HUNTINGsmart! USA Knowledge Base

After making a kill, you’re going to feel like dropping everything and celebrating your success—and you should revel in the experience, especially if it’s your first! However, celebrations will have to wait because first you’ll need to take care of your field dressing responsibilities, which will be another interesting first.

Field dressing is the process of gutting the animal to cool down the carcass and prevent the meat from spoiling. As soon as you’ve correctly attached the tag and let the other hunters in your group know that you’ve made a kill, you’ll need to immediately field dress the animal in a safe area. Then you’ll need to properly wrap up and transport the meat and/or carcass. Then you should probably wash your hands and THEN you can celebrate. Yes, it’s a lengthy procedure but its also extremely rewarding.