Flintlock1776 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 In Georgia when I lived there, we always field dressed them. When I get back to Alabama, I filed dress the deer and later do the entire processing my self including wrapping the meat in seal a meal bags and freezing it. Up here I field dress and bring it to the processor 3 miles from my place. When I do it all myself I use the zip saw to break the pelvis and work the deer that way. Up here, the processor asks that I don't do that and just bring in the gutted out deer. It does not take long and regrdless of the temps, the smell does not overwhelm me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shockwave Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 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. about the time you lay the smack down on a yote that big 10 point is gonna stroll by.. And its game over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted October 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 LOL...2 very good reasons: The average deer live weight that I consider taking here ranges from the upper 180's to the 220-230lb....drag that. Contrary to popular belief it seems I do prefer allowing the body cavity to cool as quickly as possible. Even going as far as to take it to a nearby stream to rinse out the inside. It does not promote spoilage to open it up and cool it off. Every muscle group is covered by a membrane protecting it and can be rinsed off to eliminate a majority of any debris right after you hang it up to bone it out. Just remember that the muscles, and the digestive tract which is now more than likely perforated, is no longer being cooled by circulating blood. In most cases the surrounding air is cooler than the muscle tissue...cool it off or cook it as quick as you can. If you dont believe thats a good enough reason....cook up some of that hamburger that slipped out of the grocery bag and you found it a day or two later in the truck...LOL good points Gary. I can assure you nobody is more picky with meat than me. But by the time I can get it gutted, I can just about have it back at the camp. You'll never catch me sporting my big buck around town in the back of the truck, he's about to hit the cooler in just a few minutes. Down here the weather is usually pretty warm, and more often than not if you dont find your deer that night, it's wasted the next day. Still, it can wait an extra ten minutes to get winched up on the gambrel and get gutted clean and washed out, and I just let the guts hang out to get the tenderloins cut out and then dump the carcass and all after removing the shoulders, neck, backstaps, and cutting the hams off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flintlock1776 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I shot a yote but it was 250 yards away so I let it lay there. Sure enough, deer came out. They spotted the yote 'sunning' himself but by that time I had the drop on the deer:angel1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swohiodave Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 We always gut them as soon as we find them to start cooling them down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 We always gut them where they lay too, there's some big hills up here that it's hard enough to pull a fawn up and down, let alone a big buck! Never weighed a deer with the guts in, the biggest one I shot weighed 202 dressed, I've seen lots in the 220s, my uncle shot one 246 dressed, so that'd put that one over 300lbs to drag out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkoholic Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I have always field dressed the deer I have shot and for all of the reasons previously stated. Many of the mature bucks here will be in the 300 lb range live weight and elapsed time from shot to arrival home is usually several hours at a minimum. If you shoot your deer where you can drive to them and quickly get them to a place equipped to handle 50 to 60 pounds of innards then gutting them in the field may not be necessary. The traditions in different areas and/or followed by other hunters makes for a diverse hunting fraternity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 about the time you lay the smack down on a yote that big 10 point is gonna stroll by.. And its game over... Maybe so, but then that could well happen with the gutpile left by your tree stand you just shot the deer out of too. Don't typically pass up chances on yotes here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Always gut em before I move them..never had deer get spooked from gut pile..if anything it attracts them...we haul the deer, not drag it...so getting debris inside is not an issue..gutting asap also gets the cooling process going sooner too..I NEVER rinse it out with water..that PROMOTES spoilage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I think it's just a cultural/climate thing. Joe, your doe wasn't that big and only about 150 yards behind the house if I read right, but you still gutted her? . Absolutely correct but I rarely kill deer behind the house because they are small and yes she wasn't much bigger than a fawn. I did gut her on the spot because that is all I have ever done. I did move that gut pile from that deer because I didn't want coyotes near the house with our kids & pets. The kids and I carried it off to the back of the property. That was the first time I have ever moved a gut pile in 29 years. I rarely kill deer behind the house, if I remember correctly it has been 5 or 6 years since the last time I killed a deer here. The last deer we killed at camp took two men 45 minutes till they could get to a 4 wheeler to it. Our deer have to plan on 4-6 months of 12"-36" of snow. They really pack on the pounds to survive the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted October 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I think elkoholic said it best. I just think it's neat the things we all do and sorta never give it even a second thought, just the way we feel it should be done. I think it does us all good to get out and about in other regions of the country and hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 My co-worker and his family are a lot like you, they remove the deer and field dress it elsewhere. However they put a fun spin on it. They gut their deer and dump the bones/remains all in the same spot at the edge of a field. The entire family will kill about 10 deer every year and put these remains in a spot they they call the spot "bone yard". Then once they are tagged out, they sit beyond the pile and shoot coyotes for cash. So I guess some of us Yankees do it your way, but we make it more interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Originally Posted by strongdeer 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. YEPPERS .. The best place to hunt is over a fresh gut-pile believe it or not. You'd be surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted October 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 (edited) My co-worker and his family are a lot like you, they remove the deer and field dress it elsewhere. However they put a fun spin on it. They gut their deer and dump the bones/remains all in the same spot at the edge of a field. The entire family will kill about 10 deer every year and put these remains in a spot they they call the spot "bone yard". Then once they are tagged out, they sit beyond the pile and shoot coyotes for cash. So I guess some of us Yankees do it your way, but we make it more interesting. Not entirely Joe. Everybody down here pretty much uses one spot to dump their guts/carcasses on their lease. Lots of them shoot yotes and/or trap them there too. I've slipped up on the gut pile a few nights to try to pop one, but usually they're gone and just scavengers/possums/coons left behind. Who pays the cash for your friend? Edited October 21, 2010 by redkneck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 If its in a hunting area I haul them out with the 4-wheeler and dress them under the same tree ive been hanging them under for many years... I do however make sure they are gutless before I leave the ranch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earnhardts12000 Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 i gut mine right there too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Just a BTW - Deer are not at all spooked by a gut pile from another deer. It's more of a curiosity thing for them. They'll walk right up and sniff it. Of course where I hunt, a gut pile will disappear overnight 100% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 I gut them where they lay for the most part. Had to drag my doe out of the stickers last month. i always try to get them on an uphill to make things easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Of course where I hunt, a gut pile will disappear overnight 100% of the time. Same with NE Oklahoma.... Ive came back by not 45 minutes later to a pack of yotes eating on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Look John, you've got a 5 page thread! Way to go guy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kat Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Not a yankee thing...Most of my buddies and I gut em in the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92xj Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Not a yankee thing...Most of my buddies and I guy em in the field. I really dont want to know what "guy em in the field" is. Please keep this a family place. That sounds like a bad word and I am a prude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebohio Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 why are you people putting dresses on your deer in the field? well later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HUNTINGMAN Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 If it's way off the Beaten path then I field dress it to make it lighter. If it's close to a logging road then I load it onto the atv and then gut it when getting down to the house. I gut it on the edge of the feild so we might catch a yote comeing to eat. I gutted,skinned and quartered a doe last Saturday that my dad killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kat Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 I really dont want to know what "guy em in the field" is. Please keep this a family place. That sounds like a bad word and I am a prude. Perfect typo huh.....:helpsmilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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