What’s it about?
Located between Canterbury and Ashford, join us at our ancient woodland camp on the beautiful Kent Downs for this 1 day deer butchery course and learn how to skin and butcher a deer., as well as other game.
We understand that this is an emotive subject for many people but we believe that it’s an important skill for those of us that have an interest in how our hunter gatherer ancestors lived. There’s a disconnect in the modern world between people and their food; on this deer preparation course we aim to re-establish that connection and remind ourselves where meat comes from.
Crucially we believe that the whole process must be conducted in a way that is respectful to the animal. The animals that are used on this course are carefully selected so that the population as a whole benefits; we do not advocate trophy hunting, we don’t use stags nor females that are pregnant or have young.
We make use of as much of the animal as possible, including the bones and skin.
What will I do on this deer butchery course?
During your time spent with us on this 1 day deer butchery course, you will:
- Learn how a deer is selected for culling, where and when it can be culled, how the animal is stalked and how it’s dispatched,
- Understand about the safe use of firearms when deer stalking,
- Find out about the various diseases that the animal must be checked for,
- Be shown meat hygiene techniques and methods,
- Skin the deer with minimal damage to the hide or the meat,
- Butcher the deer to ensure that as much meat as possible is produced,
- Learn about the different cuts of meat produced and how to cook them.
Once the animal has been butchered we will light a fire and cook some of it.
Bring a bag so you can take home a venison steak or two!
We’ll also start the process of tanning the hide by fleshing it. We use the bones on our Bone Tools workshop.
The course isn’t just about deer butchery we’ll also look at preparing rabbit and pigeon.
We only run this course during the stalking season, so dates are typically over the winter.
You can see our complete course schedule here.
More information about our deer butchery course
Location: Westwell, Kent
Duration: 1 day
Start: 10am
End: 3pm
Course size: Maximum of 8
Catering: We’ll provide tea & coffee, you’ll need to bring a packed lunch
Note: There’s a short walk from the meeting point to the camp.
What happens next?
Once you’ve made your booking you’ll receive an automated booking confirmation from Ecwid, our e-commerce platform provider.
We’ll send you a comprehensive joining pack 6 to 8 weeks prior to the start of your deer butchery course.
This includes the location of the meeting point and what to bring.
Please read the joining pack when you receive it as it contains essential information about attending our deer butchery course!!
FAQs
If you have any questions, take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still have a question, feel free to email us at info@jackravenbushcraft.co.uk
Please note that as we work predominantly in the woods, it’s not easy for us to be in contact 24/7. We can be contacted by phone at any time, although during teaching sessions it’s kept on silent. Email is checked as soon as we get back from the woods.
Our blog
There are loads of posts on our blog related to our deer butchery course, including disease in deer, as well as preparing rabbits and pigeons, so feel free to take a look.
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What our customers say about our deer butchery course
We also have reviews on our Facebook page and our Google Business page so you can check out those as well.
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I attended the butchery course as a way to get more in touch with the process of preparing meat for consumption, as well as a step along the way towards hunting myself, so I can eat meat more ethically, as well as growing a greater connection to where my food comes from.
Phil delivered the information in an engaging manner. He was very knowledgeable and invited questions, which he answered happily and thoroughly. He had a 'get stuck in' attitude to hands on learning which I gained a lot from, and his attitude was appreciative of nature, and respectful towards the animals that had died so we could learn and sustain ourselves. In addition to that was a really nice bloke!
I learned a lot from the course, and would recommend to anyone else looking into learning more about butchery.
Outstanding day my husband absolutely loved every minute and can’t stop talking about it. Informative and so well done! Can’t recommend enough
Fantastic day out which was really well organised and so interesting. The team were friendly and extremely knowledgeable I’d highly recommend Jack Raven bushcraft :)
I had the most amazing day on the butchery course. Phil is extremely knowledgeable and it was great learning so much from him. The camp site is very well equipped and nicely setup. Gary and Nicole were also extremely helpful, really loved the taster dishes we got from the meat. All staff were very welcoming and friendly. Highly recommend and will definitely return for more courses!
Great day on the deer butchery course
