As the pheasant hunting season approaches, many hunters prepare their guns, trucks and equipment to be fully armed. Government of each state determines, when is the pheasant hunting season this year. So, dates, hunting rules and requirements differ from state to state and from year to year. As a rule, the pheasant hunting season starts in the beginning of October and ends by the beginning of January.
It should be noted, that in almost all states there is a week of ‘youth hunting’, when kids aged 6 to 15 are allowed to hunt with adults. However, adults are not allowed to hunt. It is important to clean pheasants properly in order to get good meat.
Cleaning Pheasants: Step by Step Instruction
- Cut off the wings as close to the body as possible.
- Cut off the head and neck as close to the body as you can.
- Remove 1 leg by cutting at the knee joint. One leg has to be kept for identification purposes.
- Skin the pheasant. start pulling the skin from the upper part of the breast and move to the tail.
- When the skinning is over, cut off the tail where it attaches to the body.
- Make 2 cuts along the backbone (from neck to tail).
- Remove the backbone by pulling it from tail to neck.
- Remove remaining entrails.
- Wash meat in cold water. The meat is ready for packaging.
-
- Step 1
-
- Step 2
-
- Step 3
-
- Step 4
-
- Step 5
-
- Step 6
Cleaning Pheasants: Rules & Things to Remember
- It is allowed to hunt male pheasants only (in the majority of states).
- Be careful not to cut yourself with sharp edges of bones.
- Always keep 1 leg attached to the body for identification purposes.
- Keep in mind, that the crop will be exposed as long as you skin the pheasant. Pay attention to it when planning your next hunt.
- When you pull the backbone, make sure to move from the tail to neck. Keep in mind, that the majority of entrails will be removed along with it.
