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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: LB_hntr on December 25, 2014, 11:05:00 AM
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I hang, skin, and process my deer with the head up rather than head down on a gambrel.
This video talks about the advantages and why.
http://tbwpodcast.com/video-33-why-i-skin-and-process-deer-with-head-up/
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Good Podcast. I, myself, disagree and do it way different, but hey, there is room for lots of ways to do the same thing.
Merry Christmas
CHuckC
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Chuck, I used to do it bottom up until i was shown this and i really like it. But not everyone will. a couple buddies love it and now do it like this as well. But another friend did not like it as well as on a gambrel. But i figured if it worked great for me and i really liked the method maybe others will as well. There are many ways to do this, but this is currently my favorite way!
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Hind legs up for me, with the gambrel. I rarely gut animals in the field. I have been doing it that way for a loooooong time. You knoiw the old saying; "Old habits are hard to break!". And besides, I've gotten pretty good and quoick doing it the way I do.
Like Chuck said, different strokes for different folks!
Bisch
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Most of the smaller bucks I've butchered I've hanged by the antlers and processed as you describe, but lately I've been hanging by the legs and basically fillet the different muscle groups from the carcass. This seems to save me alot of time.
I find skinning easier legs up as well (difficulty varies with the season), and for a cape you almost have to.
That said, I do like the blood draining aspect of head up.
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Thanks Jason, I'm going to try this.
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I have always skinned and quartered deer head up and agree with everything in the video. Everyone I hunt with has done it that way also. The only animals I have skinned butt up were when I was trapping, for obvious reasons.
Each to his own of course, there is no right or wrong way, just different methods.
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No thanks, I don't see any improvements that could speed anything up for us but thanks for the info. Got it down after 30 years of processing them pretty easy and dosent take long.
Tracy
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Thanks for sharing... as always, I love your videos! I've done'em both ways; I'm not sure which way I prefer yet.
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Head up Head down - both work - whatever you get used to. Head up for me - unless I have to cape one out then it is head down.
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I prefer doing most of my "precision" skinning on a table (been skinning almost 50 years).
But for "meat" skinning and taking the animal apart, that is a method I like.
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Done it both ways but now only do it on a gambrel hind legs up.
I prefer to drain the blood away from the hind quarters.
Always nice to have other methods and reasons though.
Thanks for the post!
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great video Jason. great info- i will be doing this in the future :D
i also love this video of the actual processing stage- i learnt a lot from this video too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw
in S africa, we used to shoot an animal a week ( usually impala) for the camp clients, and then also deal with all the hunters harvests in the winter months-( admittedly though they were mostly trophy animals)
but we always just did them on a gambrel.
where i live now, we have tags for 15 deer a year per licence- and so consequently we process a LOT of venison, and i have always skinned them on the gambrel, then flipped them head up to gut them afterwards.
then we let them age, then take them in whole for processing on the table, as in the video above-
why? just 'coz... thats the way we always have done it since i was a kid, it works and just the way it was done...
but, i will be doing the initial processing as per your video from now on!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
but i will still take them in whole and process the carcass as per the link above- (see how he does the shoulders-pretty neat eh?) i just love his technique- i cant do an animal in 8 minutes- but i have certainly halved my processing time!!!
many thanks :thumbsup: :pray:
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I always skin and quarter with head down. Not that other ways don't work...I just prefer it that way.
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I skinn my deer on what is similar to a hawg skinning trough. Look it up. Pretty slick.
I don't hang, kill it, skin it, quarter and cut up the next day. I just like getting it done.
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I have always done mine hind legs up but I don't use a gambrel. I don't split the pelvis and then simply run a short loop of rope through the pelvis and hook to that with a book on my pulley set up. That eliminates the difficulties of cutting off the hind quarters and the sudden weight transfer when the first one cuts loose.
I may try head up sometime, but don't have any troubles doing it bottom up.
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Fujimo, I will watch that video when I get to my computer tonight. I'm always excited to see different ways of doing things.
Thanks everyone for watching. As you can see from the posts some like it, some don't, and some have never tried it. Its always good to learn about new stuff and for me personally I have only done about 35-40 deer myself so I'm definetly not an expert but I really like head up. If you have never tried it give it a shot once and see if it does or doesn't work better for you.
Thanks again for all the support and checking out my stuff. We broke a new daily record today of 787 people going to my podcast site.......I greatly appreciate the support!!!!
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For those who don't do head up, I ask, what do you do with an animal without rear legs?
Sometimes your not given a choice.
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watcha mean frank- like fish? :D
you been hunting deer in wheelchairs agin? :scared: :D
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I've always done mine with the head down, but I watched some guys in elk camp do a cow elk this way and they hadn't field dressed it. They dumped the guts in a barrel and had it skinned and quartered in record time. It was pretty impressive.
Might have to give this one a try sometime just for fun.
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our deer here are pretty small, and if given the option, i will pack them out, without field dressing, (we use so much of the innards; tripe, petticoat fat, heart, liver, kidneys,- lungs and all other trimmings to the dogs).
when home, i skin first, (head down) keeps everything nice and clean, no hair inside the cavity etc.
then flip it head up, and as kirk says, dump the guts in a tote- for processing :D
but i will be changing how i do the skinning, and do everything head up. :)
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Thanks for taking the time to video and post. Always good to see new ways to do something. However I'll continue to do mine by gamble head down!
We do a lot of things the same (front shoulder quartering and deboning back strap) but here's what I do different that I think my way is more efficient and better atleast for me!
First I NEVER use a saw now adays! Period. IF CWD is or isn't a problem I never cut bone. With that said you don't need a hack saw etc to cut off lower front legs. Bend at the knee as far as it goes make a knife slit down in the knee serving tendons. Bend opposite direction and severe tendons. Twist off lower leg section! Fast and quick no hack sawing! PERIOD!
Next I never fight the rear leg quartering falling causing a weight switch!
Why I simply debone the rear ham off the bone while it's hanging on the gamble leaving only the bones and tendons on the carcass so it hangs just perfectly! I DON'T quarter off the rear legs.
This way THE DEBONED REAR HAMS fit in a cooler if remotely hunting or fits more compact in a refrig if working it at home! Wish I had the talent like you to post videos like you do to show my way of doing head down. Doubt I'll ever change just too efficient and more compact to store till I'm ready to finish the meat making!
I've used this method for deer, hogs, antelope and caribou. Can't imagine it being any different for other game. Fast efficient and simple.
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LC, great post! I actually used to do the deer the same way and honestly will probably still will at times as i like being good at both ways.
I did it the same exact way. Skin head down, then take the ball roast off the hind qtr, then the bottom and top round all in one shot, then the shank. Leaving the hind qtr totally boned and still hanging. Its a great way to do it! I personally an liking the skinning head up better than head down and i know many people quarter the hinds out and that was the main reason i showed this way.
As for the hacksaw i use it for at home processing as its fast cuts clean with no sharp bone protruding. But in the field i do the same as you and use my knife on the tendons. But in all honesty it usually dull my knife fast as im not really good at removing the legs with a knife. I do it cause in the field a knife is all i have. With the hacksaw i dont cut the hide with a knife or anything. Just grab a leg and 6 or 7 strokes and the leg is off. Quick and fast like.
Thanks again for posting your method. Its im my opinion the "other" best way! But if my plans are to actually quarter the deer and work on the quarters on the table i like the head up way best. I figured the majority of people doing thier own animals will be quartering and working the quarters on the table. I also figured alot of people just starting out will want to work the quarters on the table to learn the muscle groups. So I thought this way would help make it easier on them.
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For the record I can remove the front lower legs while you are reaching to get your hack saw! As my Dad always said no bragging just fact! lol
No need to dull knife as you are only cutting tendions! Like I said I wish I had your talent or time to show the process but there's no need to use a hacksaw to remove lower front legs.
And it's quicker easier to DEBONE rear hams while hanging than when it's laying on a table atleast for me. Especially if it's hanging head down. And as I said before it's a added plus it's more compact for putting in a cooler or frig.
But you made a great video and it's people like you that convince folks they can process their own deer and that's huge! Just want folks to know there is another way. Atleast for me a better way!
Keep in mind I was brought up with folks that thought you hung a deer after gutting with a gamble took a handsaw and sawed down through the back bone to split them first! Then you took a cleaver and separated ribs from back strap! Etc Etc. I was glad folks showed me how to process my own deer but I've came along ways since then.
Now adays I could and literally do use a pocket knife to process deer. A grinder is essential for making burger which I LOVE!
Bottom line there's lot's of way to skin a cat! lol
Anybody want to buy a good meat cleaver? LOL
For the record IF (and that's a huge IF) I had the option of bringing in a critter UN GUTTED I'd hang it head high and skin them first then gut so guts fell in a tub. Done that a time or two myself. But its rare I bring in a critter ungutted.
For me a gutted animal gets hung with a gambel head low and made into meat!
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I usually skin and debone mine on the tailgate of the truck and drop into the cooler as I go. :saywhat:
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I do it different ways depending on the circumstances (weather,time from refrigeration, distance from road/camp/vehicle, etc.) but I like Whip's suggestion on using the intact pelvis to suspend when hanging head down. I don't split the pelvis,even when I gut in the field.
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head up for me...
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I have had bad experiences aging deer head up. The hindquarters don't drain as well and I've had blood pool up and go sour. Hanging head down seem to help the blood vessels drain better. Haven't watched the vid yet but I always seem to get more hair on the carcass when I tried to skin head up, I'll watch the vid though to see if I was doing something wrong. I will say I usually hang the deer head up first, as I clean the body cavity and remove the filets, then I lower and flip it over and hang on a gambrel
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I've done it both ways and unless I'm getting a shoulder mount which I will use a gambrel. I prefer head up.
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Always done it with back legs up, cause there are two hooks in the beam and the hocks fit just right.
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If it wasn't for the gambrel, everyone would be doing it right.
;)