by Rana Williamson

Created on: March 06, 2009

After the Kill: Field Dressing a Deer

You took the shot, now you get to do the dirty work. You're not one of those privileged hunters who can sit on the tailgate and watch the guide gut the deer. The fundamentals of field dressing are straightforward and process driven and, for the most part, require only minimal strength and a willingness to get a little bloody.

(*Rule Number One:* Tag the carcass first. In most states a game warden is within his rights to confiscate an untagged kill.)

1. Don't bother cutting the deer's throat.

It's a myth that you need to cut the animal's throat. Its blood is no longer circulating. The abdominal cut will be effective at draining the carcass. Cutting the throat only damages the cape (the hide surrounding the head, neck and shoulders), which will complicate mounting and create an ripe for the introduction of dirt and bacteria.

2. Don't touch the tarsal glands.

You don't need to remove the tarsal glands to avoid tainting the meat, but neither do you want the glands to touch the meat. On a white-tailed deer, the glands are located on the inside of the hind legs. They're marked by a tuft of longer hair covering sebaceous glands filled with a fatty lipid. All deer urinate on these glands for rub-urination behavior. Both males and females engage in this behavior year round as a communication device.

3. The first cut.

Place the animal on its back and make the first cut from the genitals moving upward to the rib cage. Only cut through the hide and the stomach muscle. Going deeper will puncture the intestines. Do not cut past the sternum if you are planning on a head mount. Keep the cape intact. Separating the rib cage is a matter of personal choice. Cut off-center of the sternum if the ribs are to be separated. Separation is not necessary, however, to create access to the chest.

4. Remove the guts.

Next, turn the carcass to the side and remove the guts by cutting away the fat holding them in place. Be careful not to rupture the bladder, which sits in the cavity where it narrows at the hips. Cut around the anus and use string to tie it off before cutting around the abdominal cavity and removing the intestines.

5. Empty the chest cavity.

A diaphragm separates the abdominal and chest cavities. In order to remove all the intestines, the diaphragm also must be cut and taken out. When the diaphragm has been removed, reach into the chest cavity locating the esophagus. Carefully place the knife in the chest and sever the esophagus. Then, remove the heart

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