This is more for the guys that hunt long way from road and maybe then have long drive home. I have certain areas that I'll drive 1 and 1/2 hours away then walk another 1-2 hours in if its warm day I do gut mine to me poultry doesn't fair long in warm weather. I rarely see anyone else do this
Whew! God Bless you!
I used to years ago when I was a few years younger. Nasty, nasty, nasty. I'd do it in the garage and need to run out for fresh air many, many times!!!
Hahahaha....no more for me. I get the breasts out and I have a buddy that likes the legs and I'm done.
Nope, not going there, too much trouble. Take the breast fillets and legs. I have waited as much as 4 hours and not seen any deterioration. Now I make sure they are out of the sun. I use a big vented orange bag to transport and if it is an excessively hot day, I will put some ice from the cooler in a gallon Ziploc bag and stick it in the orange bag with the turkey.
When I first started turkey hunting, I did. Not a pretty sight at all.
Now I just take the breast and sometimes the legs......
I don't really enjoy doing it but I always do.
I do once weighed for the contest! I too have to drive a bit so I will gut and stuff with ice for the ride home.
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Not here!! I fillet the breast off and cut the thighs off with the legs attached. I gutted one and that was enough for me..That is some kind of stink, right there!!
I mainly hunt in FLA & SC, so plenty of warm weather. I've never gutted them, nor have I ever had a problem with them going bad.
Cleaning/ field care for birds isn't the same as mammals. There isn't the "rush" to get the insides out. In fact, with smaller birds, the old way and the way I go is to leave guts in and age them for days at cool temp. With turkeys, its recommended to gut them before aging, but you still don't need to be in a rush.
I definitely gut them, though. How else am I going to have those gizzards, hearts and livers for dirty rice? Or the carcass for soup?
Ive never tried it. I get the breast and im done.
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Anyone tried the Turkey Gut Wrench? I got one for this spring, looks easy, we'll see.
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here in missouri you can check in your bird by phone, so i hang them by their feet and take the breast, then make one cut at base of keel bone and pull it pops open and can take the gizzard and heart put in gallon baggie with check in info and place into cooler with ice. thats as close as i want to come to a gutting not tough enough to stand the odor
Quote from: MagicBeard on February 20, 2014, 02:50:09 PM
Anyone tried the Turkey Gut Wrench? I got one for this spring, looks easy, we'll see.
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Never even heard of it. Is it like the HS Butt Out they use for deer?
I always gut my bird....traveling 7 hours from southern to northern California is a bit far to leave the guts in them. And I must be weird cause I don't think they smell that bad compared to a wild pig....Them things are freaking nasty nasty nasty !!!
Quote from: socalturkeyman on February 20, 2014, 05:00:41 PMI don't think they smell that bad compared to a wild pig....Them things are freaking nasty nasty nasty !!!
x2 :agreed:
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 20, 2014, 04:55:05 PM
Quote from: MagicBeard on February 20, 2014, 02:50:09 PM
Anyone tried the Turkey Gut Wrench? I got one for this spring, looks easy, we'll see.
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Never even heard of it. Is it like the HS Butt Out they use for deer?
Yeah, instructions say insert into vent, twist 360 degrees and pull. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/21/3unuzany.jpg)
I always fillet the breasts out when I get home. I've never gutted one. Not sure I could stomach that. Turkey guts are pretty rank.
When I first started Yes but as I have gotten older, I take the breast and leave the rest for the possum to keep them off the road.
Quote from: MagicBeard on February 20, 2014, 05:11:32 PM
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 20, 2014, 04:55:05 PM
Quote from: MagicBeard on February 20, 2014, 02:50:09 PM
Anyone tried the Turkey Gut Wrench? I got one for this spring, looks easy, we'll see.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Never even heard of it. Is it like the HS Butt Out they use for deer?
Yeah, instructions say insert into vent, twist 360 degrees and pull. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/21/3unuzany.jpg)
Looks like a deer Butt Out with more teeth. I've got 2 butt outs, so I bet I could use one for turks if I ever had to gut one. Most of the time I have enough time to get home though. Thanks for the heads up about that Magicbeard!!
Nope...
mudhen
I gut all mine. Not in the field but at home or camp. I waste very little off a bird. The heart, liver and gizzard wind up as dog food.
Quote from: eddie234 on February 20, 2014, 02:24:49 PM
Ive never tried it. I get the breast and im done.
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X2
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nope, never have
I gutted them for many years. Nowdays I just skin enough to fillet the breast out and cut off the legs/thighs. Just read back and saw the turkey stink comments. I will say this, turkey stink on a pocket knife is like smelling an old spent shotgun shell to me. Sweet perfume and pleasant memories.
I don't like to gut them , but if it's been a couple of hours and I need to cool them down quickly I'll gut them and place a frozen solid 20 ounce beverage container in there - it will do the trick quickly
When I get some where , I put a bag of ice over each breast and put em in a cooler -
Gutted them when I was younger to see what they ate. Now just get the breasts and legs and I am done.....
I don't even gut a deer anymore, sure not going to gut a turkey.
Nope....If its hot, filet breast, put in ice chest.......
I gutted one once, haven't done it since. Horrible stink!
I gut mine as soon as they're finished flopping. Killed one years ago and waited about an hour and when I went to make the cut to gut it there were worms crawling out of its a*s. So now I get them before they start to jump ship.
Quote from: Deputy 14 on February 21, 2014, 12:46:51 AM
I gut mine as soon as they're finished flopping. Killed one years ago and waited about an hour and when I went to make the cut to gut it there were worms crawling out of its a*s. So now I get them before they start to jump ship.
Had he been shot before?
Take the breasts- use the rest for coyote bait later in the day.
Yep, I always "field dress" the bird after pics and getting the weight. Every spot I hunt has a small stream running through it so I usually do it and then I can wash my hands. It takes all of about 5 minutes.
Not me .. I sometimes take the Gizzard and Heart .. but I never fully gut one..
Never. I've even hung a gobbler over night without a problem.
TRKYHTR
Nope, just take the breast meat out, save the legs/spurs, beard, & cut the fan off & I'm done with 'em.
Quote from: TRKYHTR on February 21, 2014, 05:31:12 PM
Never. I've even hung a gobbler over night without a problem.
TRKYHTR
Same here. Kansas has a regulation about the beard staying attached to the breast while transporting (unless you do their weird photo check-in thing), so I can't really cut it up like I normally do. I just to toss the whole bird in a cooler with some bags of ice, and swap out the ice as needed.
I'll gut him if its really hot and I'm a long way from home other than that I just snatch the breast out.
Quote from: MagicBeard on February 20, 2014, 02:50:09 PM
Anyone tried the Turkey Gut Wrench? I got one for this spring, looks easy, we'll see.
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I use a gut hook for upland birds but have never heard of one for turkey.
Quote from: guesswho on February 21, 2014, 07:30:49 AM
Quote from: Deputy 14 on February 21, 2014, 12:46:51 AM
I gut mine as soon as they're finished flopping. Killed one years ago and waited about an hour and when I went to make the cut to gut it there were worms crawling out of its a*s. So now I get them before they start to jump ship.
Had he been shot before?
No. It looked like tapeworms. Nastiness.
When I was in Louisiana, I would clean my birds after getting home, 2 to 3 hours after the bird was killed. I always gut my birds to get the liver, heart, and gizzard. That is some fine eating right there I do not want to miss out on.