Do you gut in the field?

I was a gut-in-place kind of guy. However, I became a drag-it-out convert when we moved into the farm. I can radio back and have a pickup within 5 minutes. I even have one of those hitch platforms that is low-enough to the ground for me to flop 'em on. It saves on leaves and muck in the cavity.

If I still got one at the bottom of a ravine, I'd still gut it out to lighten the load. After hefting my big bruiser out last year un-gutted, I read an article about deer hunters having heart attacks, and I saw the light.

I look at it this way: no body says you've ruined the meat if you don't get to the kill right away. How long does it take to track a deer sometimes 1 hour? 2 hours? longer? So I figure I've got at least that long to get to the meat pole, as long as it isn't gut-shot. Most of my deer fall within 20 yards of the stand, and the stand is less than 100 yards from where a pickup can get in. By having a warm carcass to start with, the hide comes off soooo much easier.

I took my first doe less than 100 yards from where we processed her. That got me spoiled; If I am going to skin after gutting, I'd rather have the carcass warm. If it's early season and warm, I ice them down immediately afterwards.

Most of the time now, however, I just leave the hide on and let the processor take care of it. The deer I've taken at our farm are usually out of the woods and back to the house in under 30 minutes, and after a quick gut, over to the processor. My record was last year: I shot a doe at 6:15 PM and the processor closed at 7:30 PM. It was Sunday night, and I didn't want to miss work, waiting for the guy to open on Monday. I made it with 5 minutes to spare, including the 10 mile ride