Do You Still Gut Your Deer?

S

steve white

AH ambassador
Joined
Feb 9, 2018
Messages
5,785
Reaction score
13,151
Location
dallas tx
Articles
3
Member of
dallas safari club, mannlicher collectors assoc., era
Hunted
Cape buffalo, plains game
My brother will hardly gut an animal anymore, deer or pigs. He claims he can get all the meat he wants off an animal by skinning, then boning from the outside of the chest cavity. He even does it with doves, just thumb nailing the breast meat away from the breast bone--quick and clean. For larger birds, he uses a knife--still, from the outside.

I asked him about the inside filets, next to the backbone. He claims he can reach inside from the top, though I haven't seen him do it, and cannot envision doing it without becoming bloody, which would defeat half the purpose.

But other than the tenderloins inside, he can trim a carcass to mere bones. Of course there is no cooling off by gutting, so he has to do it all immediately back at camp. But being still warm makes the skin come off easier. I think it all started with aversion to the smell of pig guts....

What say ye?
 
For me it depends.

If I can get it to a vehicle I’ll typically take out the whole animal and in that case I’ll gut it and hang the whole carcass for butchering.

If I’m deep in the bush I’ll just break down the legs, backstraps and cut the eye fillet out without needing to gut it. Depending on where it’s been shot I may also take the neck meat.

I did the latter just yesterday after shooting a deer while bush stalking.
 
If I can quickly get a vehicle to an animal, I will gut it. If it's going out on my back, the gutless method is easier. Yes, it's very possible to remove the tenderloins without going inside. Technically, it's called a retroperitoneal approach, which is a place surgeons can operate "behind the guts" without entering the abdominal space. Don't forget to do this either, as most conservations officers in the states will issue a citation for wasting meat.

Next time you kill an animal, try removing the tenderloins from the back, even if you've gutted it. You'll see that it isn't so difficult.
 
With whitetail, no... The distance from my furthest blind to my cleaning station is less than a 10 minute drive by UTV.. from the time I shoot the animal to the time I have it hoisted up on a gambrel is well under an hour, and thats again if I shoot it from the furthest blind and then have to spend time looking for it..

I use the gutless method on whitetail.. basically hoist it up and get the hide off of it quickly (can usually have the entire thing skinned in 30 minutes tops.. then remove the backstraps, then the neck roasts, then the front quarters, then then reach inside from the back and take out the tenderloins, and then remove the rear quarters last.. its less messy, and everything is processed and in the cooler in plenty of time before there would be any spoilage..

For larger animals or animals that are going to take some time to recover I'll still gut.. but.. thats not to obtain more meat.. its just to prevent potential spoilage..

there are lots of quality videos out there on youtube showing you how to get the tenderloins out from inside the carcass using the gutless method.. just search gutless method..




Works on pigs, deer, elk, pronghorn, etc..etc..
 
Field butchering a deer is possible both ways and yes, fillets can be taken from an external entry cut. I think it's not quite as efficient but definitely doable. I have done both non-gutting and gutted. Generally I just resort to gutting first, finding it easier overall even though my hands / arms become bloodied and I'm dealing with bloodied fluids in the intestinal cavity. Because as part of gutting I'm removing the anus and poo tube it provides a drain hole allowing fluids escape when I elevate the carcase.
My usual mistake when detaching back legs is cutting too close to the stomach cover and making a hole which intestine pushes through. This ends up in a full gutting job so I might as well just gutted in the first place.
Also, many times I have shot deer in last light in gnarly country and elected for retrieval the following morning rather than slowly getting off the hill in darkness. In that situation gutting is the best way to cool the meat.
 
Last edited:
steve white said:
My brother will hardly gut an animal anymore, deer or pigs. He claims he can get all the meat he wants off an animal by skinning, then boning from the outside of the chest cavity. He even does it with doves, just thumb nailing the breast meat away from the breast bone--quick and clean. For larger birds, he uses a knife--still, from the outside.

I asked him about the inside filets, next to the backbone. He claims he can reach inside from the top, though I haven't seen him do it, and cannot envision doing it without becoming bloody, which would defeat half the purpose.

But other than the tenderloins inside, he can trim a carcass to mere bones. Of course there is no cooling off by gutting, so he has to do it all immediately back at camp. But being still warm makes the skin come off easier. I think it all started with aversion to the smell of pig guts....

What say ye?
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I do including removing the tenderloins from the top. From the time a deer hits the ground on our farm to the meat cooling in a dedicated fridge is about 45 minutes. And you absolutely can get the tenderloins out of an ungutted deer without making a mess.
 
I just gut them. If I'm on my game, it's 15 minutes, and I wear the arm length gloves JIC. Also, I don't really have a clue how to pack meat out....
 
Most of the time no we don’t gut them
Unless some one wants the liver or hart

On hogs it depends on where they been shot what time a year and what they been eating
 
I generally do not unless temp dictates otherwise which it rarely does.
 
No gut group here
 
For the most part I use the gutless method, and this is mainly for moose and caribou. I find it a lot quicker and cleaner.

Edit: As @SCHUNTER73 said, temperature can force your hand. My caribou this past March was shot on a zero degree day. I gutted it, loaded it in the sled, and headed home. Frankly after dealing with moose, a caribou is like gutting a large rabbit.
 
I’ve done it both ways. Sometimes I will gut them just to see how a bullet performed. A larger deer I may gut and hang a few days, but the smaller “eaters” I will just skin on the ground and debone.
I should add this is for whitetail.
 
It depends. For whitetail I'll use gutless and quarter/take the parts if I'm waaay back in the woods like I would for elk (some of my spots are several miles walk, and I ain't taking a drag that far). Most of the time if its under a couple of miles I'll gut them and use my drag/cart, as I very much prefer to hang venison for a week, particularly as the season goes on and the weather is cooler - increases the meat quality markedly, and I also like some of the bone involved cuts (shanks, ribs).
 
For us … it depends…. We shoot 10-12 whitetail does a season. If I have to dress 3 or 4 after dark it’s the gutless method. We donate almost all of the meat and most processors can’t take “ice chest” quartered animals. But if the person getting the meat does there own it’s really simple for them to cool it and even age it in an ice chest. My son and I have contests to see who can skin and quarter a doe the quickest. He still beats me with about 11-12 minutes. I take about fifteen.
 
I prefer gutless for most situations, especially for elk. And when I’m hunting by myself, alone; I really think it’s best to bone everything, remove the tenderloins and start packing loads to truck.
 
I became proficient in the gutless method when I hunted a swampy deer lease that required a 2.5 mile walk in to the good area for both hogs and deer. Breaking down the entire animal takes me about 30 minutes now, no matter the size. The only time it took longer was when my uncle shot a giant scarred up boar super deep. Fighting through that cartridge plate was not enjoyable for me or my knife blade. Fighting through the swamp with a 100# pack was even worse…
 
I have field dressed every game animal I have harvested. Large, small game and turkeys, ducks,geese, hogs. . To me a good sharp knife sized to the game I am hunting is as important as my firearm. I eat everything I harvest.
 
I gut mine. I never shoot a deer I don’t have to drag some distance, so every ounce I don’t have to drag is a bonus. plus I like the heart.

Also if possible and temps allow I will hang deer or any game for that matter for a few days before processig.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

... and 1120 more.
Total: 362,701 (members: 1,170, guests: 361,531)

Forum statistics

Threads
70,077
Messages
1,563,622
Members
166,908
Latest member
TroyLockie
 

 

 

Proudly sponsored by

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
Buffalo recovery

•••
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
Jacks buffalo hunt!
•••
migrabill
migrabill wrote on Surgeon1's profile.
Be careful of this Wolfen guy. 2 messages. Both trying to sell something. He PM'ed me trying to sell something and he PM'ed my friend on here trying to sell something. Fishy.
•••
haileybale53
haileybale53
Bright Path Acupuncture & Functional Medicine is a healing center that focuses on blending traditional acupuncture techniques with modern functional medicine practices. Their goal is to support patients in achieving optimal health by addressing the root causes of their health issues.
•••
A
autofire wrote on Dr Ray's profile.
Hi Dr. Ray, I will be in Cooktown from Oct 16 to Oct 23 fishing Lizard Island Black Marlin Tournament.

I have several "slack" days after fishing before I head for stay in Sydney and Fiji.

Do you have any recommendations for 1 or 2 day hunt near Cooktown?

I've hunted both DG and PG in 4 different countries in Africa.
Thank you,
Bob
•••

Share this page

 
Top