A question for you experienced Southern hunters. My question is meat quality on a downed deer not found for about 18 hrs. I am not used to hunting in warmer weather and this one was hit just before dark at 5:00 PM and found around 11 AM the next day. The temperature that night dropped to about 38F and daytime temps about 50F.

Gutted immediatley, no bad smell in the cavity after cleaning,,,,but a little gas off from the chest cavity when I opened him up. This deer was taken to a cooler and processed (immediately after field dressing).

Anyone had this situation and would you feel OK with this one??