Yes, it's all in the title. Where I come from what is considered to be the greatest holiday, besides Christmas, is Rifle Deer Season. This wonderful holiday starts on what is known as Opening Weekend. Most of the time, this holiday starts on the first Friday of November at noon. It is not uncommon for everyone who is from my surrounding area, to have this Friday as a sick or vacation day from work, play hooky from school day, or completely blow off anything else that has been planned for that Friday. More people come home for the opening weekend of Deer Season in my area than any other holiday.
Some may ask, well what does this have to do with guts? The guts aspect comes into play if and when one gets/tags that deer. After the deer is down and tagged, one must degut the deer. This is to remove the internal organs from the buck or doe.
Who does this degutting? I would hope to believe that whoever tags that deer gets to do the honors of degutting it. Well this is what I hope but it not what happens with my family. Our family usually has a large group that all go out together on opening weekend so we can walk and cover more ground to kick up the deer. Out of a large group one would expect that the men would do the degutting, so not true! There are people who cannot handle or even handle watching this process. I usually being only one of the few girls, who hunt with our crew, am one of the few who can handle and properly do the gutting process.
How is this done? The process of gutting or field dressing a deer depends on the type of deer and if it's male or female. In our area we have Whitetail deer. After one has downed a deer you must approach the deer cautiously in case one did not have a kill shot (the deer did not die from the shot). It is important to know whether or not the deer is dead, if it is just having muscle contractions after the kill or if it is just wounded. If the deer is only wounded approach the deer on the opposite side from the legs and hooves, as well as, the head in case the deer decides to thrash or ram at one. Once in a close safe zone, fire the rifle again, either towards the heart, or head. Once one is assured the deer is dead attach the tag.
Now on to the actual process. When about to gut a deer one must make sure that they are visible to other hunters, while gutting a deer one may have to get lower so be sure to be in an open visible area. Then make sure you have a recently sharpened knife, a bone saw, and if desired, gloves. One can either use rope to tie the legs apart or have one's hunting partners spread the legs apart. The first step then is to locate the sternum and insert the knife at the lower end of the sternum. One must be sure to keep the blade cutting upwards too not damage the internal organs. After the first incision use the free hand to pull up the hide and guide the knife along down the body towards the penis or udder. Then cut around the penis or udder being careful to cut the urinary bladder (or one will have a huge mess). After this one must reach inside the body and cut the base of the penis and testicles to remove them. For a doe cut around the udder, and remove it. Next, cut deeply around the anus of a buck or vagina and anus of a doe, in a circular manner, between the rectum and the pelvic bone. Then pull the rectum to one side and cut around it on the outside of it. Some may not break or split the pelvic bone at this time, but I find it much easier to finish gutting due to my lack of muscle. Use the bone saw to cut through the pelvis from the upper to lower. Now one may pull the rectum and reproductive tract out of the deer. Next is to remove the urinary bladder, find the end and pinch it with one's free hand while cutting the other end away. It is very important to not let the urinary bladder leak or break into the carcass because it can contaminate the meat. Now one can pull or roll the organs out of the cavity. If one has enough strength no cutting may be required. Then cut the diaphragm on both sides of the deer. Following this step reach as far into the deer as possible up the esophagus, and then cut through the windpipe and esophagus. Pull the windpipe downward, while cutting any attachments to the back of the carcass. Roll the deer on its side to empty the heart and lungs from the chest cavity. One has now degutted a deer!
