Hot Hunting & Taxidermy How-Tos

How To: Set a single dirt hole land trap

If your land is frequented by unwanted coyotes, then a land trap could be the solution. This instructional video shows how to set a single dirt hole land trap for catching coyotes. Make sure to keep the hidden trap area free of rocks and sticks, as canines will not generally dig at these objects, and as an added lure, cover the trap backing in urine. Set a single dirt hole land trap.

How To: Skin a pheasant for cooking

This video describes how to skin a pheasant to prepare it for cooking and get the most out of the meat. The presenter starts by making a cut longways along the breast bone of the pheasant. Once you make the small incision you can peel the skin and feathers off of the pheasant. The presenter indicates that the main areas of meat are the breast area and the thighs. Next is cutting along the bones into the chest cavity and separating the collar bone. Instead of "gutting" the pheasant, the presen...

How To: Skin & clean a deer

Attention aspiring hunters! If you're going to go around killing animals to eat, those dead animals somehow have to end up back at your home, skinned and ready for butchering. Who does that part, you ask? Usually you, the hunter. In this two-part video tutorial, learn how to clean & skin a deer or doe.

How To: Butcher a deer at home

In this four-part butchering tutorial, learn how to break a deer carcass down to prepare for processing at home. Tools & preparation are gone over, as well as where to start and finish piecing the deer apart. Just think, once finally through the long process you can enjoy yummy venison dishes like venison straganoff or venison goulash!

How To: Clean a deer

Planning a hunting trip sometime soon? Become a hardcore hunter by killing & cleaning your game out in the wild. In this two-part tutorial, learn how to clean (or butcher) a deer when camping outdoors.

How To: Field dress a deer using only a knife

So you shot a deer, now what? Time to field dress the animal and make the most of your prize. Throughout the process it is important to keep your incisions precise, so as to avoid any messy mistakes. This instructional video will also teach you how to tell the age of the deer by the condition of its teeth.

How To: Make a homemade predator decoy

Hunting predators can be difficult. As their entire lives are based on being stealthy enough to make a kill, while expending minimal energy, finding your prey can prove to be quite time-consuming. One hunter has made a homemade predator decoy for less than $20. Watch the video to find out how.

How To: Build a coyote trap

If you're going to build a coyote trap, you want to make absolutely sure you get it right. After all, the last thing you need to deal with is a furious coyote getting loose after you've trapped him! In this video you'll learn how to make a cheap and effective coyote trap.

How To: Use a squirrel call

A whistle is really all you need to scout for for squirrels. Squirrel sure is tasty when you fry them up, or whatever, but hunting those little guys can be kind of tricky. Wade Bourne, host of Wade's World on MyOutdoorTV, shows you how to scout for whitetail deer while squirrel hunting.

How To: Gut a deer, field dressing

Kentucky Afield: Watch as Tim Farmer hosts the processing of venison, starting in the field and ending in the kitchen. Start with the deer down. Start with the tail and trim around the anus. You want to not break the colon nor the bladder for sanitary reasons. This is a long and delicate process of gutting a deer so that you may bring it easily back to the kitchen to make venison! Field dressing is an important hunting skill. Gut a deer, field dressing.

How To: Tie a noose loop knot for trapping animals

This simple noose can be done quickly and is ideal for trapping small game. This video serves as a step by step detailed guide on how to tie it. Shown in two ways, a simple one and a more involved way that makes the rope and noose move more easily. Watch this video hunting tutorial and learn how to tie a looped knot noose for trapping animals and game.

How To: Hunt wild hogs

If you have a feeder out, or a source of food for wild hogs, now is the time to go hunting. In the next couple of months the hogs will start feeding off of acorns. This will make them much harder to hunt. Watch this video hunting tutorial and learn some tips for hunting wild hogs.

How To: Mold and cast a fish mount for taxidermy statues

This video taxidermy tutorial demonstrates the process of molding and casting a fish mount. Any fish can be placed into molding material and covered with plaster to create an exact replica of the fish. When the mold hardens, a duplicate of the fish can be cast. Watch this instructional video and learn how to mold and cast a fish mount for taxidermy statues.

How To: Paint a stuffed perch with acrylic paints

The colors on a dead fish can get a bit dull, but a little bit of acrylic paint will add a life-like vibrancy to the stuffed taxidermy mount. The demonstrator walks through the steps of adding fresh and realistic color to a perch mount with the help of some paint. Watch this video taxidermy tutorial and learn how to paint a stuffed perch with acrylic paints.

How To: Stuff a zander fish for a taxidermy mount

Fishing enthusiasts don't need to waste the skin on a prize catch. Eat the meat, but when cleaning the fish, cut the skin so that it stay in tact for mounting. The delightful English demonstrator walks through the steps of cleaning, prepping, and stuffing a mounted taxidermy fish. Watch this video taxidermy tutorial and learn how to prepare a fish (in this case a zander) for creating a taxidermy mount.

How To: Prepare the ears on a deer mount by the bondo method

A professional taxidermist demonstrates the "bondo ear" method for a whitetail deer mount in this video taxidermy tutorial. The mixture used is half bondo and half polyester resin, and the ears on the deer mount are further stuffed with a fiberglass mat to reinforce the material. The mixture is then placed on a stick and then slid down the ear of the deer skin cape. Amateur taxidermists can watch this instructional video and learn how to prepare the ears on a deer mount by the bondo method.

How To: Prepare a whitetail deer head for mounting

In this video taxidermy tutorial series, a professional taxidermist demonstrates how to prepare a whitetail deer cape for mounting. Now that the skin has been fleshed and tanned, the deer head cape is ready to be mounted. The skin will need the mount that will shape the skin, and will require trimming and sewing of the tanned and prepped skin. Watch this instructional video and learn how to prepare a whitetail deer head for mounting.

How To: Mold a white crappie fish sculpture out of fiberglass

This video taxidermy tutorial shows how to make a wall mount sculpture of a white crappie fish. The initial fish is bedded into a soft clay mold, and then painted with fiberglass resin. When the mold hardens and dries, it can then be filled with whatever material desired to make the wall mount. Watch this instructional video and learn how to make a mold for a white crappie fish wall mount sculpture.

How To: Sight in your rifle

A lot goes into making a hunt successful, and most of it happens before you take to the field--like making sure your rifle is properly sighted in. It's not hard to do if you follow a few simple steps: first, and this is the first step when you do anything with a firearm, make sure it's unloaded. Make sure your scope is properly mounted and the mounting screws are tight. Remove the bolt from the rifle and sight through the barrel to make sure you're lined up with a sight-in target placed at 25...

How To: Pattern your shotgun

When shooting a shotgun, you don't really have to aim--just point and shoot. Whether you hit what you're shooting at depends on how well you did your homework. "Patterning" your shotgun allows you to choose exactly the right brand of shells, size and type of shot and type of choke required for the game you're pursuing. Set yourself up 40 yards from a 30-inch circle target, and bring along several brands of shells in various shot sizes. Use some form of rest like sandbags on a table or a rolle...