I do processing with a friend and we like to skin them when they come in. A large buck getting caped out especially. To age the meat we have two large coolers we keep temp. just above freezing, and leave meat in cooler from one to two weeks. A 1.5 to 2.5 year old is ok in a week but you take an older buck we leave the meat in two weeks. Wev'e had meat from an older buck taken out of the cooler after aging and sometimes it smells just as sweet as can be, makes all the difference when it gets to the table.