Deer skinning using this basic method has been around since before the white man came to this country. The early explorers told of the American Indians skinning buffalo with a rock a rawhide rope and a horse. The last few years there have been several videos and articles written about how to skin deer with a "rock and a rope". I have found that a lot of people have tried this at home or in the field with less than spectacular results. I myself read about this method first in an old "Taps Tips". That was more years ago than I care to remember, but with that newly gained knowledge, all I lacked was a deer to skin.
Finally the day happened and I got to try my newfound method. I was able to skin the deer finally, after hooking up the rope several times. The carcass still had hair all over it and I just wasn't convinced this is what Tap had in mind. I tried many times after that, and became the guy who would skin your deer at deer camp. I finally went back to just hanging them up and pulling on the hide. As long as there was only one deer to skin, I could do it in about 20 minutes. I kept coming back to this idea of having the truck do the real work. The hookup was the real problem. If the rope were small enough to cinch up tight around the rock, when I got to the hard part of the pull the rope would break. Bigger rope meant poor hookup, also more hide pulled. Finally, I moved to cable. Great choice, the only problem was that after about 3 deer, the cable was kinked beyond use. I turned out a two-stage ball out of wood first. The skinner plate was the next refinement and didn’t happen until I needed to market this product.
The combination of the patented skinner plate and two-stage ball, make the kinkless, positive hookup that is so crucial to the success of the 10 Minute Deer Skinner. The addition of a demonstration video anyone could follow has made the "Deer Skinner" the handiest tool to have in your fanny-pack, next to your favorite sharp hunting knife.
I've found my customers fall into two main groups. The first group is the novice hunter. This is the guy or gal, (we sell a lot of skinners to the ladies) who has not yet skinned their own deer. Most of these folks are intimidated by the process, and are just not sure what to do. These are the easiest folks to sell, especially if thy have seen my video at a show or a sporting goods dealer. The truth is if you watch the video, you can see that this is easy. Knowing they can watch the movie any time they need to, seems to be comforting. The truth is they probably won't need to see the video again after they have skinned their first deer. The video is watched more often at this point by hunting buddies who just are not sure their friends can skin a deer faster than they can after just one try. Think again boys.
The second group are usually more difficult to sell to. Hanging and skinning works fine for them, or they have tried a golf ball and a rope 10 years ago, but prefer their method. I have to remind these guys what it was about the golf ball and rope that they didn't like. Then I show them the positive hookup the skinner has on the deer hide, and how the cable pushes loose after the pull is done. If I can get them to stop for 6 minutes and watch the tape, most people recognize the merit of my product. The rest is just a wrestling match between the hands, that have been tired and cut so many times from pulling hides, and the mind that controls the wallet, and is trying to decide between a new "Jerky dehydrator" or a "Ten Minute Deer Skinner".
My product is not for everyone; I talked to a guy at a show once who told me, "skinning the deer by hand was part of the hunting experience". I respect that. I'm glad most of us don’t feel that way. A lot of guys take their deer to the processor also. Processors are usually fairly expensive. Skinning your deer alone will usually cost as much as a deer skinner. I know how I've taken care of my deer up to the point of skinning, and I have trouble throwing my deer in with the deer the guy hauled around for 2 days before he got to the processor. I know the meat is supposed to be separated, and I believe it usually is, until the hamburger or sausage starts to be ground. I'm pretty sure he doesn't stop in between and clean out his grinder. Well, enough of that.
Skinning your hard won prize should not be something you dread. While we may not be able to make it as fun as the hunting part, I hope we've made it as easy as possible.