When I picture someone field-dressing a deer, I see them kneeling on the ground next to a deer positioned on its back, hooves in the air. They are holding a knife and have blood up to their elbows. There’s a big, gnarly pile of guts lying beside the carcass. To a new, novice or nonhunter, it’s likely grotesque, off-putting or both, but as most hunters learn from their elders, it’s the way. 

But now I know a different way and – dare I say – a better way. 

Insert the Gutless Method 

I don’t remember the first time I watched my husband, then boyfriend, disassemble a deer using “the gutless method,” but when I did, I remember thinking, “that’s way better than how we’ve always done it.” 

He hung the uncut carcass by its Achilles tendon and worked standing upright, never once kneeling or hunching over the carcass. He carved out meat piece by piece, quartered the deer and didn’t dig into the chest cavity. Everything looked so … easy. I was quick to accept and adopt the strategy. Now, we both use it on most of the deer we kill because it’s simple, fast and less messy. 

A Note on Timing, Internal Organ Recovery

Educators teach people to field dress a deer and remove its internal organs ASAP to stop bacterial growth, cool the carcass and preserve the meat. Because you don’t remove the entrails in the gutless method, the carcass will retain its heat until it’s disassembled. If it’s extremely hot or you were slow to recover your deer, it may be more beneficial to field dress the deer. 

Additionally, the gutless method doesn’t typically involve recovering edible internal organs like the heart, liver and kidneys, nor does it involve securing rib meat. However, you can obtain these items in Step 9 described below. 

9 Steps to Success

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the gutless method. While it may seem complex in text, it’s straightforward and intuitive when you start cutting. 

1. Assemble Your Gear

You’ll need a sharp knife, small bone saw, and gambrel and rope or ratchet strap to hang the deer. Wearing vinyl gloves helps protect against the spread of germs and diseases. 

Note: If you didn’t recover your arrow and broadhead, the broadhead might still be in the deer. Carefully watch for it as you work. 

2. Hang the Carcass 

Hook the Achilles tendon of each leg onto the gambrel and attach it to your rope. Hang the rope over a tree branch, your climbing tree stand or a portable skinning pole. Then, hoist the intact carcass off the ground. 

3. Skin the Deer 

Puncture a hole near the Achilles on each back leg and cut along the brown-white hair seamline until you reach the anus on both sides. Cut around the anus and sever the tail. Peel the hide away from the body, pulling down and cutting connective tissue as you go. When you reach the front legs, only cut along the back side of the legs if you’re mounting the animal. Any cuts in the hide past this point may make it unusable for taxidermy. Maneuver the hide past the legs and down the neck to access the neck meat. 

4. Cut Off the Head, Take Neck Meat

Using a saw, cut the neck bone to sever the head. Next, draw an imaginary line where the neck meets the body and cut down to the bone, 360 degrees around the spine. Cut off the neck meat. 

5. Remove the Backstraps 

With your knife blade facing down, insert it tightly against the left side of the spine in the middle of the deer’s body. Run the blade down along the spinal cord until you reach the muscle’s end a few inches past the shoulder blades. Reinsert your blade at the initial cutting point, blade facing up, and cut until you hit the pelvic bone. Turn your knife 90 degrees and cut through the backstrap until the muscle is severed. Grab the muscle’s top edge and pull the backstrap down, using your knife to carve it away from the ribs until it’s free. Repeat on the opposite side. 

6. Remove the Inner Loins

Locate several short ribs between the last full rib bone and pelvis. Use a pruning shear to cut each short rib near the spinal cord, pulling them aside to expose the outside of the tenderloin. Gently insert your fingers behind the tenderloin, taking care not to puncture the intestinal wall. Run your hand up the full length of the muscle toward the pelvis to find where it attaches. Then, pinch the muscle at its smallest point to sever it free and secure the loin. 

7. Remove the Front Shoulders

Insert your knife in the armpit between the left leg and rib cage. Cut the connective tissue alongside the chest and ribs, working your knife deeper into the area. Once you reach the top of the shoulder blade, it should separate from the body. Repeat on the right side. Use a saw to cut off the lower leg bones. 

8. Free the Hind Quarters, Drop the Carcass 

Pause to position your truck bed or deer cart underneath the carcass for easy disposal. 

To separate the hind quarter, carve the meat off the pelvis, working inward until you hit the ball and socket joint. Starting near the groin or tailbone, cut into the muscle next to the pelvis. Hold pressure against the bone as you cut to obtain as much meat as possible. After cutting the meat 360 degrees around the joint, repeat the process on the opposite side. With both hip joints exposed, working one side at a time, twist the leg away from the body to open the ball and socket joint. Stick your knife tip in the socket opening to cut the ligament. The hind quarter will pop loose, and the carcass will fall, entrails still intact. Remove each quarter from the gambrel and saw off the lower leg. 

9. Take Care of the Carcass, Meat 

Properly dispose of the carcass by following your state wildlife agency’s regulations. As for the meat, wait at least 24 hours to debone the meat, which gives the muscles time to stiffen and relax through rigor mortis. Better yet, dry age it for 7 to 10 days in the refrigerator to make it more tender and flavorful. 

Voilà! 

There you have it: four quarters, two backstraps, two inner tenderloins, one neck and the satisfaction of a job well done. After using the gutless method a few times, the process will get easier, go quicker and likely become your go-to strategy. 

— Deer & Deer Hunting has numerous butchering and field-processing videos you can watch for free at www.YouTube.com/@DDHOnline