HANG FROM THE HEAD NOT THE BACK LEG;S

[Pydpiper]

Head up for me too! Don't know why, I guess I did my first deer like that, it came out perfect and now it is the only way I know.

[saxman]

I've done it both ways but I hang from the hind legs most of the time
It's how I was taught and what I'm used to
However depending on what I shoot I may not hang it at all but put it in a gutting/skinning rack that put's the deer horizontal about 4 feet up

[roly]

Back legs

JMO ,I feel the blood drains down to the least desired cuts
and to me it is easyer to dismantle the sections of the deer

[raydaughety]

I've done it both ways but I hang from the hind legs most of the time
It's how I was taught and what I'm used to
However depending on what I shoot I may not hang it at all but put it in a gutting/skinning rack that put's the deer horizontal about 4 feet up

I agree with you Scott. We set them in a wooden "craddle" about waist high so that you can start the skinning process, open the brisket....ect, then hang em by the back legs for the rest.

[Tar Heel]

as a butcher my whole life .if i shot a deer in wet weather i will gut it and hang it by the head for one day to let bthe hide dry out and the cavity to drain as i rinse them with cold fresh water .once dry i hang them by the back legs to let them strech out and age .the hide will pull off a deer if it is hanging by its back legs .walk in to a butcher shop and see how many animals are hanging by the head . the reason for hanging them upside down when wet is becoues the cooler has to work way to hard to cool the animal if the hide is wet .this is the way it has been done by pros fore many many years and i donot see this changoing any time soon.gamberals will not work well aroung the neck DUTCH

Dutch I have hung and skinned both ways for 42 years even pulling the hide off with my truck and it never dawned on me that a deer would dry
faster hanging by the head the water draining with the grain of the hair instead of against it you never get too old to learn.
Tar Heel

[OneShot]

We have been hanging deer by it's head for display- only and it is said to drain the blood off too; until when it is time to skin reverse them.

That is the way it was done by our grand parents; which were "Dual" citizens and they survived that way-- so we should too!!!!!!!!!!

oneshot.........

[MADMAX2]

This is how we skin

[casper]

Back legs. I don't like the idea of the head juice running down into the meat.

[Farmer]

I like to gut them and hang my deer from the back legs . When gutting gravity does all the hard work cleaning out the abdomenal cavity .

[Undertaker]

After one has arrowed and field dressed an animal....it has bled out MOST of the way. During transport....it will bleed some more. Later....it will drip some. But there is no longer any large flowing of blood. Besides, some blood isn't bad.

I always figured that the idea behind the gambrel wasn't so you could hang it upside down. No, don't think it was invented to do that. It was designed to hold the cavity wide open so the cool air could circulate around inside the cavity. This is more efficient at cooling the meat because the hide isn't in the way. So you could hang them by the neck until dead, and then wedge a stick inside the cavity, holding it open, and accomplish the same thing.

But then again....what do undertakers know about such things.

BTW- 40 degrees is probably going to be the best temperature to hang them at. Too much colder than that and it just freezes. Too much warmer and it could spoil on you. Also, try to keep the meat from touching/pressing against anything. You expend alot of money and effort obtaining the flesh, might as well handle it best you can to get the most out of it.

[awshucks]

I'd of named this thread "Heads or Tails". I've done them both ways, currently hang them by the head so I can skin w/ 4 whlr. I have to admit it's easier to work on the rear 1/4's w/ them hanging on a gambrel.

In my neck of the woods, it can and usually is real warm in early deer season, so time is of the essence for me. I don't even field dress them as I have to get the meat in the fridge asap most of the time. I have special 'meat only' buckets just for this. I can reach in behind the last rib and lift the tenderloins like a pick pocket, lol.

Back in good ol Illinois, it was cold enough I could let them hang a while to age the meat.

[shawnhunts]

I hang mine head up while I wash out the cavaty, I then hang with head down so the blood can puddle in the head (which I wont eat) instead of the choice cuts !!

[B-Logger]

I've hung them both ways but my preferred way is head down. It is much easier skinning the animal this way, at least for me. I also hang them before I gut them. Makes gutting pretty easy.

[DuckHunt]

I almost always gut them on the ground where they lay before I ever move them. Might as well shed 20% or more of the weight before dragging. Once home I always hang it head down from a gambrel. There is very little blood left by that point anyway. I also process them immediately. The only deer I've taken that has ever had the hide on overnight are the ones I don't recover till the next morning. A complete hunt for me takes the deer from hoof to freezer before bedtime that same day.

DuckHunt

[bbbwb]

As Duckhunt has stated I gut an animal at kill site.Only wash cavity in those cases when stomach/intestinal organs have been broken . Transport to hunt camp or home, whatever, and hang by back legs to skin. Skinning hot is a whole lot easier. Make sure windpipe etc are completely removed after removing head to allow for drainage. Prop open cavity with stick for cooling. With the back legs cut off just below the hocks, use 2 fitted baby crib sheets hung over the leg stubs on each side of gambrel, front and back and leave carcass to hang and cool - providing temperature permits. I have left carcass hang in my garage (unheated) when temp outside is at freezing and below without the meat freezing. I will hang a thermometer in the vicinity to monitor temp. Butchering will follow as dictated by the weather. Have never had any wasted meat and sheets provide a covering to keep carcass/meat clean. I like the meat to cool and firm up before butchering if possible,but have butchered "hot" when unable to leave. Have also used a small table fan on low speed to assist in the cooling.
Having never had experience with hanging by head, it has been interesting to read the comments.
The main point is to practice good handling methods of game taken for meat to avoid the loss of any meat and being able to put a good meat product on the table for anyone to eat. This is the responsibility I have as a hunter.

bbbwb