# Field dressing help



## The Solution (Nov 15, 2010)

Once I have field dressed the deer I know you have to let the blood drain. What is the best method for this and how long does it take?

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## slimdaddy45 (Aug 27, 2007)

After I dress it out and get it home I always take a water hose and spray it out I dont want all that blood to dry in it cause it wont all drain out then I clean and cut all the remaing crap out of that you dont get out when you field dress it be fore I take it to the processor or if I process it myself Ive known people that will hang em and leave all the crap in them and them takem to the processor where it might be days before anything is done to it .To me all that stuff left in it just taints the meat for a bad taste


----------



## viper1 (Apr 13, 2004)

We'll for good meat you really need to pay attention field dressing. Important to get to the deer and get it open as soon as possible. Open it up good from the ahole to past the ribs if you able. When messing with ahole cut a round and pull out tying a not to keep from leaking. Never toch legs(glands) and cut the wind pipe off in throat. Leave nothing in side. Throw ice inside it and get it home and hang it up. Then hose it all out using just your hand to rub blood and things loose. I clean mine right away. Hanging will cause meat to get more tender becuse it naturally breaks down when starting to slowly rot. A week wont hurt if temps are 42 or under. But less strong if done same day or so. Also wash each piece before actual cutting into steaks and such. 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Huntinbull (Apr 10, 2004)

Get the animal field dressed asap. Most of the blood comes out with the entrails. Use a clean dry cloth or paper towel to wipe out excess blood pooling in the body cavity when you field dress it. The faster you get it field dressed and allow it to cool, the better it will taste. I leave mine hang a day or two, sometimes longer if conditions permit, to allow aging.

Keep it clean, dry and cool.


----------



## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

If i get one in the morning i gut it and throw it in the creek that goes through the property i hunt. and let it sit in there all day and it cleans it out really good. then after i get it hung up at home i wash it out with a hose and put ice in it. I agree with the others i let it hang as long as i can weather permitting.


----------



## mepps_fisher (May 6, 2009)

I always gut the deer ASAP. And then I will turn it on its belly, give it a minute or two and it will be drained and ready to drag to the truck.


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Unless you can get the carcass dried, rinsing with water is actually worse than not. Bacteria thrive in moist environments. Dried blood doesn&#8217;t hurt anything, so unless you&#8217;re spilling guts or urine all over the meat, I&#8217;d skip the washing.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

icefisherman4life said:


> If i get one in the morning i gut it and throw it in the creek that goes through the property i hunt. and let it sit in there all day and it cleans it out really good. then after i get it hung up at home i wash it out with a hose and put ice in it. I agree with the others i let it hang as long as i can weather permitting.


I don't know that letting it sit in a creek all day is such a good thing. I want the pooled blood to drain from the carcass but not necessarily everything within the meat. I would think that would take a lot of good from the meat. I just drain them by tipping them up and cleaning out everything by had that is remaining. Also, my personal preference is to get it cut up right away as I don't see the benefit in hanging them to age them. Unless you have a meat locker that can ensure temps at 35-40° then you don't really get effective aging of the meat. Temps generally are either too warm for much of the day and too cool at night or some strange combination. My preference is to get it off the bone right away and into a cooler on ice (in bags). With this way I can ensure that the meat is kept at a consistent temperature and it does not really depend on the weather to control it. I sometimes have it in the cooler for nearly a week until I have completed the entire process but with this method I can go at my pace.

But to answer the original question, it only takes a few minutes (less than 5 minutes) to drain the cavity as long as the deer is fresh. If it has laid a while and has some clotting, gut shot, etc. then it may be necessary to wash it out with some water. If it is fresh and cleanly shot everything will flow out rather easily.


----------



## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

+1 w/ m magis


----------



## WeekendWarrior (Jan 20, 2008)

+1 Magis and + 1 bkr43050!

Creeks have tons of bacteria and micro-organisms I surely don't want on my edibles.

Most creeks in the midwest are formed from field runoff. This runoff equates to cattle farms, farmers fertilizer, kids taking a leak upstream etc. The Indians probably did it, but they didn't have to worry about Salmonella Sally. She wasn't born yet!


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

I agree do not hose it out, it just spreads the bad stuff, waste a roll of paper towels hang it and dry it out with the towels. If you can leave it hang some blood will drain for about a day not much more. keep it cool. We bone the deer out, save the filets and bag the rest in ziploc bags, they weigh about 8 pounds of meat full. We usally take 4 or 5 bags to the butcher at a time for burger or sausages. We ate up 4 deer this past year. We freeze the bags after cleaning and take them in when needed several times a year, just keep your tag numbers. Save a bunch of money. Burger with beef fat added is like 50 cents a pound and very tasty. The butcher told me no water please.


----------



## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Magis is correct. I also walk on the back haunches and force out a lot of blood. I hang the deer head down with the ribcage split all the way to the neck and prop the cage open.


----------



## viper1 (Apr 13, 2004)

Interesting thread of all the different opinions. I should have mentioned never hose if you rupture insides at all. At least till its cleaned and dried out. I even know guys who go one step more and after drying spray clorox on the whole inside let sit 15 minutes or more the wash out with water and hose and wipe clean. As Clorox is a good germ killer probably not a bad idea if you rupture some thing. If you dont then water wont hurt a thing. Been cleaning dear for about 47 years and have never had a bad or strong cut of meat. But one warning I didnt see mentioned is don't cut bones with saws. We de bone the whole deer and never cut the bones in meat. No matter how well you wash cuts of meat that gets bone dust on them it will not all come off. And once in the freezer it gives the meat a gamely strong taste. That taste is for those who wont clean their own. Not me.


----------



## Huntinbull (Apr 10, 2004)

icefisherman4life said:


> If i get one in the morning i gut it and throw it in the creek that goes through the property i hunt. and let it sit in there all day and it cleans it out really good. then after i get it hung up at home i wash it out with a hose and put ice in it. I agree with the others i let it hang as long as i can weather permitting.


Ice,
Bad idea to put your deer in a creek. Just about anywhere you hunt in ohio, there is cattle or animals nearby. These animals poo on the ground which washes into the creek, which gets in your deer. You risk Ecoli and other cystic maladies by putting your deer in the creek. My uncle called rural and semi rural creeks "poop soup". WAY out from people and farm land might be okay but Ohio doesn't have a lot of that land anymore.


----------



## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

A younger friend of mine who lives in NJ took up hunting a few years ago...archery to be specific...and hadn't gotten anything yet. So in the late archery season last year he took one out behind his house...guess he hadn't thought things thru as he calls me (I live over 8 hours away) and asks "Now what do I do?". I tell him to drag it back behind his shed in the woods cause he's going to make a mess and explain the process...about a half hour later I get another call and a text with a picture...he's got it in his walkway, tied up in the air to a tree, gut pile on the walk way and can't figure out how to disconnect the lower intestine from the rear end...says he has blood in his hair and inside his boots...I again talk him thru the remainder of the process trying not to laugh too much...about a week later he called to say he got it back from the butcher. A whopping 18lbs of venison!

Gotta say he was persistent, but to this day I still get a chuckle from that one...

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Misdirection said:


> A younger friend of mine who lives in NJ took up hunting a few years ago...archery to be specific...and hadn't gotten anything yet. So in the late archery season last year he took one out behind his house...guess he hadn't thought things thru as he calls me (I live over 8 hours away) and asks "Now what do I do?". I tell him to drag it back behind his shed in the woods cause he's going to make a mess and explain the process...about a half hour later I get another call and a text with a picture...he's got it in his walkway, tied up in the air to a tree, gut pile on the walk way and can't figure out how to disconnect the lower intestine from the rear end...says he has blood in his hair and inside his boots...I again talk him thru the remainder of the process trying not to laugh too much...about a week later he called to say he got it back from the butcher. A whopping 18lbs of venison!
> 
> Gotta say he was persistent, but to this day I still get a chuckle from that one...
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


That would have made a great video.


----------



## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

Here is the picture he had sent me...still laughing about it!!!

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## slowroller (Jun 30, 2009)

I saw a similar scene in Saw III with the Jigsaw killer...


----------



## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

LMFAO.....that picture is hilarious. Should have told him just to leave the deer, go get on youtube and watch and learn. Then go to town on the deer. lol


----------

