Properly Skinning a Deer
Bowie knives have long been associated with outdoor activities. They’re ideal tools for skinning a deer. The following assumes that you’ve already field dressed the animal. Hang your deer with the head facing upward and make sure that your Bowie is sharp. You’ll also need a saw, unless your Bowie has a tool or a serrated edge on it that is strong enough to cut through bone. Remember that it’s better to use a hacksaw for this task than to stress the blade on a good knife.
The first cut you’ll make with your Bowie knife will begin at the deer’s genitals. You’ll be cutting up, toward the neck of the animal. As you ascend toward the head, you’ll run into the rib cage. You have two options for dealing with this. If you want easier access to the heart and lungs, you can split the ribs high enough to afford easy access. Cut alongside the sternum, not down its center. If you don’t mind reaching up into the body cavity, you can simply stop cutting at the base of the rib cage and pull the upper organs out by reaching up underneath the ribs.
When you get to the deer’s tail, you can just peel back the skin enough to expose the tailbone and cut it off with your saw. Bowie knives will also work but, again, this is cutting through bone and you’ll be making a sharpening job for yourself by using a good knife blade to saw bone. Don’t try to skin the tail itself. It’s a small appendage and you’re creating more trouble than it’s worth. Snip off the tailbone, the skin will come away, and you can move to the hindquarters.
Knife blades do not have to be large to skin effectively, and you should aim for a precise cut that doesn’t saw the animal. Hang your deer head up. You’ll make an incision around the neck of the animal and then down to the top of your field dressing cut.
Work the skin back enough to get a good grip, and then tear it off of the deer with even effort, stopping at the front legs. The front and back legs will both have to be removed with a saw, so you can do this now. After they’re off, pull the skin down to the tail and remove it by snipping the tailbone. Once the skin is off the back legs, it’s ready for tanning.
Blake is a business consultant for an online bowie knife store featuring hunting knives.
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Posted: May 3rd, 2010 under Recreation & Sports.
Tags: bowie knife, bowie knives, camping, fishing, hobbies, Hunting, hunting knives, outdoors, recreation, Recreation & Sports, Survival