Chopping up animals and eating them..

[vladtepes 1,060]

Well as the possibility of moving to PA increases.. and well as the economy worsens.. I am considering the option of hunting.. I have never been against hunting in any way.. animals eat each other all the time, so there is no moral objection.. I do not mind gore and blood.. but I just think that when it comes time to look down at a dead deer with its tongue hanging out.. and it is time to plunge the knife into it.. I may get a little squeamish.. I am sure it is something that with practice gets easier.. as far as the taste of the meat being different I accept that.. and with cost of food on the steady rise... I will learn to like it.. I am pretty open to new food.. so here is the question.. how the hell do I even begin.. how do you learn to chop up animals.. how hard is it.. is it really as difficult as it looks? how much of the deer is edible.. what the hell do you do with the parts that you don't eat..

 

fill me in on some hunter 101..

 

thanks..

[Old School 611]

OK here's the deal. You will man-up and do what you have to do. I'm sure there is no issue there. Learn to make one shot kills, period. I have my deer butchered because it's easier. I get loins and tender loins in one piece and the rest chopped meat. Loins make great jerky and I can't get enough. Tender loins are to die for. The chopped meat is very versatile. Bergers, meat balls sausage in various varieties, more jerky and snack sticks. Chopped meat in an Italian red sauce and a glass of wine...

 

Just a heads up. To be butchered cost $70 an the yield of a 100lb dressed deer is about 40lbs meat.

 

I have two in the freezer and am looking for a third. Two last me and my wife about a year. I do at times for certain things mix 25% pork because venison hsa little fat and can be dry.

 

Frank

[hopper 36]

[Old School 611]

 

 

There'll be no Burger King when the Zombie Apocalypse comes.

[vladtepes 1,060]

 

 

are you kidding? what is the problem here?

[Malsua 1,422]

One of the first things I helped butcher was a cow. It's incredible hard to get the hide off and the gut sack will fill a 55 gallon drum to the top. I also trapped and case skinned small animals. After the first time, it's a matter of learning how deeply to cut in reference to what we used to call "the fur line". Too deep and you wreck the pelt, not deep enough and it's got too much fat on it and the pelt guy isn't happy with you.

 

I've also done a bunch of rabbits. I can skin those without a knife. Twist the head off and you can just rip the fur right off. Scoop out the guts, break off the feet and you're good to go. It's very primitive. lol.

[Parker 213]

You don't have to limit yourself to just deer. PA has some of the best small game hunting in the East compared to NJ or NY. PA is home to and offers hunting seasons for woodcock, grouse, stocked and native pheasant, stocked quail, rabbit, dove and squirrel in addition to deer, bear and even a lottery permit season for elk. So, if you think you're squemish, start small first and work your way up to larger animals getting a feel and taste for processing and consuming wild game. There are lots of "how-to" instructional videos on the internet today. Home butchering requires just a good set of sharp tools and a proper work area to do the job efficiently. Most small game can be dressed and prepped in the field and put on ice before you even head home. Anyone who is a chef can give you a quick overview. That's who helped me before the age of the internet.

 

PS - Grouse, dove, rabbit and squirrel are the species I'd pick in order of preference as table fare over deer any day.

[vladtepes 1,060]

thank you all for the great info.. life and everything just has me thinking.. $2 - $5 a lb at the market.. or $1 and a bunch of my time for LBS of meat... granted.. there is time and work put into it.. but the cost difference is just so huge it is worth getting into.. even if I just use it to supplement my normal diet..

[Old School 611]

Oh, just one more thing about eating game. No harmones. ALL comercially grown (except the weird stuff) meat has some kind of harmones in it. Two of the worst is chicken and beef.

 

I just feel like herding up and jumping fences sometimes and then there's the rut....

[Guest megaman]

Well as the possibility of moving to PA increases.. and well as the economy worsens.. I am considering the option of hunting.. I have never been against hunting in any way.. animals eat each other all the time, so there is no moral objection.. I do not mind gore and blood.. but I just think that when it comes time to look down at a dead deer with its tongue hanging out.. and it is time to plunge the knife into it.. I may get a little squeamish.. I am sure it is something that with practice gets easier.. as far as the taste of the meat being different I accept that.. and with cost of food on the steady rise... I will learn to like it.. I am pretty open to new food.. so here is the question.. how the hell do I even begin.. how do you learn to chop up animals.. how hard is it.. is it really as difficult as it looks? how much of the deer is edible.. what the hell do you do with the parts that you don't eat..

 

fill me in on some hunter 101..

 

thanks..

 

 

Its not that hard, and once you gut a deer you see its not hard or messy. Bears are messy because all of that fat makes the meat slimy/greasy. Venison is great eating! Its lean. Pheasants are cheap chickens. Rabbit is great eating! FREE MEAT IN THE WOODS, and its fresh and clean. No harmones etc...You learn by watching someone else, or watch some vids and practice yourself. I wear a suit to work each day, on the weekend I slay animals and give them to my friends, poor people, or Hunters Helping the Hungry, which is a great non profit that helps shelters supplement the food.

There is NOTHING better than spending a day hunting (except sex, making money, and shooting things)

Give it a try! Just get a hunting lic, get lost in the woods, be really quiet and still, and eventually something comes your way to shoot.

[RecessedFilter 222]

I don't hunt but my brother does as well as most of my family.

 

I can say that venison is my favorite meat without a doubt. Buffalo and elk is right behind that.

 

Ever since I was young, I would help gut deer so it's not bad anymore. It's much different hacking up a dead animal than slitting the throat of a living one, I can tell you that.

 

In regards to 'how-to's," I would suggest letting a friend who hunts know your interested in learning to gut an animal. They will teach you what to do and how to do it, but it takes practice to learn.

 

If you plan on using the most out of a deer, you can do everything from using the intestines for sausage casing to consuming the brains and eyes and anything else for that matter.

[Guest megaman]

I don't hunt but my brother does as well as most of my family.

 

I can say that venison is my favorite meat without a doubt. Buffalo and elk is right behind that.

 

Ever since I was young, I would help gut deer so it's not bad anymore. It's much different hacking up a dead animal than slitting the throat of a living one, I can tell you that.

 

In regards to 'how-to's," I would suggest letting a friend who hunts know your interested in learning to gut an animal. They will teach you what to do and how to do it, but it takes practice to learn.

 

If you plan on using the most out of a deer, you can do everything from using the intestines for sausage casing to consuming the brains and eyes and anything else for that matter.

 

 

You can eat the heart raw...massive energy...Im not kidding...deer hearts are large.

[SafetyHit 1]

Gutting and sectioning large animals does often require a bit of breaking in, but if you do it annually or so it will be less of an issue over time.

[Old School 611]

The funniest thing was I had my inlaws living with me for a few months. My mother-in-law was a farm girl from eastern Oregon and my father-in-law was from Chicago.

 

So I shoot a deer out back hang it and go out and get the liver. My mother-in law cooked up the liver right there with bacon and onions and we feasted while grossing out the old man and my wife...

[Old School 611]

Gutting and sectioning large animals does often require a bit of breaking in, but if you do it annually or so it will be less of an issue over time.

 

You develope technique after a while. I always tie one leg off to a tree, stand on the other and only use the first one inch of the tip of the knife. First remove everything from the abdominal cavity then go into the diaphram. Young deer like you have in Jersey, you can split the breast bone almost up to the neck so you have lots of room.

[Guest megaman]

You develope technique after a while. I always tie one leg off to a tree, stand on the other and only use the first one inch of the tip of the knife. First remove everything from the abdominal cavity then go into the diaphram. Young deer like you have in Jersey, you can split the breast bone almost up to the neck so you have lots of room.

 

 

I use a butt puller....LOL..

[axeman_g 128]

I was not raised a hunter... did not start till my late teens. I still am uncomfortable at times shooting rabbits for some reason, they are just darn good looking I quess. But you get over it when you keep in mind your feeding yourself or family.

 

cleaning most game is simple, just gross the first times. Rabbits need to be cleaned ASAP. I usually gut them instantly after shooting. Birds can wait if it is cool, then you can breast them, quails especially, or clean them fully and chop into parts. Hardest part with birds is retaining the skin and not ripping it. At least for me it is.

 

One of the easiest is a wild hog. Tough and your have to sharpen you knife a few times while cutting, but their anatomy is so very simple to butcher. Plus they are so freaking tasty. BBQ wild pig, I love the ribs, is about the best eating going.

 

I still gerge a little sometime, smell gets me.

[bulpup 98]

I'm kinda thinking this would be a great thread to "sticky" for this forum. Maybe change the title though.

[vladtepes 1,060]

I'm kinda thinking this would be a great thread to "sticky" for this forum. Maybe change the title though.

 

was that a little too graphic on my part.. lol

[dave545 15]

got my first one two days ago and it was no where near as bad as i thought it was going to be, only way to know if you can do it is to go out and there and shoot one and see how you feel about it afterwards

[NJdiverTony 27]

I use a butt puller....LOL..

 

I've hunted most of my life, but never for deer, only small game (birds, rabbits,etc)... I've seen those "Butt Pullers" in the stores... WTF? How are they supposed to work? And do they actually work, or are they a gimmick? I've gutted plenty of small animals but never anything large like a deer. I've always wanted to learn though.

 

I've been out of hunting for a few years (because of kids, work, etc...) but I'm getting the itch to get back into it again... especially now that I have kids. I definitely want to teach my son (who is 3.5 yrs old at the moment, so when he's a little older) to hunt and learn how survive off of nature, as it's a skill that every man should have. I see way too many young men these days that are so "modernized" and "weakling-fied" and if the **** ever hit the fan, they'd probably wouldn't know the first thing about how to survive. I know so many guys my age (I'm 40 next week) that don't even know how to pick up a screw driver and fix the simplest things in their homes, let alone go hunting and harvest their own food... It's really pretty sad. Anyway, I guess I'm going off topic here... LOL, sorry!

[vladtepes 1,060]

started to watch some field dressing videos to get over the gore aspect of it.. and I googled "butt out" watched a video.. and basically made this face about 20 seconds into it when the video said "insert into the anus".. but then watched through... it seems that cutting into its actual stomach is where most of the problems start.. like it is either a smooth running process.. or a completely disgusting cluster f... partially depending on if the stomach gets cut open or not.. and now I can truly understand why starting with a rabbit or something would be far easier.. as deer are pretty big when you are trying to chop them up..

[vladtepes 1,060]

I've hunted most of my life, but never for deer, only small game (birds, rabbits,etc)... I've seen those "Butt Pullers" in the stores... WTF? How are they supposed to work? And do they actually work, or are they a gimmick? I've gutted plenty of small animals but never anything large like a deer. I've always wanted to learn though.

 

I've been out of hunting for a few years (because of kids, work, etc...) but I'm getting the itch to get back into it again... especially now that I have kids. I definitely want to teach my son (who is 3.5 yrs old at the moment, so when he's a little older) to hunt and learn how survive off of nature, as it's a skill that every man should have. I see way too many young men these days that are so "modernized" and "weakling-fied" and if the **** ever hit the fan, they'd probably wouldn't know the first thing about how to survive. I know so many guys my age (I'm 40 next week) that don't even know how to pick up a screw driver and fix the simplest things in their homes, let alone go hunting and harvest their own food... It's really pretty sad. Anyway, I guess I'm going off topic here... LOL, sorry!

 

 

teach them now so they don't have to struggle when they are my age.. I was stupid.. I had every opportunity in the world to learn this and chose not to because I could simply "buy my meat at the market" now I kick myself in the a** for not learning..

[NJdiverTony 27]

teach them now so they don't have to struggle when they are my age.. I was stupid.. I had every opportunity in the world to learn this and chose not to because I could simply "buy my meat at the market" now I kick myself in the a** for not learning..

 

Hey man, at least you're trying to learn, which is great... By the way, I wasn't referring to you in what I wrote earlier... I was just generalizing. Too many young guys out there don't know their a** from their elbow, and don't realize that men need to have a core set of skills, that could get them through life in the case that the SHTF some day. Not only to ensure survival for themselves, but also for their family if they ever have a wife and children some day. There used to be a time when men were MEN... Today there's too many "men" out there that don't ever stand a chance in surviving, if the s**t ever hit the fan.

 

You seem to be on the right track, dude.

[NJdiverTony 27]

I was not raised a hunter... did not start till my late teens. I still am uncomfortable at times shooting rabbits for some reason, they are just darn good looking I quess. But you get over it when you keep in mind your feeding yourself or family.

 

cleaning most game is simple, just gross the first times. Rabbits need to be cleaned ASAP. I usually gut them instantly after shooting. Birds can wait if it is cool, then you can breast them, quails especially, or clean them fully and chop into parts. Hardest part with birds is retaining the skin and not ripping it. At least for me it is.

 

One of the easiest is a wild hog. Tough and your have to sharpen you knife a few times while cutting, but their anatomy is so very simple to butcher. Plus they are so freaking tasty. BBQ wild pig, I love the ribs, is about the best eating going.

 

I still gerge a little sometime, smell gets me.

 

Yeah, rabbits are cute... but they taste pretty damn good when you cook them right. When I was about 8 yrs old, my old man took me out rabbit hunting one day and bagged a crap load of jack rabbits... Man, we had a feast. That was the day he introduced me to one of his most favorite Greek recipes (my parents are from Greece)... Rabbit Brains. And ya know what? I was totally grosed out at first, but once I got past the gagging...They tasted pretty damn good! LOL!

[Jon 264]

I don't see the need for the butt-out tool. When I gut a deer I make a cut from the ribcage down to the anus and then use a pair of garden clippers and crack the pelvis. Then, cut around all the guts in the body cavity being careful not to make an incision in any of the organs. Finally, I cut the top of the esophagus as high up as I can get, grab the top of the guts and pull it all out towards the rear of the deer. There's usually a couple pieces still in the body cavity, but it's easy to finish up at that point.

 

ETA: I, too, pay a butcher. My butcher charges 80-100 bucks per deer, but vacuum seals everything I want into 1lb packages. Easily worth the price for that sort of convenience.

[vladtepes 1,060]

Hey man, at least you're trying to learn, which is great... By the way, I wasn't referring to you in what I wrote earlier... I was just generalizing. Too many young guys out there don't know their a** from their elbow, and don't realize that men need to have a core set of skills, that could get them through life in the case that the SHTF some day. Not only to ensure survival for themselves, but also for their family if they ever have a wife and children some day. There used to be a time when men were MEN... Today there's too many "men" out there that don't ever stand a chance in surviving, if the s**t ever hit the fan.

 

You seem to be on the right track, dude.

 

 

Oh I know.. I was not offended.. one thing I am super thankful for is my girl.. she said to me.. its ok.. we can learn together.. LOL she is all willing (maybe a little too willing) to cut up a deer carcass..

[NJdiverTony 27]

Oh I know.. I was not offended.. one thing I am super thankful for is my girl.. she said to me.. its ok.. we can learn together.. LOL she is all willing (maybe a little too willing) to cut up a deer carcass..

 

Dude, you're lucky... She sounds like a keeper!

[Radek 73]

You guys are grossing me out. I will let my wife deal with getting into the guts of an animal ... she is a nurse and nothing gross bothers her! I am a lucky guy, nothing gross about me bothers her either

[vjf915 456]

I have been interested in hunting as well, but just recently got into guns. Hopefully next season I will be able to start.

 

ETA: I, too, pay a butcher. My butcher charges 80-100 bucks per deer, but vacuum seals everything I want into 1lb packages. Easily worth the price for that sort of convenience.

What does your butcher do with the hide? It may sound gay, but that would be one more thing I would want to take back with me. I don't think most of what we have in NJ could be big enough for a blanket, I could use it as an entry mat for my house