Field Dressing

Why speed and cleanliness matter

Field dressing removes the guts so the carcass loses heat fast and bacteria from the gut don’t reach the meat. Do it as soon as possible after the kill ^{1 2}. Contamination is the most common mistake hunters make, and once fecal or stomach contents touch the meat, they can’t be fully cleaned off.

What to carry ²: a sharp knife, a small hatchet or saw, a whetstone or steel, several feet of rope, 6-in. rubber bands or string, paper towels or clean cloths, sealable food-grade bags, disposable gloves, clean water, and a cooler of ice for the trip home.

Gloves: wear disposable gloves, wash hands and arms before and after, and clean the knife often between cuts with clean water or alcohol wipes ¹.

The cuts

Tie a leg to a tree with 6-8 ft of rope, or prop the deer on its back with logs or rocks, so the cavity stays open ¹.

1. Start at the bottom of the breastbone with a shallow cut, lifting skin and belly muscle together ¹.
2. Open the belly: blade facing up, two fingers in a V on either side of it pushing the guts away, cut along the midline to the pelvis without piercing the entrails ¹.
3. Remove the reproductive organs, with as small an opening as practical ¹.
4. Open the chest: cut forward from the breastbone and split the rib cage at the breastbone, with a small saw on a large deer ¹.
5. Pelvis and anus: continue from the pelvis to the anus, split the pelvic bone with a saw, cut carefully around the urethra without severing it, then cut around the anus, tie it off with a rubber band or string, and pull it into the body cavity ¹. Pinch the bladder shut and cut it free carefully so it doesn’t spill.
6. Diaphragm: hold the ribs open, reach in, and cut the diaphragm free from the rib cage down to the backbone, avoiding the stomach and intestines ¹.
7. Windpipe and esophagus: reach up into the chest and cut them as far forward as you can ¹.
8. Roll the deer on its side and spill out the entrails, loosening connective tissue as needed ¹.

Heart, liver, and warning signs

Put the heart and liver in a resealable food bag and chill them ¹. Look at the organs as they come out: if they smell offensive, show greenish discharge, black blood, or blood clots, or anything else looks abnormal, don’t eat the meat and dispose of the carcass properly ^{2 1}. Don’t take a deer that looked sick or acted strangely (see Chronic Wasting Disease and Testing).

Clean up the cavity

Prop the cavity open with a clean stick, remove any dirt, hair, feces, and bloodshot meat, drain blood, and wipe it out with paper towels ^{1 2}. If you rinse it with clean water, dry it quickly; a wet cavity spoils faster ².

Gut-shot: field dress immediately, trim away anything contaminated with a clean knife, cleaning the knife often, wash only if needed and dry thoroughly, and prop it open ¹. Don’t age a gut-shot deer ².

Cooling and hauling

• Chill fast: aim to get the carcass surface to 40 °F or below within 24 hours ². If the air is above 40 °F, put ice or snow in sealed bags into the cavity and tie it shut ^{2 1}.
• Keep it shaded and ventilated. Don’t tie a deer on the hood or roof or shut it in a trunk, where it warms up ².
• Skin and refrigerate below 40 °F as soon as you reach home or camp ¹, and always skin it before taking it to a processor ¹.
• Follow Wisconsin’s registration and tagging rules for the season.

Try it

Before the season, pack a field-dressing kit in a gallon bag: gloves, knife, small saw, rope, rubber bands, paper towels, two food-grade bags, and alcohol wipes. Walk through the eight steps on paper with the diagram until you can say them in order.

What to take from this

Field dress immediately, with gloves and a frequently cleaned knife. Open from the breastbone to the pelvis with the blade up and two fingers guarding the guts, split the breastbone and pelvis, tie off and pull the anus through, free the diaphragm, cut the windpipe, and roll out the entrails. Bag the heart and liver, reject the carcass if the organs look or smell wrong, wipe the cavity dry, and chill it to 40 °F within 24 hours, with ice in warm weather, out of the sun and off the hood.