Field Dressing/Quartering in Below Zero Weather?

[solo06]

I was doing some late-season bow hunting last week, and the daily highs were around 5-10 degrees. One day, with winds of 30 mph, the wind chills were way below that. My heavy gloves were awesome at keeping my hands warm; but if I took a glove off, literally within seconds my hand would become painfully frozen and difficult to move (as you might expect), and it would take a while to recover even after putting the glove back on.

I spotted several deer coming out each evening near sunset, including a really nice buck. Although I wasn't able to get within bow range in time, I kept wondering how I'd manage to process it if I actually got it down in these temperatures.

When field dressing or quartering, I know some people don't use gloves while others use thin latex/nitrile gloves (my preference). But, at these cold temperatures, I couldn't imagine processing the deer without gloves, the latex or nitrile gloves wouldn't provide any insulation, and my heavily insulated gloves would be way too cumbersome to wear while processing an animal.

Assuming you don't have a nice warm garage to drag it into...

What do people wear on their hands to dress or quarter game when it's below zero?

 

[thru-hunter]

Never done a deer but have butchered a moose at below zero temps. I used nitrile gloves and was fine. Dead animals are warm, especially something as big as a moose.

 

[Becca]

While I have helped cut up critters in some cold temps here in AK, I can only think of a handful that were actually in sub freezing temps. I typically wear nitrile gloves for skinning/butchering, both for hygiene and because it makes the clean up easier. I have found my hands stay pretty warm in just the nitrile gloves even in cold temps because I can keep them in contact with the warm meat or hide the majority of the time. They will get cold if you step away for any length of time though, so I have literally stood around holding meat to keep my hands warm before (backstraps or tenderloins work well) if there are two of us and I am waiting with a game bag for ribs or something.

I have also broken down animals on several occasions wearing chilly grip style gloves (like these: http://www.chillygrip.com/A311.html) with the rubberized palms. Those will keep you warmer in truly cold temps, but the downside is that it's hard to get the scent of blood out of them afterwards. They are machine washable, but after they have been inside an animal they are never quite the same. They aren't terribly expensive, so if you can't live with the aroma they are easily replaced.

 

[Yellowknife]

I love winter hunting. Do it every year and have field dressed a least two dozen moose and caribou in below freezing temps. The coldest being around -30 F.

It's really not a big deal. I usually make the initial cuts with gloves on, and then just pull them off when I gut it. The animal has a lot of heat, and I keep my hands warm that way. I just keep a set of loose insulated gloves handy to stuff my hands into when I'm not actively working on/in the animal. Skinning can also be done with gloves on without much trouble. I always have at least 2 extra pairs in my pack, so I can swap out if needed. When is really far below zero the blood freezing on your knife blade can be annoying, but sliding it between the meat and the hide will thaw it out in a minute or so.

Whenever possible I do avoid skinning and quartering in those temps though. I found out the hard way the if the meat flash freezes before it's gone through rigor, it will "cold shorten" and be very tough. Dragging it out with the hide on is by far the best way. If not possible, do your best to keep it from freezing in whatever way you can. Luke can tell you I buried a whole field dressed caribou in a snowbank last winter to keep it thawed overnight in -10F weather. Between the hide and the insulating snow, it was still thawed enough to skin in a warm garage when I got it back to town the next afternoon.

Yk

 

[Buster]

Keeping your hands busy in the cavity, and/or working with the warm meat will keep your hands warm enough. If your hands do start to get really cold, stop cutting and warm them up. A buddy cut his hand pretty bad and didn't notice it for quite a while because he let his hands get too cold, which reduces dexterity and sensation.

 

[solo06]

Great suggestions! I hadn't thought of using the animal's heat to keep your hands warm, but that makes perfect sense.

It's nice to hear that the nitrile gloves should continue to work fine, but I also just ordered a pair of those Chilly Grip gloves, just in case.

That was also a great tip about preventing the meat from freezing too soon. Most of the time, we're focused on trying to cool the meat as quickly as possible... but freezing too fast should also be avoided. Before I started processing my own game, I once took a deer to a meat processor that immediately processed and froze the meat. Anything that wasn't ground was ridiculously tough.