do you ice deer

GREEK HUNTER · 10-05-2005, 07:41 AM

hey guys if you kill a deer in the woods and need to drive about an house do you put it in the back of the truck or in the basket and pack body with ice... if not what do you do and if so what do you do

Charlie P · 10-05-2005, 07:50 AM

Depends on the temp outside.

Freeze some gallon jugs and keep some old blankets or tarps in the back of the truck. Pack the cavity and hind end and cover/insulate with the blankets you'll be surprised how cold it will stay.

rybohunter · 10-05-2005, 08:42 AM

I've only iced one deer. I knew I wasn't going to get it cut up anytime soon, so I packed the body with ice bags. All the others I've killed in warmer weather I was able to skin and quarter and get into a fridge, or in coolers with ice, in a timely fashion.

DaveH · 10-05-2005, 09:28 AM

Same as CharlieP. Only if it's warm enough to worry about spoilage. I don't carry ice with me --although it would be cheaper. It would melt if the weather was that warm, so I stop at a convenience store on the way home and pick up a couple bags of ice. They will conform readily to the inside of the deer.

skinnerdawg · 10-05-2005, 10:12 AM

i have only had to put 1 deer on ice and that was just a matter of putting 4 bags into the cavity while it was hanging... for the most part any deer i get are skinned and 1/4 the same day.

quiksilver · 10-05-2005, 02:47 PM

I had to ice mine down on Saturday - killed him at 7:10, and didn't butcher until 3:30. The temperatures soared into the 80's, so I bought 10 bags of ice, and stuffed in him, piled 'em on top, etc. In that kind of heat, spoilage is a real possibility, and I didn't want to put all that meat at risk.

Kyle3 · 10-05-2005, 09:13 PM

On Saturday night I smoked a 5 pointer, and found him around 7 pm, by the time I got him gutted and outa the woods all the butcher shops were closed up so Saturday night I hung him in the back yard and was able to get about 60 pounds of ice in the cavity, and bungee corded him closed. It did the trick until I could get him to the butcher on Sunday Morning. It ws the first time I have ever iced a deer, usually I can get them to the butcher in time or skin and quarter them out in a hurry, but it really did work, it probably helped though that it got down into the 40's on Saturday night.Just my experience.

tj_cubin · 10-06-2005, 08:01 AM

i have never iced a deer, i iced my first turkey. Froze a gallon of water, then cut the plastic off and put it in the cavity. This was because i shot it, and then my dad kept hunting for a while, so by the time we got back to the truck it could sue the ice.

last year we hung tarps in the corner of the garage and put an air conditioner in the window, making a makeshift cooler. it kept the deer cool enough until we could quarter them. Lost all that meat when our freezer out there broke though

PABowhntr · 10-06-2005, 12:40 PM

I have never had to ice a deer as they either went right to the butcher or I butchered them myself relatively quickly. My neighbor iced his doe this past week as the butcher was closed the night he shot it and wasn't going to be open until 8 the next morning.

DougMD · 10-06-2005, 04:34 PM

Freeze gallon jugs or 2 liter bottles, and use them first to cool your food or beer if your going to a hunting cabin. It's a cheap way to have ice to cool down deer and it won't melt nearly as fast as the cubes you buy.