Episode-1617- Bow Hunting Deer Part Three – Deer Down ~ Now What?
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So it has been 21 episodes since part two of this series but I figured this would be a good time to pick it back up. In Episode-1445- Bow Hunting Deer Part One ~ The Kit we discussed all the gear I carry when hunting deer, specifically on non guided hunts when you are completely on your own. In Episode-1596- Bow Hunting Deer Part Two ~ Scouting and Setting Up we covered scouting in all 4 seasons, stand set up and everything right up until “the shot”.
Today we discuss what happens next. That arrow flew true, the deer is stuck mortally but your job is far from over. As is more common then not the deer is down but you could not see it fall, now you must track it, find it, field dress it, drag it out, get it home and skin and quarter it.
How does one get all this done, why not just take it to a butcher? Well even then you need to field dress it and for some people a butcher may be the way to go. Still I see it this way, everyone should process a deer or two at least once and know how to do it and complete your training by teaching someone else. You are 10 times more likely to remember what you have done vs. just heard or read but you are 10 times more beyond that more likely to retain what you teach.
When it comes to hard skills those that can do best are those that teach.
Join Me Today To Discuss…
- Where we left off in episode 1596, what happened next
- The most important things to do after the shot
- Watch the deer find land marks for
- The shot
- The stumbles
- The last place you see it if you are lucky where it falls
- Next give it some time
- Get down go first to where you made the shot look for
- Blood
- Hair
- The arrow
- Try to pick up a trail
- Find and mark any stumbles and the last place you had visual
- Use your TP to mark where you find blood, hair, to verify blood, etc
- At night a blue light helps blood show up better
- When you find the deer, approach from the rear, touch first the hind end, then the eye
- Field Dressing
- In most states tag your deer now
- If possible put the butt down hill
- Lay on back
- If you don’t have the broad head, assume it is inside the deer
- Cut around colon, then open belly, cut through diaphragm, cut wind pipe, pull out
- Remove heart and liver (other organs if you wish)
- Put organs in zip lock bags, place back inside deer
- Remove hawk glands – don’t cut tendons!
- The Drag
- GPS is your friend don’t be afraid to use it
- Take the shortest route to where you can get your vehicle to the deer
- I use a 5 foot piece of simple soft nylon rope and a stick to drag
- A come along can save your ass in some situations
- Hanging and skinning
- In cold weather or a cooler you can hang skinned or not
- I prefer to skin asap – still warm otherwise actually cold
- Let deer hang whole if possible to cool if not possible part out on bone and put parts in a cooler (keep dry)
- Meat cuts much nicer when cold
- The basics of skinning and parting out
- Skin from the back legs down, then cut off head with saw
- Use saw to remove front feet
- Remove front legs
- Remove “flank steaks”
- Debone loins from butt roast to neck
- Remove tender loins
- Saw off “spare ribs”
- Saw off “neck roast” or debone hanging
- Saw off back bone above rump
- Take down hind quarters, dis joint hip bones off rump
- Cut off lower feet from hams and cut off “shanks”
- Debone as you wish at this point
- Uses and care of heart and liver
- Cuts of meat and what I do with them
- Shanks – for stew I leave the bone in them or debone for burger
- Flanks/ribs – remove trimmings grind
- Lower shoulder – leave bone in for roast or debone and grind
- Upper shoulder -debone trim and grind
- Loins – cut into 10 inch sections roughly
- Rump Roast – leave bone in for roast or debone and grind
- Back Legs – Debone and cut into roasts or steaks, grind lower portion
- Bones, roast and make stock
- Tallow – render it is worth the effort
- Rules for cutting and grinding
- Colder is better, almost frozen is best
- Keep your equipment cold too, especially the grinder blade
- Clean as you go, a big piece of plywood is good for lager jobs
- Wrap meat in butcher paper or vacuum seal, no ziplock bags
- Label and date everything
- In the final episode we will talk all about cooking deer, making jerky, sausage and biltong
Resources for today’s show…
- Join the Members Brigade
- The Year 1617
- Join Our Forum
- Walking To Freedom
- TSP Gear
- PermaEthos.com
- AgriTrue.com
- Harvest Eating – (sponsor of the day)
- Western Botanicals – (sponsor of the day)
- Good video on gutting a deer, though the chick narrating is a bit annoying
- This Guy Has it Down, Skinned and Quartered in 4 minutes – I could do this a LOT cleaner, but not as fast.
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Any saving Freezer burnt deer meat? I used freezer bags and have some meat that is freezer burnt.
No not really, it is still edible but it won’t taste very good, you now have expensive dog food.
Great show. I’m a little behind my podcasts.
Hello Jack,
How do you retrieve an animal that fell in a neighboring property? Say the cattle ranch neighbor. Do you jump the fence and keep tracking? Do you go ask for permission? Do you even have a claim to the animal if runs into another property?
Thank you.
Awww what a sweet photo of little Jack.
Not a lot of comments on these shows Jack, but I think they provide a lot of good info and advice.
Even for those of us who have some background in hunting, it’s intersting to see how go about it. Picked up some good tips!
Awesome tips Jack. Although i haven’t hunted much, i have butchered many deer. Years as a chef trained me for that. A couple additional tips i would like to add, if i may. When i butcher, i used to bone out all the neck meat for ground. I found an easier thing to do with it now. I cut the head.off at the base of the skull and as far down as the neck goes to the shoulder-hacksaw right through the neck bones. You will have a big roast like hunk of meat. I will season this whole thing and pop it in my slow cooker for about a whole day. When the meat falls off the neckbones, it’s done. Either pull it or chop it and make bbq meat from it. I usually get at least a couple meals for.my family of 10from it. This save a lot of time boning all the neck bones out and you get all the meat.
Another.thing i didn’t hear you mention exactly is the front and back shanks. If you saw through these at about 2inch thicknesses, you can make something like osso bucco (braised shanks ). I just put them in the slow cooker with veggies and beef or deer stock and let them.go all.day. Thicken broth and use as gravy right before you serve.
I hope that helps.
I’m coming back to these after I start hunting. I think I start in the next few months.
Thanks jack! As someone new to hunting, I really appreciate this show!