I age mine because thats how i was taught by my uncle. I cut everything off the deer that im taking and then i put in a huge cooler (get them at wal mart for $50, 120 qt) and keep them covered in ice for about 5 days. every day i go open the drain to let the water out from melted ice and then when i can start to see meat through the ice i put more ice in. The first day the ice will start melting fast because of the body heat from the deer. after the meat gets cold it will last a lot longer. Hope this helps.