other side.

When cutting up bear, a big deer and elk and moose using this method, I skin one side, take off the shoulder and leg, the ribs, and fillet out the backstrap all the way from the shoulder to the hindquarters, remove one hind and flop it over and do the other side. Each piece gets bagged individually for the backpack or stretcher pack out to the truck.

We hung two moose in pieces that way and two deer whole on one trip sevral years back.

Made little racks out of poles between trees to lay the backstraps on.

If you are camping and hunting out of town, a couple days and nights hanging in camp will be sufficient for a deer.

Before I had a house I kept a deer inthe truck of my car in the apartment underground parking and sawed off bits at a time to process and freeze.

The neighbours kind of looked at us funny while we sawed the rib cage up on the hood of the Toyota. The last piece went a bit green on the outside, but cleaned up nice washed with vinegar.

[jikkyo]

I take everything I can. Heck, on elk and moose, my wife demands the hooves. She boils 'em, peels 'em and uses them for soup stock.

I keep the liver, heart, kidneys and head and take the tongue out and my wife boils the head for soup. Like I said. I don't leave much behind..

wow sounds like you do use every part of the animal lol
head soup :eek:

[MichelD]

Nearly everything but the lungs, stomach, intestines and the 'baaaaaaaaaaaa."

[Ltbullken]

I assume with the 'gutless' method you are still able to take quarters off the animal as you will need to in order to hang the meat. I say hang the meat as it will make it tender and much better. If you are not gutting, you'd best be taking the quarters off ASAP as cooling the animal is critical for good meat and no gamey taste. Poor cooling = gamey meat. :mad:

Good luck.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

here are a few sites .. the 3rd is a great how to gut
the 4th is a great how to on the gut less method

http://www.biggamehunt.net/sections/Elk/A_Field_Dressing_Guide_for_Elk_and_Deer_09230301.h tml

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhAqaXuPR4M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhAqaXuPR4M)

http://www.angelfire.com/bc/canuck2/gutting4.html

http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27

[Chasinracks]

I assume with the 'gutless' method you are still able to take quarters off the animal as you will need to in order to hang the meat. I say hang the meat as it will make it tender and much better. If you are not gutting, you'd best be taking the quarters off ASAP as cooling the animal is critical for good meat and no gamey taste. Poor cooling = gamey meat. :mad:

Good luck.


As I read on the books, one other reason why the meat have that gamy taste is when the animal get shot while spooked and it's because of the adrenalin pumping all over his body that ruins the meat. Is this also true if you shot a buck during or after he mount a doe? Or during peak of rutting season?

[jikkyo]

I say hang the meat as it will make it tender and much better.
that much a difference?:mad: darn... i guess i'll be asking around for butcher's coolers lol
meat's still good w/o hanging tho right?

[Mr. Dean]

I've had deer that's been done in 3 days... I wasn't choking from it.

[Johnnybear]

IMO if it's a fly in or a MAJOR hike in hunt (which I have done neither) then the gutless method makes some sense. If your near a road or if you can pack a little deer out then I would gut it and pack it out. I'm not so extreme as using the hooves etc. but I like all the edible organs and tongue etc. The little bit of meat between the ribs (on an Island deer) takes a bit of extra time but grind it down etc. Use as much as you can you deserve it and the animal deserves it.

[pete_k]

Getting the blood out of the meat is very important in my opinion.
It really cuts down on the gaminess taste.

When dealing with meat that did not have a chance to bleed out:
Put a steel rack on a large plate and let your steaks or stew meat bleed out for about a day (but no longer) in the fridge before cooking. I was surprised how much blood still comes out and the steaks tasted great!

[jikkyo]

just curious, if you were to gut w/o cutting any "bags" inside, how bad is the actual smell?
a comparison? :P

[Mr. Dean]

Each animal has it's own scent. If you find it offensive,,,,, avoid puking inside of it. :lol:

They're really not all that bad....

[MichelD]

The odour if you don't slash a stomach?

I find it pleasant. Warm, milky, fatty, hard to describe.

[Mr. Dean]

The odour if you don't slash a stomach?

I find it pleasant. Warm, milky, fatty, hard to describe.


The smell of success!!