ge =

siderably over the years. Normally there is snow on
the ground and the temperature is fairly cold. But
there are enough years when the snow cover is light
and the mercury rises to make it necessary to be pre-
pared for these warmer conditions. By this we mean
being prepared to'dress your deer in warm weather,
cool it quickly and if necessary travel at night to
avoid the warm daytime weather. Flopping a carcass
on a car top in an unseasonably warm fall is not the
way to bring home deer meat.

The equipment listed at the beginning of the
booklet is perhaps more than you need for deer
hunting. However, you do need a good belt knife,
some strong rope and some strong cord. A small hand
axe will come in handy.

The surest way to start an argument around the
camp fire is to say you should, or you shouldn't, cut
off the musk (or metatarsal) glands from the hind
legs as soon as the animal is felled. John Madsen,
in his book The White-Tailed Deer, puts it nicely
by stating: “Some hunters advocate immediate re-
moval of metatarsal glands of the hind legs. If this
is done, wash hands and knife thoroughly before
getting on with the job. Removal of these glands is
not necessary, however, if the deer is handled properly
and care is taken to avoid rubbing the glands.”

Dressing out a deer is much the same as dressing a
moose, but on a smaller scale. We are going into it
in some detail, however, because more Manitobans
hunt deer than any other big game animal.

Once the animal is down, approach it carefully.
Many a “dead deer” has jumped up and run off, or
else swiped at an unsuspecting hunter as he bent over

16