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.
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