Hang by head or hinds (w/graphic pic)

S

siotwo

New member
How do you like to clean your deer. Hanging by head or by hind legs? Here we are cleaning Steve's first deer.

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I hang by the hind legs. BTW, you might want to throw a little "graphic pic" warning into the title. Not that you have grossed me out or anything, but others with weaker stomachs might want to know in advance. Nice deer!
 
Hind legs - good for drainning blood and fluids through that cut you make in the throat. From the neck pools it all in the body, eh?

Congrats on the first of many!
 
Yup, hind legs here too. I think it make them easier to skin that way. By the way tell Steve congrat's on the first deer. :)
 
Make yourself a gambrel and hang it from the hind legs. The gambrel spreads the legs apart making things easier.
 
I've typically hung deer by the neck as in the photo, but when I have a gambrel I'll hang 'em by the ham end legs. It seems easier to skin from the neck down.
 
I've cleaned em both ways and I don't even mind a complete quartering-up on the ground either, especially when I'm by myself. Its easier than a swinging/spinning deer.

I've heard of the golfball and truck tecnique, but never tried it.

Unless I'm caping for a mount it seems easier to hang by the neck. If you haven't field dressed/gutted the deer you can split the belly while hanging and guts and blood roll right out. On little Does this works pretty well when the gambrel is too wide for the hind legs. Just watch out for bloody boots. ;)
 
Looks like a side of beef with a head to me. If it grosses you out, then what do you do with what you shoot? Just leave it there for the wild dogs/pigs/buzzards?
 
I have always hung deer for skinning with the head up. I field dress them when on the ground.

Twycross thinks:BTW, you might want to throw a little "graphic pic" warning into the title. Not that you have grossed me out or anything, but others with weaker stomachs might want to know in advance. Nice deer!

Hey, its a hunting forum, I HOPE most of the guys here have seen this sight many times. :))
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Hang 'em high

An old butcher explained to me that cows are always butchered head down because the valves in the veins allow the blood to drain back toward the heart (and thus out of most of the body) when the critter is head down. Yes, veins do have anti-backflow valves.

Makes sense to me. I hang a deer that way when I can to butcher it.

As to field dressing them, that oughta be done at the site of the kill--don't haul all those guts back to camp! Just more to haul, then you have to get rid of 'em besides. You field dress a deer with its head uphill or up on a stump, so's the innards roll out as you release 'em. (Why do you suppose it's called FIELD dressing??)

So: Briefly: Field dress with head up, in the field. Butcher with head down, in camp.
 
I like to hang by the head. I have done it both ways and I do like to hang the deer whole and skin before gutting of the weather and time permit. I will not chance spoiling meat to do this or risk breaking my back to get a big heavy undressed deer out of the woods, but if the 4 wheeler is close and the weather is cool, you can gain a lot by hanging the deer befor emaking any cuts.

The point of hanging the deer whole is to keep things clean. Hang by the head whole and skin the deer. If you use a truck and golf ball, this takes less than 10 mins. If you do it the hard way, then maybe 20 mins for a good skinner with a good knife. I have almost no hair onthe deer if I can hang it whole and skin it. I also don't have dirt and leaves on the inside of the deer if I don't have to field dress it at the kill site and then drag it through the woods.

I also "bleed" my meat in a cooler with ice untill the melted ice runs clear. 3-7 days on ice will get the blood out of the meat and leave a much better tasting piece of meat. I learned this on wild hogs and it greatly improves the meat flavor. Some folks use salt and vinager added to the cooler to increase the bleeding, but I have not found it necessary.

If the deer is field dressed on the ground and you don't skin with a truck then a good gambrel is probably the better way. I use a cable type gambrel that snares the legs and holds them even after you cut them free. This beats the hell out of hold the ham with one hand and cutting it loose with the other.
 
I gut mine right when I get em, I try and do it on a hill or something and just open the deer up and rip out all the goodies. Far as hanging. If it's going to be cold ie. no higher than 40 and colder at night I'll hang it by the back legs and let the meat tenderize for a few days. It allows the colagen to break down in the meat and allows for a better tasting deer. When I butcher I hang the same way by the rear legs and skin it. Then cut the head off and saw right down the middle and get to work making steaks,chops and all the other favorites.
 
I always have hung from the hind with a gambrel, but this year I bought the E-Z Skinner, hoping to be able to try it out, the video that comes with it looks awesome, takes like 3 minutes - look it up on cabelas...
 
Cool, I was looking at that tool, can you let me know how it works out?

I can't find the actual E-Z Skinner I was talking about, tho - it's a big metal clamp that you attach to the hide, and then chain the deer or elk to a tree or other stationary object, and then chain the clamp to a vehicle and drive away slowly so that the skin comes right off, piece of cake...
 
Well Archery opens next Sat so I'm hoping to get a deer and use this thing. Has everything to open the deer and even crack the brisket open and the pelvic bone too. If not, I got my trusty Glock Knife that's seen more action on deer than any other blade I own. I looked in Cabelas but didn't see what you were talking about though
 
Yeah, I know, I dunno what is up, I can't even find it on google...gonna look at it tonight and see if it has a website and if so I'll post.
 
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