After the shot: taking care of the animal

Gutting, cooling, butchering and carrying — step by step, so the meat is good.

Note: General advice for deer. Requirements for samples, tagging and delivery vary — check what applies where you hunt.

Before you start

• Check that the animal is dead: gently touch the eye with a stick — if it does not blink, it is dead. If in doubt, finish it with a quick shot.
• The order is: tag and report as your permit requires → gut the animal at once → the rest at a calm pace.
• Have ready: a sharp knife and stone, disposable gloves, game bags and cord.
• Work on as clean a surface as possible, and keep one “dirty” hand for hide and guts and one clean hand for the meat.

Bleeding — usually not needed

A good hit in the heart and lungs bleeds the animal out by itself; the blood collects in the chest and comes out when you gut it.

With a hit that does not bleed well, for example in the neck or spine, stab deep into the base of the throat towards the heart, and lay the animal head-down. Do it at once.

Gutting — get the stomach out first, and fast

The rumen is a fermentation tank. When the animal dies, fermentation continues in the body heat, the rumen swells, and heat and bacteria spread into the meat. That is why getting the guts out is urgent.

Lay the animal on its back and make a shallow cut from the brisket towards the pelvis. Cut AGAINST YOUR FINGERS: two fingers inside the cut push the guts away from the blade so you do not puncture them. A gut hook makes it much easier.

Free the rectum and tie it off so no faeces reach the meat. Free the diaphragm, cut the gullet and windpipe high up, and pull everything out in one go. Empty the chest of blood.

If the bullet went through the stomach or intestines, cut away meat with contents on it and dry the rest with paper. Be careful with water — it spreads bacteria.

Cut away the meat around the wound channel. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority recommends a circle of about 10 cm around the entry and exit holes with lead bullets.

Cooling — the decisive step

• Open the body cavity well and prop it open with a stick so air gets in.
• Lay the animal in the shade with air underneath. Never in the sun, never in tight plastic.
• Use game bags against flies. Once the meat has dried and formed a skin, flies cannot lay eggs in it.
• Skin while the animal is warm — the hide comes off easily and the temperature drops faster.

Butchering and carrying

An adult deer is too heavy to carry whole. Split it into manageable pieces — the hind and front quarters, the back and the sides — and rather make several trips. Long, heavy carries in rough terrain are one of the most common causes of injury during the hunt. Take the heaviest first while you are rested.

At home

Hang the meat dry, cool and airy, preferably at 2–6 °C. The rule of thumb for ageing is 40 degree-days (temperature × days — for example 10 days at 4 °C). Do not cool too quickly the first day, it stops the ageing. Check regularly for sour smell and mould.

Next: Hunting without coverage