Ok guys.. can ya tell I'm bored and I got antlers and feathers on my mind!

Do you field dress your deer in the woods or wait till you get home?

What techniques do you use while field dressing? (Do you tie a leg or both to a tree to keep legs spread a part? )

What knife or tool do you use to field dress a deer?

I use a small knife with a gutting hook in the field. Where and when I field dress depends on the circumstances. If it is a long drag I will do it right there, or pull it down the hill on the way out and field dress near a creek where I can wash up.

If the drag is not too far I will pull it to the nearest spot where I can get my truck, usually a field, and do it there. Sometimes I will change out of hunting clothes to keep them from getting dirty.

Usually I do a field expedient dressing before a drag, and remove the heart lungs and stomach and small intestine, leaving the rest of the intestine and bung intact. I will then finish the job at the truck or house with a sharp butcher skinning knife.

I always field dress on site. Sometimes if a long drag I will not cut the pelvis because it holds the legs together and I get less dirt in the cavity. If a short drag I will split the pelvis, step on each back leg and lift up on the tail. You can really clean them out good that way. I usually cut all the way up to the head too and remove the esophagus and trachea. They make a nice hand hold while pulling out all the entrails.

Vic

That's a large part of why I do only the partial field dress at the site...to keep debris out as much as possible dragging through brush and leaves.

One of the post important things IMO, even on a gut shot....I never rinse with hose and water. I will wipe blood, debris and stomach matter out with news papers or a rag. Water creates a medium for bacteria.

Never had a problem with bacteria, they are usually cut up on ice within the hour. I figured there would be enough growth medium with body fluids that water wouldn't matter.

Vic

I dressed and cutt deer while in college in Georgia, and I think if you can get it to a gamble in reasonable time it is way better to skin em first, then gut them, you can then break em down to quarters etc. Makes for much cleaner meat and clean and easy to do when hanging. we always told folks if they could get em to us quick we would rather gut them ourselves, kept our coolers much cleaner, and less meat lost for the hunters.

Depends on the size of the deer.. if small yearling I will take it home.. if big adult deer I field dress them for an easier drag..

I am like Vic.. I go as far up as I can into the throat and pull down .. I usually don't split the pelvis until I am home and split it and clean it out good.. I never worry about water either.. I have them on ice within a few hours usually unless it is super cold out then I will let them hang a day or so.

99% of the time in the field unless landowner states otherwise (I hunt suburbia, mostly Great Falls)
Gut pile is gone by the next day anyway