Post by: 7mmfan on September 23, 2015, 09:48:54 AM
My question is, for you guys that field dress this way, how to manage to not puncture the bladder, but flesh out enough of the anal canal to pull it all through? I want to look up videos but I'm at work and videos of field dressing animals are frowned upon. :dunno:
Post by: HUNTaHOLIC5 on September 23, 2015, 09:55:23 AM
Post by: bobcat on September 23, 2015, 09:58:27 AM
Learn the gutless methods and this problem doesn't exist. 10000x better. No mess and also a lot faster. :twocents:
:yeah:
Post by: Woodchuck on September 23, 2015, 10:09:04 AM
I have field dressed about 15 deer and half a dozen elk in my life, but I have always used a small bone saw to cut the pelvis in order to pull everything out the back. Last year my saw bit the dust and I field dressed 2 elk and a deer by just fleshing out the anus to a depth where I could pull it through the front and roll all the guts out. This worked well, but each time I punctured the bladder. Luckily I was in a position to tip and then immediately flush the area out thoroughly. I didn't notice any issues with any of the meat.Find the high point where the two halves of the pelvis come together. drive your knife right into that seam (may need to do it a couple times, especially on elk) then push the legs further apart and the pelvis will break along that seam. :twocents:
My question is, for you guys that field dress this way, how to manage to not puncture the bladder, but flesh out enough of the anal canal to pull it all through? I want to look up videos but I'm at work and videos of field dressing animals are frowned upon. :dunno:
Post by: 7mmfan on September 23, 2015, 10:32:06 AM
I've seen plenty of videos of people removing the anus the way I described (fleshing out the back and pulling it through the front when you dump the rest of the guts) but no one explains how they do it without puncturing the bladder. Is just a matter of controlling the depth of your cut?
Post by: PlateauNDN on September 23, 2015, 10:35:13 AM
Post by: bobcat on September 23, 2015, 10:38:34 AM
This gets it up off the ground so you can access it easier and see what you're doing.
Post by: 7mmfan on September 23, 2015, 10:41:21 AM
Post by: Igor on September 23, 2015, 10:44:53 AM
First, do not cut the throat of the animal. Cut the wind pipe from the inside after opening up the body cavity, reaching up as far as you can.
Then, use a very small knife to cut around the anus on the outside, just to remove connecting tissue. Then, using your finger, remove as much of the remaining connecting tissue as you can.
You can now reach up inside, grabbing the intestine connected to the now-free anus, and grab the wind pipe with the other hand. It will take some tugging, but the entire pile of guts will come out in one fell swoop !!
I've done this on both deer and elk. It helps to use a very small knife for all of this, not some big Bowie knife which many hunters seem to think is necessary !!
Post by: 7mmfan on September 23, 2015, 10:49:59 AM
Does anyone have a great, go-to video link for the gutless method? Curiosity has gotten the better of me
Post by: jaymark6655 on September 23, 2015, 10:50:54 AM
Post by: PlateauNDN on September 23, 2015, 10:54:18 AM
Post by: 7mmfan on September 23, 2015, 10:56:31 AM
Post by: TSLPE on September 23, 2015, 11:29:17 AM
Post by: wreckerman5288 on September 23, 2015, 01:02:33 PM
My partner and I bought the" butt-out" this year and are looking forward to trying it out! They are like 10 bucks on amazon. Maybe try that.
When the butt-out works it works well. I have one. I have used it 4 times with excellent results, the other two times I wasn't able to get it to bite and it wouldn't do its job.
Post by: Eli346 on September 23, 2015, 06:33:56 PM
Post by: Larry S. on September 23, 2015, 06:52:25 PM
For the rest of the process, Havalon! That knife made easy work of cleaning and skinning.
Larry S.
Post by: gilroym on September 23, 2015, 07:16:02 PM
It helps to use a small, and extremely sharp knife, like a Havalon, and also it makes it much easier if you can find a large rock, log, etc. to set the rear end of the animal on.
This gets it up off the ground so you can access it easier and see what you're doing.
+1 for the Havalon. After my nephew got his deer we struggled with the knives we had. I went to the store last week and bought the Havalon camo because it was on sale and it made field dressing and processing my deer this weekend a lot easier.
Post by: ribka on September 24, 2015, 08:11:55 AM
I carry these with a sharpener
Great little knives
http://www.consumersearch.com/kitchen-knives/victorinox-paring-knife-4-inch/buy
Post by: hoytem on September 24, 2015, 08:34:52 AM
[ftp]I have a havalon- the blades I think are too thin and a pain to change without tools. Maybe just me though
I carry these with a sharpener
Great little knives
http://www.consumersearch.com/kitchen-knives/victorinox-paring-knife-4-inch/buy
how many do you carry? do you have a scabbard or how do you carry them?
Post by: andersonjk4 on September 24, 2015, 08:44:29 AM
I have field dressed about 15 deer and half a dozen elk in my life, but I have always used a small bone saw to cut the pelvis in order to pull everything out the back. Last year my saw bit the dust and I field dressed 2 elk and a deer by just fleshing out the anus to a depth where I could pull it through the front and roll all the guts out. This worked well, but each time I punctured the bladder. Luckily I was in a position to tip and then immediately flush the area out thoroughly. I didn't notice any issues with any of the meat.Find the high point where the two halves of the pelvis come together. drive your knife right into that seam (may need to do it a couple times, especially on elk) then push the legs further apart and the pelvis will break along that seam. :twocents:
My question is, for you guys that field dress this way, how to manage to not puncture the bladder, but flesh out enough of the anal canal to pull it all through? I want to look up videos but I'm at work and videos of field dressing animals are frowned upon. :dunno:
:yeah:
Where I hunt whitetails I am fortunate enough to be able to get my deer out whole, so I don't use the gutless method for deer... elk is a different story. But anyway, I agree with Woodchuck, about breaking the pelvis if you do not have a saw. I carry a heavy bladed knive just for splitting the pelvis. I find the ridge that runs right down the middle of the pelvic bone and get my knife started right at the top of the ridge. Then I take a small rock (about baseball sized) and use it to tap on the back of my knife to drive it right down the center of the ridge. This technique does take a little bit to get the hang of, but it works great and as long as you can find a rock and you have a knife then you are in business. I have been in situations where I couldn't find a rock (way out in the middle of a wheat field) and I had to clear out the anal canal and pull everything back up through it as 7mm described. And as Bobcat said propping up the back end to give you a better angle to get up in there helps a bunch. If you have someone else with you, having them grab both back legs and pull them up toward the head of the animal also helps you get up in there good.
Post by: Curly on September 24, 2015, 10:31:22 AM
I do prefer the gutless method though. I carry my havalon and a leatherman. If a blade is getting dull I just pull out the leatherman and take off the dull blade and put on a new blade......works great. :tup:
Post by: 7mmfan on September 24, 2015, 10:39:58 AM
No need to split the pelvis. As has been said, use a havalon and carefully cut the connective tissue and you can push the anus in through the pelvic cavity. (I think it's cleaner to not split the pelvis).
I do prefer the gutless method though. I carry my havalon and a leatherman. If a blade is getting dull I just pull out the leatherman and take off the dull blade and put on a new blade......works great. :tup:
I'm really trying to get away from carrying a whole processing kit with me, that why I don't want to bother with splitting the pelvis anymore. I had a friend basically breakdown a whole elk with me a couple years ago with his Havalon, changed my whole outlook on the process.
Post by: Brute on September 24, 2015, 10:55:15 AM
Post by: 7mmfan on September 24, 2015, 11:05:41 AM
Post by: throttlejocky20 on September 24, 2015, 11:10:03 AM
It's easy, and relatively quick to do it this way.This is exactly the way i do it. Cut everything free on the outside and use my fingers to free it up on the inside.
First, do not cut the throat of the animal. Cut the wind pipe from the inside after opening up the body cavity, reaching up as far as you can.
Then, use a very small knife to cut around the anus on the outside, just to remove connecting tissue. Then, using your finger, remove as much of the remaining connecting tissue as you can.
You can now reach up inside, grabbing the intestine connected to the now-free anus, and grab the wind pipe with the other hand. It will take some tugging, but the entire pile of guts will come out in one fell swoop !!
I've done this on both deer and elk. It helps to use a very small knife for all of this, not some big Bowie knife which many hunters seem to think is necessary !!