every deer hunter should have this item

[JFK52]

First the disclaimer. I am not related to the inventor. I have no commercial interest in the product. I do not receive any compensation for my views. I am just a satisfied user that wants others to know about this product. It will simplify your deer cleaning either in the field or like myself, at a cleaning station on my property.
Last year a bought an item called "The cooling tool" It is a blaze orange plastic spreader bar that comes in handy when cleaning deer. I used it on 6 deer last season and 5 so far this year. So I speak from experience. There is a web site that will come up when you search the cooling tool. I was one of the first hunters to buy this product from the inventor. Now one has to buy it from an outfit that sells them. I am simply a satisfied end user.
It is a male and female interlocking piece of plastic with U shaped end pieces. The U pieces have several pointed barbs in them. It has slots so that the cooling tool can be adjusted to different lengths depending on the size of the deer you are cleaning. I clean mine afterwards with hot water and soap.
I gut my deer at a cleaning station after I hoist them to the right height by hand. I have spot lights to work at night and a spigot nearby to fresh water rinse out the cavities. You insert the cooling tool into the cavity just below the ribs. The U pieces with barbs do a great job of grabbing and holding the spot that they are placed at. Twist the bar to release it. Spread it to the length and twist it back so the holes on the pieces engage and you have spread open your deer. I then crack the ribs with a saw and pull out the heart, liver and cut the esophagus. Quite easily done (QED) Now you rinse the deer out with fresh water and you are ready for transport to the processor or skinning if you do it yourself. I leave in the cooling tool while the deer is hanging to promote cooling the inside of the animal.

Previously, I used one inch by one inch pieces of wood as spreader bars. They had to be cut to length and once used I never used them again as they were contaminated with bacteria. They had to be placed exactly on a rib, or they slid off the spot on the deer. The cooling tool has solved all these problems. It grabs the side of the deer with the U shaped barbed ends and does not slip. It can be adjusted to the length needed for the deer being cleaned. It can be washed with hot water and soap after use so it is reusable. With care, it will last a lifetime and be handed down to your offspring.

Buy it once and use it for a lifetime. I don't know many products that can make that claim. Check out the web site, they have video that explains this much better than my words.

 

[Terrific_tom]

The bear guide I help has one. They work well. The only problem we had was if left on a bear over nite in the cooler it was hard to get the thing out the next day

 

[yoderjac]

Probably depends on how you care for your deer. It wouldn't help me at all. First, like you, I hang from a hoist to field dress. I don't bother cutting along the sternum. I simply cut through the diaphragm, reach up and grab the esophagus with one hand and cut it with the other using a compact skinning knife. I then pull out the whole mess. Once field dressed, I lower it, insert a gambrel between the rear legs and hoist it back up head down this time.

I immediately skin the deer and quarter it. I have a reach in style cooler in the barn like you see in a restaurant. I removed the shelving and installed a galvanized pipe. I use meat hooks and hang the quarters in the cooler. I'm in zone 7A and we can have 80+ degree days during our archery season. Fast cooling is important and simply propping open the chest cavity would be insufficient.

The one tool I wouldn't be without is the inexpensive butt-out. In the old days, I' use a thin bladed long fillet knife to cut around the rectum and tie it off. It is 10x easier and faster with the butt-out.

Not everyone has the same facilities I have and may have different issues depending on climate.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[JFK52]

Your method of cleaning a deer is different than mine. You are very fortunate to have a walk in cooler. I would guess that you are in the minority of hunters that has such a set up. I also use the butt out and find it a convenient tool for cleaning the anus area of the deer. Any hunter that guts deer in the field would benefit from using the cooling tool. I just wanted to pass on information about a product that works well for me in Central Wisconsin. I looked over other products like it online and feel that this is a superior design to any that I viewed. Anything that can make the job of cleaning a deer easier is a worth while piece of kit for me.

 

[yoderjac]

Your method of cleaning a deer is different than mine. You are very fortunate to have a walk in cooler. I would guess that you are in the minority of hunters that has such a set up. I also use the butt out and find it a convenient tool for cleaning the anus area of the deer. Any hunter that guts deer in the field would benefit from using the cooling tool. I just wanted to pass on information about a product that works well for me in Central Wisconsin. I looked over other products like it online and feel that this is a superior design to any that I viewed. Anything that can make the job of cleaning a deer easier is a worth while piece of kit for me.

Not criticizing. Just suggesting the benefits depend on the situation. BTW, I'd love to have a walk-in cooler but I don't. I have a reach-in cooler. I actually have two of them, one in the barn at the farm and one in my garage at home. In the area I live, restaurants come and go very quickly. I bought these reach-in coolers on craigslist from restaurants that went out of business. One is a double door and the other has 3 doors. They only cost me a couple hundred dollars each. I prop the doors open slightly to allow air flow when not in use. I only turn them on when needed. I removed the shelving and simply ran a piece of galvanized pipe across the top.

When I lived in PA, hunting season was cool enough to hang deer outdoors. Where I live in VA, especially during archery season, ambient temperature is not close to cool enough to prevent spoilage. You really have to have some setup to allow you to skin the deer soon after harvest and cool it down. I know guys that don't have a reach-in cooler that simply skin, debone, and refrigerate the meat in a regular refrigerator. While I like hanging the meat in a reach-in cooler, before I got them, I just used an old refrigerator. Before I got my farm, most of my hunting was on public land. In that case I field dressed the deer immediately where it expired in the field. I still never gutted beyond the sternum. I used the same technique for removing entrails. I simply didn't have gravity to help. Both heat, moisture, and bacteria contribute to spoilage. I often had a long drag back to the truck and I wanted to minimize the size of the opening reducing exposure of the cavity to dirt and thus bacteria.

So, my point is that the tool is somewhat regional. In the north, I can see where it may be useful. In the south, not so much. I'm not suggesting it isn't a great fit for you. Just saying that there are different challenges in different areas. So rather than a tool that "every" deer hunter should have, it is probably a great tool for folks in your situation.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[JFK52]

Your point is well taken. Being a Cheesehead from Wisconsin I tend to forget that there are deer hunters in more temperate climates.
I would change my header if I could but the edit function will not let me into that part. Let's just say it is a handy tool for deer hunters and leave it at that. The one big difference I see in the cooling tool and other items like it is that the cooling tool has several small pointed barbs on the U shaped ends. These barbs really grab the deer and do not let it slip when you spread it open. I tried it and I like it. For me it is there every time I am cleaning a deer to assist me in making the process easier. I have used it on 11 deer so far and will use it on every deer harvested on my land from now on.

 

[BigJ]

So for the record have we decided it's the perfect tool for hunting or not? Hahaha very cool product thanks for sharing


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[yoderjac]

Your point is well taken. Being a Cheesehead from Wisconsin I tend to forget that there are deer hunters in more temperate climates.
I would change my header if I could but the edit function will not let me into that part. Let's just say it is a handy tool for deer hunters and leave it at that. The one big difference I see in the cooling tool and other items like it is that the cooling tool has several small pointed barbs on the U shaped ends. These barbs really grab the deer and do not let it slip when you spread it open. I tried it and I like it. For me it is there every time I am cleaning a deer to assist me in making the process easier. I have used it on 11 deer so far and will use it on every deer harvested on my land from now on.

I'm guilty of a bit of hyperbole from time to time. Love to see guys who find products that work well for them share their experience with others! Glad you posted the thread.

Thanks,

Jack