Things You'll Need:
- Skinning knife Surgical gloves Cooler
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Step 1
Sharpen your skinning knife. A dull knife will be difficult to use, and the edges of your cape will be ragged instead of smooth.
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Step 2
Put on a pair of surgical gloves. Although there won't be a great deal of blood, there will be some. The gloves will keep your hands clean. Surgical gloves will give you a full range of motion while you are slicing the deer's skin. Wear old clothing.
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Step 3
Hang your deer. The best way to do this is to tie a rope just above each of your deer's hocks. Toss the loose ends of the rope over a tree branch. Pull on the rope until the deer's entire body is suspended. Tie off the ropes.
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Step 4
Place the tip of your skinning knife against the deer's sternum, just behind its heart girth. Puncture the skin.
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Step 5
Slide the tip of your skinning knife in a continuous line around your deer's body.
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Step 6
Slice a circle in the skin around both of your deer's knees.
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Step 7
Grasp the deer's left leg. Run the tip of your skinning knife in a straight line from the back of the deer's knee to your previous cut. Repeat the process with the right leg.
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Step 8
Grasp the skin and gradually start pulling downward. Use your knife as little as possible. Continue pulling the skin from the deer's body until you are about 1 inch from the deer's ears.
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Step 9
Mark a spot on the neck about 3 inches away from the head.
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Step 10
Cut through all of the neck muscle.
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Step 11
Grasp the head in both hands and give a quick twist. This will remove the head from the body.
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Step 12
Place the head and flapping skin in a cooler and take it to the taxidermist. Take the rest of the deer's body to the local slaughterhouse, where it will be processed and turned into venison for your freezer.
