Many people don't like vension because it tastes "gamey." "Gamey"
meat usually comes from poor handling of the carcass and letting the meat
spoil. After you've shoot your deer, it's important to quickly and properly
field dress it. Removing the animal's insides, draining the blood and keeping
the carcass cool are keys to delicious meat.
All your field dressing tools can fit in your pockets or a small
pack. The only tool that is absolutely necessary is a sharp knife. One with a
three to four inch blade is actually easier for most people to use than a big
Bowie knife. If you use a folding knife, a locking blade is a good safety
feature.
Another tool that should be standard equip is a pair of rubber or
plastic gloves. Poly gloves made just for field dressing are inexpensive and
cover your sleeves to keep you clean and protect you from several parasites
and diseases that deer can carry. Also bring some plastic bags to carry the
heart and liver. Other optional equipment includes string to tie off the anus
and paper towels. Some people carry a folding meat saw to quarter the deer in
the field, a wheeled cart or plastic sled to carry the deer out.
Once the deer is dead, the first thing to do is to turn it over onto
its back. Cut completely around the anus to free it and the attached
intestine. Pull this part out and inch or so and then tie it off tightly with
string. This keeps the digestive waste in the intestine so it will not spill
out and damage the meat.
Pointing the knife blade toward the chest cavity, carefully insert
your knife only deep enough to penetrate the skin just below the breast bone.
Insert the first two fingers of your hand into the cheast cavity to push the
intestines down and away from the knife blade, and slit the belly wall from
chest to genitals. Roll the deer onto its side and reach into the body cavity
to pull out the vent section you tied off initially.
Next, find the diaphragm in the chest. This is the membrane
separating the chest cavity from the intestinal area. Cut through the
diaphragm close to the ribs, freeing the lungs and heart. Pull these out
along with the liver, stomach and intestines, being careful not to rupture
the intestines or urinary bladder. Save the the liver and heart in separate
bags.
Now turn the deer over onto its belly to drain out the blood. After
that, roll the deer onto its side and reach into the cheast cavity with both
hands to the junction of the neck and body. Grasp the windpipe and esphagus
with one hand and use your othe hand to cut them free with your knife and
pull them out.
If you kill a buck, slit the skin containing the testicles and remove
them, but do not remove the skin pouch (scrotum). If you plan to remove the
deer's head for mounting, there must be proof of the animal's sex left on the
carcass.
Now your deer is field dressed. The next thing to do is prop open the
belly walls with a stick and allow the air to circulate and cool the body
cavity. If you're going home right away, be sure to transport the deer in a
location that is away from heat sources such as the engine and tailpipe.
In most cases it is best to skin the deer as soon as you reach home
and immediately cut it up. Professional butcher services that skin, cut and
package the meat are often well worth the relatively small cost.
Some people traditionally hang their deer to age and tenderize, but
too often this results in spoilage and waste of meat. Meat quickly spoils
when air temperatures get above 40 degrees F. If it's warmer, don't hang it.
Many people who hang their deer prefer to hang it by the hind legs to
drain the blood away from the more valuable cuts of meat, the way butchers
hang beef. Be sure to cut the rib cage open to allow drainage of the carcass,
but be careful to avoid cutting the chest and neck if you plan to have the
head mounted.
Bears should also be field dressed as soon as possible. The method
described here for deer will also work for bears.
If it is kept clean, dry and cold, game animals have delicious,
low-fat meat that will please those who eat it and give a great sense of
accomplishment to those who harvest and prepare it.
| 24 inch = 56 lbs. 25 inch = 67 lbs. 30 inch = 90 lbs. 32 inch = 103 lbs. 34 inch = 117 lbs. 35 inch = 125 lbs. 36 inch = 134 lbs. |
38 inch = 156 lbs. 40 inch = 181 lbs. 42 inch = 211 lbs. 44 inch = 243 lbs. 46 inch = 289 lbs. 47 inch = 311 lbs. 48 inch = 339 lbs. |
BACK
NEXT