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I was reading Red Deer in NZ by Lentle and Saxton and they say you should do a full check of the lungs, liver, kidneys and intestines before butchering a deer, even if you just take the backstraps and hind quarters. Is that what everyone does in practice, or are diseases less of a concern since this was first published?
I was going to call this thread "deer autopsy", but it's pretty clear what the cause of death would be :D
You have to dive through the guts to get those eye fillets out and so while you are at it you may as well take the liver for final dissection on your dinner plate. Some of the tastiest morsels are in that gut bag. Check that the lungs have no lesions and are not stuck to the rib cage wall and that the kidneys look good. Of course if you have put a bullet in there it could all be messy. If for any reason you want to reject the carcase, keep in mind it is always good to pass onto relatives and those that pester for a bit of wild meat.
By the way, I have a hate on for those that just take the back legs and back steaks...lazy pricks. It is their deer and they can do as they wish with it, just doesn't alter my thinking...lazy pricks.
I don't check but I probably should. Never hear of anyone getting sick. But I'm 20 so I'm as invincible as I am dumb :thumbsup:
Yeah a have general look over the organs once gutted. No weird looking spots etc.
Must be great living 5m from the kill zone @Spook ;)
Good advice, thanks all.
So you carry all the dog bones and busted front shoulders from the shot etc?? Not sure why you would, Or are you calling me lazy if i just leave eye fillets?? Bit confused. Backsteak, eye fillet and back wheels is about 60% the body weight anyway so how much are you wasting??Quote:
Originally Posted by Spook
It doesnt make you any less of a man if you leave shit behind, nor if you are barely able to get in the hills to start with (bad knee and back) so i would hate to be called lazy. I am out every weekend and clock up the miles while i still can. Yes if you shoot and only take backsteaks then i would have to agree.
Hamish
+1 spook , can understand leaving A front shoulder if the exit wound was through it and had made a mess but there is still plenty of meat in the neck along with the front shoulders for sausages patties mince etc.
I carry one of those things called a boning knife, leave a lot of unwanted pieces behind. A bit of time boning out compared to trying to carry a complete animal is worth it. About a third of those hind legs is only mince or dog food anyway, may as well bone it out and reduce the carry.Quote:
Originally Posted by HNTMAD
Like I said, it is your deer, do what you want with it.
Am with you Spook. Got a decent stag friday week ago. Took what I could carry and went back next day with a couple of helpers to carry out the rest. Was 3 hours in but I hate waste especially when I dont get that many.
It is probably worth checking for the time it would take. but i cant say i have ever noticed anything worth worrying about.
Yes, I always do a general check for lesions, and make a slice thru liver etc. I shot a pig in the Waioeka a year or so back that had lesions, so dumped the lot. Pissed me off, as it was the first pig in a long while.
I also always bone out my deer, and hang the meat to cool, then get my son to carry it out - not really - we split the load, but leave only bones behind, (and a pulpy shoulder - I'm not good enough for all this fancy neck and head shots at longer ranges). If we are close to the truck, we take the frame as well for the dog to crunch on.
Nah you are more dumb than you are invincible Phillip.Quote:
Originally Posted by phillipgr
I have a look at the lungs and liver if its handy(gonna carry whole) otherwise if boneing out to carry meat only don't usually gut at all.
Anything unusually skinny I will have a look but have never found anything untoward in a deer.
Pigs yes, have left one where it lay and scrubbed the hell out of my hands in the nearest creek:D
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You done made me all confused RushyQuote:
Originally Posted by Rushy
Didn't mean to Phillip but just to be clear this really is a case of mind over matter and if you are confused by that then I would go on to say that I don't mind and you don't matter. Ha ha ha haQuote:
Originally Posted by phillipgr
Oh and I don't forget the FOUR WHEELER,!:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Spook
Hope he remembers that when checking your prostate!:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rushy
He isn't studying to be a professional bird flipper Maca. He is studying to be that guy. You know the one that finds a cure for cancer and the common cold, solves the global warming problem and saves the world from silly old farts like us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
Well were all fucked then!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rushy
What happens in the bush stays in the bush Rushy!:sick:
AlwaysQuote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
When we used to get quite a few pigs only ever dumped one from what we believe was TB . Spoke to a meat inspector and was told that it was an extreme case as most of the time the symptoms are hard for a layman to spot .
Shot two spikers once that where skin and bone checked and double checked but found no spots, marks ,lumps etc , had no idea what was up with them .
No food :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Munsey
Dead
Next was no poop :D then dead ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Lentil
Good reminder for me to refresh up on disease identification. It's something that apparently sticks out like dogs balls if you have gutted a few animals before. Im yet to identify something that would suggest to dispose of the whole carcass. However, i have seen a abscess from most likely a stick that had poked into a deers rib once and healed up. I simply discarded the affected area. I have the book "Game Butcher, Wild About Meats by Darran Meates". This has a few pages of pictures showing Abscesses, Lesions, and TB throughout the meat/guts.
Dunno about you guys but some Tararua reds have little red spots about 2-3mm across in the tissue around the internals - harmless but look a bit weird
Also there's a public video here by Darren Meates - cheesy as fuck but some good info
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=oGIRv4NWbMk
Generally for me if the animal looks to be in good nick then it usually is. Don't have Tb that I know of around here. A quick look at the guts to see if all is well, not to sure what's good or bad, but if something sticks out well---. Have always carried out the whole animal with skin attached, mind you usually down hill to the boat, except for the odd climb here and there. Starting to rethink that now as I get older and the hills steeper.
I flip birds pro bono Rushy :XD:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rushy
Yeah yeah yeah I'll get around to it once I finish my beer :yaeh am not durnk:
I dont have a dog and I don't eat bone so mostly bone em out on the hill.......Have bad knee and mate has crook back but we do our best and carry out all we can.......occaisionally leave a front shoulder if its too damaged and sometimes if we along ways in........last deer we shot were 5 hours walk in though tough terrain.......take what I can and don't like leaving meat behind, but shit just happens sometimes.
I do however check out the condition of the animals I harvest.....lungs liver and kidneys always get checked.
Sorry to jump in and spoil it Gibo, but couldn't be bothered with the shit in between:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Gibo