Pelvis / Sternum bone saw advice?

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Cut+Squirt

Cut+Squirt

Well-Known Member
Hi guys,

I'm looking for recommendations please.

For many years the vast majority of my stalking has been for roe deer, however of late I'm shooting a much higher percentage of reds and also the odd sika.

I'm looking for recommendations for a bone saw for cutting open the pelvis and sternum please.

As per above it will be used on roe, but reds and sika as well.

All recommendations well received.

Thanks.
 
Woodsmoke said:
This is what I use. Works very well indeed :thumb:

www.bushwear.co.uk

BushWear Bush Saw - Compact Deer Field-Dressing Bone Saw

The BushWear Bush Saw is a compact stainless steel bone saw built for the gralloch and the rest of your carcass processing. Its short 7cm blade cuts on the pull stroke, working quickly through bone and cartilage so you can open the rib cage and tackle the pelvic bone without a struggle. The...
www.bushwear.co.uk www.bushwear.co.uk
Click to expand...

Where did you get that idea from?

Plus one for the Bushwear saw.
 
Casstrom are brilliant if annoyingly flawed, BUT!!! they have the best aftercare service, I’ve lost count of the number of free replacements I’ve had from one initial purchase, they last a year or so and then inevitably break always (so far) to be replaced without question. I just wish they would see the obvious flaw in their design (screw hole in the narrowest part of the blade)
 
A decent pruning saw does the job. I use a Silky. I do have the bushwear though and have used it. It's great for the money
 
Heym SR20 said:
Personally I prefer to core out the back passage and leave the H bone intact. Meat has a very good barrier to cross contamination. By cutting through the H bone you are exposing a lot to contamination.
Click to expand...
Agree, I never cut the pelvis, apart from anything else on reds my chiller isn’t high enough to suspend them from the hocks anyway so I have to run a hook through the H bone to hang them, cutting it would clearly remove that option!
 
I use the Camillus Cloak discussed here:

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

Field/bone saw

Hi all It's time I got a new saw for opening up the chest etc. Do I get another Bushwear own brand around £8 or spend on a Casstrom? Is there a massive difference in performance to match the price hike? I know you can replace the blade on the Casstrom, But you can also get several of the cheaper...
www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

I also have the Casstrom (and yes, it has a design flaw) as well as the Dave Stretton breastbone saw and a couple of others.

The Felco F600 looks a good option.
 
Cut+Squirt said:
Hi guys,

I'm looking for recommendations please.

For many years the vast majority of my stalking has been for roe deer, however of late I'm shooting a much higher percentage of reds and also the odd sika.

I'm looking for recommendations for a bone saw for cutting open the pelvis and sternum please.

As per above it will be used on roe, but reds and sika as well.

All recommendations well received.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Heym SR20 said:
Personally I prefer to core out the back passage and leave the H bone intact. Meat has a very good barrier to cross contamination. By cutting through the H bone you are exposing a lot to contamination.
Click to expand...
Personal preferences aside, the moment you put a knife to the animal you are exposing the whole lot to airborne contamination; it’s how you go about matters thereafter that determine how much contamination it is exposed to and what type. So far, so good 😊

In my experience it’s perfectly possible (with care and a suitable saw) to split the aitch bone from the top after exposing the joint suture, via incisions made both upward, toward the inner side of the skin, and downward toward the pelvic suture, then saw lightly from the top using a ‘Stretton‘ type bonesaw until just or barely through the pelvic arch, thereafter freeing and removing the anal and urinal tracts in their entirety, ie without damaging either, and thereby avoiding cross contamination, whereas in order to ‘core‘ out the pelvis one must

a) either take part of the outside of the animals anus inside and through the bone, thus introducing potential pathogens from around the anus (and in the case of females the ’urinary excretion area’),

or
b) by cutting through the colon and urinary tract and pulling these to the outer you are again in danger of introducing pathogens from the faecal/urinary waste.

For this reason I’ve personally never been keen to try use a saw to saw up and down through both sides of the pelvic arch, and/or using the type of saw shown above, my personal preference is for one which with light strokes you can saw from the top and through the bone only, without hitherto entering into the inner pelvis and/or it’s contents.

Any inference that somehow by cutting through bone one is in danger of contaminating the meat are in contrast to accepted meat industry practice, I think.

891D9E12-D254-49FC-8073-6B87D41C2304.webp
 
Freeforester said:
Personal preferences aside, the moment you put a knife to the animal you are exposing the whole lot to airborne contamination; it’s how you go about matters thereafter that determine how much contamination it is exposed to and what type. So far, so good 😊

In my experience it’s perfectly possible (with care and a suitable saw) to split the aitch bone from the top after exposing the joint suture, via incisions made both upward, toward the inner side of the skin, and downward toward the pelvic suture, then saw lightly from the top using a ‘Stretton‘ type bonesaw until just or barely through the pelvic arch, thereafter freeing and removing the anal and urinal tracts in their entirety, ie without damaging either, and thereby avoiding cross contamination, whereas in order to ‘core‘ out the pelvis one must

a) either take part of the outside of the animals anus inside and through the bone, thus introducing potential pathogens from around the anus (and in the case of females the ’urinary excretion area’),

or
b) by cutting through the colon and urinary tract and pulling these to the outer you are again in danger of introducing pathogens from the faecal/urinary waste.

For this reason I’ve personally never been keen to try use a saw to saw up and down through both sides of the pelvic arch, and/or using the type of saw shown above, my personal preference is for one which with light strokes you can saw from the top and through the bone only, without hitherto entering into the inner pelvis and/or it’s contents.

Any inference that somehow by cutting through bone one is in danger of contaminating the meat are in contrast to accepted meat industry practice, I think.

View attachment 227358
Click to expand...
With the smallest of deer in the uk, muntjac bucks seem/do to have the biggest bladder...
Try to get it out when it is full to the brim with out nicking it is a job for a small handed surgeon.
Split the H bone and you have room,
When these video demo's are done you never seen one full to the brim on a mj. Big deer lots of room...
Small deer next to FA....
 
I only use a saw when back at the larder or butchering. I find a woodworking handsaw is best and costs less than £5. Wash and dry them on a radiator after use. I find the Bushwear saws are too short to get enough speed up on the cut and a simple cut takes ages.
 
Freeforester said:
Personal preferences aside, the moment you put a knife to the animal you are exposing the whole lot to airborne contamination; it’s how you go about matters thereafter that determine how much contamination it is exposed to and what type. So far, so good 😊

In my experience it’s perfectly possible (with care and a suitable saw) to split the aitch bone from the top after exposing the joint suture, via incisions made both upward, toward the inner side of the skin, and downward toward the pelvic suture, then saw lightly from the top using a ‘Stretton‘ type bonesaw until just or barely through the pelvic arch, thereafter freeing and removing the anal and urinal tracts in their entirety, ie without damaging either, and thereby avoiding cross contamination, whereas in order to ‘core‘ out the pelvis one must

a) either take part of the outside of the animals anus inside and through the bone, thus introducing potential pathogens from around the anus (and in the case of females the ’urinary excretion area’),

or
b) by cutting through the colon and urinary tract and pulling these to the outer you are again in danger of introducing pathogens from the faecal/urinary waste.

For this reason I’ve personally never been keen to try use a saw to saw up and down through both sides of the pelvic arch, and/or using the type of saw shown above, my personal preference is for one which with light strokes you can saw from the top and through the bone only, without hitherto entering into the inner pelvis and/or it’s contents.

Any inference that somehow by cutting through bone one is in danger of contaminating the meat are in contrast to accepted meat industry practice, I think.

View attachment 227358
Click to expand...
That Lamb was split after it was skinned and then eviscerated. 😏
 
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