deer pelvis and field dressing question

[Bard1]

So I am going through my hunting gear getting ready for my Oregon trip when I realized that the little punk who stole my hunting pack this past winter took my Gerber folding saw with them.  That's what I like to use to split the deer's pelvis bones when field dressing.  As I have been trying hard to save $ I haven't replaced it.  Is there some way to split the pelvis with a knife or hatchet?
if so, what's the technique?

thenks
Derek

[Killdeer]

I don't split it.

Killdeer  

[BobW]

Agree with Killy.... no reason to do it.

[Over&Under]

Any good hunting knife worth it's salt will split the pelvis on a deer.  I never used a saw for a deer, only elk

[no]

dont split it, not necessary if you know how to field dress properly. Have seen it done, you get bone chips & it doesnt look good IMO.  Mike

[Bob G]

Well........Is anyone going to tell us how to get all that stuff (heart, lungs, intestines ,liver etc.) down through that small pelvic opening?        I have been a splitter all my life so lets hear it. I am always up for a better idea.

[Tom Anderson]

Originally posted by Bob G:
Well........Is anyone going to tell us how to get all that stuff (heart, lungs, intestines ,liver etc.) down through that small pelvic opening?         I have been a splitter all my life so lets hear it. I am always up for a better idea.

Naw, I ain't gonna tell you how to do that, but I'll be glad to tell you how to get all that stuff out of his tummy area instead...  

[Bowman0202]

Iffen you hang it by the back legs it all goes to the front.  I carry a small hoist in my waist pack and just string 'em up and field dress that way.  Much easier and cleaner than rolling around on the ground.

[Billy]

I carry a string, tie the anus off, tie the 'dribbler' off with the other end, then use the string to lift up towards the belly and out...if IT's a she, tie the whole anal area and pull it up thru the belly...

[upatree]

We never cut the pelvis.  Open the back leg as if you are spreading the legs apart WIDE.  You should be able to see the hip joint with a small cut.  There are 2 tendon's one big in the joint and one small on the outside, cut them both.  At this point the only thing holding the hind quater is the meat attached to the bone.  Just take your knife and cut right down the pelvic bone and you have a hind quater without any saw.

I never use a saw to clean my deer.  I had a butcher make me clean several deer at our camp when I was 8-9 years old and he taught me some neat tricks.

[SoNevada Archer]

Derek,
While I have enjoyed reading those above...and for the record I don't split the pelvis on deer very often myself. You can do it with a small hatchet or heavy knife. IF I were to do it, I'd use a hatchet and set it on the bone, then hit the back of the hatchet with a good rock (good means no loose parts to come off)

But if you don't have a hatchet or your hunting knife is not built like a tank, you can use a good sharp hunting knife to finish the job with out splitting the pelvis.
Start by cutting the anus out around the large intestine from the outside, then carfully slice in and around the cavity that is created by the pelvis bone (kind-a like reaming it around the pelvis tunnel)and pulling the large intestine loose as well as the urinary tubing. Once it is pulled and cut loose, just pull it back through the pelvis tunnel into the cavity of the abdoman and out with the rest of the internals.
Hope that helps.
Good luck!

[SoNevada Archer]

Oh one think more...tie the urinary tube into a knot so it won't leak! Make things a lot more sanitary.

[BMOELLER]

Past couple years I've been using the NAP zipsaw.  Just a wire with two little handles. Insert one handle through the rear end after core it out and start sawing.  Takes about ten seconds to do and not too much mess.

[Killdeer]

No, he's still field dressing, not butchering yet.
I just don't like to split 'em because it exposes more of the meat to leaves and forest duff that gets dragged into the cavity as you schlep it to camp. I will split it there, once I start butchering.

I use cotton twine, tie the tubular stuff off, and pull it into the cavity and out. Takes me forever, it seems, but the meat stays (mostly) clean. A Buck Vanguard or the like should split the bone, though, if you prefer that method. Hit the pommel of the knife with the heel of your hand or a stick. I sharpened the end of a Schrade Honesteel just for that purpose, but grew to like my current method better.

Different strokes make us all unique, and that keeps the world from being a crashing bore.

Killdeer  

[BobW]

1. slice from breastbone to pelvis (gut hook works nicely here, but a finger each side of blade suffices).  On a buck (lucky you), just pick a side.
2. roll on side and spill/take out everything below diaphragm.  Large intestine/bladder will still be attached (more on that later).
3.  Slice diaphragm, reach up in, and find "the hose".  Cut trachea as far up as you can reach, and pull down and out (can run knife along back of the trachea, but I never have had to).
4.  Cut around anus to fully detach (some tie off with string, again, never had to).  Grasp intesting from gut cavity area, and it will pull in/through.  Usually, bladder comes with it.

DONE!  That simple.  Hang to drain.

Note:  some cut the anus first, but I prefer to use the clean knife up top first.

Many variations on this, but that is how Dad taught me.

[BobW]

okay, lots got posted while I was typing....

[ChuckC]

Can I watch you TRY to fit that stuff thru the pelvis ?

There is no need to split it, however many folks do and that is OK.
ChuckC

[Jeff Strubberg]

With call in checking now in Missouri, I will likely never gut a deer again.  Take everything off of the carcass and bag it right there at the kill site.  No reason to go into the body cavity...

[Don Stokes]

I had this friend, well, let's just say he didn't walk the same path as most. I don't think he'd ever killed a deer, but he worried inordinately about splitting the pelvis. His solution was to put a large rock, probably 10 pounds, in his backpack, along with an enormous hunting knife. He carried the rock in case there wasn't one near where he killed his deer. No telling how many miles he carried that blinking rock...

He also wondered out loud why "the government" didn't put olive oil all over the swamps we were fishing in, to kill the mosquitoes.

I tried not to hang around him too much, in case it was contagious.

I never split them. Tie off the naughty/nasty bits and pull them back through the cored-out pelvic hole when you pull the rest of the guts out of the belly incision. If you do a good job of getting the connective tissue loose, it just pops right out.

[Bard1]

well that definately answered my questions.  Thank you all.  I only split the pelvis because that's how the instructions I learned from a few years ago told me to do it.  Worked for me, but I see that there is perhaps a better way to do it.  once again...
every thing I need to know I learned on Tradgang.    
Derek