There’s nothing we like more than a freezer full of venison, but there are steps between the moment you shoot your deer and when you can cook it. Whether you’re taking your deer to a processor or handling processing at home, you’re going to need to field dress it. When you’re a new hunter, this might seem like a daunting task, but it’s relatively straightforward. Check out these tips for field dressing your deer for the best possible results.
Step One: Collect Your Field Dressing Gear
You don’t need much to field dress a deer, but there are a few things you’ll need on hand. To make this simpler, I keep a small bag of gear in my truck that’s only for field dressing (whether that’s deer, hogs, or whatever). Here’s what I keep stocked in mine:
- Nitrile gloves (get the correct size)
- Field dressing knife with removable blade
- Extra blades
- Needle-nose pliers (for injury-free blade changes)
- Gallon Ziploc bags (for any smaller parts you want to save on the spot, such as the heart or liver)
- Zip ties (for attaching tags)
- Headlamp (for easier field dressing in the dark)
- Bottle(s) of water (to rinse hands or parts of the carcass)
- Handheld flashlight (for tracking or extra light)
Knives and Gloves
Of this list, the most important items are the knife and gloves. A lot of hunters don’t wear gloves, and that’s okay. I don’t always remember them myself, but it’s still a good idea to wear them. If they’re knife-resistant, all the better. You might be surprised by the infections you can get if you slip and cut yourself with a dirty knife. Wearing at least nitrile gloves gives you a basic barrier.
Regarding the knife, there are a lot of different dressing knives. I’ve used more styles than I can keep track of, but my personal favorites are the smaller, more maneuverable styles with removable blades. Whether they’re fixed or folding is also personal preference, but if it’s a folding knife, make sure it has a reliable locking mechanism (most do). Smaller blades tend to be easier to handle and reduce the risk of puncturing something you’d rather not, but I’ve used larger blades with zero issues as well. Find what works for you and stick with it.
Step Two: Position Your Deer
You’re going to be choosing between field dressing on the ground or hanging your deer. Usually, you’re going to be dressing on the ground. The exception is that you have a setup like I do, which includes a gambrel and a host that fits into the receiver hitch of your truck. Moultrie’s Packable Hoist and Gambrel is great for this and comes with two different length hooks for the hind legs. And because it’s packable, you don’t technically have to have a hitch hoist on your truck—it could be hung from a tree. For our purposes here, let’s assume you’re field dressing on the ground. That means rolling the deer onto its back, exposing its abdomen. Assuming you’re alone, use your knees to brace the hind legs apart so the deer stays on its back with its abdomen exposed.
Step Three: Cut Around the Anus
The first cut you’ll make is around the anus. This is important because you don’t want to spill fecal matter into the body cavity as you field dress. When you ring the anus, you’ll need to cut approximately six inches deep and completely sever the external skin. It’s thicker than you might expect. Take care not to puncture the intestine—this is where a slimmer blade is useful—and cut far enough from the opening that you create a clear path. You may have to make more than one pass around the anus to ensure it’s free. Once it’s free, you can leave it as-is or tie the end off with string. Some hunters do that to be doubly sure fecal matter stays in the intestine, but it’s not a must.
Step Four: Make the Long Cut Down the Abdomen
Next up is the part you might be most nervous about due to concerns over poking holes in the stomach or intestines. You’ll be making the biggest cut that stretches from the deer’s sternum to the anus. It’s your choice whether you make this cut top-to-bottom or vice versa. Both methods work. The benefit of starting at the sternum is that it helps you better guard against inadvertently cutting the internal organs. On the other hand, starting at the anus makes it simpler to use your off hand to keep the skin lifted as you cut—and it lets you cut away from yourself.
Bottom-To-Top Cut
If you’re starting at the anus, you’re started at the bottom of the abdomen rather han immediately above the anus. You’ll make your initial, small cut there to give yourself better access to handle the rest of the cut. The goal is to make a cut approximately two or three inches in length that gets you through the hide and abdominal wall. If you only get through the hide on your first pass, that’s okay. Simply make a second cut to get through the abdominal wall, taking care not to puncture any of the organs below.
To cut up to the sternum, you can use your off-hand to lift the hide and abdominal wall up and away from the abdominal cavity. Then you simply slice, with the sharp edge of the blade turned upward, not down into the cavity. There’s no rush, so feel free to take your time. Alternatively, you can use your off-hand fingers to form a “V” to lift the hide, placing the knife between those fingers (with the blade facing away, of course). The internal organs are going to bulge upward as you cut, so go slow enough to keep track and ensure the blade doesn’t go deep enough to slice anything you’d rather avoid.
Sex Organs
A note on sex organs: whether you’ve shot a buck or doe, make your cut around the organs rather than through them. For does, that means shifting off to one side to bypass the udder, not cutting down its middle. Some people choose to cut the genitalia off a buck immediately, and that’s fine unless you’re in a state where you’re required to check your deer in with proof of gender intact.
Step Five: Begin the Process of Removing Internal Organs
The reason we don’t say “remove internal organs” is that it takes a few more steps. You can either roll the deer onto its side and allow the bulk of the major organs to spill onto the ground, or you can leave it on its back and use your hands to lift them out to one side. They’re still attached, so don’t yank or expect the entire body cavity to magically empty. Be careful not to tear anything when you do this.
Step Six: Cut the Diaphragm
The diaphragm is a wall of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. Once you have the stomach contents shifted to the side, you’ll be able to see and touch the diaphragm. Cut the diaphragm thoroughly all the way around, doing so close to the body. I usually start at the center and cut first all the way to the right-hand side of the spin, then go back and cut to the left.
Optional: You can include a bone saw with your gear and use it to open the chest wider before cutting the diaphragm. This isn’t something I typically do, but it does have benefits like cooling the body faster and giving you easier access to the chest itself. If you do this, make your cuts shallow and saw up toward the head from the bottom of the breastbone.
Step Seven: Cut the Trachea
Use your off-hand to reach up into the chest cavity, all the way to where the trachea extends from the neck. Grab the trachea and apply enough pressure to traction it downward for a clean cut. Cautiously insert your knife hand and sever the trachea. You don’t have to sever it high into the neck; it simply needs to be cut to free the rest of the organs.
Step Eight: Remove Internal Organs Completely
Set your knife aside, and grasp the cut-off portion of the trachea. A sharp tug should be all it takes to spill the internal organs out of the body cavity. If the organs fail to come out smoothly, odds are you missed a spot on the diaphragm and need to finish the job. As for the anus, once the majority of the organs are out, use one hand to grasp the length of intestine immediately behind the anus. You can tug it out through the body, taking care not to dump any fecal matter into the body cavity as you go. If it doesn’t immediately slide free, you likely missed some connective tissue. Simply go back and make the necessary cuts.
The urethra and bladder also need to come out without being punctured, so do that slowly and make any necessary cuts as you go. On bucks, this is one reason most hunters simply cut the genitalia off—it frees up the urethra inside the body without having to dig around inside.
Step Nine: Drain Pooled Blood – You’re Done Field Dressing!
If there’s any blood pooled inside the body cavity, tip the deer over to drain it. Certain internal organs are often kept for cooking, such as the heart—thinks tacos—and liver. I keep the lungs as well and use the organs other than the heart for dog food. You might find the organs are too damaged to keep, and that’s okay.
You’re done! Time to load your deer and go.
READ MORE HERE: Baiting Deer 101: When, Why, and How
Bonus Round: Field Dressing Hogs
Another animal you’re likely to end up dressing is a feral hog. It’s certainly possible you’ll want all the meat and go the field dressing route listed above (on the right hogs, ribs and other cuts are well worth getting). However, you can also simply make cuts over the spine and hind legs to pull backstraps and hams, leaving the rest intact. This is the hog version of the gutless method. This is a method that’s also sometimes used on deer to pull meat without gutting/field dressing. But that’s a story for another time.
Check out the Moultrie Packable Hoist and Gambrel here. For a great field dressing knife, look at the Havalon Piranta here.
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