After the kill....For people that live on the property that they hunt orare close to. Do you dress the deer in the field or back home. I have done it both ways. I like dressing the deer in the field myself, but it sure was nice dressing the deer next to garden hose and some old towels.

When I hunt close to home I just get the deer home and take care of it all.... But when I have a drive ahead of me I always gut and fill with ice.

I always gut them where they lay. That way I don't have to drag the extra weight and I don't have to mess with disposing the guts later.

I always take water in jugs with me so I can get it done in the field. The piles will get eaten up so theres no waste. Plus I'm sure the garbage man would prefer it that way.

Yep. Me too. Don't need water for field dressing. I wear good latex gloves, take off my jacket, roll up my sleeves, and that's that.The less time the innards are in there is less time my meat might get tainted.

The only reason I use water for field dressing is to clean the inside chest cavityand wash excess clots out.

Not saying your wrong, and not saying I'm right. Just a suggestion. I never use water. I field dress the animal, and if the temps stay below 40 degrees, I'll let it hang two or three days, head down, to bleed it. Tenderizes the meat really nice ! Warm weather, I'll quarter it, cut out the rest, and let everything sit in the fridge for two or three days. Let nature tenderize your meat Water does nothing for the taste, and can actually taint it. Not always, but why take the chance?

Please explain to me how water can taint the taste of meat...

I was wondering the same thing but I didn't know for sure.

I gut my deer out as soon as I recover it, after tagging it of course. This allows the meat to cool as quickly as possible.