favorite method (and tools) for skinning deer and hogs.

[Mousehunter]

Over the years have skinned a couple deer and hogs - but fully recognize there are always better mousetraps...

Back when I used to hunt in an active deer camp, we would dress out quite a few deer over a weekend. Our fastest method was to toss the deer on a skinning table - tie it's head to a tree, tie a second rope to it's ears - and pull (usually with about a half dozen men). Of course often the men were replaced with a truck. It was a modified golf ball method - with the ears being used to keep the rope from slipping rather than the golf ball.

At home we had a trailer receiver mounted skinning tree. It had a winch to lift the deer. We usually used a deer skinning "pliers", a claw skinning tool. At least once I tried to run a rope between the handles to use it with the winch, but always felt it was not really up to the task. I saw as deerzipper online - definitely could handle the increased load - but given the thickness of most hogs skin, don't really see how the golf ball method would work. Likewise saw some claw tree grubbers that also looked up to the task, but at $100 well looking for something economical as well.

Just curious what your favorite skinning method and skinning aids are - deer skinning is easy enough, but hog skinning sometimes gets tedious. Last time I did not chill my hogs well enough and had some meat spoil skinning too so long - too many hogs and not enough help. In a perfect world, looking to work smarter not harder.

[kcnatural]

Golf ball and the winch on my jeep. It has removed the front shoulders (unintentionally) before.

[Quackerbox]

I used the air compressor method once. It helped a little but it was much funner watching my wifes face as the deer turned to a ballon

[Mousehunter]

This year the truck has an electric winch and the "skinning tree" will probably be hydraulic (front end loader). Could skip the winch entirely, but the winch has a remote, the loader doesn't.

[kcnatural]

I used the air compressor method once. It helped a little but it was much funner watching my wifes face as the deer turned to a ballon

I've always wanted to try that.

[r_u_sharp_2]

Skinning rack with ratchet/pulley system and a havalon. For a pig, use a gerber with a gut hook to start but right back to the havalon. Not really a place to try the fancy pull the skin off at my lease. Lease manager can skin/quarter a deer in no time. If he would slow down, I might learn a lot.

[Kcwwcb]

hanging and the old fashioned way - with a knife.

[Quackerbox]

I've always wanted to try that.

I tried it on a doe that I quartered in my back yard. I had 150 psi in the garage and plenty of hose. This particular deer had lots of time to cool and it was cold outside. It seemed to help separate the hide from the meat but Im not sure how much easier it was over a freshly killed deer. Definitely not enough for me to buy a deer camp compressor.

Ive never tried the golf ball method cause I was afraid of pullin off more than I wanted or breaking something on my skinning shed. Maybe I'll raise a deer with the tractor bucket this year and try it with ranger winch

[popup_menace]

We just hang that sucker by the head and get to work. We switched to hanging by the head because we like to cut a single slice down the back and pull the hide off like a jacket. But, if we plan on getting the hide tanned we do it from the belly side so the hide doesn't look goofy.

[fulmer34]

hanging and the old fashioned way - with a knife.

x2 on the knife, if its a hog I have 2 or 3 knives handy for when they start getting dull.

[coy-ote]

skinning

I used the air compressor method once. It helped a little but it was much funner watching my wifes face as the deer turned to a ballon

on the videos I've seen it looks like it would separate the skin from the meat and then all you would need is to cut the hide or is there more involved I too have thought of trying the deer balloon

[Quackerbox]

on the videos I've seen it looks like it would separate the skin from the meat and then all you would need is to cut the hide or is there more involved I too have thought of trying the deer balloon

Ive only done one deer with the compessor so Im by no means an expert in it. It did separate the skin from the meat but still required a little knife work. It certainly didnt allow me to pull the hide off like a sock.

However, the deer was brought to me whole an hour or 2 after it was killed in 35 or 40 degree weather. Being the carcass had that amount of time to chill that may have had something to do with it. Ive always found the skin on a deer that been dead less than an hour (or less) easier to pull than one that wasnt found quickly or allowed to hang a bit.

[coy-ote]

ok that clears things up did you use a regular air nozzle or a airgun/chuck with a long tip

[BigFoot]

Skin down to the hocks, hand upside down, make all your cuts on your legs and sternum, skin around the legs and yank down. Skinned hundreds of deer like this at the Taxidermy shop.

Nothing but a paring knife and sharpening steel.

[dbrock63]

Pay Lupito $20 is the best method I have every found!! Skinned, quartered with strap and tenderloins placed in my ice chest. I will never clean another as long as Lupito is around!