What butchery kit should I have as a new stalker

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dickmills

dickmills

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I am new to stalking, have only previously been with a friend who has all the kit.
I am looking to book up some guided stalks for myself & was wondering, what kit am I expected to have as a newbie on a paid stalk? What should I be looking to purchase in order to appropriately be able to butcher at home (apart from the skill, as looking in to that separately), & what makes kit in this realm better than others, for instance is there a gambrel thats better than another for some reason, or will any do? I don’t like to buy cheap & buy twice, but I am perfectly happy buying second hand. Where on earth am I supposed to start?
What is the correct etiquette to turn up with on the day so we can have a good stalk without considering the carcass?? Should I be taking a Roe sack for instance??
Thanks for any help
 
For butchery, you can do the whole lot with a victorinox 5" flexible boning knife.
You could add a butcher's saw, if you feel like spending a bit, but it's not essential.
Next step would be to get a cheap mincer, and maybe a vac packer from Lidl.
And you'll need a decent surface to work on. An ordinary polypropylene cutting board on the kitchen table will do.

This video will help you a lot:
treestand

Thread 'Butchering a deer at home beginner friendly video'

Hi folks, little butchering video some might find interesting or usefull.
  • Like
 
I butchered my first with a fairly blunt kitchen knife. I would have done a better job with a pitchfork and a lump hammer to be honest, but it tasted good.
I currently use a victorinox steak knife and a couple of 5” flexible boning knives. I don’t use a bone saw as I don’t like bone dust.
Check out “butchers sundries”, they do reasonable priced butchers supplies.
 
(5 inch boning knife semi flex) I have fdick and victorinox, both are good options .
(Saw) I have a butcher saw, but a miter saw does a perfect job and doesnt take up as much room in your kitchen, also 6 quid on screwfix 😉
(Steak knife or large butcher knife)
(Sharpening and honing equipment) regular steel, fine steel, stones in different grits. strop.
(Mincer or good food processor)
(Plenty of freezer space)
For the hunt, a good full tang knife thats tough and keeps an edge, I also carry a scalpel.
 
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I agree, 5'' Victorinox boning knife and a steel.

For the stalk, speaking for myself, I supply everything, and gralloch the animal.
I carry a roe sack this time of year.
All I ask my clients to bring are some bino's if they have them, drab clothing and a face mask!

Cheers Richard
 
Mincer get a good one or do like every one does several cheap crap ones then a decent one (not hundreds but £60-100 or so). Decent boning knife and a skinning knife the one with the ball end tip. And a chiller and some hangers etc.
 
Are you taking some from where is fell (eg: butchering off back steaks and hind quarters) or gutting it and carrying it out whole?

There is a whole raft of things you can use once home but if you are in the bush you just need one good knife (strong curve at tip of blade), made from real quality steel (not stainless) so that is holds its edge and will hone up with a steel. You will also need some sort of good backpack and some cloth to wrap it in because that blood will drip out over you unless you limit it.
 
knife to start - victoronix or Mora (use in field). Tripe knife from victoronix (for gutting)
saw - £7.99 small saw from the likes of Deer Central
length of 8mm rope and some car seatbelt material..... for making a drag rope
carcass tray... Garland Titan garden tray - less than £15 if you shop around
hat, gloves, facemask
bino's

at home, the same knives and saw will be able to butcher although not as easily as better ones.
a vacuum packer is a great investment.... lidl/aldi ones will do ok
Mincer. a touch more money will get a better one, but start at the lower end until you are sure you will continue.

A computer.... so you can post pictures of your stalks on here and keep an eye out here and on the 'bay of thieves' for bargains when they appear ( really good if you have a network of mates spread around the country). I have picked up a number of really good bits for little money as either in furthest Wales or Cornwall, but know people in those areas and willing to wait to collect from them.

Do not get into the trap of having to have such or such branded product or the latest gizmo or gadget...... people have managed to process deer for thousands of years without them. as my dad used to say 95% of fishing tackle is there to catch fishermen, 5% to catch fish
 
Post skinning a 5” boning knife will absolutely do the majority of what you need. I find a saw or snips for the ribs handy.

Stainless trays - I have a couple of large ones and several small.
Large stainless bowl
A mincer
Vac packer

The last two I think are really useful - there’s a lot of meat on a carcass and both help to create manageable meat packages for the fridge or freezer, whether meat for burgers or steaks from haunch.
 
Plenty of kitchen roll, the first one I butchered at home took me 4 hours and looked like a scene from the Texas chain saw massacre 😊. Other than that , a sharp knife and a saw is useful, I used a cheap wood saw to start. Did the job ok- freezer bags if not getting a vacuum packer. If only doing one a year don’t break the bank doing it.
 
dickmills said:
Hi all,
I am new to stalking, have only previously been with a friend who has all the kit.
I am looking to book up some guided stalks for myself & was wondering, what kit am I expected to have as a newbie on a paid stalk? What should I be looking to purchase in order to appropriately be able to butcher at home (apart from the skill, as looking in to that separately), & what makes kit in this realm better than others, for instance is there a gambrel thats better than another for some reason, or will any do? I don’t like to buy cheap & buy twice, but I am perfectly happy buying second hand. Where on earth am I supposed to start?
What is the correct etiquette to turn up with on the day so we can have a good stalk without considering the carcass?? Should I be taking a Roe sack for instance??
Thanks for any help
Click to expand...
Stiff boning knife
Flexible filleting knife (for easy sinew removal)
Saw - I initially bought a solid hack saw from Screwfix and it served me well for years.
Vac packer
Mincer
Sharpening steel
Cloths for whipping the odd hair away

Also recommend Scott Rae’s videos on YouTube.
 
Mungo said:
It’s very rare here for people to strip the carcass on site - we almost always extract whole.

I occasionally do it, but usually only if it’s badly shot animal so not worth taking out the whole carcass.
Click to expand...
It can be hard going to pull a complete carcass out of a gully or what ever in dense bush, our hunting forests are very very different to what the British’s hunt in. Anyway, it can be a better solution for us to just take the best bits.
 
Always take a knife out with you stalking , indeed take two a main and a back up ( coz **** happens) There is no real reason to carry much else , the rest is best done back at base. Whatever your carcass will be more contaminated if you have the head off, ribs opened up and even the anus leave the plug in with the bladder the pipe should stay plugged with an overhand knot . There remains certain difficulties to face on recoveries , think carefully and do what is the least worse course of action
All the other kit should be back at stalking base .
There is a lot of different circumstances - the books tell fibs and miss out things like what to do when the Argo breaks down with a good number of large deer. Different species need different procedures CWD leave masses of hair all over you , the vehicles and inside the body cavity, muntjac can potentially be treated like you might with Hares pretty much.
Victorinox 5.6003.12 are my favourite larder knife and i also make sheaths in kydex for folks who prefer them out in the field ( a true rigid boning knife)
Bone saw , commercial or home made
some place you can work on a clean prep table , if that's an issue hang your beast from a tree etc
 
dickmills said:
Thanks all,
Do I need to hang it to skin it, or can that be done on a clean flat surface too?
Click to expand...
Probably easier to do hanging, as you can keep working round. Getting one of the mora skinning knife makes the legs easier Mora "Roeing/Bleeding" Knife
Don't fret about the time
Have a clean damp cloth to wipe off hairs
The video with the Scots lassie is a realistic one, not an expert butcher.
Take your time and enjoy it
Lakeland do a good mincer and vac packer
 
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