Another thing we do prior to processing is take off everything that hasn't been skinned. The legs come off and the head otherwise loose hair comes off and onto the meat. This is a simple thing but took us forever to begin doing it in spite of seeing the answer every time we processed. Hair really sucks.
We learned a lesson good and hard one season. We had multiple tags and filled them one day- I came with the tractor's loader packed with deer. Some weren't ours but we had six of our own and a couple donated to the cause. It was the last day and we had deer from previous days hunts so had a bunch. I needed to go to college to take an exam so we needed to process that night. We processed deer until our faces were purple, way into the night. NEVER AGAIN! So, since that night in the mid 1980s, we process deer the night we shoot them. Boy, did we learn, good and hard.
I Am Descended From Men Who Would Not Be Ruled
Fiat Justitia, Ruat Caelum
There is enough fat in the federal government that if you rendered it you could wash the world
Ronald Reagan.
I thought we were talking about deer. My only experience is with deer.
I thought we were talking about someone needing a new knife or two, but its all good
Absolutely. The reason I like to have the folding saw is when hunting far back into the high country, my elk come out in my pack. Long bones (legs) get cut off and anything else to reduce weight. There is more than one right way to do this but often being by myself, it is good to be able to go as fast and light as I can when packing. That little folding saw at 9 oz is a good tool in my kit.
Interesting enough, like handloading and casting, we often get our own ideas about how to do things in the field. Going out with other experienced hunters sometimes results in an light bulb going on. Like, " wow! That is a good way to handle that". What ever job you might be looking at someone else doing. That's how we learn.
I am sure about the time I am too old to go anymore, I will have it down.
Chill Wills
I like this technique for gutting
Go to Payne Brothers, buy a kit and make your own!
D2 steel has been mentioned. my hunting partner killed a big bodied 6x6 elk and we were hard at it. We were staying with a cowboy that lived on the property in a Morgan building. He was well trained as a guide and knew well how to field dress animals. We were almost finished when the cowboy asked " Don't you ever sharpen that knife?" I was using my own diy knife made of D2 steel 4 inch blade and would use a modified steel ( cut to 4 inches )with an aluminum handle (DIY as well) to align the edge and continue cutting. He was totally amazed at the knife's performance. The knife was used on several elk before that. As Neuces mentioned losing his good knife. I also misplaced my knife, it fell out of my pack under wood blocks in the pickup bed that are used when stuck in the mud. It was missing two years. I would miss cleaning one small corner of the bed where the knife was lost. When I finally found it, the Desert Iron Wood handle had swelled and split. The blade had rust pits in the back part of the blade but the edge was OK. I removed the rust,replaced the handle and blackened the pits in the blade, then buffed it. Do you think that gives it character? I will probably get embarassed when someone sees a pro knifemaker using a knife with a pittted blade, but I will keep it. We did have a saw .like mentioned that has a 9 inch blade with a T-handle and a capped hole for matches or other small gear. We always sawed the backbone and the sternum completely and cut in quarters and hang on a pine tree. Then backpacks and carry the meat/trophy out of whatever remote area my partner hunts in. I have seen deboned animals that were guts left in that still had the tenderloins, filet mignon and other edible meat left as wanton waste. We could write much more on the subject. ps; I was unable to rotate the picture. And I have also been known to forget a lot of stuff from one year to the next.
https://www.bahco.com/int_en/multipu...-pb_2446_.html
I made a nice post, talking about my lost knives, which were very very good at their thing
tired of being stolen, or losing them in the field, yesterday I bought this
steel is sandvik, and the first impression is that it is worth every penny
And if it falls again without my realizing it, either I will find it easy or I will replace it easy
I've been forging knives for 20+ years. The simple carbon steels make excellent cutting tools when heat treated properly. They stain and rust, but in the final analysis, their purpose is to cut and they do.
Someone earlier mentioned Mora - these knives are inexpensive and cut like crazy. If i didn't want to spend triple digits on a knife, something in the Mora line would be great. Probably not the best for baton cutting of bone, but awesome for gutting and skinning.
I clean a lot more pigs than deer. Decided I didn't want to use my good knife on the pigs, so I bought some cheap ones. Cold steel canadian belt knife and roach belly. At the time, they were about $10 each. Midway has them on sale now for $11.19 and $10.39 and free shipping with $49 of certain items. They hold an edge really well and clean up easy. They're also stainless steel. Each one will handle several pigs before needing to be sharpened.
Back to the knife discussion. Look at the mora knives. May not be heavy enough for cracking pelvis bones but holds an edge really well. They're reasonably priced. I bought two and gave one to my son.
Siamese4570
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
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FWIW, in the early 1980's, I bought this Sharp (brand) Model 1000S hunting knife at a K-Mart for $7USD.
Since then, I have used it to field dress over two dozen deer w/o re-sharpening - as a matter of fact, I still haven't had to sharpen it.
It remains w/o any damage/wear...............
I have since found out that the reason is that those knives were made in Seki, Japan by Ichiro Hattori - known for his high-grade knives.
There are currently some available online, for a lot more than I paid.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/224699134116...gAAOSwz1hhlpUZ
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Now I lay me down to sleep
A gun beside me is what I keep
If I awake, and you're inside
The coroner's van is your next ride
A Swiss army knife. Farmer pattern. It's all you need for splitting pelvis and sternum. Also I have done it with an opinel no 8 garden knife. It sounds counter intuitive, but splitting the pelvis is easier with a thin sturdy knife than a thick knife. I have a much harder time with the pelvis with my bark river gunny hunter.
If you have never field dressed a deer with a split pelvis, I suggest trying it. No ruptured colons or urine sacs. No weird butt out gizmos needed. Split the pelvis, cut all the way up to the throat through all the ribs/sternum and all you have to do is cut the wind pipe. All guts come out in one massive gut pile. Get tenderloins and enjoy.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |