Do you guys hang ur deer head up or down to skin and why? I have always hung mine head down. I can see the advantages of head up however. I do not gut my deer in the field. I bring em in and hang them to gut .

Always head down if they get hung at all. Usually all done on the ground. Skinned one side at a time, disarticulated and taken out in pieces. Sometimes boned out. I can take an entire boned out deer out in one pack if not keeping the head or hide.

It's easier if they are hung though.

Head up.

There are advantages to each way. We have always used a gambrel through the hocks and hang them. I covered my wife’s face so I don’t get in trouble. She always kills older deer than I do.

I field dress at the kill site. A couple years ago I went to "head up" as I now skin with the "golf ball" method and peel them like a banana. Google it, works like a charm.

We gut in the field, and typically I hang head down to skin. Not saying other ways don't work, but this is what I know how to do, and what I will keep doing, since it gets the job done just fine. Sometimes we have to rinse the inside cavity out, as long as you have cut everything like you are supposed to, the water still drains out. I do ALL my own processing as I would assume a lot here still do. I know it has become very common for "hunters" to send the whole deer to a processor, but they waste a lot of meat I will take the time to get. De-bone the WHOLE carcass and get what you can. Head up or head down, use the resource.

-Bones

Head up.

Head up. That way, when it comes time to cut up the deer, I can remove the legs with no problem, pull the back straps, then I can bone out the rest while it's hanging.

Head down, tried head up once and got hair ALL over the meat.

head down-

seems all the vidieos of the butcher shops cutting them up do it that way too

Field dress where they fall and hang head up to skin and butcher.

Head down. I have a gambrel hook with pulley and just the way I skin them.

I hang mine in a walkin cooler for 5-7 days so I do not do them in the field unless I am out west.

head up, just how we always did it.

I gut em in the field. They're lighter to drag, load, and I don't want the guts at my place. Once home remove lower legs at elbows and take sinew from each leg. Hoist it by the hocks, head down. Skin it. Sawzall the brisket to the throat and rinse. Let it age.

Remove inside loins, shoulders, backstraps & neck meat, Sawzall the racks of ribs away, take one hind quarter loose from the gambrel hook & pop it off the hip joint removing the quarter. Then pop the other hip joint and let the spine drop to the floor. Gravity helps if we let it.

I have one hanging now. Been hanging 5 days. Got two hides to flesh tomorrow, throw em in a lye bath, then I'll start cutting meat this weekend. I enjoy it.

There's a deer processor just a mile or so away, maybe I should go work for him. I could probably get a bunch of free sinew and brains for tanning :^)

Head up to hang in a walk in cooler to age, butt hole cut out to drain.

Head down, worked in a butcher shop as a kid. Where I learned how to skin them. Hunters brought them to us gutted. Only considerations about how I skinned was if hunter wanted the hide or the head for that matter. I also separated the hind quarters on the big deer while I was at it. Did 12 animals one morning, deer and antelope from Wyoming. Maybe why I wasn’t desperate to shoot my own.

Head down. We usually save the neck meat and for some reason that is the hardest area to pull the skin off of compared to the rest of the body. We take it to the base of the skull. Also if keeping the hide and head for a mount we don't cut the hide on the neck to pull it off, We leave it to the Taxidermist on how they want to cut the neck hide for the mount. DANNY

Head down and gutted in th field. I want to get the body heat out ASAP. If the deer will be laying there for a bit after I gut it, I'll even cut a branch to prop the chest cavity open with.

Hanging head down I was told by my butcher to hang them head down that way all the blood goes to the head

Head down, that's how my Dad taught me. Hang the deer if it's a buck cut the antlers off and start skinning.

I've also used a processor at times and have seen them both ways. Never really thought about it though.

Gut in the field, hang at home head up. There was no one around to teach me and that’s just the way I taught myself pre- internet days.

Head up while it hangs to allow any and all "nasty" to drain away. Then I skin them head down because its easier for me to skin them that way. We used to get some STINKY deer in and they were usually hanged head down and the rinse water, blood, body fluids and such settled in the neck area and became rancid. Before anybody attacks me, this doesn't mean every head down deer stinks. Just saying the chances of collected nastiness cant happen when they are head up. My dad is a professional meat processor and I do what he taught me. I don't argue with the ol' man when it comes to anything and everything meat related :)

gut in the field, head up to skin.

I don’t drag deer anymore. I use my UTV if I can get it to the deer. Winch it in the bed so no lifting. If I.can’t get the UTV to it I use my Rokon and drive right to it. Then I hang them in my garage and drop the guts in a bucket and take them to the gut pile away from the cabin . They are gone the next day. Then I age it in a walk in cooler. I was wondering because I see guys do it head up. I have always done it head down. Was wondering what I was missing

I don't think you're missing much, about this anyway :) Either way works. Personal preference mostly. There's probably other aspects of butchering game and fish, big and small, we could discuss that we do differently and could help each other. I like these kinds of conversations because I'm always trying to do it better, pick up a little tip here and there, use more of the animals, etc.

The ones hanging it head I have seen were all butchers too. Hmmm

I hear ya Jeff. I like to learn

I hear ya Jeff. I like to learn

Head up if I’m gutting it that way; let gravity help keep things clean. Otherwise head down so as much blood can drain as possible.

There's really not much blood that drains out after the amount of time it takes to get them home and hung. Most has coagulated or stalled and settled by then, and we may see a bit come from the open cavity or major vessels if/when opened. Otherwise it stays in the meat and smaller vessels... part of why game may taste gamey. Draining of substantive amounts of blood needs done very, very close to death... preferably while the heart is still beating.

Both

Not to hijack the thread, but it looks like head up is a west of Mississippi River thing for some reason. I'd like to follow up on that...Head down, me and everyone I know. New York

Back in the thrilling days of yesteryear,in New York, east of old Miss, people hung their deer by the head when deer poles were in fashion. Easier to see the rack that way. Hornell, Canisteo area of Steuben county. Some folks thought tarsal glands drained into the meat if hung upside down. I can't find anything to substantiate that line of thought. bvd

Tarsal glands only cause problems if you cut into them and they drain into the body cavity.

My reading seems to indicate butchers do heads up even thought cattle are not done that way. I can't see where it would matter. I hose the inside of mine out anyway do nothing lays in the neck area. I cut the head of before skinning so the hide is hung up on it.

I used to hang mine head down, but for the last ten years or more I’ve been skinning and quartering them on the tailgate of my pickup truck.

Jed Gitchel X2 I've done it both ways. But I always do it head down if I'm going to cape out the head for mounting.

Field dress right away on the spot after kill. At home I hang head up when I rinse the body cavity. I let them drain head up for a few hours or overnight. Then it goes in the garage and hung on grambrel head down.

Head down.

Always hung a deer by the rear hocks. Start skinning by cutting around the rear leg, cut down to the anus and peel it down from there. I butcher by removing the hide, then the head, front quarters, neck, brisket, backstraps, rib cage, then hind quarters. Just seems the natural way to do it for me. Im not the sharpest tool in the shed though.

Gut in field, hand head up to firm up a day or so until convenient to skin. Hang head down to skin.

Been good temps to let a deer hang, day and night. That doesn't happen often enough here. I have one hanging, be 7 days tomorrow. Getting some nice color to it. Might start cutting it tomorrow.

Like Longcruise, I do them one half at a time on the ground where they fall. Bone out as I go. To old and terrain is just to steep to carry out and do now. Used to always do them head up. Bears eat anything left within a day or two at most and I am on private land. I will saw off the horns at the base if there are any for a horn mount. Never had access to a freezer so have never hung one, coming from Florida got me into that habit as you have to do them real quick so know nothing about doing that even if it is cool enough here in Virginia to do so. Does it make a lot of difference in the taste of the meat ?

I've done it both ways,plus skinning on my tailgate. I don't really have a preference. I'm never in a hurry though.

Darryl, taste, yes a little... more so in texture.

Here's a curve ball. Under realtree.com there is an article called "You have been hanging your deer wrong for years". They recommend the Tender stretch method where you put a hook under the pelvic bone and the hind legs hang 90* to the body. According to the article this method ages the meat better. bvd

You lost me at 'realtree'.

Nope.

Never.

Have done both ways. Like to skin as soon as possible, easier skinning and cools off quicker. Go over with propane torch to singe off any hair on meat.

Head down ,but some where, and I can't remember were the deer was skinned by wrapping a rock with the fur with a clove hitch, and a rope. Hooking the rope to your pick up truck, and pull away. It looked slick ,but I never tried it.

Head down.

Not saying there's anything wrong with it, but it makes me cringe to see them hanging by their neck.

Rick

i don't drag my deer out anymore usually. I usually skin a side, quarter or de-bone, roll it over and repeat.

If i do drag one out and don't skin it right away, i hang it head up, then hang it head down to skin.

I normally hang the deer head down. It’s easier for me to skin with the hind legs spread. Just cut and strip the hid down. I have tried skinning the bid in the back of my truck. It seemed like more work to get the job done. Could be the way I was doing it. :>\

I don’t know where the word bid came from. Supposed to be deer.

Always gutted my deer in the woods. But save the heart and sometimes the liver. Always hung through the hocks head down. Just the way I learned to do it. Always butcher my own deer.

You know that the processors that use the electric wench, chain and golf ball method of skinning a deer from the neck down do it for a reason. We do it by hand and knife from the neck down so we pull down with the hair on the hide and not against it. We get very little hair on the meat doing it this way. We also skin as soon as possible which makes it easier then 1/4 and put in the fridge for 4 or 5 days before we cut up.

What ever works for you works for you.

I've done it both ways and prefer the head up method. Now though, that I'm in my 70s I recover them, take them to the processor and tip guys in the skinning shed to take care of him ASAP. Very often, later in the day, I'll return with a 6 pack of Bud and thank them for their service. Made friends of a couple of good skinners that way.

I dont think I did too bad. Took 3 hours to butcher that deer today by myself, cut, ground, wrapped, in the freezer. Even cleaned up a few bones for future knife handles.

It’s a lot of work. 3 hours is not bad

I didnt make anything special. Just cut and wrap.

Fleshed a couple of hides today. More good fun.

Hunting is hard work. It really is. From start to finish

head up for me. not really sure why, but always have.

If I am at home I'll use the gambrel, but if I am in camp or outside I'll do head up.

Howard Hill also only used a pocket knife to skin and liked it head up....taught same to Swinehart.

Another of the Gents.

Got those hides fleshed, dehaired, going out now to see if they're ready to have the grain removed.

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