How do you hang and skin?

[GERDES G]

First time I hunted in Colorado before I moved there we went and visited my cousins father in laws camp. It was SW Colorado 2nd season and the daily temps were hitting mid 60's. Lows in the 30's.
He had killed nice little 2pt. It was hanging there on a beam between 2 trees wrapped in a blue plastic/polly type wal-mart tarp. I thought to each their own. I had heard stories about this guy. Then I see he hadnt skinned it. I thought maybe he just got it which would explain the tarp wrapping. No, it had been there for 2 days. He said he never skins it until he takes it to the butcher. I never did eat any of his meat he ever cooked.

 

[Doodle]

First time I hunted in Colorado before I moved there we went and visited my cousins father in laws camp. It was SW Colorado 2nd season and the daily temps were hitting mid 60's. Lows in the 30's.
He had killed nice little 2pt. It was hanging there on a beam between 2 trees wrapped in a blue plastic/polly type wal-mart tarp. I thought to each their own. I had heard stories about this guy. Then I see he hadnt skinned it. I thought maybe he just got it which would explain the tarp wrapping. No, it had been there for 2 days. He said he never skins it until he takes it to the butcher. I never did eat any of his meat he ever cooked.

Mid-60's is a bit warm for skin-on hanging, but as long as it's nice and cold I wouldn't worry too much about the skin being on. It tends to prevent loss due to drying and keens random airborne particulate from landing on the meat. That being said, I'd still prefer to skin it and put it in a proper meat locker...

 

[DDB TX]

Funny thing about the rock and rope skinning method, my grandfather had a small herd of cattle he had painstakingly built up, in the early 30s, on his small ranch in west Texas. Great Depression days. One day some men from the government showed up and told him that in order to keep meat prices up, they were going to to kill all of Granddad's herd, and he would only be allowed to keep "the hide and taller (tallow)". The rest would be left to rot. He said after the government men shot the cows, he would open up the neck skin, stick a rock in and wrap it in rope, then tie the rope to his Model T and drive off, for painless skinning. He also for the rest of his life would spit if he ever had to say "Roosevelt".

 

[Scrap Iron]

i'm amazed at the different ways people hang and skin deer. iv tried several but the way i do it anymore is to hang from back legs on a single tree( redneck for gambrel). then just skin him down. how do you all do it?

To be completely honest, I have never even heard of a different way to skin any animal. I always use a hefty , strong tree or we do it back at the barn with a hoist where I can dispose of the stuff we can't reall eat

 

[mnoland30]

Here is the Southwest, hanging meat turns it into jerky. My meat locker is my ice chest. I bag the meat in plastic trash bags (always move the bags with one hand under the bag for support). We usually lay the bags out overnight in the bed of the pickup to cool. I take a 30 lb. block of ice along to keep the meat cool. I'lll leave it in the ice chest for up to a week. I use the gutless method, and cut the hide down the back (less hair on the meat). Boning out the meat cools it much faster. Cheesecloth and cotton stick to the meat. I use plastic bags. I tie them up and pack them out of the bottom and stash them in different spots. Near rocks, and packrat got into a Barbary sheep once, and in the bottom, a fox got into it once. One elk, a bear found before I did, and ate 1/2 a ham. I was looking around a lot while cleaning that one. Three years ago, a lion was watching me butcher a deer from about 30 yards away. Other than that, I've never had a problem leaving meat in the field. During the time it takes to field butcher an elk, the belly swells. When I'm done, I cut open the belly to relieve the pressure, and that makes it easier to get the tenderloins. Anyone who leaves the tenderloins, doesn't deserve them. For the rib meat, a filet knife works great. Once we had two elk down 5 miles from camp in 75 degree weather. Once it got dark, it cooled down nicely, and the next morning the meat we left was 40 degrees. I shot a Gemsbok in May when the temps were up to 95 degrees. I had to hurry, but the meat was fine.

 

[bigngreen]

One note about meat care, trash bags are treated with an anti bacterial treatment which taints the meat rapidly with chemicals made for a garbage and is not food safe. Also any colored bag uses chemicals in the dye that are not food safe, a clear bag made for food is all I would put meat into. Also only bag meat in plastic after it has come to ambient temperature and when going on ice or cold outside, if it's warmer than 40 it's best to have meat in breathable bags so there is air circulation.

 

[Doodle]

One note about meat care, trash bags are treated with an anti bacterial treatment which taints the meat rapidly with chemicals made for a garage and is not food safe. Also any colored bag uses chemicals in the dye that are not food safe, a clear bag made for food is all I would put meat into. Also only bag meat in plastic after it has come to ambient temperature and when going on ice or cold outside, if it's warmer than 40 it's best to have meat in breathable bags so there is air circulation.

This x1000

 

[mnoland30]

Good to know. Is that what is causing that growth on my nose?

 

[mpayne]

If I can i like to take them out whole and skin them then gut then. No hair

 

[RustyRick]

https://www.realtree.com/deer-hunting/articles/you-ve-been-hanging-your-deer-wrong-for-years

like this?

No. Quarter it and split the ribs. Hang by the meat bags in 6 pieces so there is no weight pulling on the muscle. It's all relaxed.

 

[blitzfike]

If somewhere convenient, I have used the rock with rope attached to the truck bumper trick. The carcass comes out clean with no loose hair on it at all. Otherwise I hang as you mention.

I use this method with a golf ball instead of a rock. Works great!

 

[Dave P]

i'm amazed at the different ways people hang and skin deer. iv tried several but the way i do it anymore is to hang from back legs on a single tree( redneck for gambrel). then just skin him down. how do you all do it?

I do the same. Once you've gutted it's the way it's going to get skinned and hung in my cooler. I built a telescoping system off the hitch on my pickup hitch. Crank cable winch with reduction thats really handy with elk if I'm by myself. Best way to drain blood from carcass.

 

[Dave P]

I've been told I'm picky but I gut within 10min of kill. Rare I don't get deer back to truck within 2hrs. Hang skin and back to my walkin cooler. I cut no bone till it's hung for 14days in 35° I use every piece of meat. Every piece. It's important to get the hide off quickly to start cooling carcass down. The taste and non gamey taste especially depends on how you process your deer. Or elk. Good hunting everybody!

 

[Charley Morgan]

I was taught the the same way you were. I always hang them by the back legs and skin them down. I have seen and tried a few other methods but I always come back to the same method in the end.