Quote:
with my current work schedule, and a 6-month old baby, I hardly have time to hunt, let alone learn how to butcher.
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It really is not that hard ...... though if you have not done it, it can seem daunting.
Hang the field dressed animal upside down by the hocks on a gambrel ......
This thing is very helpful if you are doing this solo:
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/produ...9-001b2166c62d
In any case: Pulleys are your friends, and as with friends, more is better!
-remove lower legs (distal to knees) with sawzall....
-begin skinning by making cuts down back of all four legs
-pull skin down while making small cuts between body and skin
-keep pulling down and cutting until "his shirt is over his head and then unzip his collar" with a vertical cut from chest to chin
-remove head (sawzall is a handy tool, ain't it?) with skin attached
-remove neck in sections short enough to fit in a crock pot (neck roasts)
-split body lengthwise (it SAWZ ALL!) down spine
-count up 6 (some say 7,8, or 10) ribs and cut spine and sternum with ________ (yep!) .... front quarter will be hanging by intercostal muscle between ribs - grasp foreleg (so this front quarter will not fall on the ground and cut that muscle with your (you thought I was going to say SAWZALL, didn't you? Bzzt.) knife.
-take front quarter into house/put in cooler/whatever
-repeat for other side
-tie one hock to tree/rafter, so it will not fall when you remove the other side from gambrel and take it in
There, animal is quartered.
Simple.