Pocket Guide to Field Dressing Big Game

Book excerpt: Most experienced hunters agree that the real work begins after the animal is down. No hunt is complete until an animal has been properly field dressed and packed out of the field. What you do in the minutes after the fatal shot determines whether you will enjoy the savory flavors of wild meat, or find yourself with "gamy", unpalatable fare. For most of us, the experience of field dressing comes infrequently. In the intervening months (sometimes years) our memory of the proper techniques can grow rusty. That's where the "Pocket Guide to Field Dressing Game" comes in. Waterproof, dirt-proof, and stain-proof, it covers everything from basic field dressing to cutting up an animal in the field when it is too big to pack out in one piece. It even covers the proper techniques for cleaning game birds. This guide should find space in every hunter's pack, next to the hunting knife and game saw. Gilbert, a wildlife biologist, has hunted, fished, and guided throughout North America for over 35 years.