Thanks, Augie.
That doe really put on some fat. I didn't realize you had added a Krispy Kreme food plot on your property!
We don't have a house or shop at our property yet, so I still have to work on "field" dressing.
1.) How do you chop off the head while the deer is hanging? (Sawzall?)
2.) Do you remove the innards with the deer still hanging vertically by the hind legs, or do you use the FEL to change the working angle on the deer?
3.) We just leave the innards on the ground for the coyotes, but I hate coyotes. (It sounds like an idiotic practice when I type it out.) Should I make a little burn pit in a safe spot and get rid of the innards without attracting coyotes? Do deer hate wood smoke? (I don't want to drive off deer when I have people going out again to hunt the next day.) Do deer hate smoke with burning innards smell included?
4.) We usually don't skin, because ground skinning (even with a tarp) gets dirty meat when the wind starts blowing. They charge $10 or $15 to skin a field-dressed deer at our processor. It sounds like the skinning is much easier with a hanging deer?
5.) Do you actually butcher the meat cuts yourself? Do you keep the backstraps and loin cuts as steaks, and then take
the rest of the boneless meat to the processor to make summer sausage and slim jims?
6.) My wife will cook any fish or game that I bring her. However, it must be presented to her as "meat". She wants no part of any blood or guts! Any advice on handy features for when I finally build my work shed? (For deer AND fish guts.) Floor sluice/drain, removeable mats, etc.?
Anyone else is free to also chime in on these questions! Augie certainly has better things to do than type at his keyboard all day.
Thanks!
