Learning to Field Dress

My son Kolton had just taken an old doe as light was fading. We literally had only minutes of legal shooting time remaining when the doe first appeared. The hunt had gone down to the wire. We had to leave immediately which left little time to field dress the deer.

Our guide graciously offered to do the field dressing but I insisted that I could do it quicker. My guide took offense and seemed to take this as some kind of challenge. Kolton smiled and asked the guide, “how long does it take you to field dress a deer?” His answer was somewhat vague being between 5 and 10 minutes. “My Daddy can do it in less than two minutes. Show him Daddy,” said Kolton.

I have had a lot of practice and it really doesn’t take a full two minutes if you have the right tools. I grabbed my Gerber Big Game Cleaning Kit, which consists of 4 tools (a hand axe, a folding knife with gut hook, a folding saw and a knife sharpener). With Kolton holding the deer’s leg, I made my first incision and in one minute 45 seconds, the job was complete. The guide was shocked. I felt pretty good because it really impressed Kolton.

The truth is, it doesn’t take long to field dress a deer as long as you have the proper tools. Unfortunately, this task cannot be shown on our television program due to the graphic nature of the video. Yet all outdoorsmen and women can learn how to improve on their in-field care of animals. Remember, the better care you give the meat in the field, the better the meat will be on the table. Field dressing a deer intimidates a lot of hunters, and this alone will prevent them from hunting.

In an effort to help hunters become more efficient with field dressing deer, we have a video of the above mentioned doe being cared for on our website. It will give you a good idea of how to make the task much more efficient.

Now I need to make sure and step aside this season and allow my son to master this skill. The last time he did it was something we will never forget. But I am confidant that equipped with the proper tools and enough experience, even a young boy can quickly and cleanly master the task of field dressing. To view this field dressing video log on to keithwarren.net.