Great video! Thank you! You cross contaminated all of the meat you touch after you cut around the anus with your hands and knife if the beginning. It's not a huge deal, but it helps reduce meat spoilage later.
I'm going to pin this comment up top. It is a legitimate critique. I should have used a separate knife for the hide cuts, leg removal, skull removal and poopshoot cuts. I have used a Havalon just for this in the past, and it works well. However, this video shows how I actually do it 95% of the time, out of efficiency. I clean up the inner sections of the rump cuts (inner muscle next to ball joints) when I process, because they get a bit ragged in addition to your contamination concern. Being cautious about the cross contamination is a good idea! appreciate the comment and tip.
I'm not sure if you have really quartered an animal in bear country but time consumption is very important. I haven't had any problems using a similar blade while just washing it with your water. Snow etc. I think the video shows the best way possible to the majority who don't, and shouldn't worry about cross contamination.
@@thejoatmoo 👍 great approach. I swear when I go this route I end up in a wrestling match with a poop shoot or trachae… gotta practice really getting it loose before the push and pull through, but I hear ya. A guy that has perfected it is slick 👍
@@CliffGrayhave you ever used the butt out tool with zip ties or string for the trachea and the shoot? Looks like it works well. Also looks a bit gimmicky. Curious of your thoughts on it?
This is probably the best gutting tutorial Ive ever seen, and Ive seen quite a few. The POV camera was a great addition. I always find tutorials always have the worst camera angles during some of the more important parts, so being able to see whats going on as if you were doing it is super helpful.
I met Cliff, while sheep hunting inbthe clear creek canyon this season. Had no idea he had all these videos, until i just stumbled across one and recognized him. Super cool guy. And certainly knows what he's doing. Nice to meet you cliff keep up the good work
When i gut elk or deer i tie a knot on the esophagus with some paracord and another one about an inch down. Before tying the second knot, grab and pull down gently like squeezing a tube of toothpaste so there isn't any digestive material between the two knots. Once the two knots are made, cut the esophagus between the knots and i don't risk getting digestive material on the meat. I then pull the whole digestive tract out. You can do the same thing near the ass for poop, that way i dont have to cut the pelvis if im in the back country. I can take the hams off at the ball joint with my knife instead of needing a saw or ax. 🤘
I have field dressed over 100 deer, but I'm always willing to learn anything I can and try new methods, so I clicked on your video to see and when I got to the 4:54 section I wonder why you sped and edited the separation of the tissue from the cavity walls. This is a very important step which beginners need to learn and understand how to properly roll and cut it all away.
Thanks! Yeah, you will get this all figured out. It's all about a little practice and learning the anatomy. Main thing when learning is don't be intimidated by it. Even if all hell breaks loose... just wash the meat off and you will be all good! good luck on your adventures!
Great video. It’s very obvious that you have been doing this for a long time and there isn’t a bunch of BS mixed in like other channels. Very much how the average experienced hunter handles game. Thanks so much for your content.
Cliff, I really appreciate this video. Hunters need more of these. And I am pleased to see the critiques as it tells me other hunters take pride in the processing of their animal and value the meat. I'd add shot placement is critical in meat yield. And don't make the perfect shot and then pop the guts removing them! It adds a whole other level of yuck. Take your time. I could go on but I'll just say thanks Cliff!
I first came across this video last year (also my first year of solo hunting in the backcountry) and watched it several times before I started my hunt. It helped tremendously. We are a month out from Deer season in my area and I find myself here again, taking a refresher course lol Thank you Cliff, you are greatly appreciated!
Great video I have dressed hundred of them myself and still learned something new. I never thought of taking the legs off in the field. For me I find it easier to work from the back end first while standing on the rear legs to keep the deer stable and when draining blood from the cavity I prefer to flip the deer over spreading the legs straight to the sides before I split the pelvis.
I gotcha! That all makes sense to do it that way also. Sometimes I think I do things a certain way because I haven't run into a big enough reason to change it! ha. I've always removed legs, probably mostly a habit from backpacking meat - never wanted a bit of extra weight. Thanks for the comment!
Yeah man, the trick is to find that top joint above the last vertebrae. You have to put a lot of downward pressure on the nose so it opens enough to get your knife around the curved joint. You will know when you hit it, it will pop. Thanks for watching Rich!
Great vid! I’m new to hunting. I’m in my mid 30’s and need all the help I can get. I hope to see the backcountry cleaning/quartering vid soon. Thanks for all great advice Cliff
Focus on learning the gutless method and deboning if you are going to be packing in and out. No reason to remove the internals in the back country, just attracts predators quicker, and removing a rib from the sternum allows you to get the heart and liver out. Good game bags are a must too.
Great job … I get excited seeing a hunter take care of the meat that well and be prepared with ice etc … I think main reason people say the didn’t like venison when they tried it was the hunters improper care of the meat from harvest time through the butcher into usable parts
Raised in NC, field dressing was the status quo. When I began western hunting in my 20’s, I started deboning in the field and packing out. That is when I stopped field dressing, to this day, even when whitetail hunting back home, I debone in the field, pack out and straight to a cooler to dry age for ~ 10 days. Although it is a good skill to have, I prefer deboning right away instead.
Nicely done. One thing that newer hunters should consider before opening up that much of the deer is the drag from where they gut it to where they parked. The longer / sloppier the drag, the greater the chance of getting stuff that you don't want inside the cavity. I typically have a mile or more to drag it through mud and standing water, so i'll either gut it closer to the truck, or i'll only make a small hole (app. 12-18") near the guts and pull it all out through there.
The better question is why are you dragging that far? I used to do the same thing but realized your exact issue. I began doing the gutless method and can perform that it not much more time than it takes to field dress (deer sized animals) and it’s so much easier to pack out a quartered deer than to drag
I like how simple he keeps it. Two thinks that I would have over thought were the trachea removal and head removal. He went straight for it where I would have tried to skin it first. This video reminded me to keep it simple and focus on the big picture
I think your hunting videos are the best in terms of explaining processes and we know you aren’t centered around promoting a particular product or service. Cleaning my knife on the grass as necessary can help keep contaminates off-especially if the grass is wet. When possible, I keep the head slightly uphill. If I do get some urine in that lower channel I’ll pick up from the front legs and flow all of the blood downhill through that channel to help rinse it out. Sometimes I’ll tie off one rear leg to a tree allowing me to lean on the other with my leg to keep the deer open for slicing.
"hunting videos are the best in terms of explaining processes and we know you aren’t centered around promoting a particular product or service" love this! huge compliment. Great tip on knife cleaning and draining, too. Thanks
I always gut animals before quartering no matter if deer, elk, or bear. Other than getting the water and therefore heat out here are some other reasons why I always gut animals. I eat organs (heart and liver), I can crudely test animal health (TB and hepatitis), I can test weapon efficacy, I can see organ placement and anatomy, it's the first thing a butcher does when processing a carcass, and it's how I was raised. Great video Cliff
Cliff. When removing the head, cutting through the atlanto-axial joint. A good tip is to put a small horizontal cut in the ear cartilage just above the base of the ear big enough for one finger. With one finger inserted here, you can traction the head away from the body with ease with one finger while cutting through the atlanto-axial joint. A lot easier than trying to grab whole head with your hand. Keep up the great vids!
Wisconsin whitetail hunter here. We do this method for nearly every deer we get. Check out the sagan saw! Its an awesome little tool for zipping through that pelvic bone! One other tip is to use cattle insemination gloves to keep the blood, hair etc off your clothes and hands! Also we usually only go up to the sternum to better prevent hair, dirt, debris on the meat. Love the videos Cliff!
Not sure if this was addressed, but you should always check the inside of the rib cage for little pustules that could indicate TB and the deer should not be consumed. Also, in CWD suspected areas, you should consider leaving the head on and not severing the spinal cord and it’s juices by cutting off the head.
Thanks Cliff, great video, I have watched so many and this makes it seem fast, simple and dooable. Only thing I might do different, take a little more time around the legs to go Under the skin and cut Up/out so there is not so much hair floating around.
Good job- we are on the same page quick easy - I always gut animals. I started carrying a Gear Tie a few years ago. Extremely helpful to hold a leg steady while you work.
Wondering what location this deer was taken? I didn’t notice a kill tag attached. Here in MI you must attach a kill tag. If not and a game warden stops you, a ticket will be issued and possibly more. Great instructional video!
I went through the comments to see if this was here. If it wasn't I was going to add it. Short of a few reasons that have been covered in other comments, this is how I have gutted all my deer. Had a buddy show me this 25 years ago. That windpipe is literally a pull tab.
Got scared when you pulled the organs out, that you were gonna toss all the good stuff with the intestines. So glad when I saw you used them. Awesome vid, very similar to how i've always done it, minus a couple things.
My tip to make quicker work of bone - Battery powered reciprocating saw, depending on where I am. State land, field dressing isn't always allowed so you have to take it up front by the ranger. Basically, if my truck or house is nearby...
We need that heart video 3 weeks ago!!! 😂. I had a friend show me how, we cooked fresh heart for our jr high boys in our program this last weekend. It was pretty awesome.
@@CliffGray our last few deer it got wasted because I was confused about what to do (newer hunter) and I didn’t understand the necessity for eating heart and tenderloin right away. Now I figure, that’s the reward!!! Dan did tell me the hearts even better if brined for a few hours.
Great video. Informative as always and very efficient. I wish I would’ve learned some of those tricks back when I first started hunting lol. I have a friend who wants to learn to hunt, I forward him most of your videos and he will be getting this one shortly. Thank you sir for the sharing of your knowledge 👍
Instead of using an axe on the pelvis, I scrape the apex with my knife to locate the exact center. It will split pretty easily with just a knife at the middle. I used to hunt too far out in the hills to pack a heavy hatchet. I've done it on elk as well. A bit harder but it still works.
It's great watching a pro work from his point of view. Great video Cliff. I do it the same way just not as efficient as you are. My dad always told me to get as much windpipe out as far up and as soon as possible because that's one of the first things that will spoil.
Thank you sir - very informative video. I'm heading out for my third (and hopefully first successful) deer hunt next week in the southern highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Tons of fallow, red and sambar down there (so they say), so hope to bag one or two. We have open season on all types of deed (except hog deer) all year round with no bag limits - don't even need tags. Cheers.
I know we’re all going to just use our knife in the field like we always do but if you got the time and the animal isn’t in the woods. Using a carpet knife to cut around those leg joints is pretty darn slick. Prevents cutting the hair. A guy in Florida showed me when he was doing a hog.
First time I field dressed a deer back in '67, I think I punctured every sac in his internal anatomy...and ruined a tenderloin to boot. Thank God for professional deer processors. My guy cleaned it up well. Through the years I've since learned to minimize the contamination. But sometimes that depends more on the shot than my butchering skills.
Great video young fella 👍 I carveup my sons & his buddies deer for free every year. I'm always looking for more efficient methods of our harvest 74+ 🍁hunter Yorkshire expat
I have completely stopped splitting the pelvis. Feel like it exposes a lot more good meat to bacteria and also let's more dirt/leaves into the body cavity. Used to have to trim that area and now I don't lose any meat from there.
A handy tool for moving meat is a pulp hook. Hooked in the lower jaw it enables you to pull without concentrating on an awkward grip (like around a leg). thanks for the video. I must remember the joint location trick you showed. Was that a huge cooler or tiny deer? I'm betting on tiny. I got 75 pounds of meat from my last deer.
Thanks for the pulp hook tip! It was a big cooler but also not a huge deer. Standard whitetail doe in this neck of the woods. Your deer are probably quite a bit larger up there!
If you want to see what my deer look like, I have this years and last years hunt on my channel "Musher's Tails". If you check out the trapping videos, you'll also have an idea of what our wolves look like.
Well done video. I always like to see how others do it, and to refresh my mind on the process since I only take a deer about every third year. One question I have is how do you maintain proof of sex with this method? I'm in Idaho, and I always keep the head connected until it goes to butcher. I keep a plastic child's sled in my truck so when I'm done field dressing, I bundle the carcass tightly, lay it in the sled, connect the sled to my pack waistband, and drag it to the truck. Snowcover makes it a little easier, but the plastic sleds slide just fine on other surfaces, too. My pull is nearly always less than a few hundred yards.
Very informative for new hunters. Cliff… you should make a video demonstrating (especially for western hunters) for packing out and how to leave evidence of sex naturally attached, especially for harvesting females.
Nice job man, I love how you save the heart and liver too… I’ll add that you should start saving the tongues. If you’ve ever had tacos de lengua, you’ll know how good it is. In an elk, just one makes a pretty good amount to make family tacos with. Deer and pronghorn I usually save a few and cook them all at once. Sounds terrible, I know, but you’ll thank me after you try it.
@@CliffGray you boil it with jalapeño, onions, cilantro, garlic and salt… then after it’s cooked enough, the skin peels right off. I also do a short pre-boil and then change the water after about 20min, then put the veggies and salt in
Thanks Shane! I have left a lot of meat hanging from trees with very little issues... at times I had meat hanging for 4,5,6 days in the later seasons. The main culprit is birds... the best way to avoid issues there is to put the meat where there is a bit of a canopy. That will get you an extra day or two from birds. The second one is martins - if this is an issue, getting the meat hung down a long length of rope helps. Bears - are just hit or miss. I had issues twice. Once on some elk quarters hung up for 4 days, black bear checked them out several times over a few days, finally hit one quarter on 4th day - we had logistical issues, bad weather, and just couldn't get them out earlier. Usually bears do that, checked it out one night, hit it the next. If you see bear sign, move the meat. Had a grizzly steal a black bear skull and hide once, totally random deal on that one. We found it - grizz ran off - skull was crushed, hide was missing and ear. haha!
This was great. Look forward to a video of how you quarter in the field. I can do it, but not without hair and dirt over everything by the end of it. Also, what do you do with your hides? You said you keep them
I salt and get most of my hides tanned. They are all over the place in our house, and I give them to people as gifts. I enjoy the process of cleaning up and salting hides. Fun project to do with family, too. I have a video coming out soon covering it. If you do that process, things are several magnitudes cheaper. Elk hide, I'm all in $250. Deer hide, less than $100. I'll get a video on quartering together. Reality is that keeping the meat clean is a challenge with quartering in the field. If one isn't utilizing the hide, the cleanest way I have seen is to actually quarter with the hide on (if temps allow). Thanks James!
Hi. I really enjoyed the video and was wondering what knife you were using and if its a fixed blade? Seems to be a good knife for this work and thinking it seems to be the right size. Just wondering was all. Thank you again for the video and have a good night
Great video! Thank you! You cross contaminated all of the meat you touch after you cut around the anus with your hands and knife if the beginning. It's not a huge deal, but it helps reduce meat spoilage later.
I'm going to pin this comment up top. It is a legitimate critique. I should have used a separate knife for the hide cuts, leg removal, skull removal and poopshoot cuts. I have used a Havalon just for this in the past, and it works well.
However, this video shows how I actually do it 95% of the time, out of efficiency. I clean up the inner sections of the rump cuts (inner muscle next to ball joints) when I process, because they get a bit ragged in addition to your contamination concern.
Being cautious about the cross contamination is a good idea! appreciate the comment and tip.
I'm not sure if you have really quartered an animal in bear country but time consumption is very important. I haven't had any problems using a similar blade while just washing it with your water. Snow etc. I think the video shows the best way possible to the majority who don't, and shouldn't worry about cross contamination.
@@thejoatmoo 👍 great approach. I swear when I go this route I end up in a wrestling match with a poop shoot or trachae… gotta practice really getting it loose before the push and pull through, but I hear ya. A guy that has perfected it is slick 👍
@@CliffGrayhave you ever used the butt out tool with zip ties or string for the trachea and the shoot? Looks like it works well. Also looks a bit gimmicky. Curious of your thoughts on it?
Hmm. We’ve been starting with the butt end for generations using the same knife. Chili and burgers taste the same. I aint got worms yet.
Hey mate. I live in Australia and this video was awesome. Hope I get my first deer next year.
This is probably the best gutting tutorial Ive ever seen, and Ive seen quite a few. The POV camera was a great addition. I always find tutorials always have the worst camera angles during some of the more important parts, so being able to see whats going on as if you were doing it is super helpful.
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful 👍
Go watch steve rinella if you find this impressive,
I met Cliff, while sheep hunting inbthe clear creek canyon this season. Had no idea he had all these videos, until i just stumbled across one and recognized him. Super cool guy. And certainly knows what he's doing. Nice to meet you cliff keep up the good work
Nice to meet you too man 👊 thanks for the kind words.
Had heart for the first time this year from a mule deer it was amazing over the fire
heck yeah, it's awesome!
When i gut elk or deer i tie a knot on the esophagus with some paracord and another one about an inch down. Before tying the second knot, grab and pull down gently like squeezing a tube of toothpaste so there isn't any digestive material between the two knots. Once the two knots are made, cut the esophagus between the knots and i don't risk getting digestive material on the meat. I then pull the whole digestive tract out. You can do the same thing near the ass for poop, that way i dont have to cut the pelvis if im in the back country. I can take the hams off at the ball joint with my knife instead of needing a saw or ax. 🤘
Zip ties keep from having to tie anything not a lot of time saving but still a little and easier
I have field dressed over 100 deer, but I'm always willing to learn anything I can and try new methods, so I clicked on your video to see and when I got to the 4:54 section I wonder why you sped and edited the separation of the tissue from the cavity walls. This is a very important step which beginners need to learn and understand how to properly roll and cut it all away.
Phenomenal video. Im just getting into hunting and videos like this make it feel like I’m not too far underwater learning.
Thanks! Yeah, you will get this all figured out. It's all about a little practice and learning the anatomy. Main thing when learning is don't be intimidated by it. Even if all hell breaks loose... just wash the meat off and you will be all good! good luck on your adventures!
Can't wait for that recipe! Sweet
Glad to see you came back to the heart and liver.
Awesome, you keeping the liver and heart, both excellent table fare.
Great video, and this really helped me when I had to dress my first elk. Thanks!
Great job Cliff, very fast and efficient! Get it out and get it cooled!!
👍
Great video. It’s very obvious that you have been doing this for a long time and there isn’t a bunch of BS mixed in like other channels. Very much how the average experienced hunter handles game. Thanks so much for your content.
Love the go pro angle. I've done it a few times but feel like I have so much to learn.
Quick and efficient man! Always pick up something new from your vids. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience Cliff!
thanks man!
@@CliffGray Always a pleasure brother!
Love the first perspective! Great video very informative thanks for sharing
Cliff, I really appreciate this video. Hunters need more of these. And I am pleased to see the critiques as it tells me other hunters take pride in the processing of their animal and value the meat. I'd add shot placement is critical in meat yield. And don't make the perfect shot and then pop the guts removing them! It adds a whole other level of yuck. Take your time. I could go on but I'll just say thanks Cliff!
Poetry in motion right there. Nice job.
I first came across this video last year (also my first year of solo hunting in the backcountry) and watched it several times before I started my hunt. It helped tremendously. We are a month out from Deer season in my area and I find myself here again, taking a refresher course lol Thank you Cliff, you are greatly appreciated!
Thanks for doing this Cliff, great video!
Thanks Nathan! appreciate the support
I like how you cut the legs while the hide is on. Idk why I never thought of that. Definitely will keep some hair off the meat. Good video.
Great video I have dressed hundred of them myself and still learned something new. I never thought of taking the legs off in the field. For me I find it easier to work from the back end first while standing on the rear legs to keep the deer stable and when draining blood from the cavity I prefer to flip the deer over spreading the legs straight to the sides before I split the pelvis.
I gotcha! That all makes sense to do it that way also. Sometimes I think I do things a certain way because I haven't run into a big enough reason to change it! ha.
I've always removed legs, probably mostly a habit from backpacking meat - never wanted a bit of extra weight. Thanks for the comment!
New sub! Thanks I’m a newbie hunter, wanted to know how to gut a deer thank you.🙏🏽
Thanks for sharing Cliff! Nice quick way to remove the head! I need to learn how to do that without a hacksaw.
Yeah man, the trick is to find that top joint above the last vertebrae. You have to put a lot of downward pressure on the nose so it opens enough to get your knife around the curved joint. You will know when you hit it, it will pop. Thanks for watching Rich!
Really great video Cliff. I appreciate the content that you put out!!
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing...
Great vid! I’m new to hunting. I’m in my mid 30’s and need all the help I can get. I hope to see the backcountry cleaning/quartering vid soon. Thanks for all great advice Cliff
Focus on learning the gutless method and deboning if you are going to be packing in and out. No reason to remove the internals in the back country, just attracts predators quicker, and removing a rib from the sternum allows you to get the heart and liver out. Good game bags are a must too.
Great job … I get excited seeing a hunter take care of the meat that well and be prepared with ice etc … I think main reason people say the didn’t like venison when they tried it was the hunters improper care of the meat from harvest time through the butcher into usable parts
I started doing this awhile back ever since seeing Steve Rinella do it. It’s the best method for sure. Awesome video Cliff
Thanks!
Great video! Love the go pro view
Raised in NC, field dressing was the status quo. When I began western hunting in my 20’s, I started deboning in the field and packing out. That is when I stopped field dressing, to this day, even when whitetail hunting back home, I debone in the field, pack out and straight to a cooler to dry age for ~ 10 days. Although it is a good skill to have, I prefer deboning right away instead.
Nicely done. One thing that newer hunters should consider before opening up that much of the deer is the drag from where they gut it to where they parked. The longer / sloppier the drag, the greater the chance of getting stuff that you don't want inside the cavity. I typically have a mile or more to drag it through mud and standing water, so i'll either gut it closer to the truck, or i'll only make a small hole (app. 12-18") near the guts and pull it all out through there.
The better question is why are you dragging that far? I used to do the same thing but realized your exact issue. I began doing the gutless method and can perform that it not much more time than it takes to field dress (deer sized animals) and it’s so much easier to pack out a quartered deer than to drag
I like how simple he keeps it. Two thinks that I would have over thought were the trachea removal and head removal. He went straight for it where I would have tried to skin it first. This video reminded me to keep it simple and focus on the big picture
I think your hunting videos are the best in terms of explaining processes and we know you aren’t centered around promoting a particular product or service. Cleaning my knife on the grass as necessary can help keep contaminates off-especially if the grass is wet. When possible, I keep the head slightly uphill. If I do get some urine in that lower channel I’ll pick up from the front legs and flow all of the blood downhill through that channel to help rinse it out.
Sometimes I’ll tie off one rear leg to a tree allowing me to lean on the other with my leg to keep the deer open for slicing.
"hunting videos are the best in terms of explaining processes and we know you aren’t centered around promoting a particular product or service" love this! huge compliment.
Great tip on knife cleaning and draining, too. Thanks
I always used a bigger knife but props to you for using a pocket knife.
Great instruction, good tip on getting the tenderloins out so they dont dry out
I always gut animals before quartering no matter if deer, elk, or bear. Other than getting the water and therefore heat out here are some other reasons why I always gut animals. I eat organs (heart and liver), I can crudely test animal health (TB and hepatitis), I can test weapon efficacy, I can see organ placement and anatomy, it's the first thing a butcher does when processing a carcass, and it's how I was raised. Great video Cliff
I like some of your reasons… seeing nice healthy organs is always nice. I too am a organ eater so end up gutting a lot of game I harvest. 👍
Cliff. When removing the head, cutting through the atlanto-axial joint. A good tip is to put a small horizontal cut in the ear cartilage just above the base of the ear big enough for one finger. With one finger inserted here, you can traction the head away from the body with ease with one finger while cutting through the atlanto-axial joint. A lot easier than trying to grab whole head with your hand.
Keep up the great vids!
Thanks man! I’ll try that
Best I've seen. Thanks!
Wisconsin whitetail hunter here. We do this method for nearly every deer we get. Check out the sagan saw! Its an awesome little tool for zipping through that pelvic bone! One other tip is to use cattle insemination gloves to keep the blood, hair etc off your clothes and hands! Also we usually only go up to the sternum to better prevent hair, dirt, debris on the meat. Love the videos Cliff!
Thanks Aaron, I’ll check out the saw!
Not sure if this was addressed, but you should always check the inside of the rib cage for little pustules that could indicate TB and the deer should not be consumed. Also, in CWD suspected areas, you should consider leaving the head on and not severing the spinal cord and it’s juices by cutting off the head.
He should be wearing gloves too.
@@randolphtolbert3825pussy
Most informative videos out there
thanks! really appreciate the support
Thanks Cliff, great video, I have watched so many and this makes it seem fast, simple and dooable. Only thing I might do different, take a little more time around the legs to go Under the skin and cut Up/out so there is not so much hair floating around.
3:49 a small wire rope saw works amazing for cutting the pelvis open. I prefer it over a saw or axe and it weighs almost nothing
Great video, thank you!
My pleasure! Thanks for watching
Excellent video!
Thank you!
Good job- we are on the same page quick easy - I always gut animals. I started carrying a Gear Tie a few years ago. Extremely helpful to hold a leg steady while you work.
Good tip 👍 thanks Cory
Wondering what location this deer was taken? I didn’t notice a kill tag attached. Here in MI you must attach a kill tag. If not and a game warden stops you, a ticket will be issued and possibly more. Great instructional video!
Great video. I use one of those short blunt nosed hand saws for the rib cutting so my knife doesn’t get dulled
Thanks agin Cliff
God bless
I cut past the ribcage all the way to the jaw, sever the windpipe and pull toward the rear. Everything comes out together.
Good way to do it 👍
I went through the comments to see if this was here. If it wasn't I was going to add it. Short of a few reasons that have been covered in other comments, this is how I have gutted all my deer. Had a buddy show me this 25 years ago. That windpipe is literally a pull tab.
Wow that was clean.
Got scared when you pulled the organs out, that you were gonna toss all the good stuff with the intestines. So glad when I saw you used them. Awesome vid, very similar to how i've always done it, minus a couple things.
I love some liver and heart! can't believe hearts get left in the field!
@@CliffGray Breaks my heart every time (Unsure if pun is intended)
@@muhsinbustillo haha!!!
Thanks! I’m saving hides too.
for sure!
This is a great how to video
Heck yea brother!! A buddy and I just doubled on whitetail does this last Monday!! Happy thanksgiving/holidays everybody!!💪🇺🇸💯
Nice! merry christmas man!
My tip to make quicker work of bone - Battery powered reciprocating saw, depending on where I am. State land, field dressing isn't always allowed so you have to take it up front by the ranger. Basically, if my truck or house is nearby...
Outdoor Edge Zipper for opening up the animal. Super quick without hitting guts.
We need that heart video 3 weeks ago!!! 😂. I had a friend show me how, we cooked fresh heart for our jr high boys in our program this last weekend. It was pretty awesome.
for sure! it is way underrated. I'm always surprised that most folks leave it!
@@CliffGray our last few deer it got wasted because I was confused about what to do (newer hunter) and I didn’t understand the necessity for eating heart and tenderloin right away. Now I figure, that’s the reward!!! Dan did tell me the hearts even better if brined for a few hours.
Trachea carries air, esophagus carries food.
Great video. Informative as always and very efficient. I wish I would’ve learned some of those tricks back when I first started hunting lol. I have a friend who wants to learn to hunt, I forward him most of your videos and he will be getting this one shortly. Thank you sir for the sharing of your knowledge 👍
Awesome Paul! Hope it’s helpful to him.
Loved this thank u so helpful
Instead of using an axe on the pelvis, I scrape the apex with my knife to locate the exact center. It will split pretty easily with just a knife at the middle. I used to hunt too far out in the hills to pack a heavy hatchet. I've done it on elk as well. A bit harder but it still works.
It's great watching a pro work from his point of view. Great video Cliff. I do it the same way just not as efficient as you are. My dad always told me to get as much windpipe out as far up and as soon as possible because that's one of the first things that will spoil.
Thanks for watching Kyle! For sure on the windpipe, that is a good tip.
Thank you sir - very informative video. I'm heading out for my third (and hopefully first successful) deer hunt next week in the southern highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Tons of fallow, red and sambar down there (so they say), so hope to bag one or two. We have open season on all types of deed (except hog deer) all year round with no bag limits - don't even need tags. Cheers.
Awesome video, thank you
I know we’re all going to just use our knife in the field like we always do but if you got the time and the animal isn’t in the woods. Using a carpet knife to cut around those leg joints is pretty darn slick. Prevents cutting the hair. A guy in Florida showed me when he was doing a hog.
Great tip 👍 thanks
I use a gut hook knife, keeps your fingers out of the way. Good video.
I had never hunted deer until last season . After gutting over 15 elk and a few moose a deer was like gutting a fish 😂😂. Great video ! Thanks
Awesome job
Wow this elk is really cooperative
Hands Down...BEST HOW-TO I'VE SEEN, very much appreciate you!!!
What knife you using??
For ease of skinning. I only cut up to the brisket. No further. Makes skinning a lot easier in my opinion
First time I field dressed a deer back in '67, I think I punctured every sac in his internal anatomy...and ruined a tenderloin to boot. Thank God for professional deer processors. My guy cleaned it up well. Through the years I've since learned to minimize the contamination. But sometimes that depends more on the shot than my butchering skills.
I hear ya! I’ve ended up with some inadvertent silage on my hands a few times also. Appreciate the comment!
Great video
Great video young fella 👍 I carveup my sons & his buddies deer for free every year. I'm always looking for more efficient methods of our harvest 74+ 🍁hunter Yorkshire expat
It’s a beaut Clark!
HA!
Do you have a video or can you do one on what to do with the deer hide as far as tanning and or products to make from it? Thanks
I have completely stopped splitting the pelvis. Feel like it exposes a lot more good meat to bacteria and also let's more dirt/leaves into the body cavity. Used to have to trim that area and now I don't lose any meat from there.
great Job thanks
A handy tool for moving meat is a pulp hook. Hooked in the lower jaw it enables you to pull without concentrating on an awkward grip (like around a leg). thanks for the video. I must remember the joint location trick you showed. Was that a huge cooler or tiny deer? I'm betting on tiny. I got 75 pounds of meat from my last deer.
Thanks for the pulp hook tip! It was a big cooler but also not a huge deer. Standard whitetail doe in this neck of the woods. Your deer are probably quite a bit larger up there!
If you want to see what my deer look like, I have this years and last years hunt on my channel "Musher's Tails". If you check out the trapping videos, you'll also have an idea of what our wolves look like.
@@mushercdn checked it out! great channel. Yes, your whitetail are probably 30-40% bigger than ours, haha.
Great video. very helpful. What knife are you using in this video? It looks like a standard Buck 110 that you can buy just about anywhere.
Thanks! Glad it was useful.
It is a Buck 113. Buck 110 is a great knife also.
Very practical, good value knives. American made also 👍🇺🇸
I believe it is absolutely impossible to gut a deer with out making these same exhale noises. Emmff. eeeenah, etc. Lol. great vid
Hola mi amigo" From Rafael Iguana Hunters PR
Rafael! Hola, my man!!! Hit me up and let’s do an iguana hunting video. I got a couple new air guns 💪🏻 💪🏻
@@CliffGray Yesss my fried you can come any time just let me know wend, i have a new place with big iguanas
@@SuperShawdy1 gracias. I will call you in the next couple weeks!
Use pruning sheers to deal with the leg joints...it's a WHOLE lot faster!
Nice 👍 thanks
Well done video. I always like to see how others do it, and to refresh my mind on the process since I only take a deer about every third year.
One question I have is how do you maintain proof of sex with this method? I'm in Idaho, and I always keep the head connected until it goes to butcher. I keep a plastic child's sled in my truck so when I'm done field dressing, I bundle the carcass tightly, lay it in the sled, connect the sled to my pack waistband, and drag it to the truck. Snowcover makes it a little easier, but the plastic sleds slide just fine on other surfaces, too. My pull is nearly always less than a few hundred yards.
Very informative for new hunters. Cliff… you should make a video demonstrating (especially for western hunters) for packing out and how to leave evidence of sex naturally attached, especially for harvesting females.
I do this the same but l dont touch the pelvic until l get to the truck it's easier to drag and you don't get as much crap into the body cavity
I personally wouldn't shoot a deer that small, but i did get a couple good tips from this, thanks.
Nice job man, I love how you save the heart and liver too… I’ll add that you should start saving the tongues. If you’ve ever had tacos de lengua, you’ll know how good it is. In an elk, just one makes a pretty good amount to make family tacos with. Deer and pronghorn I usually save a few and cook them all at once. Sounds terrible, I know, but you’ll thank me after you try it.
yeah man, I'll give that a try. Never done the tongue but will. Do you skin it?
@@CliffGray you boil it with jalapeño, onions, cilantro, garlic and salt… then after it’s cooked enough, the skin peels right off. I also do a short pre-boil and then change the water after about 20min, then put the veggies and salt in
@@Wallymakesstuff nice! I’ll do it on the next one I come by 👍
@@CliffGray hell yeah man, let me know what you think… and I bet you could score a lot of them from your clients.
good work, new sub
Great video Cliff! A quick question, do you ever have issues with predators finding your kill if you're leaving it overnight?
Thanks Shane! I have left a lot of meat hanging from trees with very little issues... at times I had meat hanging for 4,5,6 days in the later seasons. The main culprit is birds... the best way to avoid issues there is to put the meat where there is a bit of a canopy. That will get you an extra day or two from birds. The second one is martins - if this is an issue, getting the meat hung down a long length of rope helps.
Bears - are just hit or miss. I had issues twice. Once on some elk quarters hung up for 4 days, black bear checked them out several times over a few days, finally hit one quarter on 4th day - we had logistical issues, bad weather, and just couldn't get them out earlier. Usually bears do that, checked it out one night, hit it the next. If you see bear sign, move the meat. Had a grizzly steal a black bear skull and hide once, totally random deal on that one. We found it - grizz ran off - skull was crushed, hide was missing and ear. haha!
@@CliffGray Thanks for the reply! That is something I've always been curious about so I appreciate your input.
@@skunky507 for sure man! thanks for watching
10:35. Great video well done.
Also the trachea is the wind pipe to the lungs, there ia 0 food in there.
This was great. Look forward to a video of how you quarter in the field. I can do it, but not without hair and dirt over everything by the end of it.
Also, what do you do with your hides? You said you keep them
I salt and get most of my hides tanned. They are all over the place in our house, and I give them to people as gifts.
I enjoy the process of cleaning up and salting hides. Fun project to do with family, too. I have a video coming out soon covering it. If you do that process, things are several magnitudes cheaper. Elk hide, I'm all in $250. Deer hide, less than $100.
I'll get a video on quartering together. Reality is that keeping the meat clean is a challenge with quartering in the field. If one isn't utilizing the hide, the cleanest way I have seen is to actually quarter with the hide on (if temps allow). Thanks James!
Hi. I really enjoyed the video and was wondering what knife you were using and if its a fixed blade? Seems to be a good knife for this work and thinking it seems to be the right size. Just wondering was all. Thank you again for the video and have a good night
Thank you - excellent video. Heart and liver will be for animal food though, not for me 😉
I’m sure you know and have a lot of game meat in the freezer but the tongue is my personal favorite. Do you often take it or never?
Sometimes on bigger animals, I do!