In my youth we always pulled the entrails with an old-time button hook for lady's shoes as instructed by our family doctor. Later years most bird knives include a "gut hook." Our base of hunting was an old gas station/cafe along old U.S. 10 that included living quarters in the back. It had a walk-in cooler where we hung the birds. In those days my father always plucked the pheasants and ducks and we roasted them. In my retirement years I have just cleaned them after the hunt, skinned, filet the breast meat for cooking hot and fast under the broiler while the boney parts get cooked low & slow in Lutheran sauce.
