Skinning is always a PITA!
I hang my deer with the head up, remove the shoulders, then the backstraps, then the rumps and put them in a large cooler.
That way, if I get fatigued with the butchering, I can keep it on ice and process it when I feel like it. I turn as much as I can into steaks and make chunks out of the rest. We gave up on the grinding, never did get the burgers to be as good as I wanted.
I separate all the muscle in the hind quarters and remove them from the bone before making my steaks. I also remove all fat and as much gristle as possible. It takes a lot of time, but the finished product is worth it.
Our marinate on the steaks and chunks always makes them taste good, and it is very healthy meat (lower in fat than chicken or beef, and more B vitamins and Omega 3.
I only use knives to butcher, one medium size and one large (to keep my steaks straight). We package just enough for the wife and I to have a meal. Using a band saw and smearing fat or bone marrow on the meat degrades the taste of venison. It will also make you more vulnerable to contracting an illness if your deer has one.
I only use the reciprocating saw (with carbon teeth) to shorten the legs before skinning, and to remove the antlers from the skull. I cut straight down about an inch or so behind the antlers, then across even with the lower part of the eyes. Cutting the fur/skin first with a knife before using the saw on the bones really makes things go faster.
It’s interesting to see how many different methods people use. A supermarket butcher did one of my deer when I was a kid and he quartered the deer, used a bandsaw, and used other techniques as if it were a big beef carcass. My uncle did my first one and he quartered it too. I didn’t see the point!
I hang mine head down with a pine gambrel through the knees using a chain fall. I put a bag lined trash can under the deer. Then I skin it down to the point where I can cut the head off and let it all fall in the can. I do that for tick control… Lyme disease has hit almost every household around the woods where I hunt. My father had it twice and Ehrlichiosis once. I hose my hunting clothes and boots down with Permethrin… chainsaw pants too!
I do not remove the legs, split the spine or cut any bone before or during the butchering outside of removing the head.
Then, using gravity as an aid, I bone out the hind quarters, and work my way down from there removing all the meat. The chain fall lets me raise and lower the carcass to a convenient height. The front shoulders are boned after removing them from the carcass… my uncle pointed out that that can be removed with little karate chops as there is no joint per se… I use a knife.
When all the meat is off I chop the spine off at the rib cage and drop the rib cage end into a lined barrel and then take the back end and fold the legs up while putting it into the barrel.
All the boned meat goes into the refrigerator and is then cut up for packaging. Backstrap is cut into butterfly steaks, tenderloins left whole, some steaks, and lots of cubed meat for speedies and stew. Some is ground for chili.
When my wife was around she and the boys were butchering and packaging while I was boning out the meat. It went pretty quick.
My buddy shot a couple deer at the same time one time. We boned them out in the woods using my process and only brought the meat out in a backpack. A lot easier!
I have been removing the skulls and racks and doing European style mounts in recent years…
