a step by step picture guide to gralloching deer

[langouroux 14]

Hi evrybody,

 

does any one have anything like this? or know where i can get something?

[bob.243 7,806]

Have a look at this.

 

http://wireviz.tripod.com/id3.html

Edited December 17, 2009 by bob.243

[john robbo 30]

This is a fairly useful series BUT mentions nothing about external or internal checks which should be performed before during and after the gralloch.

You really are better watching a proper gralloch if anyone will take you out and show you one.

It is preciecly this type of gralloch the dsc2 is to prevent.

No considerations to the carcass has been given to it entering the food chain.

Edited December 17, 2009 by john robbo

[iamduvern 62]

 

 

 

Take a peep at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqvywzSQ7Po 

 

Plenty on you tube

 

 

[langouroux 14]

cheers lads.

[black lab 3]

Hi evrybody,

 

does any one have anything like this? or know where i can get something?

 

Hi, If your not to sure go into "Deer Commission for Scotland" and go into Gralloching 1-2 it will show you in good details what to do and to look out for, hope this helps you out.

[wireviz 8]

I put that series of pictures up a long long time ago in fact they were taken in the late nineteen eighties so while it is the method used most commonly in the field to day it dose not really meet with the very modern best practice guide so sorry lads i cant remove it as that site is now just floating about in cyber space.

[bullmastiff 615]

Hopefully I'll be able to show you when your up here next time.

Didn't your DSC1 tutor show you how to gut and skin your kill?

To be honest you'll probably find your own way of doing it, everyone seems to do things slightly differantly.

As the guy on the video above said, it's basically a tube. Seal both ends and remove from the middle. It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you don't split the tube!

 

Just be prepared for a long haul to start with! the first will probably take you about an hour! fiddling about with the knife trying to cut everything and doing it slowly and gently. The more you do the quicker and more efficient you'll get.

 

Personally I find it easier to do on the floor rather than hung up like in the video (although he probably just did that to help with filming???)

Also I don't like to remove the rear hooves and hang the deer on hooks by the tendons on the back legs, I find the skin and flesh around the hole dry's out and can waste the bottom portion of meat. I hang them for skinning with bailer twine around the back feet then brace the feet apart with a piece of wood. Obviously anything we get is for personal consumption and not going to a game dealer so we don't have to worry so much about Hygiene regs.

 

All the best mate and keep us updated on your first outing.

[langouroux 14]

hello bully,

 

 

yer the dsc lv 1 does show you but as everyone does it differently im interested to find out how loads of other people do it, plus the guy that done was seriously fast!

[bullmastiff 615]

Hey up mate,

I'm surprised he only showed you rather than letting you have a go? He may well be a good stalker but he doesn't sound like a very good teacher?

The keeper that taught me, talked me through two or three gralloch's before supervising me doing my own.

 

I'm guessing anything you shoot will just be for personal consumption to start with? and as you don't have a chiller/larder to store carcases in then you'll be jointing it up straight away?

If this is the case then just gut it almost as you would a rabbit. As you'll be taking it straight off the bone there's no need to worry about bum cutting etc!

 

If it's for Personal Consumption and jointing almost straight away

You can just remove the head to bleed it out (unless you want the skull?) then run the knife down to the top of the chest and free the wind pipe etc. then tie off the oesophagus against the wind pipe (I find cable ties work quite well and can be removed easily afterwards). Kneel over the chest with the front legs under your heels or kneel on the back legs and split it open from the bottom of the rib cage to the lower belly, cut open the Diaphragm and reach in (depending on your shot watch out for broken ribs) and pull the wind pipe through. Pull this lot outside the body cavity then free the intestine all the way to the opening in the pelvis. Grab the pipes going into the pelvis cavity and pull, Hard. Most of it will pull through then snap off, job done.

 

Or if like me you like to keep the lights and Liver then just remove the head to bleed, then split the abdomen as above, then grab the tube where it enters through the Diaphragm under the liver and squeezing hard to seal the pipe you rip it out, anything above this point is almost all fresh vegetation so won't do any harm whilst you get it home, then gut as above but leaving the lights, liver etc fixed in the cavity until you get home.

Think of it more as a 'losing weight for carrying and less waste to put in the bin at home' exercise than a 'by the book for the public sector' exercise.

You can also take off the front legs at the second joint from the hoof if you want.

Then straight back home for skinning, jointing and freezing.

 

A couple of tips I thought of that helped me,

Use differant knives for differant jobs, get your gutting knife as sharp as you can then only use it on skin/flesh. Joint out with a differant knife.

When cutting open the abdomen to gut the deer, you get told to put your fingers in the cavity palm down to push the gut away from the blade but this can sometimes be hard work lifting your fingers against the skin (to give some room for the blade), I put my whole hand in palm up and run the knife between my index and second finger so in essence I'm pulling up on the skin rather than pushing down on the gut.

When skinning fresh, occasionally they can be a bugger to 'fist' the skin off if your fairly small (like me) or the skin is slippery from blood etc. Once you've done the back legs, cut two small holes in the skin, make two loops of baler Twine and feed through the holes in the skin. Now put a piece of dowel through each end of the loop and Voilà! you have handles to pull on!!!

 

I hope at least a bit of this helps you out.

 

All the best.