How To Skin And Butcher A Deer - Survival Manual
Congratulations, you have just killed a deer, maybe your first. Now what? Using proper methods to skin and butcher your deer will determine the quality of your deer's meat at the table. So let's get started.
A sharp knife is better than a dull knife when it comes to field dressing a buck. Indians did it with rock knives, so the latest and greatest in today's knives is not necessary, but the sharper the knife the easier the job will be. Be very careful when processing a deer. A mistake due to haste will often require you to make a trip to the hospital, oh wait. There are no hospitals after the SHTF, so I will reiterate, be careful.
To gut a deer for transportation roll the deer on its back and begin by making a cut from just above the genitals up to the rib cage. When you make this cut, take care not to cut too deeply. You only want to cut through the hide and through the animal's stomach muscle. If you cut too deeply you will puncture the deer's intestines.
Now turn the deer on its side allowing the guts to spill out. This will require help from you by cutting away any fat or connective tissue that is attached to various parts of the intestines.
The bladder will be in the area where the cavity narrows down at the hips. I leave this part of the deer's intestines intact, but many people split the pelvis so that the entire cavity can be cleaned out. The choice is yours, assuming you have a saw or ax. Be careful not to puncture the bladder.
So you will be removing everything from the diaphragm on down to the last part at the hips. The deer's abdominal cavity is separated from the chest cavity by the diaphragm. This must be cut out to remove all of the intestines.
With the guts half in and half out I cut the diaphragm away from the deer's chest cavity, then reach as far up into the deer's chest as possible and grab the deer esophagus. With the other hand I carefully slide the knife into the deer's chest and work my knife up into the chest to cut the esophagus. Now pull out the esophagus, the heart and lungs come out with it.
Wash up.
Drag the deer out if you want to move it.
Alternate Method or Continuation
Suspend the deer. How is up to you. Rope to each hind leg or a pole driven between the tendon on the back of both legs at the joint and the pole hung in a couple of tree forks at the right height, etc.! With the deer hanging upside down, cut through the skin around all four legs. See picture.
With the deer hanging upside down, cut through the skin around all four legs. See picture.
Cut the inside of the hind legs downward. Do this on each hind leg and the cuts should meet on the belly of the deer. Next, make a cut on inside each front leg towards the armpit.
Continue the back legs cut where they meet on down the belly all the way down across the sternum as shown above right.
Remove the genitals from a buck or the milk sac if it is a doe.
Now the skinning work begins. Starting at the top (hind legs) cut and pull the skin downward. Some areas will be able to be pulled without cutting. Other areas will require a little knife work to separate the fur from the carcass. Grabbing the hide on the fur side allows for a less slippery grip. cutting holes in the hide that has already been pulled away from the carcass make great hand holds.
When your skinning reaches the tail do not pull the hide off of the tail. simply skin on both sides of the tail and then cut through the base of tail bone with a strong knife.
Hand holds are circled in green in the picture below.
Below is a series of pictures showing the skinning process.
Cut off the front legs.
While pulling outward make a cut along the green dotted line to remove the front shoulders.
Remove the backstrap. Make a cut down each side of the spine. Then cut the muscle away by making a cut to sever it from the hips and work it off of the back by keeping the knife blade firmly against the bone at all times. Once the very top portion of the backstrap is free it can sometimes be pulled off of the deer with little effort or cutting.
Neck has already been removed in this picture. Some steps can be done in different order.
Remove the tenderloin.
Make a cut across the belly just below the genitalia on a buck but do not cut so deeply that you puncture any of the guts. This will give you access to the interior of the deer's gut cavity. The tenderloin lies along the spine sandwiched between the spine and the guts. It isn't a lot of meat but it is the best meat on the deer. Cut away fat and cut through the intestine that holds the deer pellets. Gravity should pull the guts down, away from the tenderloin and minimal cutting is required. Only the initial cut of the stomach muscle and some small cuts to detach guts and fat from the deer's gut cavity wall are needed so that the guts can move downward with gravity.
Remove the neck.
Pretty simply really just cut the neck off. Hack away!!! After the neck is off, or before, cut the esophagus out and place the neck in the ice chest.
Remove the ribs.
Whittle away at anything holding the guts, lungs, heart etc in the gut and chest cavity.
The rib cage will and the inner attachment between the lungs and guts will prevent everything from falling out into the gut bucket.
As shown above, reach between the lungs and the chest cavity to cut esophagus and anything else holding the lungs and heart in. Drop everything into the gut bucket.
Pictured above. Ribs cage empty and clean looking, ready for next step. Cut the sternum down the middle to separate each side as shown in the picture below.
Next cut the ribs away from the spine and sternum.
Cut the legs away from the spine.
This can be done easily with just a knife. Cut one tendon on one leg and allow the two hindquarters to hang by one leg. Cut between the two legs until you hit the pelvic bone.
Cut deep into the deer along the lines that you can see in the picture below. You will have to cut it wavy as shown to cut around bone.
Pulling the bottom leg downward will spread the legs apart. From the underside you will need to cut to ligaments that hold the femur to the hip. Just cut in to find the joint and put the knife blade in the socket and cut the ligaments. Repeat on opposite leg.
Seperate the hind quarters from lower legs.
This can be done with a saw, butcher knife, or even a knife.
Lay the hind quarter on a table.
Cut up towards the joint. Bend the leg back and forward to show where the joint is. Cut to and through the joint.
You are done!
A sharp knife is better than a dull knife when it comes to field dressing a buck. Indians did it with rock knives, so the latest and greatest in today's knives is not necessary, but the sharper the knife the easier the job will be. Be very careful when processing a deer. A mistake due to haste will often require you to make a trip to the hospital, oh wait. There are no hospitals after the SHTF, so I will reiterate, be careful.
To gut a deer for transportation roll the deer on its back and begin by making a cut from just above the genitals up to the rib cage. When you make this cut, take care not to cut too deeply. You only want to cut through the hide and through the animal's stomach muscle. If you cut too deeply you will puncture the deer's intestines.
Now turn the deer on its side allowing the guts to spill out. This will require help from you by cutting away any fat or connective tissue that is attached to various parts of the intestines.
The bladder will be in the area where the cavity narrows down at the hips. I leave this part of the deer's intestines intact, but many people split the pelvis so that the entire cavity can be cleaned out. The choice is yours, assuming you have a saw or ax. Be careful not to puncture the bladder.
With the guts half in and half out I cut the diaphragm away from the deer's chest cavity, then reach as far up into the deer's chest as possible and grab the deer esophagus. With the other hand I carefully slide the knife into the deer's chest and work my knife up into the chest to cut the esophagus. Now pull out the esophagus, the heart and lungs come out with it.
Wash up.
Drag the deer out if you want to move it.
Alternate Method or Continuation
Suspend the deer. How is up to you. Rope to each hind leg or a pole driven between the tendon on the back of both legs at the joint and the pole hung in a couple of tree forks at the right height, etc.! With the deer hanging upside down, cut through the skin around all four legs. See picture.
With the deer hanging upside down, cut through the skin around all four legs. See picture.
Cut the inside of the hind legs downward. Do this on each hind leg and the cuts should meet on the belly of the deer. Next, make a cut on inside each front leg towards the armpit.
Continue the back legs cut where they meet on down the belly all the way down across the sternum as shown above right.
Remove the genitals from a buck or the milk sac if it is a doe.
Now the skinning work begins. Starting at the top (hind legs) cut and pull the skin downward. Some areas will be able to be pulled without cutting. Other areas will require a little knife work to separate the fur from the carcass. Grabbing the hide on the fur side allows for a less slippery grip. cutting holes in the hide that has already been pulled away from the carcass make great hand holds.
When your skinning reaches the tail do not pull the hide off of the tail. simply skin on both sides of the tail and then cut through the base of tail bone with a strong knife.
Hand holds are circled in green in the picture below.
Below is a series of pictures showing the skinning process.
Cut off the front legs.
While pulling outward make a cut along the green dotted line to remove the front shoulders.
Remove the backstrap. Make a cut down each side of the spine. Then cut the muscle away by making a cut to sever it from the hips and work it off of the back by keeping the knife blade firmly against the bone at all times. Once the very top portion of the backstrap is free it can sometimes be pulled off of the deer with little effort or cutting.
Neck has already been removed in this picture. Some steps can be done in different order.
Remove the tenderloin.
Make a cut across the belly just below the genitalia on a buck but do not cut so deeply that you puncture any of the guts. This will give you access to the interior of the deer's gut cavity. The tenderloin lies along the spine sandwiched between the spine and the guts. It isn't a lot of meat but it is the best meat on the deer. Cut away fat and cut through the intestine that holds the deer pellets. Gravity should pull the guts down, away from the tenderloin and minimal cutting is required. Only the initial cut of the stomach muscle and some small cuts to detach guts and fat from the deer's gut cavity wall are needed so that the guts can move downward with gravity.
Remove the neck.
Pretty simply really just cut the neck off. Hack away!!! After the neck is off, or before, cut the esophagus out and place the neck in the ice chest.
Remove the ribs.
Whittle away at anything holding the guts, lungs, heart etc in the gut and chest cavity.
The rib cage will and the inner attachment between the lungs and guts will prevent everything from falling out into the gut bucket.
As shown above, reach between the lungs and the chest cavity to cut esophagus and anything else holding the lungs and heart in. Drop everything into the gut bucket.
Pictured above. Ribs cage empty and clean looking, ready for next step. Cut the sternum down the middle to separate each side as shown in the picture below.
Next cut the ribs away from the spine and sternum.
Cut the legs away from the spine.
This can be done easily with just a knife. Cut one tendon on one leg and allow the two hindquarters to hang by one leg. Cut between the two legs until you hit the pelvic bone.
Cut deep into the deer along the lines that you can see in the picture below. You will have to cut it wavy as shown to cut around bone.
Pulling the bottom leg downward will spread the legs apart. From the underside you will need to cut to ligaments that hold the femur to the hip. Just cut in to find the joint and put the knife blade in the socket and cut the ligaments. Repeat on opposite leg.
Seperate the hind quarters from lower legs.
This can be done with a saw, butcher knife, or even a knife.
Lay the hind quarter on a table.
Cut up towards the joint. Bend the leg back and forward to show where the joint is. Cut to and through the joint.
You are done!
