what should I do then?

[trigger]

This will be my first year hunting and I have never cleaned a deer.
I hope to learn how but I hope to get some help before I try it myself.
My question is what would be the best thing for me to do if I am able to put one down How long before it begins to spoil would I have time to take it to where It could be butchered the right way.
Thank you for any advice you have and good luck to all in the woods.

[Holy Smokes]

Here are couple of videos I do some simple stuff like I do not cut out the anal opening just cut it to the inside.
the 2nd one is a couple of butchers

http://justnorth.com/Articles/Articl...struction.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKm42ql7NSw

[scottg]

Several factors will determine how long you have before you have the deer processed. Outside temp is one. Down south, it can be 80 deg during bow season, you would want to move pretty quick if it is warm.

Cabelas sells a neat little tool for pulling and cutting the anus. I do recomend having some way of haning the deer by the back legs and spread for an easier skinning. You don't want to wait too long before gutting the deer, the guts will start to spoil the meat soon. Field dress or skin and gut pretty quick.

Some people like to hang their deer for several days in a cooler at 40-45 degs. I do. If you don't have a cooler, an ice chest will work just fine. Or several ice chest if they are not big enough. Gun hunters that have a lot of blood shot meat will sometimes let a deer soak in ice water for 3 or 4 days to dray the blood out of the meat. Draining the bloody water our daily and adding new ice.

Having a good sharp knife with a skinning hook/gut hook will be handy for a firstimer. Some kind of bone saw to split the breast bone and pelvic bone will be handy also.

One last tip, try to do as little cutting on the hide as possible. Pull as much as you can off. This will help in keeping the hair off of the meat.

[Tenderfoot]

I worried about the same thing 2 years ago when I started hunting. I figured I'd cross the bridge when I came to it. Luckily I got a man who eats nothing but venison offer to walk me through it when I shot her. I did shoot a few last year(finally). A couple old does. He told me to..... get the meat on ice before it ruins(70 degrees is not good for meat...unless it is like 30-40 outside, I would not want my meat to get much colder than just dead hot). Hang the deer, skin the deer, backstrap it, remove the shoulders, slice off the leg meat and detatch at hip-socket joint. Do so to other leg while deer hangs over garbage can for disposal. You will be left with one hawk hanging on the gambrel. The deer we see here are all so small that there is no meat worth picking through for all the effort it takes to gut it, and if you ignore the butt, you don't have to remove it, just leave it stuck to the rest of the dismembered carcass. Oh, chop the foots off the legs. Then with all the meats in the cooler cover in salted ice water. drain water daily and replace with more salted cold water...always keep ice cubes floating in the cooler. go for 5-7 days(curing need only be done in this manner in the heat..otherwise hang it)

[jdawg240]

The first deer I had to feild dress by myself was in a blizzard and in the dark...this is no joke. No one to hold a light . The numer one most important thing is to clean out the anus cavaity all the way. The rest of the organs are a no brainer. Take them all out.Then get your deer to a processer as soon as you can! Good hunting,