How to Skin a Deer

[new to the flock]

Intro

Skinning is a straight forward endeavor if you follow the body's built in guidelines. This is because the skin and muscle tissue are naturally separated from one another by protective membranes. Simply make the initial cuts, and then pull the skin off, as if you are removing the deer's coat. When you peel the skin, it easily separates from the meat along these membranes. After getting a clean start, there is little risk of tearing the skin or the meat. So all you need to do is use your hands and body weight to pull and pry the skin from the deer. It is generally a ten to fifteen minute process.

 

The biggest mistake you can make is trying to cut the hide off with your knife. When you use a knife to slice the hide from the deer you inevitably violate these layers, making the whole job harder. Once the meat is cut into, you are no longer working with the natural division between meat and hide. You usually end up removing large chunks of meat, as well as putting cuts and holes in the hide.

 

The membranes that encase the meat also protect it from flies and deer hair. When you cut into the meat you create moist and protected habitats for flies to lay their eggs in. If you peel the skin, the muscle layers remain intact, the outer membranes dry out, and flies will not lay their eggs.

 

How To Skin

Hanging the deer makes it easy to use your body weight to pull the skin off. It also assures that the meat will stay clean. You can either hang it from the neck or from the legs. Most people prefer one way or the other. Deer should be hung using strong ropes . Do it within a few hours of the deer's death and it will peel off especially easily. Make sure your knife is sharp, and proceed as follows:

To hang a deer by its back legs, find the large tendon that connects the lowest leg segment with the rest of the leg. Poke a hole in between that tendon and the leg bone. Use your fingers to feel the lump that is created by the double jointed bone. Then sever the lower leg at the lower of the two joints as illustrated.

 

 

 

Cut skin and tendons around the joint, then snap it over your leg.

[new to the flock]

Make the incisions as shown in the illustration. Once you've made the initial incisions, put that knife down. Then use your hands and body to pull, the skin from the deer.

[new to the flock]

Getting a clean start: use finger tips and thumbs to separate the hide from the meat. Notice how clean and encased both the meat and hide are.

Edited March 4, 2006 by new to the flock

[new to the flock]

Once you've gotten a good start, grab the hide with your hands and pull. You can also push your thumbs and fist in-between the skin and meat to release areas that are sticking.

[new to the flock]

There will be a very thin layer of meat that wants to come off with the hide. This is called the saddle and is the muscle that the deer uses to twitch flys off of its back. Most people will allow this to come off with the hide and flesh it off afterwards if the hide is to be tanned. The saddle is located along the back.

[johnskevena]

Top class nttf

[meathstevie]

Like skinning a rabbit or a hare. The only difference is scale. You done a good job stressing how important it is to get the first cuts and the hanging method right.

[Jelendeer]

Check this out guys, you may find some useful tips on skinning.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Mike

 

(Director - Jelen Deer Services)

[simon1979]

Great post, really useful

[Eyefor]

..or

 

 

?

[m3vert]

Like the golf ball trick ;-)

[Green hornet]

.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Green hornet
Old post

[Dickymint23]

On 21/07/2012 at 11:50, Jelendeer said:

Check this out guys, you may find some useful tips on skinning.

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Mike

 

(Director - Jelen Deer Services)

Many thanks great video very useful