To gut/skin or not to gut/skin when out in the field?

Hi guys. Been given the opportunity to go rabbiting on a property next week - will be the first outing for my new .22LR. I will be by myself and about an hours drive from home.

I plan on leaving a chilly bin in the back of the car with a bag of ice.

Is it best just to gut the bunnies while keeping the skin on and stuff them in a backpack while I am out in the field? Or shall I do a full skin and gut while in the field? I plan on keeping the carcasses in a plastic bag to prevent leakage that is stored in a backpack. What is the best approach?

Cheers.

slice across back..grab both sides of skin and pull outwards,skin will slip off easy enough, hold bunny by back legs,slice across top of belly flap,reverse bunny so your holding head end,give a good flick and 80% of the gutting job is now done too. let it cool off BEFORE putting in plastic bag. the sooner you skin it,the easier it is to do. laid on clean grass to air out/cool down it will come to no harm unless flies are about. you can fit 50 skinned n gutted bunnies in a 75ltr canvas frame pack...you wont be jogging with that amount onboard I can state that as fact.....give pack a good hose out when get home and all is good.
garden siccatears make short work of chopping off feet, the head will twist off easy enough.

Bunny skinning is quick and easy and much easier if you do it straight away rather than letting the animal cool down. You can get the guts out as MD describes, or prepare gutless which I prefer. Back legs off, backstraps off and front legs off. Most of the meat is on the back legs, so if I'm shooting a lot of rabbits, I only take the back legs (sadly, that opportunity has closed for me, boohoo!). As with all wild game meat, best to store in a fly-proof, breathable bag. A pillow case is ideal.

Cut stomach, hold rabbits front legs and flick it like a tea towel —and the guts fly out, put rabbit in chilly bin

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

slice across back..grab both sides of skin and pull outwards,skin will slip off easy enough, hold bunny by back legs,slice across top of belly flap,reverse bunny so your holding head end,give a good flick and 80% of the gutting job is now done too. let it cool off BEFORE putting in plastic bag. the sooner you skin it,the easier it is to do. laid on clean grass to air out/cool down it will come to no harm unless flies are about. you can fit 50 skinned n gutted bunnies in a 75ltr canvas frame pack...you wont be jogging with that amount onboard I can state that as fact.....give pack a good hose out when get home and all is good.
garden siccatears make short work of chopping off feet, the head will twist off easy enough.

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We used large side cutters as they were smaller than secateurs but other than that - spot on. And as MB says below, the only real bits of meat are the drum sticks and the back straps so you can pull these without gutting and save carrying lots of weight (depending on how many you get.....)

We used to retrieve lots in the 90s for petfood so we just bundled the animals in bags and stopped and gutted them in bundles.

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Originally Posted by MB

Bunny skinning is quick and easy and much easier if you do it straight away rather than letting the animal cool down. You can get the guts out as MD describes, or prepare gutless which I prefer. Back legs off, backstraps off and front legs off. Most of the meat is on the back legs, so if I'm shooting a lot of rabbits, I only take the back legs (sadly, that opportunity has closed for me, boohoo!). As with all wild game meat, best to store in a fly-proof, breathable bag. A pillow case is ideal.

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Tryed this but I don't seem to have the tecnique, makes it look easy, good operater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7trIwVMYZA&t=4s

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Originally Posted by flock

Tryed this but I don't seem to have the tecnique, makes it look easy, good operater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7trIwVMYZA&t=4s

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I've tried that, couldn't do it :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

slice across back..grab both sides of skin and pull outwards,skin will slip off easy enough, hold bunny by back legs,slice across top of belly flap,reverse bunny so your holding head end,give a good flick and 80% of the gutting job is now done too. let it cool off BEFORE putting in plastic bag. the sooner you skin it,the easier it is to do. laid on clean grass to air out/cool down it will come to no harm unless flies are about. you can fit 50 skinned n gutted bunnies in a 75ltr canvas frame pack...you wont be jogging with that amount onboard I can state that as fact.....give pack a good hose out when get home and all is good.
garden siccatears make short work of chopping off feet, the head will twist off easy enough.

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good on ya Mickey Duck ya wont get a better descrip of how to do a bunny as the one you give - absolutely correct - deer bunnys cattle pigs goats - open up both airway and arse - let air thru - dry and cold storage - great eating

I did it for a living for 6 mths or so many many many moons ago

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

slice across back..grab both sides of skin and pull outwards,skin will slip off easy enough, hold bunny by back legs,slice across top of belly flap,reverse bunny so your holding head end,give a good flick and 80% of the gutting job is now done too. let it cool off BEFORE putting in plastic bag. the sooner you skin it,the easier it is to do. laid on clean grass to air out/cool down it will come to no harm unless flies are about. you can fit 50 skinned n gutted bunnies in a 75ltr canvas frame pack...you wont be jogging with that amount onboard I can state that as fact.....give pack a good hose out when get home and all is good.
garden siccatears make short work of chopping off feet, the head will twist off easy enough.

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shit a brick ,for a mo I thought you were gonna do the same to me in ARSE UP CREEK!!!!!!

nah...did contemplate chucking you some soap though,bit of a weird place for a dip/bath,but who was I to judge LOL...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

slice across back..grab both sides of skin and pull outwards,skin will slip off easy enough, hold bunny by back legs,slice across top of belly flap,reverse bunny so your holding head end,give a good flick and 80% of the gutting job is now done too. let it cool off BEFORE putting in plastic bag. the sooner you skin it,the easier it is to do. laid on clean grass to air out/cool down it will come to no harm unless flies are about. you can fit 50 skinned n gutted bunnies in a 75ltr canvas frame pack...you wont be jogging with that amount onboard I can state that as fact.....give pack a good hose out when get home and all is good.
garden siccatears make short work of chopping off feet, the head will twist off easy enough.

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Cheers mate. Will give that a go in terms of letting the carcass cool down on the grass. I'll be going early in the morning so will still be cool enough to hopefully not attract the flies.

Managed once to do it that way

That Video is amazing, I wish I had known that years ago.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

nah...did contemplate chucking you some soap though,bit of a weird place for a dip/bath,but who was I to judge LOL...

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speakin of arseup cree k .checked my BP 2/7ago whoa up like inflation .Off to see Doc -struck a practisae locum -fuckme hes put me on half a bloody pharmacy stock.bit of an ignorant prick -everytime i went to say something he spoke right over top of me Asian I think.complete bloody contrast ot my old GP who would yarn with me re treatment options .often asked my advice on mental health too .this bloke today seems to think we have a Mewntal health dept -FMR!!