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Field-Dressing Made Easy

By Jim Zumbo

Oct 6, 2004

The process of cutting up a deer can be intimidating to hunters. It seems like you need the skills of a butcher to do it, but really you don't. I've been doing it for 40 years, and I learned on my own. My cuts aren't as precise as those of a professional, but I save quite a bit of cash by doing it myself.

Start by skinning the carcass, removing all visible fat and hair. The fat in venison is not the same as that found in domestic livestock; it imparts a gamy taste. Whether or not to age the carcass depends on whether you have a cool place to hang it that's free of flies and pets. Whenever possible, I'll hang a carcass in my garage for three to five days. A temperature of 40 to 45 degrees is ideal, if you're able to control it.

Knives must be sharp, so keep a sharpening stone handy. Also have containers ready to put meat in.

Field-Dress First
1. Turn the animal so its head is downhill and bleed it by slitting the throat below the jawbone. Next, sever the windpipe, which is the firm, white tube. While the deer is being bled, remove its testicles and scent glands on its hind legs. (The glands are identified by the long hairs protruding from them.)


2. Open the stomach cavity after cutting a circle around the anus and removing the genitals. Hold the back of your knife blade against your index finger, and slide your finger and blade just under the skin. Be sure to leave the organs intact. Cut through the ribs at the breastbone and continue up to the neck.


3. With a knife, remove the diaphragm (the thick skin that separates the organs from the chest cavity) from the spine to the rib cage. Then grasp the windpipe and pull downward. All the innards should exit through the stomach opening. Prop the carcass up and wipe the cavity clean.

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Comment on This Article At 3:46 PM, 2008-03-30, josh said: why not cut the throat... any extra blood drainage can only help Flag this comment as offensive At 11:55 PM, 2008-02-24, coyotee said: Good article for those who are new at this. Print it and keep it in with your hunting gear. At least you'll have some sort of direction to go when the time comes to do it yourself. How about a javelina next time around Jim? Flag this comment as offensive At 10:12 PM, 2008-02-23, anonymous said: There is no joint on the front shoulders. You just run your knife around the shoulder blade and the whole front leg comes off. - Doug Flag this comment as offensive At 12:00 AM, 2008-03-31, Ahab said: I see no reason to cut the dead animals throat, as the deer would already be bled out from being shot or will bleed out when field dressed. What is the purpose of cutting the genitals out? They won't taint the meat. That could be donw later. Flag this comment as offensive Your Name: Enter the following word: Your Comments: Please keep comments focused on the subject (and profanity-free) or we may delete your post. Do not enter more than 10 lines. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us.

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