603Country
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I've seen deer skinned in about every way you can imagine, but I still do it pretty much like Doyle does it.
Points to make, after skinning a couple hundred deer over the decades:
- I no longer field dress deer if I can get them back to the house/barn inside half an hour, and if it isn't too hot. One exception to that is if I have managed to gut shoot them, or if the grandson has.
- I don't cut their throat. I used to, but finally wondered what the heck I was doing that for. Seems unnecessary to me.
- I hang em by their back legs and skin toward the head. Very little chance of damage to the mount if you do it that way. And you can see the bladder for careful removal.
- Generally, with these small central Texas deer, I don't gut them. I skin and debone them and leave the guts and tiny tenderloins in the cavity.
- If I do gut them, my favorite knife is the old KaBar with the 7 inch blade. Great for reaching down in there and cutting the connections between guts and spinal area.
It seems like everyone has their favorite way to skin deer. And I am all for it, particularly if they want to show off their skill and technique in skinning my deer for me. Yessiree.
For many years, when I was back in Louisiana, deer skinning was a team effort at my brother's house. My Dad, whether he shot it or not, would come sit and watch while I did all the messy work. One of the kids would go to the house and bring us all coffee or hot chocolate. I'd skin, with one of the younger kids helping. We'd throw chunks of scrap meat or bones to my brother's big dogs and his cat would be prowling around trying to get a scrap or two, and the cat would eventually get blood all over the top of his head. We'd all tell stories about how somebody else in the group had missed the big buck, and sooner or later we'd kid my brother about how he could never sharpen a knife. I think that was why I did all the skinning. I had sharp knives. Hmmm, I wonder if that's why the brother never sharpened his knife. Maybe he played me. Dang.
I sure miss those days. Dad is gone now.
Points to make, after skinning a couple hundred deer over the decades:
- I no longer field dress deer if I can get them back to the house/barn inside half an hour, and if it isn't too hot. One exception to that is if I have managed to gut shoot them, or if the grandson has.
- I don't cut their throat. I used to, but finally wondered what the heck I was doing that for. Seems unnecessary to me.
- I hang em by their back legs and skin toward the head. Very little chance of damage to the mount if you do it that way. And you can see the bladder for careful removal.
- Generally, with these small central Texas deer, I don't gut them. I skin and debone them and leave the guts and tiny tenderloins in the cavity.
- If I do gut them, my favorite knife is the old KaBar with the 7 inch blade. Great for reaching down in there and cutting the connections between guts and spinal area.
It seems like everyone has their favorite way to skin deer. And I am all for it, particularly if they want to show off their skill and technique in skinning my deer for me. Yessiree.
For many years, when I was back in Louisiana, deer skinning was a team effort at my brother's house. My Dad, whether he shot it or not, would come sit and watch while I did all the messy work. One of the kids would go to the house and bring us all coffee or hot chocolate. I'd skin, with one of the younger kids helping. We'd throw chunks of scrap meat or bones to my brother's big dogs and his cat would be prowling around trying to get a scrap or two, and the cat would eventually get blood all over the top of his head. We'd all tell stories about how somebody else in the group had missed the big buck, and sooner or later we'd kid my brother about how he could never sharpen a knife. I think that was why I did all the skinning. I had sharp knives. Hmmm, I wonder if that's why the brother never sharpened his knife. Maybe he played me. Dang.
I sure miss those days. Dad is gone now.