Hot weather deer hunting help

[robertyb]

Skin and gut deer as soon as possible and put in ice chest.I leave the plug in mine and drain it about every day for 5 or 6 days until water comes out clear.I let the meat bleed out so to speak. I think the meat tastes better that way.The main thing is to cool it down as quick as possible.

Soak your meat in salt water for few days in frigerator ..i have old frigerator but last year i did not get Buck so it was not used..first year in longtime no Buck but things are getting hard hunting in state of pa now with all doe killing ..lucky to see a deer now let alone a buck..

They are tiptoeing by while you are asleep in your stand.

[ihunt]

When i hunted state land i would keep frozen milk jugs of water in my cooler. When i got the deer back to my truck i would rinse out the inside cavity with water and than pack the frozen water jugs inside the deer. this would work ok for me until i could get it home and skinned.

Thanks that sounds like a good solution.

[nchunterkw]

I think as long as the meat temp keeps coming down you will be OK for several hours. After the shot, gut it right away and prop the cavity open with a stick. That will help cool it. No water in the cavity at this point. Then get it home in the next several hours and skin it and debone it into chunks and get it in a cooler or refrigerator as others have described.

[janesy]

I'm lucky enough my butcher(I don't do it myself) has a cooler that is closer to where I hunt. Last year was hot. It went from the field, to the mobile skinning machine (forklift) straight to the cooler.

[Bullzeye]

Some great ideas you guys have put out there, thanks!!

My buddy has a walk in fridge, can hang about a dozen deer in there, he's about 1.25hrs from huntin camp, but I still prefers to hang my deer in the barn overnight to drain the blood, otherwise my car will be covered in blood if I transport the deer right after shooting it, which is why I was asking for ideas on keeping it cool.

I have the same problem as Sproulman, they have had a doe raffle for soooo many years now that there are hardly any deer around, never mind a nice buck. I just went to check on my cameras two days ago, after being out for three months, I only had one pic with two small doe's, soooooo disappointing, especially for an area that used to have many deer.

I did have one other surprise pic, after years of seeing tracks, this young thing walked by my cam.

[ihunt]

Some great ideas you guys have put out there, thanks!!

I have the same problem as Sproulman, they have had a doe raffle for soooo many years now that there are hardly any deer around, never mind a nice buck. I just went to check on my cameras two days ago, after being out for three months, I only had one pic with two small doe's, soooooo disappointing, especially for an area that used to have many deer.

I did have one other surprise pic, after years of seeing tracks, this young thing walked by my cam.

Looks like the moose has taken over deer country

If I may ask? What zone are you in Quebec?

[foofoo]

found this on a search of deer hang times Hanging Time

65-70 degrees 24-36 hours
50 degrees 3-4 days
35-40 degrees 7-10 days

[mfh]

In Virginia, if its warm (above 45) I have bought a big bag of ice, stuffed it into the cavity and then covered it with a sheet to keep any flies off. Never had a spoil issue. If its warmer, which is often in the early season, I skin and debone meat into 2.5 gallon ziplock bags and place i the fridge. I let it sit in the fridge for a week, then runs, vacuum seal and freeze the following weekend.

Seldom is it cool enough to simply hang as when I was younger in the northern climates which were below 40 (f) overnight.

Of course, this requires a second fridge unless your better half allows you to place a lot of meat in the spam fridge for a week.

I wouldn't worry about a couple hours even at warmer temps so long as it was cooked immediately or frozen solid after the warmer exposure; 4-5 hours wouldn't bother me at all. A poor shot without an immediate recovery means I back off the tracking for a couple hours with the hope of letting the animal lay down to expire vice pushing it (it happens to at least one in our group every year)...and again, never had any meat spoil in that 4-5 hour window, but have a better recover rate compared to pushing a single lunged deer immediately after the shot.

[sproulman]

Skin and gut deer as soon as possible and put in ice chest.I leave the plug in mine and drain it about every day for 5 or 6 days until water comes out clear.I let the meat bleed out so to speak. I think the meat tastes better that way.The main thing is to cool it down as quick as possible.

Soak your meat in salt water for few days in frigerator ..i have old frigerator but last year i did not get Buck so it was not used..first year in longtime no Buck but things are getting hard hunting in state of pa now with all doe killing ..lucky to see a deer now let alone a buck..

They are tiptoeing by while you are asleep in your stand.

I did wake up at 11/20 am a few years ago,contact lenses dried on my eyes..Looked 20 yards away there was buck looking at new jersey hunter smoking..I had heck of time trying to see thru those dry contact lenses..

grabbed my recurve and shot buck ..

I wish most could have seen hunting we had in 60s in pa....It was outstanding for kid growing up then you could not sleep all night waiting for 5am to come and a gang of hunters 7 uncles and 9 of us kids in crew ..Yo ho we would yell pushing the Bucks to watchers..Yo ho .yo ho, yo ho.....

[Bullzeye]

If I may ask? What zone are you in Quebec?

Zone 5East, it's sad what the gov't has done to the deer population here.

[Coon Gravy]

This may not be the best way but it's how I do it in Texas. Our bow season opens October 1 and Rifle November 1 and it's not uncommon to be in low 90's still at times in October. I field dress asap, hang it hind up, make sure I've got a good through cut on the neck and put a 20lbs bag of ice in the chest cavity and will sometimes tie the carcass closed with 550 or zip ties or whatever I have around. I generally try and cover any open places with a damp towel to keep the cold in and bugs out as much as I can until I can skin and quarter. I sure prefer to quarter out and put in a cooler if possible but if time doesn't allow the ice works for a while. Sounds stupid to say but also helps to hang in a place where it stays shady most of the day.

[bob watkins]

if you have to hang your and cant skin right away freeze 2 liter bottles to put inside the body cavity

[sproulman]

If I may ask? What zone are you in Quebec?

I live on the South Shore and hunt in Dunham, Zone 5East, it's sad what the gov't has done to the deer population here.

wmu 2g in pa used to be best hunting in state of pa..CAmps are being sold, businesses closing, kids not hunting all do to massive doe killing we had for last 15 years...Then PGC thinks the reason the kids are not hunting is do to no time to hunt so they are making more time to hunt ..

Forestry DCNR stacked the PGC with their people and we are losing..If they get their way there will be no deer left that is what they want and we will not be in forest ...You can take a ride and see only few deer in 30 mile area where you used to see 100 ..

Hunt for 2 weeks in woods and see no deer or just a few ..Its that bad now....

Sorry for getting off topic..I f i get deer and it warm i cut it up as soon as possible and put it in freezer...

[Horizontal Hunter]

if you have to hang your and cant skin right away freeze 2 liter bottles to put inside the body cavity

I use milk jugs for that. I keep the jugs in the freezer year round. It comes in handy for coolers and it the power goes down.

Once out of the woods a few ice bags in the cavity. It is very important to put a bag in between the hams. That is the thickest area and stays warmest the longest so it is imperative to get it cooled down. When hunters loose meat this is where it is usually lost.

When home I put a jug in the cavity, a jug between the hams, and a jug or two along the back of the deer. I wrap it in a tarp like a big burrito and put it on the floor in the garage out of the sun.16-18 hours later I have brought the deer to the butcher and it's still nice and cold with ice still in the jugs.

I have been doing it this way for years and never lost any meat.

Bob