How to Gut a Deer

In order to turn a deer into something edible, you’ll need to remove the intestines, stomach, rectum, bladder and a few other internal organs. Read on to learn how to gut a deer.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sharp knife
• Large plastic garbage bags with twist tie
• Hook to hang the deer

1. Lay the deer on its back and spread its legs.

2. Detach the genitals. For a male deer, hold the testicles and the penis away from the body as you cut around it. If you have a female deer, cut a ring around the vagina.

3. Do not push your knife in too far or you could slit the gut or bladder. If this happens, the deer will emit a foul smell and your meat will be tainted.

4. Carve a ring around the anus to detach it.

5. Note that cutting the anus in this fashion will loosen the stomach and intestines.

6. Split the pelvic bone.

7. Make a gash in the middle of the pelvic area and through the neck. Cut through the hide first and then cut the belly muscle open. This way you can avoid touching the gut.

8. Cut around the edge of the diaphragm. This will open up the chest cavity.

9. Remove as much of wind pipe as you can. The wind pipe turns sour quickly and can taint the meat.

10. Cut any parts of intestines that might be still attached to the pelvis. Make sure you do not damage the loins while doing do.

11. Keep a plastic garbage bag with a twist tie handy. Place the gut and other detached organs in the bag and close it tightly.

12. Make sure the waste from inside the bladder and the intestine doesn’t slip out. It can taint the meat.

13. Hang the deer from a hook and wash the deer with water.

Tips & Warnings

• Trim away any part that has been damaged by a gunshot.
• Don’t remove the tarsal glands of the deer before gutting it. The smell from the glands can taint the meat.