I think we need a hunting and animal processing thread

[WHSmithIV]

I'm going to post my message in the Lounge, but, yep, I think we need a hunting an animal processing thread. I can explain to people with pictures on how to gut and skin an animal.


Most of us simply know how to do this. However, many new members don't. It was only after I moved here to Idaho that one of my customers showed me how to do this. I shot my two lambs, he taught me how to gut them and skin them and quarter them. My wife and I had meat for two months.

Now, it's hunting season, but we simply couldn't afford the $50 for the licenses and tags. But, a windfall happened. I was on my way home last week and there was a dead whitetail doe in the road. So, I stopped just to move the body out of the road. It was still warm and this was a just around freezing morning. The young doe had Fish&Game tags in her ears. She got hit pretty hard but probably no more than 15 to 20 minutes before I stopped to move the body out of the road. So, I picked her up and put her in the pickup bed. Then I called our Sheriff's dept. to let them know, they gave me the Fish & Game phone numbers, called them and got a free permit to salvage the doe.

There was loss. I had hoped to be able to salvage the hide, too many holes though from her hitting the asphalt. One front leg was a total loss. The birds have already eaten it. The liver was damaged so that I couldn't save it for food for our dogs. One side of the ribs couldn't be saved. Of the two hind quarters, some meat had pushed out and the hide had split from the impact. That small amount of meat I cut off and gave to the birds. The heart was fine and our two house cats have loved eating it after we cooked it.

The bottom line though is that we have around 50 lbs. of meat and we both sure love venison. I sure do hate it when animals get killed on the road and then their meat is wasted. It his had been stone cold and in rigor mortis, I would have just moved it off the road.

So guys, check. Salvage permits here in Idaho are free. They may be in your states also. You do need to only pick p critters that died very recently though. The blood was still flowing from the mouth of this poor doe. I would never shoot a doe so young unless I was really desperate.

Idaho Fish & Game thanked me for picking her up. I took a photo of their tag numbers and sent it to them.

Keep an eye out folks. Let me know your thoughts too. This is a good discussion opportunity.

Regards to all, Will

P.S. If an animal is in the roadway, please do stop to check and move it out so that other vehicles won't hit it. Save meat if you can because it is very sad for it to go to waste.

[WHSmithIV]

Folks, this is the knife I use for skinning and gutting game. Some 15+ years ago my youngest son made this knife in his 6th grade shop class. I had to sign permission papers for him to do so. the kids made these knives with Martiini blades as Fathers Day gifts. Fathers day is in November in Finland. Us Dads couldn't get our gift util the next June though. We ad to be there in person to bring it home.

Well, here I am some 15+ years later. This knife just gutted and skinned a deer. I seriously doubt my son knew it could do this. We used to fish together all the time and he wanted to make me a new fishing knife as a Fathers Day gift. Well, it's a VERY good skinning knife as well as a good fishing knife. I was very surprised how well it did the job for skinning and gutting.

Here is the knife my youngest son made for me as a Dad's day gift so long ago.It works so darn well. I use 600 or 800 grit graphite paper to keep it clean and sharp.

He made the sheath in shop class also.

[Ride4frnt]

Here's my take from last year. Myself and my father hunt, but only for meat, no trophies. We normally only take one deer a piece if we are lucky enough to even get one. We hunt on state property, and in this part of maryland we are in a buck only zone until the very last day of rifle season, you can shoot a doe on the very last day. In all two weeks of rifle season last year this was the only buck I saw when there was enough light to shoot. Took him about 5 minutes after sunrise, just light enough to see he had antlers. When I found his body, I was very displeased to see the rack had been snapped off.



And here are the other ones I like to harvest and process! IMO, best fish you will ever eat (I know SwissyJim is gonna have something to say about that) The good thing about these is they are invasive, so every last one of them gets the knife! This is my largest to date. 14lbs, and as big around as a tree trunk.

[FortTom]

If you read the mission statement for this forum '" ....New and Emerging Weapons Technology......" I doubt that you'll see a need for a "gutting and skinning thread". I may be wrong, but my guess is that you'll be better off posting these kinds of threads in the Lounge area. I'd wager that for those of us who hunt, we pretty much know how to dress and carve up our harvest. New guy's coming in, doesn't necessarily mean young kids who've never taken a deer, elk, rabbit, squirell etc., and know how to process their own animals.

That being said, if you took a poll, and talked to the admin and mods, they would prefer to keep this forum closer to the mission statement posted. There are literally thousands of hunting forums, and most of them already have this type of info, for a person who might be looking for info on how to skin and process their deer.

Just my suspicions, I may be wrong, but I think most folks here would prefer for the forum to remain more true to it's mission statement.

FT

[WHSmithIV]

You could be right FortTom though what is the point of having weapons if not to use them? They aren't toys.

Ride4frnt - you and I think alike. I have only ever hunted and fished for food. What I kill, I eat. That's what I taught my son too. I have no interest in trophy's either. That's a nice looking deer. Good meat for sure.

[DutyUse]

I'll play :D Here's last years

[FortTom]

You could be right FortTom though what is the point of having weapons if not to use them? They aren't toys.

Really?? I take offense to that. I've been hunting for no less than 45 years. I retired from the military, and I don't need a condescending post that weapons aren't toy's, old wise one.
This is a tactical weapons forum. Fortunately, most of the information concerning pickles, candy and getting to know one's feminine side by the movies we watch with our wives and girlfriends have been kept in the lounge area. Lately, it seems that there's been more of that than what's going on in the tactical rifle/pistol/shotgun area.

Secondly, I don't recall how many deer I've dumped the guts out of, along with numerous other big game. Posting pictures of shredded lung/heart may not bother most, it doesn't bother me, but I'm fairly sure that there are non-hunting folks here that would rather not see graphic photo's of the internals of animals. That being said, you might even have the courtesy to post, if you must, pictures like that with a warning of graphic photo's. Some folks might have their younger children looking at the forum also.

I do see that the Mods and Admins here do offer a good deal of latitude on what folks post. Maybe we can get their feelings on the subject. You may have their blessings to post any damned gun related thing you can think of. I personally think that the lounge is a more appropriate thing to post such things that aren't related to "emerging technologies....by law enforcement and military...etc. Hell, maybe we need a crossbow and slingshot thread too.

FT

[DutyUse]

Really?? I take offense to that. I've been hunting for no less than 45 years. I retired from the military, and I don't need a condescending post that weapons aren't toy's, old wise one.
This is a tactical weapons forum. Fortunately, most of the information concerning pickles, candy and getting to know one's feminine side by the movies we watch with our wives and girlfriends have been kept in the lounge area. Lately, it seems that there's been more of that than what's going on in the tactical rifle/pistol/shotgun area.

Secondly, I don't recall how many deer I've dumped the guts out of, along with numerous other big game. Posting pictures of shredded lung/heart may not bother most, it doesn't bother me, but I'm fairly sure that there are non-hunting folks here that would rather not see graphic photo's of the internals of animals. That being said, you might even have the courtesy to post, if you must, pictures like that with a warning of graphic photo's. Some folks might have their younger children looking at the forum also.

I do see that the Mods and Admins here do offer a good deal of latitude on what folks post. Maybe we can get their feelings on the subject. You may have their blessings to post any damned gun related thing you can think of. I personally think that the lounge is a more appropriate thing to post such things that aren't related to "emerging technologies....by law enforcement and military...etc. Hell, maybe we need a crossbow and slingshot thread too.

FT

Good points Tom, went back and took mine down after thinking about it. I'm around hunters so often sometimes I forget some people can be turned off.

[UWone77]

We're going to move this over to the Lounge. Unless the thread is specifically about weapons and emerging technology related to weapons, we can keep hobbies, general interest threads there. Feel free to post whatever you'd like in the Lounge.

[FortTom]

Good points Tom, went back and took my down after thinking about it. I'm around hunters so often sometimes I forget some people can be turned off.

Yeah, that's a wise move, I think. Like I said, doesn't bother me a bit. I can't remember how many animals from deer to sheep to elk....you get the point, I'm sure. However, a non-hunter, cruising the forum, while munching on a big ol juicy cheeseburger, might not be able to handle that. In a hunting specific forum, well if you can't stomach that, one shouldn't be there. I'm also not trying to argue that you shouldn't mention that you got a clean kill with your AR using xyz caliber at 200 yards, or something to that effect. And, the powers that be, in this forum might disagree with me, I'm not sure. But, I don't need to tell you that there's a time and place for everything.

As a fellow Kentuckian, most folks might not realize that a great many of us have harvested our first deer by the age of 12. It's almost like it's part of our heritage. In fact, I'm sure you know that our state legislators recently amended our KY Constitution to forever protect the rights of hunters, mainly due to outside interference, or the "anti hunting" folks coming here for jobs in the new industries, and trying to bring their politics with them.

I also frequent several hunting forums, and that's where I post things that get more graphic, as it pertains to the proper care and handling of the animals we harvest.

Good call on your part, though, or at least I feel that way. No body made me a mod or admin, so all I can do is debate the point, but I feel strongly about the "time and place" aspect of it.

FT

[DutyUse]

I agree Tom.

My thinking for posting was 1 everyone loves "gel block" ammo testing. And 2 as Hunters we should strive for ethical kills hence the double lung heart shot.

But once I turned my redneck switch off I could easily see how someone who doesn't hunt could be offended.

[FortTom]

I agree Tom.

My thinking for posting was 1 everyone loves "gel block" ammo testing. And 2 as Hunters we should strive for ethical kills hence the double lung heart shot.

But once I turned my redneck switch off I could easily see how someone who doesn't hunt could be offended.

LOL, yes I need to be careful with my country boy switch too, sometimes.

[DutyUse]

If anyone needs a refresher on skinning and cleaning a deer PM me and I'll send you a step by step with pictures that were rated to hot for TV! (Jk Tom)

Deer season is almost upon us, would gladly help if anyone has any questions.

[WHSmithIV]

Folks, I didn't mean to offend anyone. UWone, would you please delete the entire thread?

[xAZxE30x]

I don't think it needs to be deleted. I like these threads.

I have yet to be drawn for ANYTHING in AZ :/. But my bonus points are adding up so hopefully next year!