Question about gutting

When I went out yesterday afternoon, I found a gut pile right next to the parking area. It had been there maybe a little over a day. However, the actual hunting area was about 200 yards farther into the WMA. It seemed odd that someone would drag their kill guts and all at least 200 yards and then gut it right next to where they're parked.

Is this normal? I'm new to hunting, so I was just curious. Where do you gut your kills?

Not normal, but not surprised at it. Lots of stupid people out there.

A lot depends on the WMA rules and landowner rules...some want them gutted in the field and others at camp. I gut mine on the spot the drop usually or close to it. Could also have been someone who killed/gutted elsewhere and just dropped the guts off there. See this all the time on backroads.

maybe they weren't sure just how to do it and had someone already at the car that could, or they left their stuff in the car?? I did that just this year with my first hunt over here? Killed a deer but was actually out for hogs. Didn't know if gutting the deer would bother the hogs so went and brought it to the stand, finished the hunt, then took it to the cars and gutted it where there was light and a place to hand/wash it out. Wasn't as big as the stuff you folks are getting tho... May have weighed 45 pounds...

Daven,

Good point, hadn't thought about those possibilities.

Was there a water source near the parkig area? Lot's of guy's like a water hose handy when field dressing. I know I do.

That depends, do you consider a stagnant pond 30 yards away a water source?

I see this all the time down our road. Drives me absolutely crazy.

Could also have been someone new to dragging animals out and worried of getting dirt, leaves, ect into the body cavity.

I think Daven's theory was likely correct. Early morning/late evening and needed light.

Yup one lease I hunted wanted you to gut in pasture, last one wanted them gutted at her skinning rack by the house only.

If im going to have to drag the deer I will usualy gut it after dragging keeps dirt leaves etc. out of the cavity... unless its too far and I want to make it lighter.

I gut mine abt 25 yards from my buddies stand behind the mesquites trees. May be why he only sees yotes and buzzards and the deer are at my feeder.

We gut where ever the deer falls.

Highly doubt it matters much, Ive shot deer in the afternoon eating corn out of a puddle of coagulated blood from the morning hunt.

might have needed to reduce the weight to load it

On private I seldom gut, I usually can drive right up to it load it and have it quartered with in 30 minutes of shooting it.

Public I gut according to rules

This is exactly what I do as well...

I gut them where they drop as soon as possible. I want to get that heat out as quick as possible and start cooling the meat as soon as possible.

I won't gut a critter until after I finish dragging it to wherever I need it to go. I've seen far too much dirt, rocks, and leaves end up in the cavity when others do it, and I just can't handle that. So, I drag it to where I can get the truck, and then either gut it there, or haul it back to the house and gut it in the driveway.

Seeing a gut pile right next to the parking area would bug me a bit, but not much. Put it 25 yards away, and I'm okay. I figure something will come in and clean it up in a day or two, so I wouldn't give it much thought.

We drag them back to the camp and use half of a 55 gallon plastic drum to catch everything. Then drive that to a designated dump area.

Yup! The warmer the weather, the quicker I want to get the animal dealt with.

Gut my on the ground where they fall,lot less trouble.

You been going down my county roads?

As long as its not to hot ill wait and gun mine when I clean them... I like to wash them off with soap before I put a knife to them

Might as well bust out the razor while they're all lathered up.

No dirt no hair no problems

I usually don't gut animals at all....unless we're talking about MLD whitetails (due to recording the "field dressed" weight).

Once you learn to clean animals without gutting, it's much cleaner and less hassle.

How do you remove the tenderloins? I have wanted to try this but seems you still have to open them up to get to them?

I seldom gut any animals anymore.

The tenderloins are retroperitoneal and can be accessed by bluntly working your way under the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae. Then, if you're right-handed, use your left hand fingers to free up the belly of the muscle. Next, with the knife in your right hand, carefully cut the tenderloin at its proximal and distal ends. It's easy, once you learn how. I've done all 4 moose I've shot this way, as well as most other big game.

Get someone to show you....or find a youtube demonstration.

dawaba, I need to hunt with you just so I can keep all those organs you leave behind. Fresh liver might be half the reason I hunt, and why I always take onions to camp. Heart and kidneys are damn fine eating too. My kids especially love kidneys in an omelette. I can only guess at the size of a moose liver... I gotta hunt some moose one day.

-ww

I'm personally not a big fan of organ meat, nor have any of my Alaskan and Canadian guides wanted any either. By observation, I'd say a moose liver would fill a #2 wash tub brim-full.

But, South Africans, both white and black, take great care to carefully harvest the liver, heart and kidneys. I've witnessed black Africans nearly come to fisticuffs over kidneys and tripe. I stood well clear of the knives and machetes!

I never was either until I met my wife and had something other than the old nasty stuff from the grocery store, and had it prepared by someone that new what they there were doing. Heart is fantastic in stews, but my wife makes a kind of a giblet rice with it that I could just about eat with every meal.

Hint on liver for those not in the know, if the liver tastes like "liver" it is old! Go ahead and give it to the dogs.

I'm still looking up all those
Words he used in the post?

Yeah me too. MD?

Inconsiderate at best.

Anyone have a recommendation of a good youtube video for properly field dressing a deer?

if you just cut the flanks down to the ribcage you can get to the tenders pretty easy with the guts still there... that's if your hanging the deer by the rear legs... I don't understand why anyone would hang them by the head

Using the right words ensures that there is no confusion.

Retroperitoneal: outside of the abdominal cavity. The peritoneum is the clear membrane that lines the inside of the abdomen. Everyone's heard of peritonitis, an inflammation of the peritoneum. The tenderloin--as well as the kidneys--are outside of this membrane.

Proximal: closer, as toward the head. Cranial.

Distal: farther way, as toward the tail. Caudal.

Lumbar vertebrae: the 7 (usually) backbones that lie between the ribs and the pelvis. When you strain your back while lifting something, you usually hurt your lumbar area.

Tranverse processes. Anyone who has seen bleaching bones out in the field will note that most vertebrae have a single dorsal process sticking up and two transverse processes that flare out to the left and right. The long bone in a T-Bone steak is a transverse process. It separates the backstrap above from the tenderloin below. Next time you pet your dog, feel along his back in front of his pelvis. You can actually feel the muscle-covered transverse processes on each side. Imagine making an incision from his ribs to his pelvis right over the ends of these processes. Then imagine working your hand on the bottom side of the processes to work the muscle away from the bone above.

That's it!

I always hunted from a stand near woods, never had a problem with the land owner on throwing the guts into the woods or into a ravine for the pigs and fox to make short work of it.

Its nature's way of recycling.