First Big Game is in the Freezer!

[DustDee]

This year was my first time hunting big game. Brought down a WT on Wednesday. Got him in the freezer tonight!

I've helped my cousins butcher their deer before, so I got a bit of experience doing that. Combine that with some internet research and YouTube videos, and I think I survived the butchering process.

Field dressing it was the biggest learning experience. Getting the anus to come out was the hardest part. Any tricks to it? I also ended up with a lot of blood between the hide and the ribs where the bullet passed through. I should have drained that out better after field dressing it. Learn for next time, right?

One interesting thing: my bullet fragmented. I found small pieces of the bullet up against the hide next to the exit wound. I was using blue box federals, 308, soft pointed tip I believe. I hit a rib on entry, took out the top half of the heart, and exited through another rib. I thought these bullets were supposed to hold together? What would cause the fragmentation? It was about a 100 yard shot.

Now to try out some good recipes.

Dusty

[Pincherguy]

get yourself a butt out, they work great. You can get them in Walmart or bass pro shop, probably anywhere they sell huntin' stuff.
PG

[rayf01]

I cut around the hole, pull it back a bit and tie it off with a piece of string. Then just pull it all out and back with the guts when it all comes out.

[Speckle55]

Grats Dusty.. sometimes the bullet will fragment because of the angle it hits the rib or many other reasons but not to worry to much on that ...

as you become a better Hunter its quicker to do the annus... we could gut a deer in minutes when younger but have slowed abit but not much.. we would do alot of gutting for friends to show etc .

.on the Hydro-static shock effects on the meat in area of shot,, we all see it some times on animals and have to do clean up on blood shot meat its just hunting

imo

David

[DustDee]

I saw one of them Butt Out things at the store the other day. Might have to invest in one of them...

Maybe my knife wasn't sharp enough. I tried cutting around the hole, but I could never get a good clean cut where I could pull it out and tie it off.

Something else interesting that I wasn't expecting. After I shot him, he took off running like nothing happened. He ran 20 yards, around a bush, and dropped dead. I was shooting 180 gr .308 at 100 yards. Hit him right in the heart. When he took off running, I thought I had missed. I checked my scope to make sure it was tight and hadn't got bumped loose. Found the blood trail, walked 20 yards around a bush, dead deer. I guess I'm used to hunting coyotes. They usually hit the ground when the bullet hits them.

Speckle: he was 90 degrees to me. It hit the rib straight on. I suspect I'll get better at field dressing with time.

D

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by DustDee

I saw one of them Butt Out things at the store the other day. Might have to invest in one of them...

Maybe my knife wasn't sharp enough. I tried cutting around the hole, but I could never get a good clean cut where I could pull it out and tie it off.

Something else interesting that I wasn't expecting. After I shot him, he took off running like nothing happened. He ran 20 yards, around a bush, and dropped dead. I was shooting 180 gr .308 at 100 yards. Hit him right in the heart. When he took off running, I thought I had missed. I checked my scope to make sure it was tight and hadn't got bumped loose. Found the blood trail, walked 20 yards around a bush, dead deer. I guess I'm used to hunting coyotes. They usually hit the ground when the bullet hits them.

D

A deer hit likr that is not unusual to seem the run someetimes.
As far as the butt out thingy goes, never used one in all my years of hunting, just use a sharp knife.
Cat

[HunterDave]

Congratulations on your first deer DustDee!!!!

Great shot! It's amazing how far deer can go with no heart isn't it? The blood shot side of the deer might just be trauma from the bullet and nothing that you did. For the butt.....stick your index finger up there and pinch it with your thumb. Stick your knife in the side of the hole and cut all the way around the bone cavity until it's loose and pull everything out from the gut side. I don't worry too much about cleaning the cavity out completely in the field, I just want to free it up so the guts will come out and I clean up the rest at home.

[trainerdave]

Deer often run until the blood leaves their brain. If you shoot through the chest the legs still operate for a short while until they black out. White tails are famous for covering ground after a fatal wound due to adrenalin and their ability to hit full speed in a couple of strides. Congratulations on your deer.

[Alberta Bigbore]

The butt-out tool is worth its weight in gold! I just wish they made a moose and elk sized one.

[Sigh4]

Congrats!!

I shot my second deer last weekend, started butchering it this week. I am unsure of how much of this "silver" membrane should be cut away? I imaging only on the steaks and roasts to cut it away. And all fat. If i'm planning grinding it up into burger adn sausage can there be a little membrane left on it?

I do thinik i may have wasted a little bit of meat.

thanks

[Hagalaz]

Congrats.

[DustDee]

Index finger up the butt? $12 for a butt out tool sounds a little more appeasing.

Sigh4: I try to cut away as much of that "silver" membrane as possible without loosing meat. Sometimes I can get a knife under it and remove it easily, other times it is a pain to remove and gets left on.

Thanks for the comments guys/gals!

Dusty