View Full Version : Skinning Rabbits
bothyman
29-11-2003, 22:18
A nice tutorial on skinning rabbits etc in
>> http://www.australianoutdoors.com/index.htm
Look in, how to section.
Interesting site. Thanks for posting it. I'm looking forward to exploring it.
I found the rabbit cleaning tutorial and personally I much prefer making that initial cut across middle of the back. Done right, you should never have to lay the rabbit on the ground. Also, if you plan on saving the skin, then splitting the skin in the middle is not the way to go but then you will have to lay it down and skin it like a trapper.
the naughty boy
02-03-2004, 22:07
yeah ,the cut in the back is the best way ,i,ve shot and eaten loads of em and i always messed around trying to save the skins..they usually ended up in the bin anyway,when i saw the "back slice " method it was great,saved so much mucking around
Buckshot
03-03-2004, 13:59
Not sure about the bandage on the bloke in the tutorial though :yikes:
I always split the skin midway and pull apart if I have the 'pleasure' of sorting out a rabbit.
Strangely enough I hate paunching rabbits - it makes me reach.
Anything else is no problem, squirrels to deer, partridge to geese no problem but rabbits....
Oh no :nono:
It's one of the few things I'll shoot but not eat, mind you the rest of my friends and family are happy to. :lol:
Cheers
Mark
MartiniDave
03-03-2004, 14:33
Buckshot,
You're not alone there!
I was fine with bunnies until last year, when I was doing a batch I'd taken with the rifle. I found quite a few had sort of gelatinous cysts in the meat, looked a bit like the jelly in pork pies, but gloopier. Ditched the lot and haven't been back to that wood for rabbit since.
Dave
AustralianOutdoors
15-06-2004, 23:31
G'day to all in the UK and elsewhere :-D
My name is Gerry Noterey and i am the webmaster/coordinator/owner of www.australianoutdoors.com
it is great to find this quality website and forums at Bushcraft UK.
i arrived by clicking on a link in my tracking software and i am glad i did.
This site is full of great outdoors info and i have enjoyed the experience immensively. Congratulations to the organiser and participants.
Thank you all for your positive comments and recognition of my website and the outdoors skills i present to my visitors.
The Bandage and large Rabbits in Australia
The bandage was the result of a vicious attack by a very large rabbit. I had it caught in the trap and as i approached i thought, 'Now thats a bloody big Bunny'. I approached it with great trepidation and was wondering how i might fit it in the camp oven as it was over 5 feet tall.
After about 20 min of battle, i left the large rabbit with lots of bruises on my person and a piece of meat missing from my hand. Hence, THE BANDAGE. I asked a friend of mine about these monster rabbits and described them in detail to him. He advised me to leave the whiskey at home the next time i trap and said to stop bothering the Kangaroos.
Now for the truth, although it is a little mundane and not nearly as exciting.
I have RSI in my hand from too much keyboard work. I think i should have removed the bandage as it looks a little 'off'. But probably no more 'off' than a handful of Rabbit guts, Hey?
Thank you all for taking the time to read this message.
To all in the UK and other places - Take care and Best Wishes from Australia. :roll: :wink:
Gerry Noterey
www.australianoutdoors.com
Welcome to BCUK Gerry! :wave:
Sounds like you have some big rabbits over there in Oz! :rolmao:
Superb articles you ave on your site ... many thanks!
Shot a rabbit the other night - from about 3 feet. Poor little bugger couldn't see me, couldn't hear me.
Yup, we've got myxi in the area :-(
MartiniDave
16-06-2004, 09:46
Jeez! I hate myxi! Shame its mostly spread by people in the name of pest control!
Dave
Burned the corpse, bleached the area where I shot it. Might be overkill, but anything that I can do to prevent it spreading...
Of course, it is probably too late.
Hi Gerry
come on in and make yourself at home
Roving Rich
16-06-2004, 12:03
I caught a bunny a couple of weeks back, Stalked up on it, then round it untill i was close enough to grab it. It screamed like mad. I let it go as i wasn't sure that the audience were ready to watch me kill it, and ihad just eaten a hearty breakfast so wasn't hungry. (and it didn't have Mixy)
Good to meet you Gerry. Thats a great site I enjoyed looking round a while back.
Cheers
Rich
Shot a rabbit the other night - from about 3 feet. Poor little bugger couldn't see me, couldn't hear me.
Yup, we've got myxi in the area :-(
Sleep easy knowing you did the bunny the biggest favour anyone or anything could.
David
just read an article about myxy in airgunner mag. says that its spread by fleas, so disposing of the rrabbit is a waste of time becasue the fleas will have left it once the blood stops flowing.
i never new myxy was introduced by man to wipe rabbits out. i know they were a pest but theres no need for those tactics.
cheers gb
I know - like I said, overkill. Takes a while for the fleas to leave (after the corpse cools down), so they would still have been present when it became crackling; also, whilst fleas are the primary vector, the infection is still in the bloodstream...
Then there's the haemorrhagic fever that is about in rabbits. Yay. Haven't seen that yet, I'm glad to say.
I've no problem shooting them - I just don't like to see them suffer. Especially not cowering at the end of the drive.
sorry e-spy, i did'nt mean to preach.
has anybody tried to paunch a rabbit without a knife? i saw the technique decribed somewhere and wondered how succesful it was
cheers gb
MartiniDave
17-06-2004, 10:41
My Dad used to tell me how my Grandfather used the bunnies back claw to open it up for paunching.
Apparently he also used to tie young pigeon in the nest, then go back and harvest them once their parents had fed them up nicely. Should point out we're talking about between the world wars, when food was a bit scarce at times.
Dave
sorry e-spy, i did'nt mean to preach.
Hadn't assumed you were doing - just explaining my twisted logic :-D
My Dad used to tell me how my Grandfather used the bunnies back claw to open it up for paunching.
I'll have to try that.....
The way I usualy do this (without a knife) is to break the bone in the back leg and push it out through the skin, if there is no edge in the break, sharpen the bone on a convienient stone .... and skin and prep as normal.
Hope this helps ;-)
Ed
the technique i saw described was to place the fingers of both hands in the centre of the ribcage, hold the rabbit over your head and bring it down fast between your legs and pull the ribs apart at the same time.
sounds like it would be easier to use a bone though.
cheers gb
AustralianOutdoors
20-06-2004, 19:43
Thank you all for your kind remarks and for welcoming me to your group. I am sure you all have lots to teach me and I look forward to this.
In the meantime, you all have a top day and an even better year.
See Ya
Gerry Noterey
www.australianoutdoors.com :-D
There is a way to a skin a rabbit so that after you can use the skin as a hat. Does anyone know how?
Frontiers men of the new world used to make caps out of small animals like skunks and racoons.... you could probably do it the same way with a rabbit.
Lie the rabbit on its back......
Cut accross the hind legs (via underneath the tail if you want to keep the tail), cut around the anus, then finaly make a long cut from the anus to the neck ....... you will easily be able to separate the skin with a hole that big. Cure the skin.... and sew up to fit ;-)
:-)
Ed