redkneck Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 OK, Im not a well-traveled deer hunter as in trips to OH, CO, etc.... And I can certainly see the need to reduce weight for big animals that have to be moved a long ways to get to camp. But.... Why do so many of you field dress deer? Is it just a yankee thing? Nobody, and I mean nobody down here ever does that. I'd much rather drag the deer a hundred yards or more or throw it on the atv and get it back to the convenience of the skinning rack and a 55gal drum to drop all the goodies in. Not knocking it, just wondering what I'm missing. :eat: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dartonman Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I field dress them where they fall....its just alot easier for me, and at least twenty plus pounds of stuff I don't have to throw in the truck. I have to place a tag on the animal before moving it at all here in Illinois, so I just soon be done with the cleaning part immediately, and it saves meat spoilage, I want the deer cooled asap. al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledrop Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Just something less I have to mess with when I get back to the house, and I would much rather drag a lighter deer than a heavier one. I also like the meat to start cooling as soon as possible, sometimes I even have to pack it with ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimPic Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I dress 'em where they drop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Drop them, un-zip them, roll the innards out where it lays. I ain't dragging any more dead weight through the woods and lifting it on to a tailgate than what I have to. Besides................the possums, crows, bears and yotes.....................that's their job to get rid of the gutpile. Not mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodtrails Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Absolutely dress it where it lays! I tag it, dress it, take it to the check station, and bring it to my butcher. In about a week, freezer full of venison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Interesting. I can't see dumping a pile of guts next to my stand, when it seems like a minor inconvenience to drag the extra weight a little bit. Never have a deer more than 30 minutes from the time I find it until it's in the cooler anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointing_dogs_rule Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Just something less I have to mess with when I get back to the house, and I would much rather drag a lighter deer than a heavier one. I also like the meat to start cooling as soon as possible, sometimes I even have to pack it with ice. Yeap, I'd have to agree. Besides I don't have to worry about getting rid of the insides. Just let the 'yotes have them in the woods. good luck to all the dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackranny Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 On The Spot If they fall right under my stand, I'll drag them a ways away before opening them up. Never had a problem with messing up the areas as the buzzards, coons, 'yotes, etc... clean it up within a day or two. I want as little weight as possible as I drag and lift into the truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shockwave Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I drag them 100 yards or so from my stand, then do the deed... I dont want bothered by crows and other critters feeding on inerds.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PremiumBeef Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I usually remove the deer from the area before I dress it. I do not want to drag a deer through weeds and dirt with an open abdominal cavity. If you get dirt and grass etc in the abdomen/thorax of the deer you are going to promote spoilage/waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 In Wyoming we had no choice John, over an hour from any facilities. I can see where other places you would have no choice either. My antelope I packed the quarters and head out over a mile in some pretty rough terrain to get it back to our vehicle. Here at home it is a bit different, we gut then skin and quarter our animals here in the garage. Have everything we need right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 We always haul them up to the buildings before guttin em. That said, I have a 25 minute ride home from the land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 John...you know I don't here in MS. Like you I can get them back to our camp, hang them, skin, & bone out all the meat pretty quick without ever having to drop the inards except into a gut bucket with the bones when I'm done. And...yep I can get the inside tenderloins out without gutting the deer. The only time I'll dress them out before skinning, etc. is to take daylight pics the next day for after dark recoveries. Then the inards are dropped in the gut bucket after hanging the deer on our electric hoist. We weigh all our deer live weight for DMAP data purposes. On the road, I'll field dress them on the spot without a 2nd thought at all. Those midwestern deer are heavier than our MS deer. Matter of fact a field dressed midwestern deer is at least as heavy as our fully mature (5.5 or older) MS bucks are at live weight. The only way to get them out is draggin by 1 or 2 man power. No ATV's or UTV's to make it easier up there. Also, hunting there you kill 1 buck and the hunt is over unless you want to fill nanny tags. That being the case I'll opt to make the recovery easier before Miller time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHISKEYSWAMP Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I prefer to gut my deer as soon as possible, especially on warm days. A couple years ago, I shot a doe smelling the gut pile of the doe I shot the day before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_lou Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I drag them 100 yards or so from my stand, then do the deed... I dont want bothered by crows and other critters feeding on inerds.. That what we will do, we will tag them and them move them out into the CRP field to dress them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamphunter Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I field dress em' right where they drop..never drag it a foot without letting his guts out. I will flip them over belly down to the downhill side to aid in the "spillage".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I totally understand the long drags William, and the heavy deer Al. But I'll drag a 180lb buck 100 yards before I get into thinking about field dressing. Like I said, I think it's more of a yankee thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY_Bowhunter14 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 like most everyone else has said, it's lighter to drag, no need to pull all that extra weight... it creates less of a mess then if you do it in the garage, lets the guts and blood spill out onto the ground and let some yotes' eat it... always been brought up to field dress a deer in the woods, never thought of doing it any other way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohiobucks Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I'm fixin' to say dat us Yanks is a tad bit smarter than them there Southern folk. We gots more brains, ya see.......big dadgum brains...... I field dress the deer right where it falls. :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I totally understand the long drags William, and the heavy deer Al. But I'll drag a 180lb buck 100 yards before I get into thinking about field dressing. Like I said, I think it's more of a yankee thing. I like em when I can get em a little closer than my late season rifle kill last year(pic below). Was little bit of a drag to get this one where we could get to him, but sure is easier getting them out this way than it is lifting them in a truck or on the rack of a 4 wheeler. The good ones are the ones we can drive right up to. I usually put the guts out where I think I might have an opportunity to spot yotes during daylight, have killed a few that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) I'm fixin' to say dat us Yanks is a tad bit smarter than them there Southern folk. We gots more brains, ya see.......big dadgum brains...... I field dress the deer right where it falls. :yes: You may be right Tom, I've never claimed to have a big brain, or a big anything else for that matter Edited October 20, 2010 by redkneck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongdeer Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I recently saw a video clip , where someone did a study of deer gut piles & the animals that come to them in the field. The video showed that deer were usually the first to visit them. Some even licked and sniffed on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Bucknasty Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) OK, Im not a well-traveled deer hunter as in trips to OH, CO, etc.... And I can certainly see the need to reduce weight for big animals that have to be moved a long ways to get to camp. But.... Why do so many of you field dress deer? Is it just a yankee thing? Nobody, and I mean nobody down here ever does that. I'd much rather drag the deer a hundred yards or more or throw it on the atv and get it back to the convenience of the skinning rack and a 55gal drum to drop all the goodies in. Not knocking it, just wondering what I'm missing. :eat: You know, I've always thought that was weird, too. You'd think people in the South would be more worried about meat spoilage because of the climate difference, but like you, I've never seen anyone here do it much. That includes me. I never gut them in the field. Edited October 20, 2010 by TN Bucknasty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrow32 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Always field dress them before dragging the dang thing.lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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