you can eat it directly after the kill. i killed a doe last year and it was the first one of the yearfor my hunting buddy and i, as soon as i shot the thing, he heard my shotgun from across the mountain, he called me on my walkie talkie and i jus replied with "deer down" and next thing i know i heard the 4 wheeler coming to get the deer, and me as well lol. we all left our stands, went back to hunting camp, checked in deer, and then cut thoose backstraps out of it and had them right there. THEY WERE DELICIOUS, i cant think of another meet better than a backstrap. but to answer ur question, i beleive aging it for a few days helps, but its defintely good right out of the deer while the deer is still hot [&:]