![]() |
Hunting Articles
Back To Main How to Skin a Deer
While it may not be the most exciting job in the world, skinning a deer is
important when returning from a hunt or when still actually on the hunt. If you
have taken down the deer, elk, antelope or goat of your dreams in a glorious
hunting adventure, you will need to know how to skin the deer and how to get the
most out of your kill. If you are just learning about hunting, this information
will also be incredible handy for that remarkable day on which you will finally
be able to skin a deer.
Essentially, the act of skinning a deer is thought of to be quite simple. The
basic fundamental guideline behind it is to follow the built-in guidelines of
the body of the deer and work from that standpoint. The skin and muscle tissues
of the deer are naturally separate from one another because of the protective
membranes, making the process of skinning a lot more like following a built-in
blueprint than like trying to lift a rug in the dark. The skin should easily
peel from the meat because of these membranes, creating little risk of tearing
the skin or tearing the meat.
The most important aspect in skinning a deer is the use of your hands and the
pull of your own body weight. With these two integral tools, the aspect of
skinning a deer becomes incredibly simple. In fact, skinning a deer can
typically be completed in about ten to fifteen minutes without any serious
complications.
You should first hang the deer. This makes it easier for you to use your body
weight in the skinning process and creates a greater leverage point for skinning
the deer. This also ensures that the meat will stay clean. Whether you hang the
deer from the neck or from the legs, there is no particular difference. It is
important to try to skin the deer within an hour or two of the deer's death,
making the skinning process a whole lot easier.
Your knife should be especially sharp. Supposing the deer is hung by the legs,
find the large tendon connecting the lower leg segment to the rest of the deer's
leg. You should poke a whole with your knife in between the tendon and the bone
there, then use your fingers to feel the lump that is created by the deer's
double-jointed bone. Once you have found that lump, sever the lower leg at the
lower end of the two parts of the double joint. Cut the skin and the tendons
here and then snap the deer's leg over your own leg, using your body's leverage
to break it.
After you have broken the deer's legs in this fashion, make several incisions
around and near the tendon areas. There should be a whole between the tendon and
the bone of the lower leg, as well as several incisions near the front legs. You
will then sever and snap the front legs as well, making the skinning process
easier. After you have made the initial incisions, you will begin the process of
undressing the deer of its skin. Use your finger tips and thumbs to get inside
the skin near the lower leg incisions and begin to pull the skin off.
Essentially, the pulling of the deer's skin should work a lot like pulling a
tight jacket or pair of blue jeans off. It may be a little bit awkward, but the
layer of meat revealed below the skin should be a more than ample reward. After
the skin is pulled off, you will notice the meat is ready to go and the
separation of the meat thanks to the deer's membrane has made the whole process
a lot simpler than you ever thought possible.
Skinning a deer, while not particularly romantic, is a process that should take
around ten to fifteen minutes and relies almost entirely on your own body weight
and strength to pull the skin off of the deer's body. It really is that simple.