Hunts On Outfitting Podcast
Stories! As hunters and outdoors people that seems to be a common thing we all have lots of. Join your amateur guide and host on this channel Ken as he gets tales from guys and gals. Chasing that trophy buck for years to an entertaining morning on the duck pond, comedian ones, to interesting that's what you are going to hear. Also along with some general hunting discussions from time to time but making sure to leave political talks out of it. Don't take this too serious as we sure don't! If you enjoy this at all or find it fun to listen to, we really appreciate if you would subscribe and leave a review. Thanks for. checking us out! We are also on fb as Hunts on outfitting, and instagram. We are on YouTube as Hunts on outfitting podcast.
Hunts On Outfitting Podcast
Crafting Excellence in Meat Processing with Cole
Unlock the secrets of humane and efficient butchering with Cole Armstrong, also known as Cole the Butcher, as he shares his journey from the aisles of a grocery store meat department to running his own mobile butchery business in Southwestern Ontario. This episode promises to give you a fresh perspective on the art of processing your own game, offering insights that challenge traditional beliefs and spotlight hands-on experience. Whether you're a seasoned hunter or just curious about the world of butchery, Cole's passion and expertise will inspire you to appreciate the craft on a whole new level.
We tackle essential post-hunt practices, highlighting the critical steps every hunter must know to preserve the quality of their meat. With Cole's guidance, listeners will learn about the nuances of field dressing, the importance of efficient bleeding, and why a simple rinse is sometimes all a carcass needs. Forget what you thought you knew about shot placement and meat tenderness, as Cole dispels common myths and provides practical advice that could make or break your next hunt. Our conversation arms you with the knowledge needed to elevate your butchering skills, ensuring delicious results every time.
Join us as we explore the essential tools and techniques necessary for home butchering, perfect for those embracing the homesteading lifestyle. From selecting the right knives to creating an ideal butchering setup, Cole's tips make self-sufficiency more attainable than ever. You'll hear valuable stories of overcoming challenges with limited resources and improving butchering spaces with smart investments like walk-in coolers. Embrace the spirit of community as we discuss the importance of sharing skills and learning from one another, fostering a supportive environment for all aspiring butchers.
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this is sun sun outfitting podcast. I'm your host and rookie guide, ken meyer. I love everything hunting the outdoors and all things associated with it, from stories to howos. You'll find it here. Welcome to the podcast, all right, hey new listeners and welcome back previous listeners. Thanks for tuning in. This podcast is growing and it's all thanks to you.
Speaker 1:Sharp knives, good hand control, precision work, attention to detail and good physical stamina are all things of a good butcher. But today, as we talk to an expert butcher, you will find out that you don't need all these great things. You just need a splash of each, along with razor sharp knives to be able to process your own deer. The most important, for our part as a hunter, is proper shot placement. Please make sure that you have your rifle, weapon, crossbow, compound bow whatever it is sighted in before you head out to the deer stand this year. I think animal processing and butchering is such a valuable and unique skill. I plan on learning more myself this year, but in the meantime, I am very thankful to have great friends that know what they're doing and are patiently teaching me how. But let's get talking, nicole. I'm excited, but yeah, no, I find that butchering is such a skilled art really, that is, you know, kind of seems to be forgotten a little bit. We seem to be getting away from that more.
Speaker 2:Oh, I think, just because it's becoming more of a, I think, seen as a commercial thing like the industry, the slaughterhouses, everything's getting bigger and everything's coming kind of from that factory setting but, like with my, the mobile aspect of it being being a niche job, the butcher actually coming to you, it actually separates both professions in a way where, like I said, I believe my method is more humane than the commercial setting.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, exactly. So who are we talking to Cole? Do you mind telling us?
Speaker 2:My name is Cole Armstrong, or I go by Cole the Butcher on Facebook or around the community here. Um I'm based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it's, it's interesting. I came across you, uh, from your Facebook page, cole the Butcher. I just saw it and I was like that's cool. And then I saw that you do mobile. And then your your slogan got me we have time to kill, because you're on call 24 7, like that's cool. And I've been following you I don't know for a couple years now, I think, when you started the facebook thing and, uh, I just thought it's really cool and you post a lot and it's interesting to see. And then, uh, that's what I thought I'd reach out to you to. Uh, you know, talk some butchering on deer and all that, and it's, it's pretty neat. So so how did you get started in? I guess first butchering and then your mobile business.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. First off, I want to say I appreciate you for having me on. No, with regards to starting out, I grew up with no butchers in the family. Like I said, my family were police officers and doctors, so there was really. I lived on a farm, but it was a cash crop farm and no one really like we didn't do animals, no one hunted. So this was all new to me. Like roughly about seven or eight years ago almost nine probably now I I just needed a change in life, um, and then my local grocery store meat department was actually hiring, so I decided to take up on the opportunity of that and learn how to, you know, break the stakes down and get the roast for the sale. It's a great introductory to butchery because they're not really butchers and meat cutters, especially in a grocery store setting. But, like I said, great introduction and, like I said, within the first week or two of working that, working that job, I was almost immediately hooked. I found I found a passion. Like I said, it's I immediately hooked, um, I found I found the passion. Like this I, I began my family when I started the grocery store and then there's an opportunity that arose at a local butcher shop and I was humming and ha and they didn't do any slaughters.
Speaker 2:But uh, they, uh, they broke down the size of beef and pork. Now, like I said, back to the grocery store. They don't break beef and they don't break pigs, it's all brought in by a box. Um, I'm not sure how they do a new brunswick I'm pretty sure it's probably similar under under lawful. Yeah, they just like I said you just, you just basically get the mini stuff, the flyer sales and that kind of thing. It's a great tool, but it's one thing they actually break the muscle from the carcass. So, working at the grocery store for about three or four years, um, an opportunity arose. I took the job at a butcher shop that was close by and worked there for a few years to learn how to break down a beef carcass, break down a pig carcass, but it was never the opportunity to slaughter at that time. Now the old, am I going too fast or is this kind of good?
Speaker 1:No, no, I'm following fine. I'm sure the listeners will too.
Speaker 2:So, basically working at the butcher shop, there's a couple, there's a bunch of old boys there that have slaughtered in the past and the one gentleman that I worked with, troy great guy, he was getting out of the deer butchering because I think he did a couple hundred a year. Wow, just talking to him throughout a few years when he was there. And then I saw the opportunity where, hey, this might be a thing where people need some deer done and this was all on the side, like I was still working full-time with the butcher shop as I started doing deer. So basically I would work from six in the morning till like four in the afternoon and then during deer season, I just started getting my name out there and I believe the first year I started I did about 10 and to me that was like that was the world 10 deer. And I would go to people's houses with Costco tables and I would set it up with a grinder and I'd set two more tables up to cut and then, wherever their deer is hanging, I'd begin to skin and break it down to their liking. But, like I said, now the years have gone on.
Speaker 2:I'm on, I think, my fourth year now of deer and, like I said, I'm still mobile, but it's gone from. We went from 10 to 40 to 120 to like now we're at this year. So it's just transitioned into a passion. Honestly, like, especially doing, like I said, mostly livestock and on-farm calls. It's more than just a paycheck, it's just my life. Oh, absolutely, it's a passion. You might say, oh yeah, like I said, my whole arm I got tattooed in dedication to my job, because I love it so much. I even have the B stamp, aaa B stamp, tattooed on my arm. That's cool and it's just like I said, I grew up on a farm and with the prices I would love to buy a country property, but being able to lease beyond a farm or a different farm every day, it's a nice feeling.
Speaker 2:Considering I can't have one myself, so you found your way All the time, oh yeah, like, but like the 10 years to 10 years ago to now, I was like my life has changed, and for the better.
Speaker 1:So oh, that's awesome. I mean, that's a. That's always the big thing. You don't meet a lot of people that are really passionate and love their job, that people have a job and that's that's it.
Speaker 2:But for you, oh absolutely it's, it's awesome like I said, I've done the retail aspect. Now I've done that butcher shop aspect of it and like the rule, like I said I'm not sure how with regards to new brunswick, but I believe ontario has the strictest rules when it comes to mobile butchers, just with transportation and a whole bunch of other variables that are in effect. But uh, there's a lot of hoops here in Ontario that we have to go through that. I know a lot of other provinces they don't have to.
Speaker 1:I don't know anyone that does it honestly at all.
Speaker 2:I'm not. Yes, I'm not on the East Coast. Yeah, I follow a couple people on the West Coast, but I haven't seen anybody on the East Coast. But there's such a. I know there's three main guys me and Wow, so it's just a demand.
Speaker 2:Oh, a huge demand, even like back back to working at the butcher shop, all the old boys that when I was discussing, hey, I might take on this slaughter thing, and every single person told me no, every person, every single person that's done in the past that was 50 to 60 years old, told me you're going to hate it, it's gross, it's, it's gross, it's, it's, it's dangerous. You're going to be in a pen with cows and blah, blah, blah. I never really took anything out of it. Then I actually did it and they were all wrong. It's fun. Honestly, let's get dirty. That's awesome In the most clean way possible, yeah.
Speaker 1:You're doing such a service. We have some dairy firms around here. If a cow goes down, breaks a leg or something and they can't get it to the butcher right away, I mean, that's it. The meat's wasted and unfortunately they have to dump them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and with the laws, especially here in Ontario, the farmer can't even transport it, even if they have a limp or if they have a minor injury, because the ministry just condemns them at the plant. Both the farmer are out of everything, so the rules are so strict. Farmer are out everything. So that's, the rules are so strict and other farmers are calling me to come take care of the the animal before they have to resort to dead stock.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, same here. Yeah, you can't really bring them in like that but?
Speaker 2:but going from here but being the mobile, going from year one to now, from starting with tables to now having a full-fledged mobile unit that has rails and refrigeration, has definitely been a huge change.
Speaker 1:Oh, and a huge service, like I said, to the people around or people that don't have a trailer to bring the livestock in. I find it stresses them out a lot and it can get the meat tougher. So you're avoiding all that.
Speaker 2:Yep, especially with the summertime, if I can get to them, no longer have to worry about the heat in the carcass or just being able to sustain that temperature for the carcass, especially in the summertime.
Speaker 1:But yeah, exactly yeah. So I mean, cole, do you hunt yourself, or I suppose that's your haymaking time? I get.
Speaker 2:Honestly, one of the most common questions I get from almost every hunter when they because usually when I first started on mobile now I ask the deer hunters to drop off to me because they're going, every single going 20 kilometers this way, 50 kilometers this way for a deer. It doesn't make any sense. So I ask them to drop off, but that's almost that's the big question. Everybody asks me and then I said I just I would love to, like I said my son's five this week. He's like he, if he does he, he, he likes the butchering aspect. Like he, um, he follows dad. So, um, if you want to, I absolutely. But, like I said, I'd rather make money than spend it the livestock in that wild game season.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, this is your busy time.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I mean, you're always busy, but yeah. But even when I first started thinking that, hey, after deer season things would slow down, I was very wrong, like extremely wrong. And especially being a new business owner, it's very stressful just trying to maintain everything, and the unknown of the future is a little stressful sometimes, right so? But I can see that there's always going to be a need there.
Speaker 1:so yeah, yeah, it's an essential service. I mean, people need a butcher, people are eating meat oh, absolutely, absolutely, especially.
Speaker 2:Well, like I said, no knock to butcher shops and slaughterhouses. We need them. It's just a different way of looking at service because my method is, I believe, more humane low stress To the animal, especially if they don't know who I am, compared to trucking the animal to a slaughterhouse, etc.
Speaker 1:Even loading them can be quite stressful.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I've had many farmers call saying we can't load the bull or the steer, it won't get loaded and it's screwed off in the pasture so they've had to resort to calling someone out to dispatch it. So I've done, and especially doing, this job. You get like me doing such a vast variety of animals, like I said, from alpaca to goat, to lamb, to bison, wild bison to elk, that I've shot. It's been a wildison, it's an elk that I've shot. It's been a wild ride. People have some weird requests. I've had people like 200 kilometers from me ask me to come cut chicken breasts on their kitchen table. You're kidding. No, the exact verbiage was we have 20 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Can you please come cut it for me On their table? Oh yeah, and I'm like and I threw a number out there and they thought about it, but I'm just like, no, I just I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 1:So like I said, the job. You never know what you're going to get, but for most part it's awesome. Yeah, yeah, no, that's great. Now, uh, or right in the middle of it, a lot of guys say they're going out, they shoot a deer, they plan on bringing it to you, but they have no idea what to do. What would you suggest? First, they shoot it, it's dead. Now what?
Speaker 2:So basically, like I said, with my understanding of hunting, it's like I said you shoot the deer. My advice would be, like some guys, wait, they let the deer rest, they let the deer screw off. My advice to someone is to make it as sanitary and best for your harvest. Get out of your tree, stand and get to that deer as fast as possible. If you can get to that deer as fast as possible, it is best to slit its throat and get that blood out of the animal as fast as possible. Um, the organs, like I said, if you get to it quick enough. I understand the deer can run for hundreds of yards and that could be lost and there's many factors involved. But if you can shoot it in the head or if you can't get to it as fast as possible, slit its throat and then that way the organs can pump that blood out of there, because nothing's worse than getting a deer and they didn't put the throw for about three or four hours because they couldn't find it and all that blood, all that meat is just full of blood, okay, um, so basically, that's first step. Next step is I would feel I would feel dressed immediately, um, and get it hung up in a tree and skin it. Now most I've had guys that have brought me two weeks with the hide on. Please don't do that to your processor. Like I said, any processor would not like that.
Speaker 2:Like I said, my recommendation is to skin it immediately, wrap it in cheesecloth or a plastic bag, or it all depends on how you're carrying it out of the bush. Now, if you're by yourself and it's a large animal, obviously you wouldn't be cleaning it out in the middle of the bush and carrying it. So I would just get it to a spot where you can skin that animal as quick as possible and then transport it to your local processor on ice, especially at the temperatures, at least here in Ontario a couple of weeks ago were just ridiculously high in the high 20s for November. So thank goodness I have my refrigeration. But no, like I said, my best honest tips get to it as quick as possible, slit the throat and get it skinned and gutted. Now people have this perception of washing the carcass with water profusely. Now that water is absolutely horrible for meat. A good little 10-second rinse would be sufficient.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so don't fire, hose it down, sort of thing.
Speaker 2:No, even livestock. Just give it a quick rinse, even with deer. It'll make the. If you do it too much, it'll make the meat almost a little gluey and tacky. It just makes for a little not-so-nice ground as well, okay yeah, I mean a lot.
Speaker 1:so you recommend taking the hide right off, because a lot of people around I know hang it with the hide on. I've done it before. And then I let it hang for a week or two. It was good temperature. But then when I was cutting the hide off I was like, oh, I'm never doing this again because it was quite a pain.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So basically, yeah, it's really patchy when you leave the hide on, like I have always exposed it to the to the cool weather right away. Now, like I said, with my setup I cannot hang deer for a week at a time and, being here in southwestern ontario, it's above average temps and like hanging for a week outside. It's just not like. It just can't do it, unfortunately, unless you have a maintained walking cooler or something like that. But if you can get the hide off, get it cool and then the following day process's honestly, in my opinion, a micro difference from hanging it for a week, with regards to taste at least, and tenderness.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I mean, does that make a huge difference? Hanging it for it does.
Speaker 2:It breaks down the enzymes and it'll make a micro difference in tenderness. Like I said, it's more better. It's a little better for beef, but quite similar, um. But like I said, if I were to shoot the animal, like tomorrow morning, um, it had adequate temperatures to hang. It would be ready for processing tuesday morning. So it, uh, if from that point or a week, it's very minimal difference in tenderness, I find now you said you'll get some, maybe some older boys, that'll just, that'll be like oh, bone-in meat is better. You know what I mean, those kind of myths. So everyone has their opinion, I guess. Right, which is what I found. But yeah, get that hide off as soon as possible.
Speaker 1:Okay, is there, you know, is there some things that people will bring you a deer, and you're just some pet peeves and you're just some pet piece, and you're like oh, why did you do that?
Speaker 2:oh, like all all the time I have like a just like first off, people shot a deer and they're still in the tree stand. They haven't even got out to go look for the deer and they call me and ask what do I do? Now I've been on facetime with people that I just shot a deer, but I don't know how to gut it. I've had to explain them over facetime. This is where you make the incision, do not puncture, and you've been able to do that successfully through FaceTime.
Speaker 2:Oh, like I said, probably 60% of people know how to do it right. The other 40%, they just not the knock hunters, it's just they need to take a little more time and learn this stuff before they pull the trigger, especially when it comes to gutting and shot placement. I think there should be a course on shot placement because I've done multiple deer this year, um, that have been shot in the in the ass like multiple time or they're. They're pushing a group of deer and they just shoot anything that walks. They don't, they don't take the correct shot. Um, it's just, there's a lot of factors like and gutting, like this. There's a lot of rush jobs and they're like.
Speaker 2:The biggest thing I heard was oh, it was dark and it was cold. Well, the thing is, you took the time out of your, out of your day, you spent the money, you took an animal's life. You should at least you know, give it the respect of field dressing it properly, right, and then bring it to your processor and then that way there's no. Or when they skin it right, they, they, they come back with, they come to you with like piles of hair and the meat and then you get it. Then you do your absolute best to take it out and then you get it back and then they call you say hey, I found a hair in my meat, so it's a it's. It's a royal run around sometimes, but especially but yeah, get that deer skinned. Um, and if you could just be a little more education on shot placement seriously yeah, well, I mean you'd be able to see this with the amount of deer.
Speaker 1:Do you think it comes down to more the gun or your bullet with, say, if it's proper shot placement?
Speaker 2:Um, I think the gun just it all depends on the caliber, it all depends on what you're using. But with the shots and shots in the bum on the hands, there, I just it's. It comes down to the user, I think, just because there needs to be a little more, uh, patience, um, I'm just trying to figure out what I'm trying to pursue here, um but if you see like a smaller caliber gun but with good say expandable bullets in the right area, does that seem too defaced as a butcher, seeing many?
Speaker 2:Not too much, because around this area we're very limited on calibers. Around my area right now you're only allowed to use a 50-cal muzzleloader, compared to other areas up north that are allowed to use a shotgun. Now, I do not like shotgun deer. I think it ruins the meat a heck of a lot more. Oh, with the buckshot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, within a muzzleloader. Now, compared to bow, I like bow, but bow does just the amount of damage depending on the size of the broadhead. Yes, and for the love of goodness, can the hunters please tell your processors if there is broadheads in the carcasses or if they have lost a broadhead, because I have been very, very close this year and I know a lot of other processors aren't too happy with the hunters not at least telling them there might be a broadhead in there yeah, I never thought about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, good point.
Speaker 2:So yeah, just make sure you let your, your processors know we don't want our hands in the. We want to come home at the end of the day, right?
Speaker 1:So yeah, no, that's a good thing to say. I've never really thought of that. But yeah, that's true. If it's not a clean pass, it's somewhere in there, and they're sharp, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, some of them are ridiculous, do you?
Speaker 1:find that those do.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, but there's been a lot of deer, especially on trail cams. On Facebook I've seen pictures of deer with arrows that have been in there for over a year. It's just bad shot placement. Yeah, patience is a huge thing when it comes to hunting and I understand that the heart's racing and everybody reacts differently. It's just. I wish that small percent of hunters could just take a step back and don't shoot that animal if you're gonna track it all night wait for the right shot, absolutely like I said, it all comes down to that, so well, it's ethics.
Speaker 1:I guess we're getting. You know ethics there as a hunter absolutely yes, yeah. So I mean somebody that's looking to uh to do their own deer for processing. I mean, what's some basic uh ways to process their own deer? They're looking for, um, you know, just mainly some ground burger and and just a few cuts. Is it pretty simple to do? Guys, people listening to this that haven't done it before, that are thinking about it honestly.
Speaker 2:yeah, no, it's a very easy process now. Like I said, if you just if you just flop the deer carcass in front of someone who hasn't done it before, they'd be a little stressed out. But honestly, I know social media is such a huge tool. There's a lot of recommendations on, like I said, YouTube, for instance. I recommend YouTube and the specific people on there to the new hunters that want to learn how to process their own deer, Because I love that people can process.
Speaker 2:There's so many deer to go around and I believe if you shoot an animal, you should be able to process it. So I just recommend people. There's specific butchers that I follow online. I recommend their videos because they kind of give you a step-by-step and an easy beginner step-by-step on how to break down your deer. It's a little bit easier than me because I've had to tell you over the phone when it's right in front of you yeah, exactly. But no, the power of social media now is great and it's a great tool, especially for people that are just getting into it or want to do that one deer a year kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So I mean, say somebody's like all right, I'm going to learn, I'm going to do it on my own. What's some basic equipment that you would suggest you?
Speaker 2:absolutely should have on hand to be able to you know, gut and then process your own deer. Okay, so, first off, no, begin starting with your knives and your honing steel. You definitely don't want to go to a convenience store and buy a little buck knife. I see too many hunters with their buck knife that are skinning. You need a boning knife and you need a skinning knife. My recommendation and what I use is a six inch Victoria Knox stiff boning knife, and then I use a five inch lamb skinning knife from Victoria Knox. The skin majority of my animals. It's a small knife. It's $30 here in Ontario. It's very affordable. And then I have a rather expensive honing steel that brings the edge around the piece of equipment that most people have in their kitchen arsenal.
Speaker 1:I was just going to ask about that. Sorry to interrupt, but so I always thought that you know, you see the butchers, they rub it back and forth and it's really cool to watch, kind of mesmerizing. I always thought it was sharpening, but I've been told it's just bringing that blade the edge back. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the sharpening like I have, I have a like a, like a. It's called a honer. So just yeah, it's not a sharpener, it just brings that edge back around. But I have, uh, like a coarse grind. Um, I like what I'm trying to say here. I'm just trying to figure out what it's called. It's a. It's almost like a stone for knives.
Speaker 2:I, if there's a coarse stone that I rub my knives on to sharpen them, it's a wet stone and then a wet stone. Yeah, sorry, thank goodness I just threw a blank there. So I have a wet stone that I usually once a week run my knives through my two or three of my major knives and then, after I'm done that, I would run them on the honer and then I would bring that edge around and usually For the most part, the knives are pretty much razor sharp. They got to be to make a clean split on these animals. But no, a bony knife, a skinny knife and a honer. I wouldn't cheap out on a honer just because you're going to have it for life and it'll save your life, especially when you're skinning, because most guys' knives will go dull very quick.
Speaker 2:Also needed on farm, in which I use, is just a Sawzall. I use a dual 60 volt sawzall, 60 volt battery, and then I have specific meat saw blades now for anybody. You can go on amazon and just type in sawzall meat blades and purchase them on there. It'll save your chainsaw, it'll save your wood blades that most people use um, but yeah, no sawzall knives and a couple s hooks or ss or S-hooks in a chain. Honestly, those are the basic necessities, or basic necessities of butchering a wild game at least.
Speaker 1:Okay, so very affordable, very doable.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, for anybody.
Speaker 1:So with the honing thing, is there different kinds of material they're made out of?
Speaker 2:They're made of a variety of metals I honestly couldn't tell you. In steel, I couldn't give you the exact science behind it. I use an FDIC flat rod steel. It retails for $320. But, like I said, there's a wide range from $40 to $100. You can spend whatever you want. It's just I use mine every day, all day. I take good care of it. I want a good quality piece that, like I said, it'll make the difference on your knife from a $40 to a $300 honing steel for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean, you're using it every day as well.
Speaker 2:And then, like I said, if you really want to be safe, I use a mesh glove on my hand. On my opposite hand that you're cutting, I would recommend a mesh glove, especially if you're doing multiple animals. It'll save that trip to the hospital. Too many guys around me refuse to wear them, but then they get cut.
Speaker 1:Really yeah. No, I think that is a great idea, yeah.
Speaker 2:But no, there's also, like I said, not too many tools needed, but for the beginners it's definitely affordable.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, that's good to hear. And then just backtracking a little bit, so you said, like the most important thing is to get them bled out, is just get that blood out of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So basically, like I said, just yeah. So you don't want the blood in the meat, just like the pigs and the beef and everything else that I slaughter on a farm. It's a shot to the brain and then immediately put the gun down and, um, slit the throat. That way, the, the organ, just the animal is dead, but the organs are. They are dying, but they're still pumping and you want, as soon as you slit the throat properly, um, that blood should exit the body.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah and then, as growth, as growth it is that some people it's just, it's just for meat quality, that's what you want.
Speaker 1:That really helps and makes the difference. Yeah, absolutely yeah, and then I mean too, when somebody. I mean, how is bad is it when you can probably smell it when they bring it in somebody? Somebody, guts, you know, has a deer, that's gut shot oh goodness, there's been multiple like the gut shots.
Speaker 2:There's been probably about 10 this year. There's been a rather rather 300 pound plus buck. That was uh, that was brought to me rather late and gentleman left it in his truck for a few days.
Speaker 1:Um.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, but, like I said, things happen, there's circumstances, but uh yeah, no gut shots. Yeah, there's just got to clean the animal out properly.
Speaker 1:So that is where you'd have to hose it a bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Especially the insides, oh yeah. And then I've had lots of people. Yeah, I've had lots of people. Yeah, I've had lots of people. They've got shot and they've wanted me to gut it. It's just, I live in town, it's hard for me to do that for the people right there and you have to get the guts out in a certain amount of time. So it's just again going back to that shot placement. Next time let's make the shot better, kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's a good takeaway from here. Yeah well, cole, you know I don't want to keep you too much longer. I know you're really busy, but I can't thank you enough for coming on and I don't know if you guys, if you butchers, have sayings or anything, but you know, like, keep your stick on the ice, but keep your knife sharp and your cooler full.
Speaker 2:Yeah, keep your knife sharp and I really appreciate you having me on. It's been an for me and I hope that I can help some of these hunters out, especially when it comes to processing or getting that deer to the processor as quickly as possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if guys people are looking to follow you, it's Cole the Butcher on Facebook and you post quite a bit and I love seeing that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I post quite a bit. Like I said, I don't Facebook's limits on the public aspect. Facebook does limit me on pictures. So if you do want to see, like I said, some pictures, educational stuff, I don't hold back. So, yeah, call the butcher on Facebook, um, and yeah, I appreciate the support.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then also, too, just want to mention so you do courses as well, right you just?
Speaker 2:kind of start. Um, like I said, it's, it's, yeah, like I said, I've been, like I said, I've had a few inquiries and I've recently just did a course on how to how to kill a pig and then how to process a pig. There was a company not far from me that reached out almost a year ago to book me for a couple months ago. Yeah, and just to show. Like I said, homesteading, Homesteading around here is growing increasingly popular, so they just wanted to show how do you do this pig if you were limited on tools and on your own farm.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's great that you're able to take the time and do that and for for people to learn the proper way oh, absolutely everybody.
Speaker 2:I think everybody should be able to do it. It, uh, it's just a matter of time, and trying to get everybody there, yeah yeah I know it looks intimidating at first, seeing I can butcher a little.
Speaker 1:I'm very, very limited but I'm learning. I've got a concrete pad poured in a walking cooler bought, so I'm gonna have to oh, perfect, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:No, that's great If you got that walk-in cooler. Like I said, I wish I had one, but I just have my trailer.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, your trailer. It's an awesome setup in there.
Speaker 2:No, like I said, I really appreciate you having me on and I appreciate the support you give me through Facebook and online and everything else.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks, I'm sure we'll talk again. All right, ken, you take care. Okay, you too. See you, thanks Cool, yep, yep, bye-bye.