Your deer I mean. Do you hang it by the neck or hind legs?

I think it’s a cultural thing. I great up in the midwest where we always hung them by the neck. I don’t think I ever saw a deer hung upside down until I moved south. Probably need to talk to a butcher to get pros and cons of each.

Hang it by the head to drain, and then hang it by the hinds to skin and cut up...

That makes sense Zbone

I've gone to hanging by the head to use the golf-ball/rope/4- wheeler "banana peel" method. I prefer legs up for quartering (now deboning in half of N.C. thanks to CWD), but I don't go to the trouble to swap ends. Too much trouble of dropping a nice hairless deer carcass in all the stuff you just went to the trouble to keep off of it! What processors that haven't quit taking them have grown increasing anal about hair, dirt, grass and will "have an attack of the vapors" if they see bone! I think Fauci is now moonlighting as head of the state game biologists!

i don't hang them much anymore.

Skin and debone in the field and pack it out...i get home i'm mostly done.

last couple i did drag out i never hung them up once home, i just did it like in the field. Skinned one side, cut off the meat, roll over and repeat.

the meat does not have to be hanging on the carcass to age

I hang them by the hind legs, skin and bone while hanging, when done nothing left hanging but the Skeleton.I take the head off first so drains just fine.Don't know why I do it this way , just how I learned and yes I am from the south :) Pappy

head up

Feet up head down

By the hind hocks.

So far I have hung them by the hind hocks, skinned and deboned from posterior to neck. I may try to do it the other way, just to see if it matters. I WISHED Texas would pull their head from their rear ends and let us debone in camp. "No final processing of animals in camp, until it reaches it's final destination." So it is illegal to debone in the field, or in camp. remind you here it is not uncommon to have temps well into the 90's during archery season. Sure would be good if we could process sooner.

-Bones

Same as Zbone. And I'm from western NY. (north). My dad worked in a butcher shop when he was a kid, so maybe that's where he learned.

Always by the neck ( butt hole cut out ), for a week with the hide on, in a walk-in cooler.

Head up for me.

Not hanging sideways, I promise.

Head up to let meat firm up a day and then head down to skin and butcher.

Head down to skin. Put the meat in a big ice chest. Crack the lid and leave in a frig for 4-6 days. Change out the water in the cooler a couple times then process.

Cody, if you were in N.C. you'd get a Gold Star on your chart for processing that deer on site...even where it lays. Last I looked N.C. has had 10 cases of CWD in 5 counties in the last couple years. It is now illegal to move bone-in deer carcasses from any "primary" county(where it's been found) or any surrounding "secondary" county (where none has been found) and about half the state. It appears Texas has had 270 cases in the last 11 years and this stuff has been moving from the west coast to east for 60 years. Would Texas care to swap Wildlife Resources Commissions?

Loose...and to the left!

If they make it home whole it’s head down.

If they make it home whole it’s head down.

Head down for me.

By hind legs with a gamble , hide down , less hair on meat, cut head off, take wind pipe out deer drains that way, hose down with water if too bloody. What ever way makes you Happy

Head down, way easier. Can put ice jugs in chest cavity to keep cool. If you cut up and put in cooler to age, use block ice verses bag ice. Way cleaner, can sub out jugs to keep cool, etc. I can only imagine what meat tastes like soaked in bloody water for a time.

Years ago a butcher showed me that once you break the legs loose with a knife you can completely skin a deer hung by the hocks by simply pulling and punching. Deer hides are not particularly tightly attached.

going to be doing it all on the tailgate of the truck, hopefully easier on the wife and me.

Hang by hind leg so heat rises out of it, then skin it hanging same way. I tried the head method once and had hair all over that deer.

"Hang by hind leg so heat rises out of it, then skin it hanging same way."

X2!

If you are pulling the hide down and the exposed meat is above it how do you get more hair on the animal? Having said that I do it your way Jack. Head down

JR where you start with head up the hair is longer than on the legs and I ended up with hair all over the meat that took forever to remove.

A propane torch will zap any and all hair off a carcass.

He is still hanging out in the woods

Season doesn’t start till October 7 th

Head down. Hang it by the hind legs. Skin it while it’s still warm.

Head down here. Hang as long as temps allow.

Used to be head down until I learned how to use a rope and a rock to dehide. No more holding up innards while I open the chest cavity...

I still like head down afterwards for deboning at camp. Otherwise myself and a friend usually just keep the quarters cold and butcher them at the fire station kitchen table after "normal business hours".

And yes, fresh, fried backstrap, mashed taters, biscuits and gravy is always welcome among the crew.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here