Once a hunter has managed to shoot and tag his prize, he can either send his trophy to the nearest taxidermist or just clean the deer on the spot. Not for the faint of heart or stomach, though, but it's something different than cutting up frozen meat for the freezer. Unless the hunter's vocation is a butcher, then there's no problem.
Field dressing a whitetail deer may not sound like a pleasant process for those with weak stomachs or have a form of hemophobia, a fear of blood, but if the forefathers practiced it back then, it shouldn't matter now. The process is relatively easy as long as some of the available resources like water are nearby. And if the hunter doesn't like the feel of guts spilling out, there are always surgical gloves available.
The hunter starts by laying the deer belly up and with a sharp knife starting from the anus to the breastbone. Careful not to cut the stomach, you don't know what it ate. This process is necessary for easy removal of the intestines and other organs. You may chose not to split the breastbone if you decide to mount it as a trophy, but otherwise, not splitting the breastbone will involve having to reach in to remove the esophagus, heart and lungs.
Once the whole network (term I use since I'm more of a computer guy) has been severed, it's all about removing the intestines and disposing of them properly. Be careful not to cut open the stomach or intestines except to cut the part where it connects to the anus. There may be traces of feces or urine left and you don't want to contaminate the meat. In case it did happen, you can always wash it off with water or a dry cloth. If water is available, it can help with the cleaning process to wash the blood from the cavity. Then you can add a bag of ice inside the cavity to keep the meat cool.
It may sound easy for a butcher to do all this things, even without surgical gloves. But any hunter may want to go through this process at least once then decide if they want to do it again the next hunting season. Field dressing is a safe and sanitary way to enjoy staring at your prize as well as the meat that comes with it once it's prepared at the dinner table.
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