How to Skin a Deer

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Hang up the deer.

   Hang your deer up on a tree or tractor with a rope around its antlers or neck.
2. 2

   Step 2: Make incisions on the neck and chest.

   First, cut the skin around the neck at the base of the skull.
   
   Second, cut the skin down the front of the neck, down the chest, down the abdomen, to the genital area.
   
   After your initial incision on the neck, make the rest of the cut with the knife blade facing up.
   
   This helps prolong the blade's life (as the blade does not cut through the fur) and minimizes the chance of you accidentally puncturing an organ.
   
   Take care that you only cut through the skin and membrane, but not into the muscles. , Make incisions from the incision on the chest, down the forelegs and circumscribe the legs above the knees. , Use your hands to pull the skin off of the legs and neck, working down towards the chest.
   
   If muscle tissue is coming off with the hide, use a small knife to cut any underlying membrane. , Ball up the hide around the golf ball.
   
   The ball will help provide grip for the next step. , Tie a rope around the pocket of skin containing the golf ball.
   
   Then pull the other end of the rope to pull the hide off.
   
   Alternatively, you can attach the other end of the rope to a vehicle and use the vehicle to pull the hide off. , Once the hide is removed, rinse the carcass with clean water to remove any hair.
3. 3

   Step 3: Make incisions on the forelegs.

4. 4

   Step 4: Start to remove the hide.

5. 5

   Step 5: Place a golf ball (or similarly sized rock) in the middle of the stripped hide

6. 6

   Step 6: at the back of the neck once the hide is off of the legs and neck.

7. 7

   Step 7: Use a rope to pull off the hide.

8. 8

   Step 8: Clean up.

Detailed Guide

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