How do you hang your deer at camp?

[Guest Finn]

We kinda do both Frank. I will usually hang them from the neck or antlers after gutting them if it is cool enough here to let them hang overnight, but then I turn the deer around to skin it and hang it by the back legs.

Same here

[BowJoe]

My buddy Chuck taught me a good method and really good for does and bucks you don't want to mount. Hang a rope over a strong tree limb about head high and tie the other end to the base of the tree. Tie a loop at the end and place your doe's head in it. Cut and peel the front legs like normal. Skin in front of the shoulder and peel about 4-6" down at the back of the neck. Take another strong piece of rope, a large rock and a tractor or truck. Put the rock under the rolled back skin flap (with the rock making contact with hair) and tie a loop around the rock on the other side. Tie the other end of the rope to your ball hitch or your tractor's ball hitch and drive forward slowly pulling the skin off the deer carcass. It only takes a few minutes and I've seen more fat and a cleaner carcass with this than any other method I've done. I was impressed.

[chaseasl]

I hang them by the neck

[woolybear]

Yep the ole rock and rope, ...heard of it but have yet to give it a try.

Normally once you get the skin peeled back as you explain from the start you can grab it and pull it off like that the same way. Works good too when there still warm.

[redkneck]

Back legs up all the time here at home. We have an electric hoist inside our skinning shed so just touch a buttom and adjust the height of the hanging deer while doing to knife work.

We also have dual sinks with hot and cold water, hoses to wash off blood, gut buckets, a large cutting board, and a walk in cooler to store meat or even hang a field dressed deer. A drain in the center of the floor makes it easy to clean up any mess from cleaning game. Our skinning shed is totally enclosed so wind and rain is not a problem. We have a gas heater too if its needed when its cold. No problems cleaning up any blood on a trophy we want to mount here. So basically we cheat when it comes to cleaning game.

Ditto. Though it's more of a reach-in than a walk-in these days. He's butchered up in the cooler within an hour or so after being shot. But even at times when I do it at home and the weather was cold enough to leave them overnight(which isnt always a given here) I still hang them by the back legs.

[jm23494]

Before we hang deer they get rinsed out and then hung by the rear legs. usually within an hour and a half of being killed we can have it skinned. Over the years I have learned that it is bar far easier to skin a warm deer then it is a cold one.

[fly]

A lot of different ways to do this with several factors having an effect. Seems like the majority agree to skin leggs up and avoid a rope around the neck if mounting.

No one mentioned any fear of antlers breaking when hung head up by the antlers. Perhaps my fear of this is unwarrented?

Although some have expressed it makes more sense to hang a deer by the back legs for draining, I would think draining would be better if hung head up (at least on a field dressed deer).

Thanks to everyone for sharing your method.

[redkneck]

Of all the deer I've seen hung up by the back legs on a concrete slab I've seen one out of probably a few hundred break a point and that's just because it was hooked while still on the tailgate and they let his head flop down hard with legs up in the air. You have absolutely NOTHING to worry about hanging a deer up by the back legs as long as your rope/cable don't break, and you don't flop it out of the truck.

[WHISKEYSWAMP]

at our camp in the UP, Michigan we usually hang them head up... at home, I usually hang them legs up since I will most likely cut it up within a couple days.