Field prep

I once shot a springbok for meat in Namibia (through the head, of course). My PH cut its throat right away, exposed its lower rear foreleg, snapped the bone, wrapped the broken end around the truck rail and back through the leg to bleed it as we returned to camp.
It seems they do an excellent job of preparing game for consumption in Africa, and the meat is always delicious (depending upon the species, of course).
Can anyone add details or more specifics about field prep of game? For example, I seem to remember being told that they often cut the throat while the heart is still beating to bleed the animal thoroughly.

Thanks.

S.

quote:

Originally posted by Seq:
For example, I seem to remember being told that they often cut the throat while the heart is still beating to bleed the animal thoroughly.

Only once in my entire hunting life have I arrived at the animal I shot, finding it's heart still beating.

Frans

Once the heart stops, there is no movement of blood in the body of an animal. Cutting the throat and hanging it upside down will allow gravity to reduce the amount of blood present when butchuring the animal. We eat the muscle of an animal and you will get minimum drainage from this tissue. Your PH's method, not as messy to clean but little to do with quality of meat.

Proper field treatment of any dead animal is crucial to ensure that you get a good quality venison.

Here a few comments from experience gathered over many years of trophy and venison hunting:

1. Shoot an animal that is relaxed and does not know that it is being hunted. The younger the better, but even old trophy animals can be very tasty!
2. Use enough gun, bullet quality and shot placement to ensure a virtual instant kill, like DRT = dead right there. The enjoyment of the hunt is now over: Now you are responsible to give the due attention to the trophy and the venison so as to not waste anything of the hunted animal. Take your photos quickly and then give attention to the trophy and the venison.
3. Remove the gut and lungs plus heart without getting any gut contents or urine from the bladder on the meat. Removing the heart ensures that you cut all the big drainage veins, and in addition cut the veins and arteries that lie just above the fillets. Shake out the paunch contents and put stomach, intestines and liver, lungs and heart in suitable container. Remember that these are also eaten and need not be wasted.
4. Get the carcass into the shade as soon as possible, and protect from flies and ants. Then get carcass to skinning shed with proper protection underneath the carcass to ensure that the trophy is not damaged by the transportation process. If an animal is shot specifically for the venison, like the springbok in the original posting, it can be hung to mature in the skin for a number of weeks in a cold room, but if the trophy needs to be mounted almost immediate skinning, even before the carcass has cooled down is best.

In good hunting.