Learning to gut a deer

[lord1234]

So, I've watched about 100 youtube videos, but still feel at a loss and that experience is the best teacher. So I'm making an offer to anyone who is willing to take me up in it(preferrably in MA). If you're willing to take me along with you(even if I sit in a car/parking lot/whatever until you take the deer so as not to cause scent/etc) and tell me what to do, I'll gut the deer and do everything that needs to be done.

Preferrably if you hunt on a weekend(since I work a 9-5) but a weekday is always an option.

 

[arlow]

That could be a long wait!!!

I spent over 200 hours on deerstand last year before one came close enough to launch an arrow....


Where are you located? Better go give someone local your cell # and they can call you to come join them if you can get there quickly.

 

[lord1234]

I'm in Metrowest and yes you're right, it could be a long wait.

 

[Mike-Mike]

Might be a really long wait.. I have never got a deer but keep trying.

 

[Andy in NH]

Go buy yourself a goat or a sheep, slaughter it yourself, and gut it.

You could even start with a rabbit for practice.

The mechanics are the same, just a different size.

 

[Realtor MA]

So, I've watched about 100 youtube videos, but still feel at a loss and that experience is the best teacher. So I'm making an offer to anyone who is willing to take me up in it(preferrably in MA). If you're willing to take me along with you(even if I sit in a car/parking lot/whatever until you take the deer so as not to cause scent/etc) and tell me what to do, I'll gut the deer and do everything that needs to be done.

Preferrably if you hunt on a weekend(since I work a 9-5) but a weekday is always an option.

It's not that hard. The first one will take a little while but after that you'll be able to do it relatively quickly. If you've seen them do it in a video you're probably ready to do one on your own.

 

[dixidawg]

You are over thinking this WAAAYYYY too much.

Print out some online instructions, or pull out the pages of a Field & Stream "How to" and stick them in your pocket.

Shoot the deer and dive in. Use the print out for reference if you need to.

Or shoot it and drag it out whole. Bring it to a butcher or someone that can supervise you doing it.

 

[glockstones]

Deer & Deer huntings "Vital information" it is a whole pack you will never need to know anything else about hunting besides what you learn in the woods after that. It is like 30 bucks but comes with i think 5 dvd's about stalking, gutting, shot placement, and all the other fun stuff I bought it definatly worth it. Oh and it even comes with aging charts for the jaw bone and a fur guide so you can identify where your shot hit by the fur left behind. I found alot of it to be info I already knew but practice and repitition keep your skills sharp.

 

[Boghog1]

Contact the local PD and ask to be put on the road kill list, best to practice with meat you may not be eating anyway

 

[Brian5582]

Not all that difficult. It can get interesting if they are gut shot (which is bound to happen at one point or another) or they sit overnight earlier in the season when it isn't too cold yet. Sometimes the smell can get somewhat "interesting" but best way to learn is to watch one get done and dive in on the next. Or like suggested try to do another smaller 4 legged animal first. Once you do one you have pretty much done then all. I did a 1000lb. moose last year and I actually found it a lot easier. It might be me but I find deer guts to have a unique almost sweet, sickening type of smell however surprisingly the moose had almost no smell at all.

Like Boghog1 suggested see if you can get put on the roadkill list. The majority of the time there is a lot of trauma to the animal already so while it is a shame to waste the animal if you make a really bad mistake it was already dead and may be mostly unusable any way. Just make each cut meticulously, be careful not to cut the pee sack open and wash it out as soon as you can.

 

[In God We Trust]

It's really not hard at all, just make sure you don't cut into any of the guts or you will ruin the meat. A really sharp knife and common sense are all you need. If you have gutted a fish, you can gut a deer.

 

[arlow]

It's really not hard at all, just make sure you don't cut into any of the guts or you will ruin the meat. A really sharp knife and common sense are all you need. If you have gutted a fish, you can gut a deer.

It wont ruin the meat. It just stinks. If that was the case then all gutshot deer would be not worthy of consumption. Just wash it off as soon as you can and it will be fine.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

You are over thinking this WAAAYYYY too much.

Print out some online instructions, or pull out the pages of a Field & Stream "How to" and stick them in your pocket.

Shoot the deer and dive in. Use the print out for reference if you need to.

Or shoot it and drag it out whole. Bring it to a butcher or someone that can supervise you doing it.

Thats how I did my first one, though if I were to be honest, I would have to admit it was kind of a "butcher job". After the first couple it gets much easier. Watching it on You Tube wasn't an option when I started. I am sure it will go fine.

Bob

 

[twogunwilly]

so easy a caveman could do it

 

[boxerjake77]

I'm in the same boat as you are. I've seen it done countless times,
but hope to do my first this year. What I think might work is after I make my first cut, I'll stick some fingers under the skin, and use them as a guide as not to cut too deep.
Your more than welcome to join me in a hunt.

 

[richc]

What could possibly go wrong???

 

[KMS]

One of the best tools to get is a Butt Out.

 

[Brian5582]

I have been curious about the But-Out sense I first saw it advertised. I don't want to derail the thread but would others recommend it? The info could be useful for first timers and veterans

 

[Fixxah]

Pactice on a pig. Or PM plural of mongoose, he kills a truckload every year.
I never enjoy gutting the deer. Skinning and butchering aren't bad.

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

Yeah, Come on down! Ill let you gut all my deer. LOL.
Ive never used the Butt-out. Not needed and its just another gadget that you need to carry around. A friend of mine bought one and I only saw him use it once. I think he pitched it.

 

[Realtor MA]

Also be advised you only need a small knife.
And if it's a really cold day your hands will appreciate the 'heat' source.

 

[dixidawg]

Also be advised you only need a small knife.
And if it's a really cold day your hands will appreciate the 'heat' source.

+1 Exactly right. Size doesn't matter. Sharp does.

I went to Colorado last year for elk. The guides there all used these:

He gutted an elk in less than 15 minutes using nothing more than one of those. When we got it back to camp, they skinned and quartered it in 30 minutes, again, only using those. They quickly changed blades as needed. It was incredibly efficient.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Cut out the wind pipe as high as possible. That rots first. Some say no, but we always cool off and wash the deer in a brook or pond on the way back to camp. I've assisted in two moose guttings. Now, that's a lot of work! Jack.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Also, you can practice on liberal democrats. Jack.

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

Also, you can practice on liberal democrats. Jack.

Nah. Most of them are gutless already.

 

[masduct]

Nah. Most of them are gutless already.

too true! HA

 

[44marty]

It is really much easier than you would think. One thing that makes it especially easy not to puncture the gutbag is the Swingblade knife. They are a little pricey, but man, they are sure worth it. If you hunt late-season shotgun or black powder and the weather is really cold, anything that speeds up the process like this knife is worth the $$.
The butt-out is unneccesary. Just carry a 6" piece of rawhide shoelace. Cut around the anus, pull the innards out through the pelvis far enough to tie it off, then pull it back through when you roll the gutbag out.

 

[44marty]

Post #16 is an instant classic.

 

[Mark from MA]

I gut over 6 deer a year, did one Saturday in CT.....

Your overthinking, it's pretty easy to do. Go slow the first time is all, once you get the incision made carefully, go ABOVE the Liver cut two sides of diaphram to access the heart lung cavity, then cut windpipe as high as you can. Then work everything out from there making your cuts toward the back of the cavity pulling and roling everthing out as you go.

Small very sharp knife is all you need. I use the Butt out all the time now.....it does make the job quicker, but not needed really. If you have the Butt out start with that, stick it in and twist, then SLOWLY pull out...working back and forth...if you pull out too fast you'll rip the canal. Once the canal is loose there's you can tie it off, but there's really no need, it will come out with the intestines pretty readily.

If for some reason you hit paunch or guts with either the knife arrow or bullet, it's really no big deal...just messy, and smelly I wash it and dry it out with paper towels and it's usually pretty OK. But certainly take your time and avoid hitting the paunch if its not touched by your arrow or bullet.

If you wash the cavity, Water will grow some bacteria if left in there, best to dry the cavity with paper towels as much as you can, that will inhibit things growing in the cavity. Generally, this is not too much of a problem, because the deer should be left at 38-40 degrees.
But if things warm up....growth could be a problem....

 

[Ma$$hole]

Get ye old pellet gun or .22lr rifle with .22 shorts. Get yourself a rabbit and practice there. Hell I can even show you how to skin and gut a rabbit. It's not all that hard overall. I can recommend skinning the same day. I've had cases where guys have waited til the next day and left it in a cold garage in the winter and skinning is a PITA then. You end up getting fur all over the meat. You don't necessarily tie off a butt on a rabbit but the throat cut is similar. It is in fact all the same just a bigger animal.