Be sure and wear the "up to the elbow" gloves and the hand gloves. Deer carry diseases , we really don't know what and it dosen't pay to take a chance. Have a good sharp knife and a good folding saw. Just be extra careful not to cut the guts and the urine sack. These things will taint your meat. When I used to check hunters they would say they had field dressed their deer and I would check it and it still had the lungs and windpipe in it. Make sure you remove the lungs. They are soft tissue and the first thing to spoil. That is why you need the elbow gloves to reach up into the throat area. Of course if you use your folding to saw up through the brisket you can cut clear up through the throat area and remove everything. This procedure is for a deer that you aren't going to mount. If you are going to mount the deer you don't want to be cutting up through the brisket or the throat area. The folding saw is good for sawiing through the pelvis also.

I'll second the advice on the gloves, although I typically buy a box of regular surgical gloves to use throughout the season. They don't go up to the elbows, but still protect your hands and ease clean-up. Wet wipes are also a nice addition to your backpack. In terms of field dressing, I prefer to start at the base of the ribcage and work downward -- as for me it seems easier to control the knife and end with a clean body cavity. A small saw is helpful for splitting the pelvis to ensure that you have everything out.

All great tips. Take Del in KS with you. He can field dress an elk quicker than a cat can lick his axe.

@WAM -
You owned me with that last line!

KA-BAR, gloves, partner for bigger deer.

Learn how to split the pelvis without breaking any of the plumbing, breaking your knife, or cutting yourself. It takes practice.

I wear gloves too. I dress a deer quickly as soon as i find it. I make sure my knife is sharp before the season. I use a folding saw to split the pelvis, being careful not to cut the plumbing. Also be very careful not to cut the bladder. I usually saw a few inches up the breastbone too to open him up a bit and give me more room to work. AJ I'll have to try that thorax trick, thanks. It is nice to have a helper but rarely has that been the case. Also, i peel the tenderloins out as soon as i get the deer home or back to camp. So good when fresh.

Where I'm hunting I'll need the gloves to keep my hands warm when I'm done. I find it's too risky trying to do anything with a knife and gloves on. I have to be able to feel what I'm doing.

All the lessons they taught us in hunter's safety about opening up the neck so the animal can "bleed out" is just crap. If it's a deer, there's no real big need to open up the neck unless you're in a pretty hot environment. Wait till you get home and pull the skin off. Nothing is going to spoil up there.

I usually split the pelvis on deer with my knife but I make sure gut cavity is all opened up first. Splitting it can dull the blade. On bigger animals it is more important to split the sternum than the pelvis. I'll just cut around the bung hole and pull the works back up the other way. A turd or two may come loose inside the pelvis cavity when I'm pulling the track back through but I don't eat bones so not much worried about that. I don't carry a hatchet with me in the bush. Too much weight. If you don't open up the sternum on larger animals, it can be a very long and bloody reach up to the windpipe to pull it out (and yes I would advise cutting the windpipe and esophagus off under the chin on larger animals if not having a mount done). Also, a stick wrapped around the windpipe/esophagus makes it a LOT easier pulling that stuff loose. If you're going to quarter the animal don't bother removing the windpipe/esophogus until you reach that stage. A lot easier!

Whacking off the scent glands is another overblown phobia of hunter's safety courses. If they don't stink real bad, don't mess with them. If they are stinky, prepare to sacrifice a pair of gloves! Throw the gloves away with the scent glands when you cut them off. I'm always more concerned about the stink getting on me than the meat.

Always cut the ivories out of the elk before starting to gut and quarter it. Otherwise you're liable to be so bushed when you're done that you forget them.

And lastly, a real sharp knife is just a hazard when gutting out an animal, especially in poor light (I have quite a scar on my left hand from gutting my first buck in headlights - can still count marks from five stitches). When you're cutting the diaphragm loose, both hands are in there with the knife and often can't see what you're doing. I DO NOT want a fancy razor sharp knife in that situation. A resonably sharp one can do enough damage if you slip.

Honker,
We cut the scent glands off and save them to use as an attractant. Poke a hole in it, run a wire wrap through it and hang it on a limb close to your stand. Sweeten it up with a little fresh buck urine and that will make it all the better. Transport them in a zip lock bag.
It is hard to kill a buck in January that is not reeking of the rut.

The best tip I can give is to take your time and not get in a big hurry.