Hunting Newbie Questions

[takenoprisoners]

So, I underwent hunter education in the winter/spring and am becoming slightly obsessed with hunting.

Anyway, I've talked to a few folks and done more research than I should and have decided what gun I'm gonna get and all that jazz.

I just have a couple questions.

1. Is field dressing a deer (or any other animal) an insane pain in the butt? Can a moderately strong guy do it in a decent amount of time with the right knife?
2. Anyone know of a good place to get deer processed? I live in Cleveland, so close to me would be ideal.

There are plenty of other questions I have, but they would be very difficult for folks to answer, as they're opinion-related. And there are enough places online to argue.

Thank you for your thoughts...

 

[Solo]

I can have any medium sized animal field dressed in about 5 minutes, quartered up...about 20 minutes.

 

[takenoprisoners]

Very impressive. How long would you suspect it would take someone who's not been around guns at all in his life until recently?

 

[piglet1984]

we do our own deer and dont have to pay someone to do if for you i live in cleveland and we could meet up and talk sometime you can call me if you need to 423 716 3041

 

[Cooper713]

Like Solo said, a person whos done it a few times can have a deer gutted in about 5 mins. I really dont know anywhere near you that processes deer because i live in Ringgold. But if you have a place and wanted to learn, processing your own deer isnt hard to do. I process all my deer myself. You just need a place to hang it up from its back legs, a couple bowls to put the meat in, & a meat grinder. I hang the deer up from a single tree and rope from my barn rafters. Then skin the deer & start cutting the meat off. I try to get all the white "skin" stuff off the meat before i grind it up.Then wash the meat thoroughly. I also like to keep the backstraps that run down each side of its spine. The rest i grind up into hamburger meat. Wrap it in butchers paper & put it in the freezer. Its not too bad. I can take a deer from whole to completly done & in the freezer in a few hours by myself. Its worth learning bc its about $60 to have a deer processed where i live.

 

[FishFan]

The best deer processor I've ever used lives in Bradley Co. on Dalton Pike. He is a butcher @ a local grocery store, is VERY clean, & has makes the best sausage & hamburger I've ever eaten (he adds bacon to his hamburger & its great!). PM me for his info, as I honestly don't want to overwhelm him with work as he can only do so many @ night.

 

[churly]

Go to youtube. Search david dudley fworld record field dressing. He can do it in under a minute.

 

[Liveliner]

Being around Guns and even sleeping with one will not effect your abilities to field dress a deer any what-so-ever. I can field dress a deer with a very sharp folding knife of any size.. You do not need a fancy knife. A couple very sharp Pakistani $1.99 knives is all you need.
What you need is the art and understanding to do it right and to not have Guts up to your elbows.

 

[deerhunter3]

MY wife has done a lot of Her own, so I don,t think you will have any trouble. A knife with a gut hook will help you not make a mess.

 

[procraft]

my daughter started doing it when she was 13 and can do a very good job don't try to be fast just do it correct I can do it best when they are hanging about 2 feet off the ground I put a big plastic bag in a 5 gallon bucket then when I get done I get ride of the bag and the rest is history just make sure that you don't bust the gut liner cause it will stink very bad

 

[takenoprisoners]

Woah! A lot of info. Thanks so much to all. Piglet, I may be giving you a call soon - after I watch the recommended video by Churly, to make sure I'm remembering stuff properly. Also, I'm in a neighborhood, so I don't know that cleaning it at my place would be good.

And Procraft and Deerhunter - I'll look for the right knife and take my time. I imagine a lot of people try to rip through it and wind up ripping through it (in a bad way). Hahaha...

Oh yeah, LiveLiner - I do NOT want to be elbow-deep in guts. I imagine most hunters wind up in this situation once or twice, but I'd prefer to be the exception to that rule.

Cooper - $60 is pretty steep considering the other stuff I've gotta buy just to get out there, so yeah, learning to do it myself would be awesome. Maybe if I can master the art of doing it all in the field - even if it's an all-day event, I can save that cash.

FishFan - after all this...if I decide to go with a butcher, I will indeed contact you. Always good to have a contact for good people doing good work.

Again, thank you all. Now to watch that video... (And convince my wife to let me buy a gun and gear...hehehe)

 

[takenoprisoners]

Couldn't find the world record, but found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewCVFkkyQC4

Looks fairly simple if you take your time. Could someone experienced look this over and make sure what this guy does is right? I don't see anything wrong with it, but I've never cleaned a deer.

 

[Cooper713]

Yeah, $60 is a little steep to me too. Thats what it cost me last Thanksgiving. I killed a good 7 pointer that morning & didnt have time to cut it up myself, so i took it to my local butcher. Its definetly worth learning how to do it yourself. I like to have a couple of good knives so i dont have to stop and sharpen during the process. If all else fails you can hang the deer up over a tree limb with a rope, done that before. You can get a meat grinder pretty reasonable. Ive got just a plain hand crank one that i bought from tractor supply for $50. I never have any trouble grinding up the meat. They make ones with electric motors that are easier, but more expensive. Good luck!!

 

[Kirk]

It is like anything else, the more you do it the better you get at it. I am down to just a few minutes and very little blood on my hands.

 

[VolsFan24]

I was in your same boat a couple years ago, I got the gun, ammo, and gear. But in the 2 years I've had all that I haven't been hunting. Haha. I've never been hunting so I don't really know what I'm doing. Done ALOT of research and watched ALOT of videos. I'm an ok shot and very comfortable with my rifle, only thing I'm missing is a hunting partner. I'm not from around here so I don't really know anyone to take me and show me the ropes a little, and I don't want to pay $500 or so to get on a lease, especially since I don't know the proper eticate.

 

[takenoprisoners]

Another $50 for the grinder...

The costs keep piling up. Hahaha... But seriously - is there hope that hunting will one day pay for itself? I don't anticipate it will. Just wondering.

And I look forward to doing it enough to figure it out.

Also, like VolsFan, I'm about to go crazy from watching video. Ready to do it to it. Thankfully some folks at my church have property with turkey, deer, hog, and coyote that they said I can hunt whenever I'm ready. So...if I get out there and figure out how to do it, maybe we can hook up on the cheap.

 

[Cooper713]

Yes, when you are first getting into hunting and buying all the stuff at once it is expensive. But if you do it for years and figure up how much money you can save on buying meat, its worth it. It will take some years to pay everything back probably, but when you shoot your first deer you will look at it differently. I killed my first deer when i was 12 and ive been in the woods every chance i get since then. Its something i love to do. Its not all about filling my freezer, even though thats the ultimate goal. But to me its just time to get out and forget about everything thats going on in my life, a time to escape for a little while. And its even better now ive got my daughters hooked on hunting. Its just another way for me to spend quality time with them.

 

[takenoprisoners]

If I could get my daughters hooked - or even convince my wife to sit out with me for a few hours - I'd be a happy man. Here's to finding that success.

Thanks!

 

[humdinger]

I used ED's Meat Processing for the first time last year and was very satisfied. It's behind Wal-Mart on the south end of Cleveland. emoThumbsup

 

[takenoprisoners]

Ed's, eh? May have to investigate...if I decide against doing it myself or don't have time. After watching the videos, it doesn't look too intimidating. Clarification, though: Can I process it the same day I kill it? Just want to make sure I don't have to chill it first. Thanks again. You guys are some seriously helpful fellas.