I'm curious as to how many of us like deer liver and heart.
Have two livers and a heart in the freezer as we speak. Not for me but for a long-time 78yr old friend of mine that doesn't hunt anymore that loves them. He's been eating them all his life.
I usually try to deliver him a half dozen or so of each a season from the different hunters I know.
Far as field dressing game...always been done where the deer falls around these parts.
Short story...Bout 15 yrs ago, I was hunting an area that was known to be pretty rugged. To the point you didn't see many other hunters. And yes, there where some monster bucks running in that area.
Anyway, I'm way back in these foothills. About mid week, it's getting on '0 dark thirty' and I'm on my way outta there empty handed. Had only heard one shot all day and that was @ about 5 pm just before dark.
As I walking my roughly 2.5 mi. hike out by flashlight, I come across a guy (bout 60 or so) sitting on a log that looked pretty bad. He's wringing wet, face was sweaty and flushed as it could be and I could hear him breathing before I actually saw him.
I walked over to him asking him if he was ok and he stated he was just taking a break from dragging his deer. I looked over and saw a huge, un-gutted doe and asked how far he had dragged her. He had dragged this deer from the next ridge over. Also, after a bit more conversation, I find out this fella had just got outta the hospital for heart surgery not more than a month prior.
He didn't know how to gut his deer so we got it gutted and I start to dragging. Pulled the deer to the nearest road(about 3/4 mile), he stayed with deer and I go get my truck to load deer and him to get them to his truck.
Come to find out...he was with a hunting party of 7-8 more guys, two of which where his sons that didn't keep tabs on the poor SOB worth a dime.
He had never been hunting before and just wanted to get out with the guys and he really didn't expect to shoot anything.
We pulled up to the camp and they all came walking over with beverages in hand laughing about the ole guy dragging the deer without gutting it. Too, they had heard the same shot I did and figured it was him that shot. Didn't even go to check on him at dark.
My patience were a bit short and I told them if they had seen the shape their pa was in when he was found, they wouldn't be laughing.
Anyway, the ole guy thanked me alot and said he had learned that he should gut the deer before dragging out.