saltflyz

Just curious...I am getting back into bowhunting after a 12 year hiatus. I still haven't killed one with a bow. I have read with interest many of the posts about waiting 6, 8 hrs or even longer depending on shot (gut, stomach etc) and time of day (right at dusk). My question is this- if you hunt in the southeast or mid atlantic when the temps are still likely in the 60's well into Oct- don't these kills and long waits result in spoiled meat? Curious what you guys think. Thanks for the info...

thenuge15

Read this article. http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/deer/gutshot/
its very informative.

saltflyz

Thanks- that article is informative, but still curious how long meat will be ok on an animal that is not gutted quickly in pretty hot weather...I appreciate the help

davidmil

SALT...it's a crap shoot. One of those damned if you do damned if you don't deals. If you go too soon in an attempt to ensure the meat won't spoil, you stand a better chance of chasing a poorly hit animal into never never land where you can't find him. When in doubt the only real choice is wait. You can follow quietly for a VERY short distance, say 100 yards. If the deer isn't down in that distance he stands a good chance of going for "A WHILE". What's A WHILE?? Well, it all depends on the hit. A properly hit deer will die soon enough. A poorly hit one may take hours. If you push it, you'll more than likely loose it. Oh it can still die but you'll loose the meat anyway. The figures people use, like 4 hours / 8 hours are based on science. How long for a deer to die with a marginal lung hit. How long for a deer to die with a total gut hit etc. You just have to read the sign on the ground and more importantly on the arrow and decide a course. Pending weather etc can throw it all out the window because without a blood trail, life is tough. If you want to error on the side of caution(always a good thing) just remember a gut shot deer gets sick quiet fast. They'll want to bed down as soon as they can. They may get up a time or two but if not pushed, they won't go far. IF you know a deer ran down a particular ridge and he's not pushed, he'll probably not be a LONG LONG Ways from where you last saw him.

saltflyz

so will you guys scrap the meat after 6-8 hours unless it is really cold?

rybohunter

Just because one waits that long, doesn mean that's how long the deer is sitting there dead. You can give it 8 hours, and if the deer dies a half hour before you get there, no biggie. IMO, always gut and take the deer out. Also just because it may stink while gutting, doesn't mean the meat is bad. Take it to a butcher if you still have doubts.

PA_Bowhnter16137

This might be the exception to the rule but it was 14 hours before I recovered my deer after a liver shot. It was in the 50s that night and I estimated him dead for 1 to 1 1/2 hours after I hit him due to all the blood loss from the liver shot. He stunk bad enough that I almost lost my cookies when I gutted him and the meat looked pale. I got him into the freezer at the butchers ASAP. The meat tastes fine and I havent had any GI problems after eating the steaks medium rare. Just my experience.