If you ever think about buying a Viking Deer splitter, DONT . It broke on the second cut I tried on a whitetail deer. I read another post where someone had a pic where a blade broken in half, Bottom line is its a Gimmick. They suck.
Viking Deer splitter sucks
- Thread starter Prebanpaul
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One of these have allways worked pretty good for me on small animals like whitetail.
so im not the only one confused by whats going on. good to know.
The only thing I have ever "needed" other than a sharp knife is a Sagen saw. I swear by them now for quick work on large game (without puncturing the bladder).
Too bad the blade is shit steel. It seems like a good idea that would work. I use a very sharp hatchet. Takes no effort to chop through wet bone.
It does seem like a good concept the only problem is anytime I have ever field dressed a whitetail when it wasn't possible to quickly or easily load it into a truck or on a four wheeler I don't bother splitting the breast plate. I have just made it to that point slice around the diaphragm and reach inside and cut the windpipe above the lungs.
The only exception I can think of is a broken arrow and not knowing were the broadhead may be.
For the most part I have allways dressed and quartered deer hanging if I didn't have to cary them.
We always split the chest. It just gets the meat cooler, faster (plus makes it easier to toss in a few bags of ice into the cavity on the way home).
Core the anus and tie off with a piece of twine or floss. Assuming you are not going to cape the animal for a mount slit the stomach pelvis to chest. Then cut along one side of the sternum rib junction. It’s just cartilage the serrated area goes through like butter to the base of the neck. Pry open the chest, cut the diaphragm on both sides to the backbone and cut the windpipe and esophagus at the base of the neck. Now grab the cut end of the windpipe & esophagus and pull. Everything come out in one piece, lung, stomach, liver and intestines. Five to 10 minutes tops and the only thing bloody is your knife and hands.
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We hang them up on the winch rack and, once skinned, split the sternum, usually just with the hacksaw, then when you open up the gut cavity it all just spills right out into a bucket, no reaching down inside to scoop all the shit out before hanging them in the cooler. Just unzip them and go. If Im getting dirty above my wrist Ive done something wrong. Never done one on the ground in the dirt or field dressed anything.
By gutless method I am only guessing you mean to leave all entrails inside ?
If that's the case you would be missing out on probably the best cut of meat on the whole animal, the tender loin not to mention the flanks and heart.
So i have gutted probably 40 white tail deer, smallest around 140 and largest around 260 off the hoof. I have done it on a property in which I have to drag the animal out of the woods 600-800 yards. I am doing this usually buy my self. I have used a bench made skinner with great results. I was looking for a less messy and faster way to gut them, with less effefort. I bought a Talon and the deer splitter. I was thinking this should be easy. I also had a Havalon with me. when that thing broke I had to walk back to my car, and get a Sog tactical tomohawk. It pissed me off that the thing failed. But the Tomahawk made supper supper fast work. For now on it is going to be a tomohawk and havalon.
again, i haven't done it. but they do get the tenderloin by pushing the stomach out of the way and cutting it out.
Unzip the critter from sternum to pelvis, use the sagen saw to spilt each side of the pelvis, removing the center. Roll the critter over on it's side, and let the gut pile slide out, pull the rectal track out past the pelvis, and then cut the butthole out. Split the ribs with a knife, part the diaphragm and pull the lungs, etc out, reach in and cut the wind pipe. Everything ends up in a pile besides the critter, and the cavity immediately begins to cool.
It's important to immediately eat the large intestine before it cools.
Gotta have video to back up your claims or it didn't happen
I can get the whole process done with a buck knife. We stopped using a saw and loppers to take the legs off. Leave them on the ground and break the pelvis, and cut the area around the "knee knuckle" to make a clean break.
On a deer I'm not caping, I split the sternum and cut all the way up the neck with my knife as well. Gotta get the esophagus out. Use a Gerber exchange a blade bone saw for pelvis now. Broke pelvis with the knife for years.
^^^Pretty much this.
I don't tie off the poop chute, I just cut it loose.
Poke a hole in the sternum while standing straddling the chest. Insert two fingers, lift and place the knife blade upward between my fingers and unzip the deer.
I cut the boy parts loose, turn around and put the heel of the blade under the sternum and unzip the chest cavity.
Reach in, cut the diaphragm and esophagus and pull everything out.
5 minutes or less on a doe, a couple extra for a buck.
All the time. In fact if I shoot one and am going to process same day, I do this just to avoid the mess.
It's pretty simple. Skin one side and throw the skin over behind the spine side. Take all the meat off that side of the animal. Once you have the rear quarter and backstraps off, feel for the edge of the spine and carefully cut through into the guts compartment right at the edge of the spine, starting in front of the rear leg and going forward as far as you need to. Reach in, push the intestines down, and you can easily get the tenderloin out by cutting the connection on each end. Then flip the animal over its spine and repeat on the other side.
That's pretty interesting, I had just learned to do it mainly with them hanging if not field dressing.
That and my uncle allways kept the liver and kidneys for his dogs and we would eat the heart if it didn't have a bullet hole in it.
I don't eat the organ meats, but if I'm with someone who does we go in and get them. I get more meat this way than when I paid a professional butcher, and theirs still has bones frozen in the steaks whereas mine are boneless, so I feel pretty good about my recovery %.
There is a pretty big difference as you move up from antelope to deer to elk. The rib meat on an antelope is minimal, on a deer it starts to get interesting. On an elk it is very significant and a real waste if all you do is quarter an elk out and leave that behind. I have seen people who cut off the quarters, backstraps and tenderloins and think they took it all. The ribs and neck on an elk hold a great deal of meat.
I am a big proponent of the “gutless method,” and it is easy to get the tenderloin using this method.
For an elk, my limited experience has been that making an incision the length of the spine, then skinning “down” is easy. Take the back strap first. Take the shoulder and hind quarter as you get them skinned. Go in just behind the last rib and take the tenderloin. Because the animal is on its side, the guts will be pulled mostly out of the way by gravity. Flip the carcass and repeat on the other side. Don’t forget the neck meat...
For a deer, we hang them and butcher without gutting. Again, gravity pulls the guts (mostly) out of the way for harvesting the tenderloins. In the time it takes to gut and skin a deer (you know, “so the meat can cool”) I can have it butchered and in a cooler full of ice... Deboning the pelvis to expose and disassembling the ball sockets means I don’t need a saw/hatchet/limb loppers for any part of the process- I use a KoA cub bear caping knife for the whole process.
I shit you not, this thread got me in some trouble tonight. Guess I had a point to prove to myself. One of my coworkers took his first deer this evening. Cull 4pt he got on his 40 acres. Great deer, pics to follow later.
He called excited so I made the 15 minute drive to help him out seeing that it was his first one, and it's always great to have someone to hold the light or a leg.
Using a razor skinning knife he had, I took the deer from field to cooler in about 20 minutes. That was without gutting, but adding basic instruction and how to tips. I was able to get the entire tenderloin out, 4 quarters, neck meat and backstrap.
After hosing them off I made it a point to eat a part of that deer tonight. On homage to the beast, and a way to feel the primal nature behind it. Naturally, I would normally suggest the heart, but in this case the heart and lungs had been turned to mush with a well placed shot. (257 weatherby, I found the bullet under silver skin on the offside, beautifully expanded) Instead of heart, he opted for tenderloin and in about 15 minutes we ate the best damn deer I've ever had.
Damn good use of a Thursday night.
Here is the knife used, I ordered 2 this morning.
He called excited so I made the 15 minute drive to help him out seeing that it was his first one, and it's always great to have someone to hold the light or a leg.
Using a razor skinning knife he had, I took the deer from field to cooler in about 20 minutes. That was without gutting, but adding basic instruction and how to tips. I was able to get the entire tenderloin out, 4 quarters, neck meat and backstrap.
After hosing them off I made it a point to eat a part of that deer tonight. On homage to the beast, and a way to feel the primal nature behind it. Naturally, I would normally suggest the heart, but in this case the heart and lungs had been turned to mush with a well placed shot. (257 weatherby, I found the bullet under silver skin on the offside, beautifully expanded) Instead of heart, he opted for tenderloin and in about 15 minutes we ate the best damn deer I've ever had.
Damn good use of a Thursday night.
Here is the knife used, I ordered 2 this morning.
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I'm the same way, the tenderloins almost never make it home and are usually cooked in camp the same nite. Damn now I want some fresh venison for second breakfast, thanks Frank.
Oh hell yeah, he pan fried it with a little garlic salt to 105° int. temp and then stuck it in the over wrapped in a thin layer of tin foil for 10 minutes to 120 int. temp. Cut it right there on the butcher block. Probably will be my new deer steak method.
Lol, sorry for the thread hijack fellas.
I just pan fry it, but will try that next. I happen to have two tenderloins in the freezer still.
I have made deer this way the last 2 nights. Did backstrap one night, and a steak cut from a roast. It came came out great. It's my new way to cook deer.
This guy is the king, but if you want to see how to a master does it on a gambrel this is a great modus operandi. 8:10 is the tenderloin
