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Hanging Deer

Thanks. I just never done it with skin on. Just need to get it above dog height. It’s in the backyard. Might get a call from the neighbors in the morning.


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Hang ours here for at least 3 days if temps are below 40 outside...
 
Would you close the cavity by wrapping it in cheese cloth to keep anything like bugs out?


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Just remember, if you're ever going to hang the deer in your garage you should probably mention it to your family. My daughter still brings up the time she went in the garage to get something, turned on the light and found herself face-to-face with a field-dressed 6pt.
 
Kurt said:
Now the question is do you hang it head up, or by the back legs using a gambrel?
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I prefer head up unless I am caping for a mount then back legs with a gambrel. Honestly I don't think it makes any difference. I can skin and clean it quicker with head up as that is how we always did it growing up. I don't kill that many that I am mounting so I don't get much practice with hanging by the back legs.
 
cspot said:
I prefer head up unless I am caping for a mount then back legs with a gambrel. Honestly I don't think it makes any difference. I can skin and clean it quicker with head up as that is how we always did it growing up. I don't kill that many that I am mounting so I don't get much practice with hanging by the back legs.
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I got yelled at by my father in law an ex butcher and meat cutter once for hanging it head up. Something about blood flow and making the meet tougher. He said, head down 100% of the time, with the cavity slightly propped open for air flow.
 
I wonder what blood is flowing/draining in the hams or large muscles once the animal is dead? I hang from the head so drainage from the cavity flows out the bottom. I only take out what esophagus I can reach when I'm field dressing, which is about a hand hold above the heart. I remove the rest after I'm done hanging and start processing. Never experienced rot or spoilage leaving it in. But it would collect residual blood from draining out of the cavity if I hung it head down. Plus I don't own a gambrel.
 
IMO I think it's better to hang legs up because the best cuts of meat are in the hind end and with it up high it will not be exposed to residual blood or foreign matter dripping down and collecting in the pelvic area and contaminating/spoiling the meat. Pretty sure the meat industry does it this way for a reason albeit one I can only guess as to why.
 
I know in the initial stage of slaughter animals are stunned and shackled by a hind leg and then stuck and hoisted so they can bleed out. Their transferred to a gambrel after that, it may just be easier to keep them hanging by the back legs to finish the processing. The last part is the splitting of the carcass, it's helpful to have an attachment point on each half. They also have the tendon on the back legs that make it easier to hang them by. Blood can't collect in the pelvic area if it's properly cored in the field dressing stage. If you don't overly expose the hind quarters during field dressing they should remain covered and protected by the hide. The interior of the pelvis is protected by the pelvic bone which when cut away during processing exposing fresh meat on the inside portions of the hind quarters. I'm thinking that at the point that we get them hanging either way would work. If someone could say for certain that one way is better than the other meat quality wise not just carcass management wise it would be have to be a consideration. Maybe the differences in hanging posture are just handed down, and or copied from the meat industry in some cases. Maybe someone with computer skills could conduct a poll , with a short explanation of why on the forum and see if there are any regional trends, or if it's mostly handed down.
 
Be ok, just have fun time etting the hide off.

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