# Who does the dirty work?



## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

I use to hunt a 1000 acers on Lake Houston. I was a good host & would bring some buddy's hunting. I'd tell em what to kill but they never listened .I'd hear him shoot & start thinking here we go another BS buck that shouldn't of been shot. Well 9 x's out of 10 I was right. But to top it off they never had a clue on how to clean the beast .Whats ya'lls story?


----------



## Earl (May 20, 2004)

If I'm going on a packaged or paid for hunt, I usually expect it to be part of the services offered by the outfitter/guide - and certainly don't mind it being an extra "fee" service.

If I'm hunting as a guest somewhere - then unless the person I'm hunting with says in advance that they will take care of it I allways assume it's my responsibility.

But there are alot of hunters that don't know how. I used to hunt a particular day lease outside of Victoria and every opening weekend there would be more than a few bloated/rigger stiff deer picked up at the end of the hunts because the hunter didn't know (or care) to dress the animal themself. Sure would have hated to eat those.

Earl


----------



## Ruff (May 21, 2004)

I always ask guests about their level of hunting experience. By the time I reach the lease I know what I have to deal with.

If they have never cleaned a deer, I make them help/watch so they can do it on their own the next time.

Ruff


----------



## aussieexpat (Jul 31, 2009)

I have hunted with a guy for 14 years who still doesn't field dress his own deer. He will pay someone $25 to gut it so he can take it to the processor.


----------



## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

I am the guy that has no lease (at least not this year), but when I go as a guest, I look like a hobo. I have my own rope, single tree w/pulley, 5 knifes, 5 gallons of water, trash bags, ziplocks, ice......


----------



## gordaflatsstalker (Jul 3, 2008)

My cousin just got into hunting a couple of years ago and doesn't know to clean deer. Our deal is that I will clean his deer if he lets me shoot a buck. I've killed the best deer on his leases the last 4 years in a row. When my wife shot her first deer last year, I made her help me clean it. I usually show someone that doesn't know and ask them to help, I made my little help me as well when she shot hers last year.


----------



## TEXAS DU SPOUS (Feb 8, 2006)

I have been hunting with a guy for 20 years. He is just so slow, I do it because it get into the drinking time.


----------



## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

TEXAS DU SPOUS said:


> I have been hunting with a guy for 20 years. He is just so slow, I do it because it get into the drinking time.


I agree I didn't want to go there but now that you brought it up.


----------



## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

I took my brother in law once because he wanted to kill a deer. He shot a nice doe and I congratulated him and handed him the knife. He looked at me and said "what am I supposed to do with this?" LOL... So I gutted it and asked him if he wanted it quartered or if he was going to take it to a processor. Then he looked at me and said "you mean you don't want it?" LOL again... I told him if I wanted deer meat I'd kill one myself or have one of the kids do it. I ended up with some extra venison that year.


----------



## Knifeman (Sep 27, 2009)

I cleaned 5 last year and only killed 1. I do not mind helping put if you are just to lazy, crack that wallet and I am there.:help::help::help:


----------



## TX CHICKEN (Jun 4, 2004)

I have a good buddy that I take hunting on a regular basis and a few years ago he asked me to take his son hunting (he was working) and he shot a small buck. I called him and he said drop it off at the processor. Well 2 months and a bunch of phone calls later he finally tells me he doesn't have the $ for processing. No big deal until a few weeks later when he asks for the backstraps and said "it doesn't cost anything for those-it's not like you had it made into sausage or jerky". ***??? I gave him nasty old freezer burned stuff instead .


----------



## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

TX CHICKEN said:


> I have a good buddy that I take hunting on a regular basis and a few years ago he asked me to take his son hunting (he was working) and he shot a small buck. I called him and he said drop it off at the processor. Well 2 months and a bunch of phone calls later he finally tells me he doesn't have the $ for processing. No big deal until a few weeks later when he asks for the backstraps and said "it doesn't cost anything for those-it's not like you had it made into sausage or jerky". ***??? I gave him nasty old freezer burned stuff instead .


Dang that's cold to ask for the straps after all that.


----------



## btreybig (Jul 3, 2008)

I killed my first deer when I was 9. My dad sat back and told me step by step on how to clean the deer when I was only 9. Every since i have been doing it on my own. If there is someone that doesnt know how to do it, sit back and tell them step by step on how to clean the deer. Unless they are just a complete idiot then it is pretty easy. Shooting the deer is only a 1/3 of the battle. Tracking and cleaning are a big part too. If your going to do it then know how to do it all.


----------



## RAYSOR (Apr 26, 2007)

We clean all of our deer, my oldest son can clean and quarter one in lightning speed, i am not as fast and sometimes will look confused just long enough yo have him come over and knock it out, LOL, then its off to the bar for a good totty! The older you get the smarter you get.


----------



## Little-bit (Oct 19, 2005)

How could someone call their self a "hunter" if they can't even clean a deer. I hunted a lease in Mason for several years. There were two guys on the lease that never cleaned their hogs or deer. They would rush them up to the processor in Llano. I offered to clean the animals for them but they wanted a professional to do it. I think any so called hunter should be able to clean their own game. Not saying that they shouldn't take animals to be processed. But if they had to then they need to know how to. IMO


----------



## A Draper (Aug 14, 2007)

Raysor, My dad caught on to that trick a long time ago. Now he helps hand and I clean. We used to host a a two day youth hunt every year. Usually the parents didn't know how to clean a deer.


----------



## br1006 (Mar 24, 2006)

Dad cleaned my first deer at age 9 but made me get in there and get dirty and help. Next one he supervised, then i have been on my own ever since. I then started cleaning his for him and his buddies in camp etc.. while they drank and cooked etc... 

Now, I probably clean, skin, quarter etc... over 100 - 150 animals year when guiding but that is part of what customers pay for. On parent / child youth hunts we encourage parents to clean animals if they know how and teach the kids. If dad does not know how it is part of our responsibility and the education process for the kids to encourage but NOT force the kids to get in there and help and learn how to do it.

I dont even think twice about cleaning them any more and it usually faster if i do it than have someone else do it!

Surprisingly enough we have some customers who want to do it themselves and that is always fine w/ me! My hands start gettings tiff and sore after a long weekend with a camp full of hunters whacking a bunch of does / hogs etc..!


----------



## Big Mike M (May 29, 2007)

I have had to clean tons of deer and hogs over the years. Pierce 2901 and I clean a lot of the deer killed on our pasture. I always bring friends and when they get to kill a deer, they are helping. Sometimes it is easier for me to do it, but they need to learn just in case I am not there. Cleaning deer does not take long and is not that hard. Make sure you have a good knife and it is sharp. I always gut the deer on the ground because it is easier that way. We have a water trough that we go to and do this. We have to gut our deer and take them to be age and scored before skinning. Ranch rules and we have to follow them.


----------



## sharkbait-tx70 (Jun 28, 2009)

I too have cleaned more than my share of game. I don't mind to much as long as the people are willing to learn. But the person who just walks off or doesn't learn will be on their own next time. I have my own place but get invited to go on large cull hunts every year. Last yr on a big cull there were 67 deer killed by 7 of us we needed to kill 80 anyway I cleaned 25 deer during that 4 days and was glad it was over. All the meat went to Hunters for the hungry....What makes me laugh is when going to a prosesor you see these guys pull in from way deap south texas with a deer strapped to bumper or in the bed of the truck with bag of ice in the cheast cavity and it is 80 degrees outside. Man you are just asking for trouble. I think if your are going to be responsable enough to hunt you should at least take care of the meat. I always qaurter my deer down and everything always goes on ice,unless it is really cold and we hang one to age it...I have a good friend who I used to cut meat with who works for a big prosesor and he told me they are starting to turn people away who don't take care of their game and bring it in hot.


----------



## Jock Ewing (Mar 26, 2006)

I just don't understand people who throw deer in the back of a truck with the cavity exposed stuffed with ice to get to the processor. All the dust and **** gets inside the meat.


----------



## Tombstone (May 19, 2009)

I learned at a early age how to clean a deer starting with my first when I was 8. The lease I hunted growing up was a family lease, and I usually had the duty of cleaning the deer for some of the old timers. It never failed for them to tell you when you were doing something wrong or thats not how they would do it, but I learned alot of good tips and tricks from that experience. I had always assumed that if you hunted, then you knew how to clean a deer, because everyone I had hunted with always did. Boy was I wrong! :headknock lol. A couple of years ago one of my good friends and my 2 roommates went to one of my roommates ranch for the weekend. They had talked about hunting and trips they had been on and such, but I didn't realize most of those were hand held hunts. lol. The last afternoon there, 3 of us killed deer. We got back to camp and none of them really new how to clean a deer. They had seen it a couple times, and my friend Zayde had helped me with his first deer the season before, but none could take one on himself. I ended up having to clean all 3 that night and then drive 3 1/2 hrs back to school.


----------



## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

tell em ahead of time whatever they shoot, they will clean and deal with for processing, it sure makes the shooting slack off....LOL

been cleaning game/deer/birds since I was 7-8, I don't mind helping, but some guy showing up in camp with a truckload of deer and hogs is on his own............


----------



## tickbird (Apr 11, 2008)

I would be afraid to hunt with people that can't clean a deer. Those are the same ones that would fire off a round into the brush because they "heard something". I have an 11 and 14 year old that better know how many points it has, how wide is it, and close to how old it is before they pull the trigger. Harvesting, not killing.


----------



## KJON (May 1, 2006)

You come and hunt with me, you clean your deer and mine. I'll cook, mix drinks and keep the fire stoked. Age and treachery overcome youth and vigor:wink:


----------



## Jock Ewing (Mar 26, 2006)

KJON said:


> You come and hunt with me, you clean your deer and mine. I'll cook, mix drinks and keep the fire stoked. Age and treachery overcome youth and vigor:wink:


That sounds like a fair trade. I would clean the cook and drink pourer's deer.

I do not mind cleaning a deer for a newbie so long as they really are interested in learning how to do it themselves. If they are not, they probably do not need to be hunting in the future unless they want to do guided pay hunts (which is fine).

I sure won't skin and quarter it for them. Too much work.


----------



## Miles2Fish (Dec 2, 2008)

I have never been deer hunting, but if you are going to harvest any animal you should man up and take care of the butchering of that animal yourself. Even if I don't go hunting I would like to learn how to dress and butcher a deer.......


----------



## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Miles2Fish said:


> I have never been deer hunting, but if you are going to harvest any animal you should man up and take care of the butchering of that animal yourself. Even if I don't go hunting I would like to learn how to dress and butcher a deer.......


Bingo!!! Right answer.


----------



## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

Rubberback said:


> I use to hunt a 1000 acers on Lake Houston. I was a good host & would bring some buddy's hunting. I'd tell em what to kill but they never listened .I'd hear him shoot & start thinking here we go another BS buck that shouldn't of been shot. Well 9 x's out of 10 I was right. But to top it off they never had a clue on how to clean the beast .Whats ya'lls story?


 9 times out of 10........and you kept bringing them....I wouldnt have given them 2 out of 3.


----------



## Blackgar (Aug 4, 2004)

I guess I'm just an a-hole. the first time I took my daughter bird hunting at 13 I showed her how to breast one & turned her loose on the rest, she probably cleaned 400 birds that night. After she shot her first deer I handed her the knife & gave her instructions. Now she can do one with her eyes closed. Both daughters help with processing & sausage makin, boy ther are some stuffin fools. I have always felt that cleaning is a part of the experience, if your gonna shoot it youre gonna clean it. !!!


----------



## jboogerfinger (Jun 16, 2009)

Heck, nowdays you can find detailed instructions on youtube. make em watch that before going. Tell them, "there will be a test later.." lol. A good way to learn is on rabbits/squirrels. basically the same thing only bigger for deer. Only diff is breaking the pelvic bone, removing the windpipe, and removing the musk glands.


----------



## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Redfishr said:


> 9 times out of 10........and you kept bringing them....I wouldnt have given them 2 out of 3.


No I didn't .


----------



## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Blackgar said:


> I guess I'm just an a-hole. the first time I took my daughter bird hunting at 13 I showed her how to breast one & turned her loose on the rest, she probably cleaned 400 birds that night. After she shot her first deer I handed her the knife & gave her instructions. Now she can do one with her eyes closed. Both daughters help with processing & sausage makin, boy ther are some stuffin fools. I have always felt that cleaning is a part of the experience, if your gonna shoot it youre gonna clean it. !!!


Wow the girls are doing it . Good I like it.


----------



## BIGBADZ71 (Sep 18, 2009)

me and my cuz have a deal when we go fishing i clean the fish and when we go hunting he cleans the deer or hogs... works out good for me becausse he only goes fishing about once a year with me...


----------



## StinkBait (May 31, 2004)

lol, I hunt with my wife so I clean EVERYTHING, she is the certified flash light holder, front leg holder, beer fetcher, water cooler operator (washing hands), cooler opener, spare knife getter etc.


----------



## ZenDaddy (May 22, 2004)

Took my boy hog hunting several years back. He was about 6 or 7 years old. I shot a good one. I turned to him and said now we have to clean it. He looked at me kind of puzzled and said, "should I get some soap?" I chuckled a bit and said nope, with a knife. I made him hold the legs while I started cleaning it.


----------



## igo320 (May 17, 2005)

Had a good client on a hunt with his 22 yo son. Dad shot a nice Axis and I told the boy to come watch me quarter it out so when/if he shot one he could do his own. (I had cleaned his game in the past) Little arse headed into the lodge and I never saw him again until it was afternoon hunting time. I told him then, if you shoot you are on your own cause this old man will be mixin drinks and stokin the fire. Pouted like a sissy and never took a shot...life is good.:cheers:


----------



## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

StinkBait said:


> lol, I hunt with my wife so I clean EVERYTHING, she is the certified flash light holder, front leg holder, beer fetcher, water cooler operator (washing hands), cooler opener, spare knife getter etc.


:biggrin:

:rotfl: X2 (at least for her) - Don't forget - cook for hot meals at camp.


----------



## fishnstringer (Oct 20, 2006)

*I pick my hunting and fishing buddies like I would my*

foxhole mate. How we treat game is based on how we are raised, like everything else in life. I don't hunt much anymore, just fish, but always loved to take game to the butchering stage. It's amazing how good venison can be, if treated right. I find some of these stories very enjoyable, and like some of you, if the killer of the game won't learn how to dress their kill, then they don't have any business killing. 
You guys have a great hunting year and thanks for staying off the bays in the meantime!:cheers:


----------



## sharkbait-tx70 (Jun 28, 2009)

I forgot to mention earlier in this thread that one of the stipulations when I got married was my wife would shoot and dress her own deer and learn how to fillet fish. Well after spending the time teaching her to shoot she shot her first deer and_ I was there step by step with her as she gut,skinned and quartered her first deer . Then she caught a 60 lb king salom while we were on vacation one yr and she learned how to fillet fish. Well I treat my son who is 6 the same way and last yr he helped gut his first deer and his first hog. It is something any responsable hunter should know how todo. I for the most part now will do it for them till my son is a lil older._


----------



## Tommy2000 (Mar 23, 2008)

The first time I hunted deer, my cousin showed me how to field dress the animal. I practiced on a couple that hunt. Two weeks later, I'm hunting with 18 guys and I think I field dressed everyone's deer. I just jumped right in and did it. They were happy to let me.
When I hunt an outfitted hunt, I still dress out my animal even though the guide is there. More practice for me.


----------



## ZenDaddy (May 22, 2004)

Started hunting relatively late in life. A certified city-boy won over by the great Texas outdoors. Got on a lease. On a Friday I split early from work. Shot my first deer. Hoped one of the other guys would show me how to clean it. Out of luck as none of them showed up. Luckily I had a copy of Field and Stream that showed how to clean a deer. I clearly remember the subscription cards falling into the chest cavity. I should point out that the processor said it was the most thoroughly cleaned deer he has ever seen!

The first thing I killed was a big old hog. The guys at the lease told me I needed to cut his head off so all the blood drained out. So they gave me a hack saw .... and I went to work. You can only guess how messy it was. The trials and tribulations of being the FNG.

Anyway - Nothing makes me happier than a cold morning in Texas cleaning a deer.


----------



## Tiny (Dec 19, 2006)

KJON said:


> You come and hunt with me, you clean your deer and mine. I'll cook, mix drinks and keep the fire stoked. Age and treachery overcome youth and vigor:wink:


Sounds like a deal! When we going?? :cheers:

Back to the original post..
I am , right now anyways, one of the bum hunters, but.. I've been hunting since I was 7, killed my first deer at 9, cleaned my first deer at 10. All the places that I get to hunt, I let the man in charge tell me what they want me to shoot and if it's not right, I don't do it.. I have passed up many of fine animals, because I was not supposed to shoot them... With that I have killed several Nerdy Lookin' Sonuvaguns as requested.. I don't take shots I can't connect with.

I took my son hunting at a 2coolers place last year. He had the opportunity to shoot a doe and/or a cull buck. The first hunt, he missed a doe. The next hunt, He could have shot a nice 3-1/2yo spike, a 5+ 7 point, or a 3-1/2 no brow tined 6, but... there were about 7 or 8 other bucks around that were young 8's and 10's.. so, I didn't want him to get confused and shoot the wrong animal... therefore we came home empty.


----------



## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

46 yrs ago I did my first field dressing, back then it used to get COLD, Happiness was a warm gutpile on a frosty morning. In the last few yrs I do all my dads and he does what I did for him before I learned >>hold the front legs up....WW


----------



## boat (Mar 7, 2005)

btreybig said:


> I killed my first deer when I was 9. My dad sat back and told me step by step on how to clean the deer when I was only 9. Every since i have been doing it on my own. If there is someone that doesnt know how to do it, sit back and tell them step by step on how to clean the deer. Unless they are just a complete idiot then it is pretty easy. Shooting the deer is only a 1/3 of the battle. Tracking and cleaning are a big part too. If your going to do it then know how to do it all.


X2. I did the same thing with my son when he was 11 and shot his first deer. He is 30 now. I still keep the pictures in my desk of him while cleaning that 1st deer. The look on his face when he was gutting that deer is priceless. Now he does it all. He always offers to clean my dear but I always tell him I'll finish what I started.


----------



## TRW (Nov 30, 2006)

tickbird said:


> I would be afraid to hunt with people that can't clean a deer. Those are the same ones that would fire off a round into the brush because they "heard something". I have an 11 and 14 year old that better know how many points it has, how wide is it, and close to how old it is before they pull the trigger. Harvesting, not killing.


This is an idiotic statement. I killed my first deer last year and my buddy showed me how to properly clean it and cape it out without messing up the cape. I am sure I could have cleaned it by myself (I have cleaned many birds and small game) but it was nice to learn a few tricks to make it easier. I am a responsible( do not shoot into bushes because I heard something) hunter and have learned alot but you can only learn so much from a book or the e-net. Luckily I have a good teacher and a friend so one day when my boy gets old enough to hunt I can pass on the knowledge I have learned to him.

TRW


----------



## br549 (Jan 17, 2006)

My Dad and Uncle taught me on my first deer at 10 and I taught my son on his first at 8. He is now 13 and cleans every deer killed on our place. Just tell him where your cooler is and he does the rest for tips. Coolest thing Ive ever seen was him teaching some older boys how to clean deer last season.


----------



## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

After reading the thread my take is we just need to be taught the correct way to care for our harvest .Also, our children seem to wanna learn & are willing to help.I even read a post that the girls are into helping.


----------



## KJON (May 1, 2006)

ZenDaddy said:


> Started hunting relatively late in life. A certified city-boy won over by the great Texas outdoors. Got on a lease. On a Friday I split early from work. Shot my first deer. Hoped one of the other guys would show me how to clean it. Out of luck as none of them showed up. Luckily I had a copy of Field and Stream that showed how to clean a deer. I clearly remember the subscription cards falling into the chest cavity. I should point out that the processor said it was the most thoroughly cleaned deer he has ever seen!
> 
> The first thing I killed was a big old hog. The guys at the lease told me I needed to cut his head off so all the blood drained out. So they gave me a hack saw .... and I went to work. You can only guess how messy it was. The trials and tribulations of being the FNG.
> 
> Anyway - Nothing makes me happier than a cold morning in Texas cleaning a deer.


Ding, Ding, best response so far, much respect and green for that one Zen!!!! Good post,,,,,, (careful what you ask for Tiny:cheers


----------



## catchysumfishy (Jul 19, 2008)

I don't hunt with people i don't care for but if someone showed up on a hunt and acted like they were gunna sit back while i cleaned their deer their arse would be by my side at least helping, i don't let game of any type ruin! I enjoy gutting and skinning and i guess it is just due to second nature of doing it since i was a tot!


----------



## brazman (Aug 22, 2006)

I went on my first deer hunt last year at age 30. Shot a young mulie buck, a friend got an 8 pt. Neither of us had ever shot or field dressed a large mammal before, so our other friend helps my buddy out with his, kinda telling him what do do and I'm watching over their shoulders while working on mine. Gutted my own, skinned both of em, and butchered both of em. Now I'm going on an exotics hunt with my dad, who oddly enough has never shot or field dressed a deer either. The student becomes the teacher ;-)

Ha, just noticed I wrote "do do" instead of to do, but it's ironically fitting, since my buddy popped a gland or something he shouldn'ta, and there was a nice little mess inside that cavity! Ew!


----------



## Johnny9 (Sep 7, 2005)

I have a friend who heads up a lease in South Texas for a group of lawyers. He charges $15 to fill their feeders, $25 to skin and quarter their game, $10 to fill their ATV or Jeep with gas. These lazy men even have game cameras on the feeders they can watch from their offices.


----------



## MarshJr. (Jul 29, 2005)

I made my wife "get in there" for her first deer kill


----------



## Txfirenfish (Jan 8, 2005)

When my 10 yr old son and I started hunting last year (he was 9 then) we had a talk about that being part of the hunting experience. If you shoot it, you clean it. I of course cleaned his first two but he wanted to do the third by himself. He did need a little help, but he did alot on his own.


----------



## Jfreeman (Nov 3, 2004)

That's what kids are for.


----------

