Tanana Valley Sportsmen Explain
How To Care For Big Game After
The Trigger Is Pulled; Game Down
You will need an axe or a hatchet,
knife, good whetstone, strong cord
or light rope, and pack board or
some means of carrying the meat. A
saw, some cheeSe-cloth and black
pepper are worth having. Your
knife should not be too large.
Make sure the creature is dead.
<Go ahead and laugh, but one guy
we know didn’t laugh when a
moose got up and left with a good
rifle hanging on his antlers.)
•‘Sticking” an animal to bleed him
is unnecessary. You are going to
dress "him out at once anyhow.
Wasted minutes at this point are
bad. and any appreciable delay can
ruin your meat. Get going.
Put the carcass on its back, tak
ing advantage of any means which
will serve to get the head higher
than the hind quarters. Spread the
legs, which can be cut off now or
later. If necessary, use rocks or
blocks to keep the animal in posi
tion. (If the means are at hand to
hang the animal, do so, keeping
the head up.) Start your cut near
the lower end of the breast bone
and come down just short of the
base of the tail, cutting around the
genitals and anus on both sides to
free them. In making this cut be
careful to leave the internal organs
intact, in order to keep urine and
other natural excreta away from
the meat. Reach inside the carcass
between the hip bones and trim out
large intestine, removing genitals
and anus as part of this operation.
Back at the breast bone again,
cut away upper end of intestinal
tract at the diaphragm and work it
out. Still working toward the head,
cut windpipe, attachments and blood
vessels as far up as possible. Work
entire contents of chest cavity
downward and out. Swab out the
entire body cavity with cloth or
moss and cut away any bullet
damaged parts. The heart and liver
are placed in cheese-cloth or other
wise safeguarded as they are re
moved from the animal.
Make haste slowly in getting the
skin off. by which is meant that
a good skinning job will save much
effort later when it comes to
“fleshing” the hide. To quarter the
beast, cut between the second and
third ribs from the rear, and saw
or chop through the back and pel
vic bones.
Care of the meat from this point
on will determine how good it is
going to be on the table. Your hur
ry up to now has been for the pur
pose of cooling the meat quickly.
Now you can cut it into small
pieces for transportation, if neces
sary. If at all possible, let meat cool
24 hours before moving. Meat
should be hanging at all times when
not actually being moved. If hang
ing is not possible, get the meat
well off the ground so that air can
circulate freely on all sides. A small
platform of tree branches will
serve. Meat on the ground, especial
ly damp ground, will sour in a
hurry. Meat hung not at all or too
short a time will be toagh and
! will lack flavor. Meat hung too
I long will become strong or too
! gamey. Roughly, meat hung for a
week, and well ventilated at around
i 35 degrees will be right.
It should be mentioned that the
I hide can be left on and the entire
| animal carried in that fashion, or
■ the hide can be left on the various
parts and transported thus. Gener
ally, however, removing the hide
aids the cooling process to an ex
tent which is more important than
whatever protection the hide may
give the meat during the packing
out. Cloth is better and cleaner any
way.
Never use water to wash any
part of the carcass. Use moss, leaves, !
grass or cloth—never water. Keep
the rain off. too.
Flies can ruin meat quickly;
they must be kept off. Keep meat
covered with cheese-cloth. Black
pepper will help.
Keep meat and hide clean.
Don't transport meat near a hot
engine, nor on the roof of a car
on a hot day. Better travel at night
for a long haul in hot weather.
If you're after big game, make ev
ery effort to have an old hand along.
Don't go into the field short of
equipment, knowledge or transpor
tation.
Reprinted- from Fishing and
Hunting in Interior Alaska
Tanana Valley Sportsmen's As
sociation 1955-1956.
Jeneva McMullen, mortician with
the Fairbanks Memorial Chapel,
flew to Seattle this week to begin
a two weeks’ vacation. She was
visiting in Seattle this week, her
vacation plans still indefinite.
I
This is where the cuts for a wild game dinner are cut. The Tatiana
Valiev Sportsman's Association furnished the diagram.
The Cun Is
Always Loaded
1. Treat every gun with the respect
due a loaded gun. This is the
cardinal rule of gun safety.
2. Carry only empty guns, taken
down or with the action open, in
to your automobile, camp and
home.
3. Always be sure that the barrel
and action are clear of obstruc
tion.
4. Always carry your gun so that
you can control the direction of
the muzzle, even if you stumble.
5. Be sure of your target before
you pull the trigger.
6. Never point a gun at anything
you do not want to shoot.
EXPECTANT MOTHERS'
CLASSES BEGIN FRIDAY
The Fairbanks Health Center will
conduct classes for expectant moth
ers, beginning tomorrow afternoon
at 2 p.m. in the basement of St.
Matthew's parish hall.
The classes will be held on Mon
day and Friday for a period of
three weeks. Anatomy, physiology,
nutrition of pregnancy, labor and
delivery, and preparing and caring
for- the newborn infant. Films will
be shown as an instruction aid.
unless you unload it first.
8. Never climb a tree or a fenca
with a loaded gun.
9. Never shoot at at flat, hard sur
face or the surface of water.
10. Do not mix gunpowder and al
alcohol.
“%ewii “Dale Says
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