The Total Experience

The problem I have with sheath knives is I lose them.  I don't know where they go, but I've never had one last for more than a few trips.  The folding knife I use for deer hunting is a specialty tool.  It has three blades, one of which I don't use, but the two that I do use are perfect for the job.  One of them is actually a little saw, which I use to split the rib cage and the pelvis. There is more than one way to gut a deer, some people don't split the rib cage and the pelvis, but I prefer to because it makes the insides more accessible.  

Cleaning fish and game is not a pleasant job, but it goes with the territory.  Most people don't clean fish and small game until they get home or back to camp.  That's okay, assuming that you are going directly home, but not if you're going to stop at the bar for four hours on the way home, leaving your prize to ferment in the trunk of your car the whole time.  Deer and other big game are usually field dressed where they fall, and may even be skinned and quartered if they have to be packed out a long distance.  In this area, most hunters drag their deer to the nearest road or trail where they can pick it up with some kind of motor vehicle.  Field dressing reduces the weight, and also helps the meat to cool a bit while you go get your vehicle.  Once their deer is loaded onto their vehicle, many hunters take it to a professional butcher who will process it for a price, but I prefer to do it all myself.  For me, it's not just about killing things, I embrace the total experience.

Uncle Ken:  Like I said, I was not aware that the amount of white space at the end of a post could be controlled.  I know that now, but I still don't know how to do it.