Recently one of my clients who loves his kit! bought me a 'Butt Out'. I have seen these advertised before but in my arrogance have always felt that I had no need for such devices and to be honest I am still not convinced that I do. The items that one 'needs' when stalking are not so many as some might imagine.
However I have been using it quite a bit lately and find myself reaching for it more and more and there's no denying it does make the job that little bit easier.
For those of you that don't know what it is, it is a simple plastic key like tool that is used to remove the anal part of the alimentary canal when gralloching a deer. All one needs to do is insert it into the anus give it a turn and pull it out. The device works by trapping the walls of the anal canal like a hook and allows you to then cut around the tool to free up the anus for tying off and pulling through when gralloching.
There's no denying that it is this part of the gralloching operation that most beginners struggle with and it is also the part of the gralloching process which illustrates a stalkers experience better than perhaps any other. Professional and experienced stalkers carry out the task with ease whilst the beginners can be spotted by their hacking and cutting with little idea of what the proper outcome should look like!!
The tool is very light weight, fits easily into a pocket being about 5inches long and is easily cleaned. It also costs around £10 so it's not going to break the bank! So if this is a part of the gralloching operation that you struggle with then give it a go, alternatively if your gralloching method is a source of pride or else you have a stalking guide to do it for you then well, you don't 'need' it!
