Heads Up! Thumbs Down -- How to hang a Deer

The deer comes in to the cleaning area on the back of the truck. I attach a heavy chain noose around the neck ( I substitute a 2" strap if I'm going to have taxidermy done.) A heavy block and tackle is attached to the chain and the rope is attached to the truck. When the truck drives off, the deer goes up in the air.

The deer is left hanging with its back legs just off the ground. A concrete mixing vat is placed underneath. When I gut, gravity causes everything to fall out into the vat, and out and away from the body. The last step, removing the anus and splitting the pelvis is done after the carcass is lowered back to the ground.

Once the carcass is back on the ground, the gut vat is removed. At this point, I usually hoist the deer back up, bring in the truck and lower the carcass in. I run it over to the processor and leave it with the hide on. The processor may be backed up, and if I have to leave it in a pile, I want the hide on to protect it. If I am going to butcher it myself, I remove the chain and put a gambrel on the back legs and hoist the carcass back up and skin out.

As I see it, gutting head up gives you an advantage of letting gravity pull everything out for you, leaving you to just seperate the viscera from its attachment. Head down has the advantage of being the optimal way to skin, or to hang if you want minimal damage to the cape.

I keep the whole kit: block and tackle, rope, chain, and gambrel in a backpack in case I get a big one like I did this year. Normally I gut-out after I'm back at the house, right at the meat pole. However, the big buck this year was too heavy to schlep out of the bottoms, and I just hooked the B&T to a tree and did it all right where he fell.