Saturday, April 7, 2012
Dog and people tucker assured
Well, in usual inept-but-somehow-succeed way, I have just been out and shot my first wallaby (Yes, I have been there before, killed the one the dogs caught in the yard - with a piece of firewood, dressed it it etc. but before someone else has shot them, shown me how to field dress it etc, or at least supervised. This time it was just me.) It's kind of one of these 'we need to do it, and best it were done quickly and cleanly' tasks. I'm afraid I'll never make a 'pleasure' hunter, but I hope I make a reasonable hunter-gatherer. It was windy and nasty out there.I only saw one wallaby, I had shoot it without the benefit of a dead-rest, standing, and trying to hold a torch. Still I managed it, a head shot, more luck than judgement I suspect but it is gutted, skinned, now ready for cutting up. I had been rather worried about my ability to succeed at this, and it's been a small investment towards the gear (small because I've been fortunate in my friends, large because we avoid spending money unless we're really sure of it feeding us) so I am glad I did succeed at it. Next time I'll have a little more faith in myself and take a headlight and decent knife!
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If you don't have a knife with a gut hook you ought to get one. Something like this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Camo-Gut-Hook-Fixed-Blade-Hunting-Knife/product/10212898/64100
I've never come across one before. Never even seen one. Forgive my ignorance -a serious question(I have cleaned tons of fish, crustacean, cephlopods, and a fair number of birds, but few other things, rabbits, antelope and wallaby - in low numbers) but why is it good idea? I would be worried about breaking the gut, and I thought the idea was to keep it intact and away from the meat? I hang the animal, and then once I have made the cross cut, reach inside and pull everything out and below, so it won't contaminate, reach up inside and pinch closed the anus from the outside of the gut and then cut the vent out and draw it through. (wallaby the pelvis is in the way to go right outside as I would with an antelope.) I am pretty ignorant about all this, but this makes hygene sense to me.
DeleteI'm a City Boy so I'm basing this off reading widely over the years and a bit of googling to check my recollection. Basically the idea with the Gut Hook is you use the normal blade to make a small hole then use the hook with its sharpened inside to make the cross cut with almost no chance of cutting to deep and nicking the GI tract. Saves you from a slight shake of the cutting hand ruining all your work with contamination.
ReplyDeleteAha. Now I understand. Thank you.
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