Processing Your Deer - Leave No Trace

 

When a stickbow shooter gets a deer, the challenge makes the success all that much sweeter.  Making the most of that success seems all the better to extend the enjoyment.

Butchering your own deer, and use as much of the animal as you can.  You don't need a lot of expensive gear of facilities to do this. I used to live in a townhouse and I would need to pull out my car and process the animal in my garage.  A couple good knives, an inexpensive vacuum sealer, and a grinder are all your really need along with a little time.  The more you do, the faster you get at processing it.  

Butchering your own allows you to use much more of your animal.  This is how I go about things these days.

The Process starts in the field. Once the requisite photos are done, I set about field dressing.  This all depend on if I am going to drag the deer, or if I am WAY back and need to just pack out the meat by using the gutless method.  If you are packing out everything is put into game bags so I will discuss gutting.  The Item I collect here is the heart.  Some folks enjoy the liver and that could be kept, but I am not one who enjoys eating that filter!  You can read about heart from a previous blog here: https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2018/10/heart-saver.html

I used to carry a ziplock bag to keep the heart in, but I always seemed to lose it on the drag.  The solution to this is credited to my brother Chris.  Simply leave the heart attached!  Reach up and cut away the lings and windpipe, but leave the heart attached.  Drag out your deer and you will have the heart safe and sound where you are processing it. 

The hide - Simple if you are dragging, the hide comes with it.  If you are packing out, skin the deer and roll the hide hair side out and pack it with the meat.

Meat and hide getting packed out (hide rolled under the orange vest).

At the processing area, I will usually skin out the tail, heavily salt it, and set it aside to dry out.  I will use these for fly tying streamers and have dyed them a variety of colors.

Salted Tail sitting aside.

At this point, I will also heavily salt the unrolled hide with pickling salt and let it drain for a day or so before rolling it back up and putting it in my chest freezer in a garbage bag for later processing into buckskin (usually in the summer).https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2026/08/tan-that-deer-hide-easy-self-tanning.html

If I was lucky enough to get a buck, I will take the head and put that aside for a euro mount I do myself.  

Next, we come to the meat cutting part.  The first big task is cutting away the meat from the bones. When I do the meat packing instead of the dragging, I still keep the long legs bones in the quarters.  Yes, it is heavier, but you can make wonderful bone broth from the long bones.  See this post: https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2022/06/venison-bone-broth-recipe.html

When I get to the straps, I will make sure to fillet out the back sinew.  I scrape this with my boning knife to remove all the meat. Then, I will move it to a flat surface to dry out over the next several days.  This "Natural fiberglass" is a valuable thing to save.  It has many uses from making thread to backing self bows.  I have a large bin, and I can trade with our primitive hunting friends for things I may need more like broadheads, knives, etc.  Once dried, it needs to further preserving until it is needed for use.  You can also use the shorter rounded leg sinew the same way.

Sometimes I even use sinew for fly tying.  Makes a great translucent nymph body when wet.

https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2025/11/introducing-doe-bug-fly-and-first-test.html

Now I will continue to trim out the large pieces of meat.  I usually have several bins of trimmings.  The fat I try to put in a separate pile.  These scraps I will put in a crock pot slow cooker with a couple cups of water to render tallow.  The tallow can be used for soap making or candles.  You can pour the hot tallow into mason jars or freeze the disk which is what I usually do when I have freezer space.  

https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2026/03/deer-soap-another-reason-to-butcher.html

Another pile of scrap is for very sinewy or blood shot meat.  This I freeze in a bag that I give to my sister for pet food.   

Then, I have the grind pile and stew meat chunks.  

If I didn't leave the ribcage in the woods, I will save the for roasting.  They are so good when done properly. 

 

Likewise with the neck roast. 

https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2021/12/venison-neck-roast-recipe.html

This usually takes most of the deer out of the waste stream.  I usually just throw out the spine, pelvis, hooves and lower leg bones, and a head if it is doe.  The foxes hate me, but I enjoy using so much of a successful hunt.