Suspended Gralloch... WHY?!

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baguio said:
If you're dealing with 20 stone animals or anything even close to it you're almost certainly going to need help in the form of more man power or mechanical help to get it back to the larder regardless of if you're gralloching on the floor or suspended. It's pretty obvious that if you don't have a sky hook anywhere near then a field gralloch will help reduce the burden on the human body. However, if you can get a mechanical handling device near enough to load it up then a suspended gralloch is far easier on the back. You can even change the height of the beast as you do different stages so it's always the perfect height and no bending down. Gravity is also a huge help as bit's and pieces only go one way and fluids are never swilling about where you're trying to cut. I make a rule that once a beast leaves the floor for the first time it never goes back on the floor again. Your field gralloched may be just as good but they certainly cant be better. I don't need to wipe anything out because it falls out all by itself. What could be easier?
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You just don't get it do you? just so we don't miss understand one another I have killed and butchered everything from rabbits to Charolais cattle for over 50 years, so I know how to eviscerate mammals correctly.
But we are talking about stalking in the big wide open areas of Scotland and not postage stamp sized fields.
I often kill deer a mile or two out on the hill or forest.
Now given you are supposed to eviscerate a mammal within 30 minutes of it being killed,or at LEAST gralloch it.
How do you suppose I get from the shot site to the argocat and back within 20 minutes, to start the work? Its not possible and this is where the suspended gralloch is a nonsense as too many animals are being done too late for the cooling possess to start etc.
Game dealer complaining about carcasses not cooled correctly and its often not due to the chiller but the gralloch taking to long.
Gralloch the animal on the ground where it falls and I most certainly don't "need help in man power" go back and collect the argocat, drive up to the beast and winch it on board and head to the larder or elsewhere to finish the evisceration possesses.
The use of sterile body bags etc helps to keep everything clean. And like you I do not need to wipe anything out, if i do its dog food! And by the way 20 stone LW is small for a forest stag in his peak, my last would have been 33-35stone.
 
levigsp said:
I do them on the ground, i have already outlined why and I can assure you and anyone else that my carcases are as cleaner or cleaner than anyone else. Deer should ALKWAYS be treated with respect and anyone who doesn't has no right to be out killing them.
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I was taught to do the gralloch on the ground, did so for many years, and still do when conditions dictate. However I also recognise that a suspended gralloch is a better way to do it when conditions allow, for many of the reasons already outlined above.

I am surprised that a suspended gralloch is viewed by some at best with suspicion, and at worst as something that should be questioned or discouraged.

So long as the carcass ends up in a suitable state to enter the human food chain, why does it matter?
 
Despite usually doing suspended grallochs I did my first on the ground grallch of a fallow at the weekend. Within minutes I regretting the decision and wished I had used the pulley (which I had with me) to do a suspended one. Yep, it's a bit more effort to get set up and get the beast suspended but, once the beast is up, working standing up and gravity sure as heck make things easier. That said, I'm shooting where there's usually an approproate tree close to hand. If there wasn't, I would just have to get used to gralloching on the ground.
 
willie_gunn said:
I was taught to do the gralloch on the ground, did so for many years, and still do when conditions dictate. However I also recognise that a suspended gralloch is a better way to do it when conditions allow, for many of the reasons already outlined above.

I am surprised that a suspended gralloch is viewed by some at best with suspicion, and at worst as something that should be questioned or discouraged.

So long as the carcass ends up in a suitable state to enter the human food chain, why does it matter?
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Agreed.
 
levigsp said:
But we are talking about stalking in the big wide open areas of Scotland and not postage stamp sized fields.
I often kill deer a mile or two out on the hill or forest.
Now given you are supposed to eviscerate a mammal within 30 minutes of it being killed,or at LEAST gralloch it.
How do you suppose I get from the shot site to the argocat and back within 20 minutes, to start the work? Its not possible and this is where the suspended gralloch is a nonsense as too many animals are being done too late for the cooling possess to start etc.
Game dealer complaining about carcasses not cooled correctly and its often not due to the chiller but the gralloch taking to long.
Gralloch the animal on the ground where it falls and I most certainly don't "need help in man power" go back and collect the argocat, drive up to the beast and winch it on board and head to the larder or elsewhere to finish the evisceration possesses.
Click to expand...

Nail on the head!
 
levigsp said:
You just don't get it do you? just so we don't miss understand one another I have killed and butchered everything from rabbits to Charolais cattle for over 50 years, so I know how to eviscerate mammals correctly.
But we are talking about stalking in the big wide open areas of Scotland and not postage stamp sized fields.
I often kill deer a mile or two out on the hill or forest.
Now given you are supposed to eviscerate a mammal within 30 minutes of it being killed,or at LEAST gralloch it.
How do you suppose I get from the shot site to the argocat and back within 20 minutes, to start the work? Its not possible and this is where the suspended gralloch is a nonsense as too many animals are being done too late for the cooling possess to start etc.
Game dealer complaining about carcasses not cooled correctly and its often not due to the chiller but the gralloch taking to long.
Gralloch the animal on the ground where it falls and I most certainly don't "need help in man power" go back and collect the argocat, drive up to the beast and winch it on board and head to the larder or elsewhere to finish the evisceration possesses.
The use of sterile body bags etc helps to keep everything clean. And like you I do not need to wipe anything out, if i do its dog food! And by the way 20 stone LW is small for a forest stag in his peak, my last would have been 33-35stone.
Click to expand...
No mate, you don't get it. If you actually cared to take a breath and read my post you will see that I said "Your field gralloched may be just as good but they certainly cant be better". I can assure you that towing it up a tree with a vehicle is a lot easier on the back and cannot be cleaner or easier! If you could then I'm sure you would too. I'll bet that you hang it up to take the pink stuff out when you get back to the larder. I wonder why that is?
 
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levigsp said:
You just don't get it do you? just so we don't miss understand one another I have killed and butchered everything from rabbits to Charolais cattle for over 50 years, so I know how to eviscerate mammals correctly.
But we are talking about stalking in the big wide open areas of Scotland and not postage stamp sized fields.
I often kill deer a mile or two out on the hill or forest.
Now given you are supposed to eviscerate a mammal within 30 minutes of it being killed,or at LEAST gralloch it.
How do you suppose I get from the shot site to the argocat and back within 20 minutes, to start the work? Its not possible and this is where the suspended gralloch is a nonsense as too many animals are being done too late for the cooling possess to start etc.
Game dealer complaining about carcasses not cooled correctly and its often not due to the chiller but the gralloch taking to long.
Gralloch the animal on the ground where it falls and I most certainly don't "need help in man power" go back and collect the argocat, drive up to the beast and winch it on board and head to the larder or elsewhere to finish the evisceration possesses.
The use of sterile body bags etc helps to keep everything clean. And like you I do not need to wipe anything out, if i do its dog food! And by the way 20 stone LW is small for a forest stag in his peak, my last would have been 33-35stone.
Click to expand...
A man who tells it as it is, horses for courses a suspended gralloch is a none starter on the hill it's just not possible no trees and the majority of the time miles from any vehicle of any sorts.
Which is why we tend to only do a green gralloch on the hill small bleed hole and as small a slit as you can make thats still possible to remove the stomach very little chance of contamination if done properly.
Usually thats as much as we do until back in the larder if you so wish you can remove the pluck through the slit you made to remove the stomach and even core out the back passage usually I don't core the back passage just tie it off
I will only core the back passage if I'm going to be some time in getting back to the larder and fear there may be a
cooling issue.
If you keep your openings small there is little chance of contamination.
Or as this poster said use a body bag and do a full gralloch the choice is yours.
What you don't have is the option of a suspended gralloch.
Even in the larder I prefer doing all the cutting on a larder stool before suspending .
 
levigsp said:
Now given you are supposed to eviscerate a mammal within 30 minutes of it being killed,or at LEAST gralloch it.
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You're also supposed to wait 30 minutes before tracking a beast that runs off out of site in order to give it time to die or stiffen up and avoid pushing it on. Does this therefore mean that you condemn all beasts that run out of site? That's going to be a lot of condemned carcasses when everyone is shooting lead free! Not everything is possible my friend. We just have to do the best job of what is possible with the tools available.
 
baguio said:
No mate, you don't get it. If you actually cared to take a breath and read my post you will see that I said "Your field gralloched may be just as good but they certainly cant be better". I can assure you that towing it up a tree with a vehicle is a lot easier on the back and cannot be cleaner or easier! If you could then I'm sure you would too. I'll bet that you hang it up to take the pink stuff out when you get back to the larder. I wonder why that is?
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If you had read my post you might have got what I was saying! doing it your way is simply not possible!
baguio said:
You're also supposed to wait 30 minutes before tracking a beast that runs off out of site in order to give it time to die or stiffen up and avoid pushing it on. Does this therefore mean that you condemn all beasts that run out of site? That's going to be a lot of condemned carcasses when everyone is shooting lead free! Not everything is possible my friend. We just have to do the best job of what is possible with the tools available.
Click to expand...
Yes if a vet was present it would be condemned!
 
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