To age properly you need a controlled temperature and humidity. Just hanging one in the barn doesn't cut it. I've seen deer hanging for days in temps that I know were not good yet the guys thought they were doing a great service by aging the meat.
I will let one hang over night in cold temps if I don't have time to clean it but otherwise I'll clean it ASAP. I feel the meat is in much better condition 99% of the time when done this way over just hanging it from a limb for a week.
Now if you have a meat locker where you can control the temp and humidity then that's a different matter. Most people don't however.
Last edited by Kybuckhunter; 09-26-2012 at 07:03 AM.