How to Process or Debone a Deer in the Field

With special carcass transportation restrictions in place due to chronic wasting disease (CWD), it's important that hunters know how to debone their deer harvest in the field.

Kentucky Afield Host Chad Miles walks us through a step-by-step process of deboning a whitetail deer in the field. The method used here ultimately yields the same cuts of meat that a typical processing method would, with each muscle or muscle group individually removed.

The only tools used in this method are two knives, one for cutting hide and one for removing the meat, a pair of protective gloves, and a game bag.

No bone or spinal matter is broken or introduced into the meat, and when this process is complete the meat is completely ready to be packed out, leaving all of the remains in the field.

For more information on chronic wasting disease, visit us at fw.ky.gov/cwd.