AHAMO ARCHERY CLUB

September 16, 2003
September 2003 Newsletter

CLUB OFFICERS

President:        Bill Rhoades   (932-0417)
Vice President:   Bill Lewis     (498-9364)      
Secretary:        Dave Wise      (498-0186)
Treasurer:        Dave Holthouse (291-0211)
Trustees:         Ed Rebarich    (345-7608)
                  Steve Murphy   (291-7554)
Sergeant at Arms: Dick Sousa     (592-8045)
News Editor:      Lee Pereksta   (592-3856)
3D Coordinator:   Mike Vandeman  (332-4625)
VP of Indoor:     John Terfone   (738-1692)

Indoor range phone (734-7272)

Key Dates to Remember

    
     September 15  Deer Season opens
     October 6  7:00 Club meeting,indoor range

September Club Meeting

There were 17 members at the September meeting. We discussed the successful September shoot, a cookout planned for the October meeting, a workparty for rotating cardboard, and other things.

New members:

There were no new members voted in at the September meeting.

3D News

The September shoot was a great success. We had over 100 shooters, the weather was perfect, there was plenty of help, and all of the targets were brought in. The workparty to unload the truck was held the Monday after the shoot, and it took a little more than half an hour. There was plenty of help, which was a great way to wrap up the outdoor 3D season.

There were a couple of drawings at the 3D shoot. One was for a long shot raffle, where all that hit the 10 ring on our 3 shots for a dollar event were put in a drawing for a tree stand, and the other was the raffle for the tree stand that we had been selling tickets for all year long.

Gordie LeClaire was the winner of the Long Shot raffle - The deer was 67 yards from the green stake.

Chuck Vincent was the winner of the raffle for the other tree stand.

Chuck Vincent asked me to pass along a note from him... Please let everyone know that I think we have had a record year(not totally sure) for turnout for our work parties and I also appreciate all the help. Chuck

Thanks were given out quite a bit at the September club meeting. Everything ran smoothly all through the weekend for out last shoot and there was plenty of help.

There was also some special thanks given out at the meeting and we voted to give some gift certificates to those that brought their ATV’s to the workparties throughout the year, and to the key members of the 3D committee for all of their hard work throughout the year.

Found:

The large tables and the water jug reported missing in the last newsletter have been found. The YMCA had borrowed them and returned them just before our final shoot.

Cookout at the next club meeting:

There were quite a few hamburgers and hot dogs left after the final outdoor shoot (still frozen). We decided to have a cook out at the next club meeting to use them up. What is left we will give to members to take home.

This is an invitation to all members to attend the next club meeting and help us eat the remainder or our outdoor food. It would also be nice if you would bring a salad or desert to really top things off. Hope to see you there. The next meeting is Monday, October 8. Write that down on your calendar before you forget it.

Field Dressing Your Deer

I’ve field dressed quite a few deer over the years and have watched others field dress theirs, to get to where I think I have a pretty good technique. I’m sure that those of you that have hunted quite a bit, have your own technique and will not change it. For those of you that are fairly new at hunting, and for those of you willing to try something new, there are some things in this article that may be helpful.

1. Field dressing kit.

All you really need is a sharp knife, but there are some things that you may also want on hand. My kit consists of a small knife, a small towel, several paper towels, a small saw, some water, rope, and a plastic bag for the heart. I also carry a small bottle of water with a little vinegar to help wash out the blood when I’m through.

Note that your knife does not need to be big. The smaller it is, the easier it is to work with it without getting cut. Last year I upgraded from a 2 inch buck with a folding non-locking blade to a 21/2 inch buck knife with a locking blade. I decided to go to a little longer blade so I could make my first cut a little deeper when cutting around the anus, so I could pull it through without cutting the pelvic bone. I’ll get into that in step 3.

The important thing is that your knife must be very sharp. It will be easier to work with, and will do a much neater job.

2. Preparing to field dress your deer

Be certain your broadhead is not inside the body cavity. Make every effort to find your arrow. If you can’t locate the broadhead, check to see if there is an entry and an exit point in the carcass. If you are not certain where the broadhead is, open the deer up carefully during the field dressing process and use an arrow without a broadhead to poke around inside the cavity to try and locate the broadhead.

Tag your animal first - this is the law, and I always do this right away. With the new paper tags, you will at least need to punch your holes indicating the date of the kill. Next, drag the deer to where you want to field dress it. I always look for a flat area with two small trees on each side of the deer. I also lay my towel next to the deer and lay out everything I will be using, on or next to the towel.

3. Make your first cut

Cut around the anus first. Pull it out a little and cut around it as you pull it out. It is much easier to cut around the anus while the deer is on its side, before you spread its back legs out. I cut in about 3 inches or so deep.

4. Spread out the hind legs

and cut from the breastbone. I use two pieces of rope to spread the legs out, stretching them out between two small trees. You can also have someone hold them apart.

Begin cutting at the breastbone. I pull up on the hair and cut into the hide right at the breastbone. Once started, I cut into the hide (including the belly muscle), insert two fingers and pull up as I cut.

Keep pulling and cutting until you get to the sex organs. Pull up on these and cut around them. There is a long tube running from the sex organs to the anus on a buck. Cut into the meat and along side of this as you pull up on it. When I get to the anus, I cut this off and toss it aside. On a doe, you should cut around the udders.

5. Cut through the Pelvic bone with your saw

This is not necessary. Last year I cut in around the anus deep enough that I could pull the anus and colon out from the inside. Because of CWD, the game and parks web page was recommending the bone not be cut just to be safe. However, as soon as I got to the butcher he cut it so he could be sure the inside was clean and so it would cool faster. The butcher still boned out the deer, but the only bone he cut was the pelvic bone. I may go back to cutting it this year, because it does allow the deer to cool faster, and also cutting the bone makes it easier to drag the deer out of the woods. When I cut the bone, I cut through the meat straight down to the bone with my knife, then use my saw to cut through the pelvic bone. When I am almost all of the way through, I lean on each side of the back legs to pop the bone open.

6. Cut through the diaphragm

The diaphragm is a thin piece of tissue separating the stomach and chest cavity. To get to the heart and lungs you must cut through this tissue. I cut around the entire cavity, through the diaphragm. I also pull the stomach to one side, then the other while cutting through whatever tissue is attached between the stomach and the body cavity. This will make it easier to pull out the stomach.

7. Pull everything out of the body cavity

To do this, some people split the breast bone first. Some use their knives for this, which can be very dangerous. It is very easy to have a knife slip and cut yourself or someone else while cutting through the breast bone. If you want to split the breast bone, cut through the hide first, then use a saw to cut the bone.

I leave the bone in-tact and reach in up to my elbows. I reach in with my left hand and grab the wind pipe. Then, with my finger along the back of the blade of my knife, I keep the blade away from the arm and hand inside the deer and reach in with my knife hand until it is past the hand holding the wind pipe. Cut through the wind pipe with your knife, and carefully pull your knife out turning it away from your hand that is inside the deer. Toss the knife onto your towel and reach back in to pull the wind pipe. At this point, everything should pull out, all the way and over the back legs.

8. Final steps

After pulling everything out, I always hang my deer in a tree and spread the legs to let it drain. I have a rope and pulley system I use for this, but you can pull it up without pulley’s or elevate it a little on a log or hill. The important thing is to drain the blood out as best as you can. I have a small bottle of water I carry that has a small amount of white vinegar (a tsp. or so) in it. I also have the top of a Clean Shower spray bottle that I screw onto the water bottle when I need it. This works great to ‘mist’ the inside of the deer and then wipe it out. I wipe the carcass as clean as I can with paper towels and leave it to cool while I carry my gear back to my truck.

If you leave your deer while you carry your equipment out, note that Nebraska requires that you roll your tag up and tie it to the inside of the deer’s ear.

Be sure to clean up your paper towels, and to cut out and save the heart. If you don’t like the heart, you’re missing out on a treat. My wife makes a great pate with my deer heart that is always a hit over the holidays.

Hunting Season News

Not much to report this Month. Call me at 592-3856, or email me at hunterlee@msn.com when you get your deer. I also need to know if you need a plaque, or if you already have one and just need a plate for it.

Finally, if you get a buck you want measured for the Ahamo big buck contest, let me know and I will measure it at the October or November club meeting.

Newsletter Items

If you are a club member and have an item for sale, send me the information to put in the newsletter. Also, if you have an interesting deer story or any archery tips you would like to share with club members please send them to me for the newsletter.

My Email address is: hunterlee@MSN.com

For Sale:

Hand made Electric Meat Grinder:
Heavy duty and great for deer or any meat. 
$125 or best offer. 
Call Mike Vandeman 402 332-4625. 


Double Bull T5 Blind: 
6x6x6, retails for about $450
will sell for $300 
Scott Specht... 443-5068

Wanted:

The refrigerator at the indoor range is on it’s last legs. If you are replacing yours and don’t have a use for your old refrigerator, the club could sure use it.

Just contact a board member and let them know if you have one we can have. - Thanks

P.O. BOX 460945, Papillion, NE 68046-0945, USA. (402) 596-0505 . webmaster@sportsmansweb.com