so i will be goin on my first hunt soon, will be goin for pig mostly, maybe some preditor animals if i see them and small game... but after the kill is were im gettin little iffy... i never cleaned a animal before so want to make sure i do it right.. i watched alot of UTUBE videos on pigs and rabbits. some where kinda out there.anyone have any good pointers i can use or any links so i can learn more? any help will do.. thanks THF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Google it or use YouTube. You can find better articles with pictures from websites than you can from a forum. Most important thing is a sharp knife.

ok thanks.. will keep searchin articles.. thank you

If it's a pig, nothing will prepare you for the smell or nastiness of cleaning one. If you mix ground pork with rubber cement and the contents of a construction site porta-potty...that's kind of what it's like. Well, pretty close anyway. Good luck on the hunt Gary, have fun and be safe.

lol yeah thats what i been reading.. nasty stuff... just want to know best method of gutting.. ill keep searchin..

I wouldnt gut it unless you have too. just shoot it, take it back and start skinning... Best way to learn it is to do it. I was taught one time when i was about ten years old how to clean a deer... after that, Ive done em all myself and by the time I shot another deer (by about 12 or 13) I had forgotten everything, but I figured it out. Start cutting em and take the meat out.

Best advice I can think of:

Get a good knife and keep it SHARP!!

If you can afford it, get two and swap half way through. Nothing is as frustrating or as dangerous and trying to skin a tough, bloody animal with a cheap knife.

Wear rubber gloves.
Don't let the innards touch anything you will eat.
Make sure the bladder doesn't break and get on the good meat.
Hose it off thoroughly before you start and after you finish.
When cutting with the knife, cut from underneath rather than through the hair. The hair dulls the knife significantly.

Im with brandon on this one. Check out youtube and search for "gutless quartering." Even if you decide to gut it... There are some god videos on skinning deer on youtube. I used one for a presentation I did about a year ago. Just dont puncture the guts. Good luck bud

Thatpretty much sums it up.