graphic - dressing small game with big knives

[Hard Knocks]

For birds, I just turn them on their back, step on both wings close to the body, then pull legs straight up and turn them inside out!

I've done them that way as well. You can flat go through them like that. If any of you guys get a chance and want to show your technique, post it up. There's definitely more than one way to skin a cat, er, bird

 

[GingivitisKahn]

For what it's worth, I posted another thread over in Beckerland about how I clean squirrels.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...dead-critter-content)?p=16527764#post16527764

I'm using a smaller knife in that thread but the same tactic would work just fine with a machete.

 

[Hard Knocks]

For what it's worth, I posted another thread over in Beckerland about how I clean squirrels.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...dead-critter-content)?p=16527764#post16527764

I'm using a smaller knife in that thread but the same tactic would work just fine with a machete.

Very good thread! Thank you for posting it GK.

 

[bore]

With rabbits you can grab them under the armpits and squeeze downwards like squeezing a toothpaste tube. Most of the guts will come out. Easier to carry that way

 

[fast14riot]

Hi Xander,

Yep, you understand what I'm trying to show I think, as I had a SAK clipped in the pocket and a 4" GSO on my belt. I will say this.......the big blade made short work of the job. I didn't have to break any joints that are sometimes stubborn with a small slip joint, everything cleaved readily. My father started in on a ruffed grouse the same time I started on the blue. He was using the Schrade slip joint he always carries, and even though I was very slow, what with the picture-taking, you can see the ruffed is done just in the next to last picture. If it had been head-to-head, the blue would have been done much sooner, even though it was the bigger bird. I'm not necessarily stumping for big blades, I've done many birds with the SAK. I'm just trying to show how it's a bit different, not necessarily better or worse, to accomplish some tasks that aren't normally associated with a big blade, and I figured most of us would already be familiar with the process using smaller blades.

Thanks for your comments, and good luck on that upcoming deer hunt I've seen you post about :thumbup:

Dave

Dave, I do get your point with this. I have been out for a specific game and had an opportunity present itself to acquire a different species (with appropriate tag, of course) and not had the proper tools. Normally for me, my fixed blade is between 2"-3.5" blade, classic hunter size and I've cleaned whole speed goats and deer to bullfrog and creek trout with the same knife. I do have a bit of an advantage, my wife is a trained chef, I've picked up quite a bit of technique from her books while she was still in school. Luckily for her, my aversion to eating with my bare hands (even fried chicken) and being a hunter when contrasted to her near vegetarian dietary habits, has given me plenty of training in disjointing nearly any fin, fur or fowl. If we have any meat from whole or quartered animals I process it for her to cook, unless it's wild game, then I cook it, lol!

Thanks for the well wishes, we pushed our departure date back a couple days, Donner pass will be hit with a big storm this Sunday and I'm sure we all know what can happen on Donner pass in a storm...

-Xander

 

[Hard Knocks]

Yes, exactly. And you said it better than I did, basically be prepared for the situation that presents itself with the tools you have. Which reminds me, a large knife may come in handy when you cross Donner

Safe trip when you go!

Dave

 

[ssssnake529]

Here's a video of a guy dressing an gutting a goat with a 7 inch Riflebird knife: (field dressing starts at about 1:48)

[video=youtube;nsf0U_qAheE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsf0U_qAheE[/video]


And this one: (field dressing starts at about 2:17)

[video=youtube;Qvge3tA5bXo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvge3tA5bXo&t=204s[/video]

 

[BladeScout]

As always interesting and also good pics:thumbup:

That is one heck of a knife to use for that - must be a Busse first.

 

[Hard Knocks]

As always interesting and also good pics:thumbup:

That is one heck of a knife to use for that - must be a Busse first.

I remember some years ago there was a member that was talking about this in the Busse forum. He was talking about cleaning rabbits with a big blade, and I couldn't really get it in my head what he was on about. I never posted in his thread, but my mind at home was kinda like 'come on man, all you need is the slipjoint in your pocket.' Then he posted a sequence of pictures where he made one slit mid-back, pulled the hide off, cleaved the four feet and head, and filleted away the membrane holding the guts. Bing bang boom, done.

The beauty of it, he could had done the same even with something like a BRKT golok with no point at all. He used the cutting edge of his big blade to do the tasks that I was used to using the tip of the small blade for, albeit in a different manner/different cuts, to accomplish the same thing very efficiently. That was one of those moments that is good for a person. You know, when you get schooled after thinking you've got a pretty good grip on things. Caused me to figuratively 'STFU' and get back to learning, ha