The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Hunt

View Poll Results: Field dressing: split the pelvis yes or no?
Yes 18 40.91%
No 26 59.09%
Voters: 44. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old August 1, 2007, 02:56 PM   #1
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
Field Dressing: Split the pelvis or not?

How many here split the pelvis of deer and like animals and how many leave the pelvis intact?

I leave it intact and cut around the relevant orifices/organs removing the digestive/excretory tract in one piece from throat to tail without splitting the bone. Anyone else do it this way?
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:02 PM   #2
FirstFreedom
Junior member
 
Join Date: May 31, 2004
Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A.
Posts: 12,451
Heck no. BTDT, and it's too much work. If you hatchet it, you get bone fragments flying everywhere. As I'm sure you know, if you take a sharp knife and cut up inside the the ham, you can pretty easily cut all around the ball joint of the hip socket and release the ham from the pelvis. Much less grief.

As far as exactly what you describe, I'm not sure I understand, but no I do not think that I do it that way. More of a willy nilly, cut here, gut there until the digestive tract is out. And yes I've cut & spilled the bladder and the meat still tasted fine, near as I can tell.
FirstFreedom is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:06 PM   #3
Fremmer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 19, 2005
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 3,482
Doesn't that mean that the last part of the intestine (rectum??) gets pulled out of the top (anterior?) part of the pelvis bone, thereby depositing whatever feces is left in the last couple of inches of intestine into the body cavity?

I was taught that you should split the pelvic bone so that the last couple of inches of intestine can be pulled out. But if I'm wrong, please let me know, because splitting the pelvic bone is my least favorite part of guttin'.
Fremmer is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:10 PM   #4
support_six
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 29, 2000
Location: Richland, WA
Posts: 678
I voted no, but you guys in hot climates where you can't get your deer cool fast enough, need to split the pelvis to get more cooling capacity. Just carry a small, folding saw – not much bigger, and no more heavy than a folding knife.
support_six is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:22 PM   #5
ZeroJunk
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 14, 2006
Location: Browns Summit NC
Posts: 2,589
I seldom gut one anymore.I cut all the meat off the hams and shoulders and then cut the loins out.Sometimes I will cook a neck roast.I'm sure somebody will make an issue out of the tenderloins,but it is a lot of mess for very little meat.I have done it every which way and can't see much difference whether you cool it or not.

If I do gut one I cut the pelvis with a bone saw.
ZeroJunk is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:38 PM   #6
Doyle
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 20, 2007
Location: Rainbow City, Alabama
Posts: 7,167
I agree - too hot to gut here in FL. Drag/carry it to where you can hang it. Skin down to the neck. Cut off the shoulders. Cut off the backstraps. Cut and reach in to pull out the tenderloins. Use your knife to pull off any little trim pieces you might have left behind on the carcass so far. Then, cut off the hams and let the carcass drop onto the ground. The meat goes strait to the cooler, the carcass goes off to the nearest cow pasture for the buzzards. If you are good, the whole process takes only about 20 minutes.
Doyle is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:44 PM   #7
davlandrum
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 27, 2006
Location: Lane County Oregon
Posts: 2,547
My buddy, who was my teacher on field dressing, taught me to do it without splitting - said it would reflect poorly on my skills if I split the pelvis (even though we both acknowledge it would be a lot easier). We each carry a specific knife for cutting the anus out - called, of course, the a**hole knife. So I do it the same way I think you described - basically all in one connected gut pile.

One of those traditions that make it great. "If Dad did it, and Dad's Dad did it, and his Dad did it..."
davlandrum is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:46 PM   #8
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
My procedure or a rough outline anyway....

If it's a buck I cut behind the penis/urehtra and skin it down to where you can see the urethra going back up into the pelvis. Then I cut around the urethra/anus as one unit and free it up. If it's a doe I do the same thing minus the obvious. Once it moves freely within the pelvis I open the body cavity and split the sternum. I cut the esophagus/windpipe as high as I can reach and cut the diaphragm muscle all the way around. Then I just pull from the esophagus downward and everything comes out as one pile. The urethra and testicles thread up through the pelvis and out. Nothing gets cut or spilled.

Pelvis is intact.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:56 PM   #9
dustoff
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 19, 2006
Location: Cambria County, PA
Posts: 114
I was taught to split the pelvis. Everyone I hunt with does the same. I was unaware that others did not do so. How do you pull the last couple inches of the intestine out without spilling it if you do not split the bone. I split the bone then cut the skin around the opening to cleanly remove all the guts without making a huge mess. Another question I have is do you split the chest all the way up to the neck? I do this because it is easier to remove everything and I have no interest in getting the head mounted. Of course if I where to have a head mounted I would not split the whole way up.
dustoff is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:57 PM   #10
ZeroJunk
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 14, 2006
Location: Browns Summit NC
Posts: 2,589
I don't see any good way to cut the pelvis until after he is gutted anyway.I saw it apart but the rectum and colon are long gone by then.
ZeroJunk is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 03:58 PM   #11
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
Quote:
Heck no. BTDT, and it's too much work. If you hatchet it, you get bone fragments flying everywhere. As I'm sure you know, if you take a sharp knife and cut up inside the the ham, you can pretty easily cut all around the ball joint of the hip socket and release the ham from the pelvis. Much less grief.
I go one even better than that when I'm quartering one out myself (most of mine go to the processor these days, unless I kill a little one). I take my knife and cut away the meat around the ball joint and then around the "knee?" I then connect those two cuts with one along the femur. Peel that around and you have a boneless ham ready for freezing or cutting into steaks. I haven't used a bonesaw on anything other than antlers in the last five years or so.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 04:01 PM   #12
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
Quote:
I was taught to split the pelvis. Everyone I hunt with does the same. I was unaware that others did not do so. How do you pull the last couple inches of the intestine out without spilling it if you do not split the bone. I split the bone then cut the skin around the opening to cleanly remove all the guts without making a huge mess. Another question I have is do you split the chest all the way up to the neck? I do this because it is easier to remove everything and I have no interest in getting the head mounted. Of course if I where to have a head mounted I would not split the whole way up.
The best answer to your question I guess is that my father in law refers to my procedure as "hemmorhoid surgery". It takes some skill with a blade but you can cut the anus/urethra/sexual organs away from the pelvis entirely and never break them open. They all come out in one piece from throat to tail. No spillage.

Yes I split the sternum all the way to the neck. That way I can cut the esophagus well away from the stomach.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 04:22 PM   #13
fisherman66
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2005
Location: The Woodlands TX
Posts: 4,677
I have always split the pelvis. I'll try it the other way next time for shhits and giggles. I wonder if you are giving up any flavor by getting the meat off the bone.
__________________
la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!
fisherman66 is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 04:27 PM   #14
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
I tried splitting the pelvis once just for ----'s and giggles. For me that was the one time I broke the bladder.

Not sure about the flavor issue. I never have tried cooking a bone in roast or bone in steaks with deer. Good question.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 04:34 PM   #15
fisherman66
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2005
Location: The Woodlands TX
Posts: 4,677
As I understand it aging has two distinct parts. One is for using the bones as a frame to stretch the muscles after than relax (several hours after riggor lets go). The other is for flavor; as the marrow leaches out (sumthin like that).
__________________
la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!
fisherman66 is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 04:38 PM   #16
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
I did not know that.

Most of mine go to the processor these days anyway and hang in his cooler for 5 days on the bone.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 04:47 PM   #17
fisherman66
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2005
Location: The Woodlands TX
Posts: 4,677
I have mine quartered and cooled inside an hour. I usually finish the processing when I get home (anywhere from 8 hours to 3-5 days). I keep it on ice, but wrapped and off of water. I hear people say to soak it in water all the time. I don't buy a lick of it. I keep the water away using barrel liners. The only time I had a problem with "gamy taste" was back when I didn't have a vacuum sealer and had a problem with frostbite.

I haven't been religious with aging. It really depends on when I get home. I don't like to leave full coolers sitting around so I start cutting right after I shower. Getting it cool fast however is always a very high priority.
__________________
la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!
fisherman66 is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 05:00 PM   #18
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
I do 90% of my hunting within an hour of home and the processor I use is 1.5 miles from my house. If I go down east for a multi-day hunt I do basically what you describe. Quartered and on ice OUT OF THE WATER. I wholeheartedly agree with not soaking it.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 05:04 PM   #19
NRA4life
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 2001
Location: WA
Posts: 183
No splitting here either. I cut around the pipes and pull them through intact with the guts. I noticed a long time ago when people split it, there's more meat that gets wasted and you get more hair on the meat back there.
NRA4life is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 05:37 PM   #20
Charles S
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 29, 2002
Location: North East Texas
Posts: 950
After a friend of mine taught me how to remove the intestines without splitting the pelvis I no longer split it.

Although I agree that leaving the meat on the bone if you are able to cool it quickly provides more tender meat and a better overall flavor. I generally have to sacrifice the pelvis in order to cool the meat quickly.
__________________
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
Charles S is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 06:17 PM   #21
Trapper L
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2006
Location: South Texas
Posts: 804
I'm not sure I understand why anybody thinks splitting the pelvis bone is hard. Just put two fingers inside the hole and you will feel a ridge. Put the ridge between your fingers, put your knife between your two fingers on the ridge, which is cartilage, and pull up. You can do it with a dull pocket knife. No saw, no axe, and it cuts easy. Try it sometime.
Trapper L is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 06:23 PM   #22
Charles S
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 29, 2002
Location: North East Texas
Posts: 950
Quote:
I'm not sure I understand why anybody thinks splitting the pelvis bone is hard.
I agree it is not hard..,but it is also not necessary.

For that matter, if you know what you are doing it is not necessary to field dress the animal.
__________________
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
Charles S is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 06:23 PM   #23
rantingredneck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,728
I don't not do it because it's hard to do. I don't do it because it is unnecessary.

As a side note, when I get to my processor he's very happy that the pelvis isn't broken. Gives us something to hang onto as we're hefting the deer up onto the meathooks in his cooler.
rantingredneck is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 08:36 PM   #24
Kreyzhorse
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 12, 2006
Location: NKY
Posts: 12,463
It is totally unnecessary to split the pelvis. You don't have to cut the throat to let it bleed or even cut off the tarsil glands.

You don't even have to eat the heart from the first deer your kill, although it's highly recommended.
__________________
"He who laughs last, laughs dead." Homer Simpson
Kreyzhorse is offline  
Old August 1, 2007, 09:07 PM   #25
ConcealCarryNY
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2007
Location: Owego, N.Y.
Posts: 218
Non splitter here. Cut around the anus area and grab hold of that thing then tie it off with the always present piece of bailing twine and Voila no poo in the meat. Hang it in the old man's barn for a few days then pull the skin off using the golf ball/4 wheeler method and butcher away.
__________________
"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have." Theodore Roosevelt, 1903
http://defendthedefenders.org/current.php
ConcealCarryNY is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11999 seconds with 8 queries