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Never done a full on cow but I have done deer, hog, birds of different assortment (chicken, duck, dove, and quail), and a few other misc thing. I think if faced with hunger I would be fine.
Hell I have even seen several autopsies not that I want to eat human. |
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I can, we used to process our deer ourselves when I was a kid. I take them to the processor now out of convenience. I've never done anything bigger than a deer though, cow might be a challenge.
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Yes, a variety of fish, a variety of game birds, rabbits, squirrels and Deer. Not for food, although they are edible, Muskrats and Raccoons. Muskrats smell very bad when skinned, pee yew.
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Wild birds are easy. Pheasant/turkeys you cut the breasts out and use the rest for coyote bait. Duck/goose you cut the breast out and turn it into summer sausage.....and use the rest for coyote bait. Grouse/quail you go Indiana Jones and pull the breast/breastbone out and use the rest for coyote bait. Wrong, pluck and enjoy Agree. Lots of deliciousness in legs, wings, carcass, and offal. |
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Yeah, but it wouldn't be pretty. I've only done it a couple of times, and that was years ago.
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https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/120312/IMG-0621-110582.jpghttps://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/120312/IMG-2314-110583.jpghttps://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/120312/IMG-0750-109438.jpg View Quote Nice back fat on that buck. Of course as a hunter my answer is yes I can. Use to eat the tree rats all of the time as a kid. |
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Fish: Yes. Deer and other four legged critters: yes, though not quickly or terribly efficiently Birds: Honestly, never done it. I suspect I'd figure out, though the first couple might be a real mess. View Quote A good set of poultry shears, a flexible boning knife, and - after a few - you'll be a pro. |
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I can do the classic gut, then hang, or I can do the poacher's special. Poacher's special gets 90% of the useful meat off an animal without having to even gut the animal. You end up walking out of the woods with a pack full of boned out meat, heart, and liver. Leave all the guts, head, skin, and bones behind. It took me 20 minutes to do the first deer myself after an old boy showed me how to do it.
Of course to remain legal, the head with tag on it was taken out, but that was just to stay legal. I don't eat the head, nor do I need the brains for tanning the hide. It is actually easier than gutting the animal. |
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I haven't fully prepared any animals but fish, but I'm sure I could probably figure it out;
-kill it -skin it -remove poopy stuff -cut it for cooking -cook it -eat it Is that the gist of it? |
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fish, squirrel, and chicken. never done anything bigger than that.
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Have the skills, the tools (and back ups), and do it regularly.
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I believe you are looking for "efficiently" Any idiot with a knife can cut a chunk of meat off an animal. Getting as little waste as possible is the challenge. View Quote It's eerie how FP usually NI. I can shoot a deer and hack off a piece of hind leg to roast, so I am certainly a hunter. No problem there. It's the rest of the deer going to waste that makes me a poor hunter. |
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Sure, but I would do a lot of cuts with the bone still attached. More flavor plus less waste.
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If it swims, walks, crawls, flies, slithers, or chirps.... I can kill it, process it, preserve it, and prepare it.
Cook it, can it, dry it, pickle it, salt it, and barrel it. But I am a homesteader who lives in the woods most of the time. Most people will be dead if our world ever goes tits up. Just a fact. Hope it doesn't happen. |
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Have done dozens of times. Usually throw money at it these days.
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Hmmmm...what other skills do they lack.?
My wife might recall her mother's skills. Her mom actually processed chickens in front of the children. Mine didn't and despite growing up on a farm I've never heard her claim to have done it.. Hopefully youtube will save the day. |
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It's eerie how FP usually NI. I can shoot a deer and hack off a piece of hind leg to roast, so I am certainly a hunter. No problem there. It's the rest of the deer going to waste that makes me a poor hunter. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I believe you are looking for "efficiently" Any idiot with a knife can cut a chunk of meat off an animal. Getting as little waste as possible is the challenge. It's eerie how FP usually NI. I can shoot a deer and hack off a piece of hind leg to roast, so I am certainly a hunter. No problem there. It's the rest of the deer going to waste that makes me a poor hunter. There is also the "after". It's hard to eat 30 pounds of deer meat before it spoils. So the ability to preserve it without refrigeration is another topic. Especially in the warmer climates. |
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Was processing some chickens yesterday to fill out the freezer before the long of winter and got to thinking. If shit really did "hit the fan" with the way society is today I think a lot of people would be fucked even with livestock right in front of them. Just seems like a lot of people now a days wouldn't know how to slaughter even a chicken or process a deer. Sure there's animals I haven't done but the general process is similar for most animals. So GD if there was a live chicken or pig or any animal in front of you do you possess the knowledge and skills to process is (relatively correctly) into useable food? View Quote I've done hundreds of birds when I was younger and hunting with my dad. Birds and small game wouldn't be an issue. Never done anything larger but I'm good with a knife and know the theory so I'd be ok. The first few large game might be a bit rough though. |
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Learned to hunt and fish by age 5.
Cleaning and cooking came a few years later. Not much more rewarding than harvesting ones own meal....from kill to grill. |
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Yes.
I haven't done a beef in years but I'm pretty current on deer and elk. |
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It wouldn't be pretty, as I have no practical experience with anything other than fish, but I do have the general knowledge and would figure it out the rest.
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Proficient like a butcher, or like in the assembly line style vee-hook-on-the-wall rabbit raising thread? No.
I have processed squirrel, pigeon, and deer with a passable result, but certainly not with the speed and efficiency of some of my friends. |
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Wild birds are easy. Pheasant/turkeys you cut the breasts out and use the rest for coyote bait. Duck/goose you cut the breast out and turn it into summer sausage.....and use the rest for coyote bait. Grouse/quail you go Indiana Jones and pull the breast/breastbone out and use the rest for coyote bait. View Quote Lot of waste there. there's a bunch of good meat on the pheasant and turkey thighs, plus the drum sticks and backs are good to boil for broth. |
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Was processing some chickens yesterday to fill out the freezer before the long of winter and got to thinking. If shit really did "hit the fan" with the way society is today I think a lot of people would be fucked even with livestock right in front of them. Just seems like a lot of people now a days wouldn't know how to slaughter even a chicken or process a deer. Sure there's animals I haven't done but the general process is similar for most animals. So GD if there was a live chicken or pig or any animal in front of you do you possess the knowledge and skills to process is (relatively correctly) into useable food? View Quote You would be surprised what humans would do in order to survive. That friendly old grandma that lives in 2B? She would eat your STILL LIVING dog if she were hungry enough. |
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Process into raw meat? Yup all day. Cook it? Yup-may not be up ARF dinner pic standards but can eat. Preserving for later use? Not so much.
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Lol, yes. And so does anyone else, even if they don't know it yet.
They just have to get hungry enough. |
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Was processing some chickens yesterday to fill out the freezer before the long of winter and got to thinking. If shit really did "hit the fan" with the way society is today I think a lot of people would be fucked even with livestock right in front of them. Just seems like a lot of people now a days wouldn't know how to slaughter even a chicken or process a deer. Sure there's animals I haven't done but the general process is similar for most animals. So GD if there was a live chicken or pig or any animal in front of you do you possess the knowledge and skills to process is (relatively correctly) into useable food? View Quote I think they would be too. Would they be able to get meat in their mouths? Yes. Would much of it be contaminated or make them sick? Yes. Sooner or later if they don't know what they are doing they are going to get sick. Never mind being able to process it properly so it tastes good. |
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No I do not. But I know how to brew mead and how to make internet porn work.
So, I can barter my way for food. |
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When I first moved out on my own, skinless, bonless chicken breast was two bucks a pound and then price doubled, so I bought a whole bird at 99 cents a pound. There I stood in my kitchen, trying to cut up a whole (already gutted, cleaned, and ready for the oven) bird into it's constituent parts, and finding myself grossed out by it.
Twenty some years later, I'm now going out into the woods and reducing living wild animals into meat for my table. So, yeah, I think I could handle it fine. |
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Spilling any of the gut or stomach content on the carcass greatly accelerates the decaying process, so knowing how to properly clean game can mean the difference between dying from food poisoning or not.
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Quoted:
Was processing some chickens yesterday to fill out the freezer before the long of winter and got to thinking. If shit really did "hit the fan" with the way society is today I think a lot of people would be fucked even with livestock right in front of them. Just seems like a lot of people now a days wouldn't know how to slaughter even a chicken or process a deer. Sure there's animals I haven't done but the general process is similar for most animals. So GD if there was a live chicken or pig or any animal in front of you do you possess the knowledge and skills to process is (relatively correctly) into useable food? View Quote |
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I don't personally possess the skills, but I do possess them.
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Hell yes. What self-respecting
Been fishing and hunting damn near my whole life. Teaching my kids the same. |
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Hopefully youtube will save the day. View Quote You should be fine, even without it. This is literally stuff that cavemen figured out how to do on their own. That said, a book or two on the subject is a wise investment. Youtube probably isn't going to be there for you if it gets to the point that you're doing novice butchering jobs on animals. |
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