Reading this article on the deer parts that may help you survive in the wilderness will cause you to agree that preppers are extraordinary. We can always turn things around. No matter the available resources, we can survive.
Otherwise, who’d think of using a deer for any other purpose apart from feeding? Maybe nobody, but when SHTF, bones, hooves, hide, venison, and more will come in handy.
5 Deer Parts That May Help You Survive In The Wilderness
There are about ten parts of a deer that can save your life when it comes right down to it. Each of these parts has unique benefits that other animals can hardly offer. Out of this bunch, though, we’ll be looking at the most common and beneficial 5.
Here we go.
Deer Hide
I assume you’d have known that deer hide is especially beneficial in the wild. I mean, even the hides of cattle have a lot of uses, much more the thick hide of a deer. A deer hide is a great source of warmth on a cold evening in the wild. Anyone exposed on a cold night would recognize the significance of any heat on such nights.
Asides this, a deer hide can serve many more purposes. Its scraped rawhide form can be made into cordage or container, while its hair-on form, a source of insulation. To process the hide of a deer, you’ll have to follow these process:
- Nail the fresh hide to a barn or shed in a stretched out style. Alternatively, you can fix ropes to its edges and tie to two poles about a shoulder-width apart. Do whatever you have to — just see that it is stretched out; this will make it easier to shave.
- With a sharp round blade knife or scraper, scrape off all fat, meat, and connective tissues. When this is done correctly, all that’ll be left of the hide will be white. For this to be easier, you may have to wet the hide as you shave.
- Leave to dry for some days, after which you’ll have made a hair-on deer hide, which can be used as a duvet, rug, shelter door, or whatever.
- If you wish, you can scrape off some of the dried hides and soak for some days to make flue.
Hooves
Best believe that hoof glue was used to construct the world’s oldest known bow, which is considered over 10 000 years old. That’s to tell you of the timeless role the deer has played in our survival story. As useful as it is, the formula for the glue is fortunately simple.
Just chop or cut the hooves into smaller chunks and soak in water for days until they are completely melted. The result is an untiring, very effective glue that’s arguably the best you’ll ever make by yourself. If the gum is not thick enough, you can add more chunks of hooves or just reduce the water. You can use this glue for about any storage purpose, whether fresh or dried. And here’s something better, you can always reheat it to reactivate its effectiveness.
Bones
If you’ve read some historical accounts of our forefathers, you’d know that deer bones were essential in their gear and weapon arsenal. Thankfully, we can still make use of these bones. Usually, though, the size, shape, and structure of the bone determine its benefits.
For instance, leg bones were built to withstand downward pressure so that they can be modeled into punches, chisels, needles, and projectile points, very strong ones. The rib bone is typically flexible when fresh and may be ideal for a friction fire bow. Unused leftovers have their uses too. Triangular chips can pass for arrowheads; splinters can become awls or needles; one can use ordinary chunks as toggles or buttons. Lastly, you can simmer fresh deer bones in water to make a broth rich in minerals.
Organs
You can harvest the organs of your kill for eating. It is typical for hunters to reserve their deer’s heart specifically for themselves due to a long-term tradition. You can eat the liver also, which can be improved by frying with onions and bacon. Besides these, you can cook, clean, and eat other organs, including the eyes, stomach, kidneys, tongue, lungs, and intestines.
Before now, the deer brain was a common presence in scrambled eggs, but the recent rise in chronic wasting disease may cause you to skip it for now. If you live in a region prone to this or any other deer diseases, do not eat the spinal tissue as well. The brain, spinal tissue, and other fresh organs you don’t want to eat can serve as baits for bobcats and other carnivores.
Deer Fat
Deer fat is typically skimmed off the meat and served to dogs. Rarely do people appreciate the flavor/taste of deer fat but trust a survival setting to quickly rearrange your meal preferences, and for a good reason. An ounce of deer fat has at least twice the calorie contents in an ounce of deer meat. Since you’ll be needing a lot of energy, deer fat may be the most useful part you’ll ever harvest from a deer.
You can add deer fat to stew, broth, or soup for more calories. You can also cook alone as a tendered tallow. This is made by heating on a low flame for hours and then filtering out the solids using a filter cloth. In cold weather, deer fat will last several weeks and even months, and so may be a lifesaver. It can be used for food, and then as a leather conditioner, fuel for grease lamp or skin salve. It mostly depends on how harsh the setting is.
Final Lines On The Deer Parts That May Help You Survive In The Wilderness
Knowing these deer parts that may help you survive in the wilderness is valuable. With this knowledge, you can optimize the benefits obtainable from a deer kill. In addition to the parts we’ve highlighted above, the antlers, marrow, teeth, sinews, and scraps each have their special uses. So, there’s a lot to gain. Recently, some hunters say that a deer is as useful as a dog in the wilderness, although both are used in different ways.