Speed up my gralloch?

[wildfowler.250]

Right folks, I’m ashamed to say I’m probably into 3 figures now of deer shot,(that’s not a brag, just to giving an idea of scale) and I’m getting a little frustrated with how long the gralloch takes me.

Now I’m doing a ‘clean’ job and I think the standards get higher and higher with time but it’s probably taking me 15 minutes to do when really the field part should only take about 5.


I’ve done suspended grallochs and they’re pretty handy but usually there aren’t suitable trees so let’s assume that option is out.


Where I find the biggest wrestle is pulling the oesophagus and trachea through the chest once it’s been tied off and cut. And similarly, getting everything back out through the diaphragm - everything else is ‘easy’ enough.


Deer lying on its side, do you pull everything down through the oesophageal hiatus/hole in the diaphragm? Or remove the diaphragm completely?

At the neck, (once tied off and cut), I try and pull the trachea and oesophagus downwards to ‘loosen it’ but it still seems a fair pull from the lungs backwards to get stuff to shift.


Just wanting to see if there’s any experienced tricks I can pick up. The job is getting done without gut contamination but it would be nice to do it with more speed and less wrestling..


Cheers!

 

[@theroedeerguy]

Especially with the smaller species you can save some time by not cutting and tying the oesophagus, instead cut as usual and expose the windpipe and oesophagus, cut off together above the larynx then pull away the oesophagus from the windpipe and twist it over.

Pictures hopefully help?

 

[tozzybum]

There you go hope it helps

 

[Dunwaters]

Do what you do at the neck, then cut the back end free, then cut through the diaphragm all the way around, carefully free it up at the spine, then reach as far forward as you can and pull.
Everything, and I mean everything, should come out cleanly.

 

[VSS]

Why do you need to do it quicker?
By your own admission, you don't shoot vast numbers of deer, so I'm guessing it's not like you're ending a morning highseat session with 8 or 9 deer on the deck in front of you, all needing gralloching fairly promptly?
If it's only one or two deer at a time there's no need to rush.

 

[South of the M4]

I don't see why you would tie the oesophagus and trachea together. They go to different places.
I tie off the oesophagus after separating from the trachea and then strip back the muscle sheath with a fingernail to expose the 'white' underneath, this prevent the knot slipping undone. Then cut the trachea free at the base of the sternum.
The oesophagus can then be teased/pulled through the uncut diaphragm and removed from the cavity with the rumen and intestines.
Later the diaphragm can be cut and lungs/heart removed from the thoracic cavity where, presumably, the animal was shot, so full of blood. For me, the trachea is removed with the head...

 

[Buchan]

Why do you need to do it quicker?
By your own admission, you don't shoot vast numbers of deer, so I'm guessing it's not like you're ending a morning highseat session with 8 or 9 deer on the deck in front of you, all needing gralloching fairly promptly?
If it's only one or two deer at a time there's no need to rush.

Indeed. How many do you do a year, if it's only a few and you've been at it years you will be slower than the person doing several a day. I was advised to pull the oesophagus forwards first to free it up a bit.

 

[pete evans]

Do it at a pace that you’re comfortable with. It’s not a race and if you cut a tendon in your hand you will wish you took your time. If they are clean and you’ve inspected it etc then job done. Unless your poaching, then hammer it out, get it into the vehicle and get the f**k out of dodge.

 

[rem284]

Why do you need to do it quicker?
By your own admission, you don't shoot vast numbers of deer, so I'm guessing it's not like you're ending a morning highseat session with 8 or 9 deer on the deck in front of you, all needing gralloching fairly promptly?
If it's only one or two deer at a time there's no need to rush.

If the midges are nipping your head there is every need to rush.

 

[Firefly]

I will own up here I stupidly tried to see how fast I could gralloch timing myself on a stopwatch, ended up putting a scalpel through my hand and severing a nerve.

Do it at your own pace as long as it’s safe and clean.

 

[NullMac]

Red and green at the same time.

Varies a bit around the neck depending on how shitty the ground is. So you can have minor variations on a theme. I tie the food pipe and cut the oesophagus. Make some cleaning cuts of the attaching tissue at the neck where the pipes go into the body, makes it a bit easier.

Normal green gralloch cuts. I strip the pellets out then break the **** pipe, tie and put back in. Again you can vary. Pull the stomach out.

Lift up the cut skin so you can see the top of the diaphragm, quick cut running round the top of the diaphragm (1/3 to maybe 1/2 total way round). Stick your hand down, grab the cut end pull back and out. Trim the bit of the diaphragm that is obviously holding it in and you are done.

Easier to do than describe. Very quick.


If you are up the mountains in -10, just push your hand down the pipe through the hole in the diaphragm reaching as far forward as possible and break the food pipe. Pull back and out. Same story with the back end as above. Pull the green out. Cut the bottom of the diaphragm and bleed backwards. Done. Next.

 

[rem284]

Open throat a bit. Pull both trachea and oesophagus a bit 90 degree from neck. Separate the 2 tubes. Cut trachea then scrape meat on the oesophagus, cut long enough to comfortably tie off. Slit abdomen open , turn beast onto it's side, right handside facing down.
Put your lefthand between stomach and diaphragm to find the oesophagus your right hand pulls grabs the stomach furthest away from the diaphragm and pulls towards your left foot(almost in a circular motion). Your lefthand is almost acting as the pivot point. What happens is the oesophagus ends up in your left hand. Let go of the stomach with your right hand and push/punch diaphragm forward with your right hand whilst pulling the oesophagus with your left. There is a bit of a hole where the intestines are attached between 2 points, put your fingers through here and a short sharp pull will free the intestines. Snap the intestines off before they reach the anal tract flatten to prevent droppings coming out. Lefthand through centre of diaphragm, pull up, cut diaphragm and pull all thing out. Roe deer size should take more than a minute

 

[arron]

Why ??? Its not a race , as long as its clean tidy and safe that is all that matters !! Or else get up Scotland in the midgets season and that will speed you up ,,,

 

[Oh6]

Roe deer size should take more than a minute

I suspect most would be delighted to take 5-10 times that long.

Will try to follow that next time.

 

[Selous]

As others have said
1: Bleed by thoracic stick then open up the neck taking care not to stab your own leg!
2. pull out then cut off trachea/oesophagus as high up as possible then knot. I have a pull on the trachea to try to loosen it up.
3 roll onto its back and carefully open up midline from prepuce/udder to the xiphisternum.
4. Roll onto deers right side and find spleen. Separate spleen from diaphragm then incise diaphragm from sternum to spine.
5. Roll onto deer left side and make a similar cut in the diaphragm from sternum to spine.
6. Reach forward into the thoracic cavity and separate any attachments to the sternum area (by hand or knife in a large deer) then find the trachea and pull steadily. Some knife work will be needed around the diaphragm. As there will be attachments and blood vessels remaining.
7. Identify the rectum, clear the pellets and divide
8. Extract to the larder and return home for tea and medals!!

I find the section in bold to help a lot!!

 

[The Singing Stalker]

Hmm, I gave up cutting and tying. I just cut the whole way up, slide everything out, less chance of stomach contamination. Takes me 15 to 20 minutes, but I am not particularly fast and don’t worry about it.

 

[Acm]

@wildfowler.250 if it’s important to you to get faster that’s your choice, so get after it!
Try and find someone who is doing park culls or night culls, somewhere you can get ideally 15 or more carcass on the ground and just offer to help them for free, offering yourself up for knife work will often open the door to shooting in the long term if your good and reliable too.
That is what I have done, 15 years ago now I started helping in park culls, and more recently I’ve been involved in night culls also. Any please don’t see this as a brag but I can quite easily gralloch a beast every 2-3 minutes. Especially fallow, they are the perfect size to be manageable but not fiddly!
Good luck!

 

[wildfowler.250]

Cheers folks, will reply properly to all the replies when I get a chance but I’ve already clocked that I’m pulling the trachea/oesophagus/lungs all back in a one which is a bit of a wrestle. By the looks , I could just separate off the oesophagus from the trachea (after tying it) and pull the oesophagus back on its own with the stomach.

Interesting to see some of you cut around the whole diaphragm and some don’t.


Thanks!

 

[Bowland blades]

I might have seen well over a dozen ways that work well and as someone who generally shoots a lot for others stalkers - I do it the head mans way because their way is always best LOL
Only thing i say is do the least you can under the circumstances not the most

 

[Dan Newcombe]

There you go hope it helps

Im not sure I would be trying to emulate that process too much, there’s a lot neater, easier and quicker demonstrations on YouTube to try and learn from.