Big Guy,

You are absolutely right about the fact that field dressing your deer asap and cooling it off rapidly improves the flavor of the meat. Years ago, I would sometimes let a deer lay for a couple of hours before gutting it. Bad idea! Now I gut them and cool them down asap and the venison tastes great.

If I had the time or place to do my own processing, I would. Problem is, when I'm at my hunting ground (my parents' farm) I don't have much extra time since I like to spend as much time as possible in the woods. I'm usually only there for a day or two at a time. On the other hand if I would bring the deer home with me, I would literally have no place to hang it or process it. For now, I think I'll just find alternative uses for the meat that would usually be ground into burger. Stew and jerkey are two of my favorites!

Thanks.