Ring each leg at the point where you started the cut, again always cutting from underneath the skin. Be very careful not to cut the tendon. Begin peeling the skin off the deer by pulling on the hide as you cut it away from the meat. Use the knife to cut the connecting tissue as you pull on the skin.
When you reach the tail, you’ll need to cut through the cartilage. When you have the hide off the legs and have started down the torso, switch to the front legs.
Cut a ring around each of the front legs at the knee joint, then make a cut following the cowlick of hair up the leg to the armpit and continue the cut on an angle that joins with the cut you made when gutting the deer. Free the skin on the front legs by pulling and cutting.
Back at the rear, continue peeling the hide off by pulling and cutting. Often simply pulling down on the hide will free large sections, particularly if the deer is still warm. As you come to the shoulders work the remaining hide from the front legs.
Continue skinning down the neck until you reach the back of the head. You may find it easier to raise or lower the deer as you are working to keep the work area at a comfortable level. If you’re not going to mount the deer, it’s much easier if you split the hide down the front of the neck. Again, cut from the inside out.
- American Hunter