Deer Carcass - newbie question

[DanJ]

I'm about to get my first buck (two and a half sleeps from now). After I take the meat I want do I have to cook the bones if I want to give them to my dog? Do they still have drop off locations for the hide?

I know I could just dump the skeleton into a highway ditch somewhere for the coyotes but that doesn't sit right. What do other city hunters do with the carcass?

No, I'm not going to a butcher - too poor.

[deanmc]

You should neve rcook any bones you plan to feed your dog. Cooked bones are much more brittle and will break in to sharp pieces that can cause serious troubles to their digestive tract. I feed the raw bones to my dogs and throw them in the garbage after the dogs are done.

I would never throw a carcass in a highway ditch and think very few here would either.

[Big Racks]

Nothing wrong with dumping the carcass, but as mentioned a highway ditch isn't the preferred place . Personally, I'll usually bone it out in the bush and leave the carcass in the bush as well. Haven't taken bones for the dog, hell pretty much any bone off a deer would be bigger than our little guy, but you can just remove what bones you want to keep and leave the rest. Predators and scavengers will take care of the rest.

[Spennydubs]

Just take the carcasse and hide out of town and dump it for yotes and other critters! If your from the city and dont want to make the trip make sure you debone as much as possible and garbage bag it and toss it out in the alley!

[pottymouth]

1, Don't dump the carcass out of town, there some of us that live out there and don't apperciate having to clean your garbage up...take it to the dump !!!

2. the rest of us that don't live out in the country, we hunt, and we don't apperciate an influx of coyote / bear and critter attractants, where we still are trying to shoot our deer....take it to the dump !!!

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

After I shoot , gut and skin my deer , I useually take it to the butcher to be processed after removing the backstraps and tenderloins . I then take the hide and take a drive down some lease roads , not lease sites as there are workers going there and toss it intot he bush and usually with in a week its no where to be seen . Did this last yaer and couldnt find it for the life of me .

Originally Posted by pottymouth

1, Don't dump the carcass out of town, there some of us that live out there and don't apperciate having to clean your garbage up...take it to the dump !!!

2. the rest of us that don't live out in the country, we hunt, and we don't apperciate an influx of coyote / bear and critter attractants, where we still are trying to shoot our deer....take it to the dump !!!

I tried taking mine to the dump last year they wouldnt allow me to put in there . I guess a guy could cut it into smaller pieces toss it in double green garbage bags let the garbage guy take it .

[swifthunter]

I give my dog lots of bones of my deer, but always raw. Raw bones are ok for dogs but cooked ones will shatter and it wont end good. If I get a deer i usually try and cut the carcass up and put it in the dumpster unless I want to go coyote hunting then I ask a landowner for permission and where it would be allright to dump it. Most are all right with this just as long as they agree to the location and some even ask to keep it so the cats or dog can clean off the remaining meat from the bones.

[rustynailz]

If you double bag it the city will take it with your regular garbage. Make damn sure you don't just leave the bags outside though. Last year I had two deer carcasses in bags in the garage and the wife put them out a day early. My the time I got home the damn coyotes and magpies and god knows what else had turned the alley into a mess you had to see to believe and there was a not-so-nice note from bylaw.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Spennydubs

Just take the carcasse and hide out of town and dump it for yotes and other critters! If your from the city and dont want to make the trip make sure you debone as much as possible and garbage bag it and toss it out in the alley!

Classic case of how to win friends and influence people.

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by DanJ

No, I'm not going to a butcher - too poor.

very rarely to i get this worked up so i think it will be ok...

how much was your gun? how much was your tag? how about all your other gear? how much are you planning to spend to get the antlers hung on your wall?
gun- $600
tag- $40
scent killer, bits of camo, boots, etc- $150
mount- $500


find the god damn $80 to get the whole thing made into sausage and stop being so wasteful with our natural resources. if you can't afford to treat the animal with respect then don't shoot it, it's your responsibility. hunters like you give us all a bad name and in my opinion you should not be hunting. at least throw it in the freezer and post on here that you have meat for those who want it.

[AbAngler]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

very rarely to i get this worked up so i think it will be ok...

how much was your gun? how much was your tag? how about all your other gear? how much are you planning to spend to get the antlers hung on your wall?
gun- $600
tag- $40
scent killer, bits of camo, boots, etc- $150
mount- $500


find the god damn $80 to get the whole thing made into sausage and stop being so wasteful with our natural resources. if you can't afford to treat the animal with respect then don't shoot it, it's your responsibility. hunters like you give us all a bad name and in my opinion you should not be hunting. at least throw it in the freezer and post on here that you have meat for those who want it.

Whoa dude. I think he meant that he'd butcher it himself. At least I hope thats what he meant.

[Big Racks]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

very rarely to i get this worked up so i think it will be ok...

how much was your gun? how much was your tag? how about all your other gear? how much are you planning to spend to get the antlers hung on your wall?
gun- $600
tag- $40
scent killer, bits of camo, boots, etc- $150
mount- $500


find the god damn $80 to get the whole thing made into sausage and stop being so wasteful with our natural resources. if you can't afford to treat the animal with respect then don't shoot it, it's your responsibility. hunters like you give us all a bad name and in my opinion you should not be hunting. at least throw it in the freezer and post on here that you have meat for those who want it.

While I sympathize with the sentiment of your post that we shouldn't be wasteful, I don't agree with the content. Regardless of money involved, are you honestly telling him he shouldn't butcher his own kill? That ridiculous. He has every right to cut and process his harvested animal. Who are you to accuse him of being wasteful? What are you basing that accusation on exactly? I debone my harvest pretty much every year now - sometimes I take it in for processing, sometimes not. Regardless, it doesn't go to waste I can assure you.

** edit. Did you misunderstand him that he actually intends to dump the entire carcass, not just the remnants after he butchers it? Re-reading his post, that's not what I got from it but if that was your understanding then I can see what you were posting about.

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by AbAngler

Whoa dude. I think he meant that he'd butcher it himself. At least I hope thats what he meant.

sorry i misread it clearly says "After I take the meat" i just got a little worked up because i've seen some guys do that before...

my bad...

take the bones to the dump. what happens when you dump it in the bush is the coyotes will drag the bones everywhere and someone might drive over a nice sharp bone with their tractor. so it's just better to take it to the dump

[Big Racks]

lol - funny what a simple misunderstanding can do.

FWIW, the dumping of the bones depends on where you harvest. Where I usually hunt, there is no danger of tractors. If a tractor somehow makes it's way back in there, he has bigger troubles . I can definitely see an issue with it though if on farm or range land.

I'll usually go back the following day or two to check a dumped carcass if we're still out in the bush, hoping to catch a wolf on the scene. A quarter of the time, there's no sign of it.

[sjemac]

When I lived in town I dumped the hide and bones right back where I shot the deer. Now I drag them about 35 yds from the deck and smack magpies off of them for a bit and then about 150 yds back to poleaxe coyotes.

[billie]

Originally Posted by Spennydubs

Just take the carcasse and hide out of town and dump it for yotes and other critters! If your from the city and dont want to make the trip make sure you debone as much as possible and garbage bag it and toss it out in the alley!

I'll make deal with you. You don't throw it in my backyard, and I won't throw mine in your backyard

[aulrich]

I have a coworker that does make dog food out of my butchering scraps. she does boil the bones but it is the stock that ends up as a food base(I don't think she feeds them the bones i'll ask). I think she boils it down to a gell type consitancy.

The rest goes to the dump, mind you one deer could just as easy go to the curb. Between me and the boys there is enough to warrent the trip to the dump. mind you that was when the basic fee was 5$ I think it is 12$ this year.

[FishBrain]

After butchering my deer (if shot close to home) I give all the dogs in the neighbourhood a leg, Mine gets one, Mels dogs next door get one each, and Bens dog gets one.
We toss the hide and spine into the garbage for the city to take.
IF I end up coming home with more than one, I will put the 2 hind legs from th esecond animal into the freezer for my dog at a later date.
IF I am up north when I shoot my deer, the hide goes into the bush and the deer goes to the butcher, and he normally gives me a moose leg to bring to Donkey.
*edit* they are always fresh, never cooked

[Big Racks]

Originally Posted by billie

I'll make deal with you. You don't throw it in my backyard, and I won't throw mine in your backyard

Well, sounds like a good compromise to me . Although, he didn't specify just where out of town he was going to dump it so your "" is a bit premature, yes? Or is everything "out of town" your backyard ? I primarily hunt crown land, pretty far in from any private lands, but if I ever infringe on your backyard you just come and tell me - then we can hike the 100+ miles back to your house and have a beer .

In the meanwhile, sounds like a reasonable compromise...

[Spennydubs]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Classic case of how to win friends and influence people.

LOL im not talking on somebuddies land i should have been more clear! im talking crown land. I am a country guy myself and yeah i know myself or my family would not respect somebody dumping like that on our property! So CROWN LAND and in the bush not just tossed in the ditch!

[Jrbiggamehunter]

[QUOTE=pottymouth;687737]1, Don't dump the carcass out of town, there some of us that live out there and don't apperciate having to clean your garbage up...take it to the dump !!!

2. the rest of us that don't live out in the country, we hunt, and we don't apperciate an influx of coyote / bear and critter attractants, where we still are trying to shoot our deer....take it to the dump !!![/

[Jrbiggamehunter]

Originally Posted by pottymouth

1, Don't dump the carcass out of town, there some of us that live out there and don't apperciate having to clean your garbage up...take it to the dump !!!

2. the rest of us that don't live out in the country, we hunt, and we don't apperciate an influx of coyote / bear and critter attractants, where we still are trying to shoot our deer....take it to the dump !!!

Farmers don't care if you throw carcasses on there land around here it's gone in a week anyway.

[AxeMan]

We don't appreciate deer carcasses dumped in the ditch around our farm. The coyotes haul the bones all over the place and leave them in the hay field or in the grain swathes. When a bone hits the haybine sickle bar it can break the cutter and can raise hell with the rollers.

[827rotax]

We shot a deer in the morning gut it and skinned it, went back out in the afternoon and there was nothing left, most areas it wont last a day. No problem feedin the yotes, my bullet will still go through em @300yds. I butcher all my meat and take the bones (the one my dog does not get) to the jobsite and into the bin!!

[thumper]

If you can, please avoid bagging remains in plastic and sending it to the dump where it will remain for a very, very long time. If at all possible, leave as much as you can in the woods (away from roads/major trails/ranchers outbuildings/cultivated fields) - where it can return to the ecosystem. A multitude of creatures benefit - not just coyotes and large scavengers.
If the area is appropriate, doing a 'gutless' cleaning and some rudimentary deboning in the field will lessen your load, and dramatically reduce the bones/hide/refuse you need to dispose of from home. - and the environment from which you removed the animal will thank you for it!

[Tuc]

I smoke all my bones, then freeze them. The dog loves em.

[DanJ]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

find the god damn $80 to get the whole thing made into sausage

Tell me where I can get a deer processed for $80 and avoid the hassle of buying paper for the meat, hanging it and hosing the blood out of the backyard, sweeping up all the stray hair (you don't know my wife), whittling steaks and stuff with kitchen knives, then getting rid of a skeleton and a hide in some way that won't pi$$ someone off or attract skunks to the neighborhood... for $80? I'll believe that price when I see it and then I'll gladly pay it. I'm willing to butcher my own deer but I am sure as hell not looking forward to it.

Last time I talked to a butcher the cost was more than I can afford. How much I paid for the rest of my gear is nobody's business but mine.

Many thanks to everyone for your responses. I'm starting to understand why Dad drew the line at hunting ducks and partridge...

[billie]

Originally Posted by Big Racks

Well, sounds like a good compromise to me . Although, he didn't specify just where out of town he was going to dump it so your "" is a bit premature, yes? Or is everything "out of town" your backyard ? I primarily hunt crown land, pretty far in from any private lands, but if I ever infringe on your backyard you just come and tell me - then we can hike the 100+ miles back to your house and have a beer .

In the meanwhile, sounds like a reasonable compromise...

I thought my point was clear. Some would think "out-of-town" is the city limits under the cover of darkness and there is lots of evidence of that exact thinking (not necessarily carcasses).

As for dumping it in the 'uninhabited' bush, I totally agree. Coyotes and magpies have to eat too. And watching the chickadees pick out blood drop slurpies is pretty entertaining.

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by DanJ

Tell me where I can get a deer processed for $80 and avoid the hassle of buying paper for the meat, hanging it and hosing the blood out of the backyard, sweeping up all the stray hair (you don't know my wife), whittling steaks and stuff with kitchen knives, then getting rid of a skeleton and a hide in some way that won't pi$$ someone off or attract skunks to the neighborhood... for $80? I'll believe that price when I see it and then I'll gladly pay it. I'm willing to butcher my own deer but I am sure as hell not looking forward to it.

Last time I talked to a butcher the cost was more than I can afford. How much I paid for the rest of my gear is nobody's business but mine.

Many thanks to everyone for your responses. I'm starting to understand why Dad drew the line at hunting ducks and partridge...

any butcher i've ever been to... try camrose packers my bill was 160 for two deer last year it took 3 months to get but it was good

[bradleyk]

My buck was $85 cut and wrapped last year. Course....I paid a bit extra to get some made into smokies, but they would have done the whole thing for $85.

Kevin