If you are a beginner hunter who is excited about your first hunting trip, this article is for you. You definitely do not want to be wondering “What do I do now? I don’t know how to gut a deer!” when you successfully get your hands on a deer. At the end of this tutorial, you will learn how to field dress a deer.
Things you will need
Gloves: The Glacier Glove Alaska Pro Waterproof Insulated Glove is an affordable and waterproof option.
Field dressing knife: The Gerber Moment Field Dress Kit is a popular option!
Tarp (optional)
A deer
How to field dress a deer: Step-by-step guide
If you are here reading this guide, congratulations on hunting a deer! If you are out of luck in this area, perhaps our deer hunting guide may be of great use to you.
To start off, field dressing refers to the process of removing an animal’s internal organs. This process is required to preserve the meat of your kill. It also helps to cool the carcass, slow bacterial growth, and remove blood and other materials from the meat.
1. Locate the broadhead
Your arrow and broadhead can sometimes be easily recovered after you have shot your game. However, there are times whereby you may not be able to locate it immediately. If this happens, the broadhead may still be inside the deer. If that is the case, please be aware and be careful of it when you are field dressing the deer.
2. Position the deer
If possible, find a slope to position your kill. This way, gravity can help and make your work easier so you do not overexert yourself.
With gloves on, place the deer on its back, with its head elevated and hind legs spread open naturally.
If you have a buddy with you, have your buddy keep the deer’s legs apart and hold the deer’s body in place. If you are alone, place rocks or wood under the carcass’s ribcage to secure its position. You should also try to tie each leg to a tree in order to make your job easier!
3. Cut a circular ring around the anus
This step is important for a later step in this guide. With a sharp knife, kneel beside the deer to cut a circular ring around the anus of the deer. To do so, push the knife into the pelvic canal and then cut a circle around the anus.
In this step, you should sever all connective tissues around the colon. But be sure not to puncture the colon. This will render your job messy (and smelly!), and taint the deer meat.
4. Make the (first) cut
For your first cut, begin with the back legs of the deer. If you hunted a buck, insert the knife right below its testicles. If you shot a doe, insert the knife below its milk sack. In both cases, Insert your knife about one inch into the skin.
To field dress a buck, cut and remove its genitalia. However, keep in mind that some states require you to declare the sex of your kill. So, you may have to leave evidence of sex!
5. Cut down the deer’s belly
Your next cut will be down the midline of the deer. If your knife has a guthook, use your first incision as a starting point, cut just under the skin and run the knife down a straight line to cut open the belly from the pelvic bone to the breastbone.
As a guthook can help guard against cutting into the stomach, you need to be extra careful if your knife does not have a guthook. You will have to guide your knife with two fingers as you open the abdomen. Be careful not to puncture the intestines and stomach below.
If you plan on mounting the deer, stop your cut at the sternum and leave as much of the skin uncut as you can. If not, cut all the way to the neck of the deer, without cutting into it.
6. Cut the diaphragm
In order to reach the chest cavity’s organs, you have to remove the thin membrane that separates the chest organs from the abdomen. This thin membrane is also known as the diaphragm. Cut the diaphragm from the cavity’s walls and carefully cut all the way through to the spine to separate it.
7. Cut the windpipe
The windpipe can be found above the lungs and heart. Using your free hand, reach into the chest cavity into the neck. Pull hard at it until you feel that things start to move. If there is some stubborn connective tissue in the way, use your knife to sever them apart.
8. Remove internal organs
At this point, the anus of the deer should be free, the diaphragm cut, and the windpipe severed. Its other organs like the deer’s heart, liver, lungs, intestines, stomachs and bladder should be able to be removed with a strong pull on the windpipe.
Pull the internal organs out of the deer. As usual, if there is some stubborn connective tissue in the way, use your knife to sever them apart.
A big pile of guts should now be outside the deer. It will be only attached near the anus. Then, grab the anal canal from the inside and pull it through toward the gut pile to remove it completely from the carcass.
For those of you who prefer to field dress a deer without gutting it, there are many guides out there that explain the steps of a gutless approach to field dressing a deer.
9. Drain blood
To drain the blood from the deer, turn the deer over and spread its legs. This is so that the cavity is facing the ground. If you have a tarp, lay it underneath to keep its meat clean and away from dirt and leaves.
See it to believe it!
Here’s a video that will help. The Bearded Butchers’ video succinctly explains the fast way to gut a deer after shooting. Their method will leave you with the best tasting meat when eating wild game.
For those who want to know how to skin a deer, The Bearded Butchers have a video explaining this too.
Conclusion
Learning how to field dress a deer may not be the most glamorous aspect of hunting. However, it is one of the most important parts. For beginners or seasoned hunters, learning the best way to field dress a deer ensures that your kill cools quickly, is clean and stays fresh.
We hope you enjoyed reading this guide as much as we enjoyed writing it! If you have other tried and tested tips and tricks that you would like to share with fellow archers out there, be sure to leave a comment below!