Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Gutless Field Dressing

Have any of you guys tried it? Seen several videos seems straight forward enough, any tricks or "hacks" any would like to share?

b k

Yes, I do the gutless method all the time UNLESS, I'm going to let the deer hang and age, OR I'm giving the whole deer to friends. I have a few friends that occasionally will take a deer for themselves. Then I do the traditional gutting.

I don't know what videos you've seen so.....

It only makes sense to me to hang the deer by the hind legs from a gambrel that separates the hind 1/4s.
The last deer I gutted for friends, I left it laying on he ground the old fashioned way. That is harder.

You need a sharp 'clip' point blade to cut around the anus and end of the large intestine.

When you get to the point of retrieving the tender loins -- carefully cut into the body cavity down to the sternum.
That allows you enuff room to push the intestines and stomach down so you can cut and remove the TLs.

The gutless method is almost second nature to me and hopefully I haven't overlooked anything critical.

Good Luck

Jerry

It’s the only way to fly unless you gut shot one.

Hard to get the heart out with the insides still inside.

I've done it 4 or 5 times with elk and twice on moose. Every one was extremely tough chewing. Boning meat before it goes into rigor will allow the muscle fibers to contract which makes them tough. Leaving the meat on the bone until it cools enough to go into rigor will prevent the contraction.

After the meat's off, cut a couple ribs and take it out through the hole.

I hadn't thought of the toughness issue. Thanks guys, I'm gonna rethink this.

I cut down both sides of a rib and yank that rib out, leaves room to remove the heart.

Only part that is not on the bone is the back strap.You are right about that though.

I'm thinking next year to leave the back strap unit last. Then using a saw,cut down along each side of the back strap at the top of the ribs so you only have the spine and back strap in one piece.Only have to go to the front of the pelvis bone because when you took the hinds off, you started there. Then cut the neck off. Probably have to puncture the paunch to let some gas out to be able to use the saw.

If I am by myself I usually have to gut anyway because I can't move the carcass around with all the guts in.I guess all it would save me is not splitting the spline.
This would be for elk, not deer. I don't have any qualms about gutting deer. Gut them, cut in half in front of the last rib and throw 1/2 the carcass into panniers, then one on each side of the mule.

Gone both ways, and my preference is to handle bone in halves for quarters. Typically though we're in camps that might be in place for another week to 10 days. I experience a lot more trim loss with the gutless approach.

Yes, you're right.

However I process my WT at home and I DON'T bone it out. I put the 1/4s and pieces on Ice/Water for 3-5 days
keeping it cold but NOT frozen. After that it's cut off the bone and into pieces.

bk - this might be relevant to you, I don't know.

Jerry

Actually works well on gut shot animals , you don;t have to go into that area.
We do all of our animals lying on the ground and it works easily, even on elk.
We also age everything so never had an issue with toughness after aging.
The quarters get hung and aged when we get home, everything comes apart at the joints and no need to cut bone.

Got to get the heart and liver anyhow

It’s all I do now. Cut up on the ground and into a pack. Hang the quarters when I get home. Usually take a piece of painters plastic to lay out meat as I cut.

I've done the gutless, skinless method a few times when I killed one a long ways back from any roads. I just cut the hind quarters and front quarters off, leaving the skin on and tie them together in pairs to throw over my shoulders, then roll them onto their stomach, slice the skin down the back and take out the loins. I put those in a plastic garbage bag I carry in my game bag, stick the bagged loins in the game bag and walk out. No I don't worry about the tender loins and heart. Skin out the quarters when you get home.

and the liver...

Fresh venison liver, thick sliced bacon, and red onion is a delicacy around here. I feel a bit sorry for those who turn up their nose at it.

Liver is too dark for my & my famalies’ taste.

The only way to cook Kidneys is to boil the PEEE out of em. grin.

The tenderloin — under backbone — is the MOST tender meat of any WHOLE
Deer. I can’t imagine leaving the T L in the carcass !!

Then again, “Yankees”.

Jerry

As mentioned above, the tenderloins and heart are easy to take out via gutless. The liver, not so much.

I only do gutless. As a matter of fact, I have an elk inner loin marinating right now for dinner tonight.

We hang our from the hind legs and haven't gutted them in years. The ribs are the only I don't take that I would have if I gutted the deer. I have never saved the organs

gutless is not deboned, except loins and backstrap and neck meat. You can debone, but don't need to unless saving weight.

We've gutless (quaters, loins, backstrap, trim everything else we can) t his year, toss in bags.

I haven't tried getting the loins out without gutting, but haven't done anything bigger than a whitetail. Once everything is "off", its pretty lite, I just slice open the body, dump out the guts, flip onto its back and take out the loins.