Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

Well theres a good chance that I may get a cut a buck in the early season, when its still very hot/warm during the day here. Last year I shot a buck, and later that day it heated up into the mid 90's and we didnt hang it or anything, we just cut it wrapped it and stuck it in the freezer. It wasn't exactly the most tender meat but we did it ourselves and we didnt really know what else so I am looking to you for ideas...So how would you do it if you were going to do it youself?

Any input is greatly appreciated,

BHB

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

Good question. But get that meat cooled down ASAP. I do a lot of solo hunting and sept can be tough to get an elk or deer out in time solo. I've passed on shots for that reason and no need in ruining meat and killing yourself in trying to get it out. Its not easy when your in the bottom of a coulee by yourself when its 80-90 degrees with a downed animal. Plan ahead. Sometimes you got to ask yourself, how hard do you want to work in bringing this animal out and can you do it on time? Mountain or creek runoffs can cool it down when in trouble. Good luck.

Bobby

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

2 big coolers in back of truck . One filled with lots of ice and water, the other with just ice. Gut and skin the critter and throw him in the ice and water. let rest for about 30 minutes. remove and quarter him up. voila ....done. It is hot as all get out down here and we do this for our hogs. Works well. Not to sure about how far you guys have to drag it though. I bet dragging an Elk would really suck.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

I've got a litte experience with this......(temps)

What I do is......get the deer field dressed, quickly. If I'm going ot have ANY time between field dressing and butchering.....I'll pack the cavity with ice. Still.....I only do this for short stints. When the season rolls around....my chest freezer has been depleted of almost all venison. That makes room in there for several bags of ice. I keep 4-6 bags on hand all the time.

Once butchered.....I rinse the quartered pieces off and put them in coolers. Actually....I can get an adult doe in one cooler, here (due to the size of our does). I Place the meat in first....and the ice on top......draining the melted water from the cooler 2X/day. I'll let the quartered deer stay on ice from 4-7 days....according to when I can get to the processor's place.

This has worked fine, for me, so far. Having the ice on hand, readily, hepls. The key is to ge the meat cooled down ASAP.

Good luck.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

I process mine right away boning and in large chunks. then into the refrigerator for a day or two. them i cut and package further
When it is hot I'll some times freeze 2 liter bottles of water,bring them with me in a chest. then for the ride home i stuff the cavity with them to help cool it down

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

When I lived in Maryland you rarely got more than a night to hang a deer and usually not that. I always boned them out pretty much immediately. I have some nice big flat pans that I line the bottom of with blood absorbing pads I make with papertowels and wax paper. I put the meat on the trays and wrap with saran wrap. I put them in the fridge for 3 or 4 days minimuml, then trim again, cutand vacuum pack. My brother has a couple big old refrigerators he either replaced in the house or picked up cheap out in his garage. If weather turns warm he just quarters and throws the pieces on the rubber coated wire racks inside the fridges. In one he took out most of the racks and stands the whole hind quarter up in there. The other he has the racks and lays in all the other stuff.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

During hot weather, I bring a cooler and clean the deer on the land that I hunt as soon as possible...I can pick up ice within 10 minutes of leaving the farm so I ice the deer down, add about a quart of vinegar when I get home...

Now, I let the deer soak for 4-7 days and drain off the water every day and add ice, I'll add vinegar for 3-4 days and then drain it off and rinse...This is one of those things we did with squirrels back in the 60s, seems to help both pull the blood out a bit and tenderize the meat...

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

thank you very much,

so putting it on ice in a cooler sounds to be the best way to go if hanging isnt an option?

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

I'm lucky enough to know someone with a walk in cooler. Shot my doe in September last year. Field dressed it after dark, loaded it in my truck and drove it right to the fridge to hang.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

I pretty much do what Jeff does.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

hunting just down of you i have lots of experience hunting in high temps (100 degree days).

all of the deer we (my family and i) have taken in the heat of august and early september have never spoiled. We can kill a deer saturday morning, recover and gut it out. Bring it back to camp and skin it (via vehicle or the old fashion way). clean with some water then bag it with a deer mesh bag. after that we bag it with a homemade giant bag (looks like a pillow). hang it in a tree and then come sunday morning (24hrs later) drive it home (150 miles away). No ice, no ice chest, etc. get it home, butcher it up and put it in a fridge to hang for a few days.

now to answer your question, if you cannot hang a deer to cool down (after gutting and skinning) you can do one of a couple of things:
1) de-bone the meat and hang it to cool (same process as above)
2) quarter and skin then hang to cool
3) de-bone or quarterand if you cannot hang then it will need to either get on ice or someplace to cool.

IMO, it is not necessary to get it on ice immediately. We have NEVER done that and all of the deer we have killed (atleast 6 a season on avg) have NEVER had one spoil. But, if you do hang a deer in the early season you MUST put the pillow type bag over it because if you don't then the blow flies, and other flies will lay there larvae through the mesh deer bag and spoil your meat.

Good luck this season.

Note: I remember your post last year about the nice blacky you took. if i remember right you are hunting on your land or very close to it and it was close to your house. If this is still true then i would just gut the deer, bring it back to your house and either de-bone or quarter it up and put it in the fridge.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

Yep its only 2 miles via roads and that is probably what i will do....de bone and ice

Thanks guys I really appreciate it!

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

I find 'em and skin 'em asap. Then I put them in the cooler and let them sit for a couple of days then awayI go to quartering the deer up. Also, I tend to not wait as long to go get the deer in the early season. I give em about 30 minutes and then I am going to go after them. I may spook one one day and it get away from me, but if I leave it for two hours, I am not going to trust the meat anyways. Either way I go I could get screwed.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

I'd de bone it for sure! then I would prebably fill up a big ice cooler with water and lots of ice! and just let it soak for a day or so. But make sure ice is in there at all times. Or you might have a chance of spoiled meat. The water will take out blood to and it will loosin up the outer layer of meat so you can get more hair off the meat to!

For the skin if you are having it mounted then get that in the friedge as soon as possible cause theheat is bad for the hide.

RE: Early Season Meat Tactics?
 

Just cut it up and put it in a coller with ice. It will stay fine on the ice for several days and it will actually soak a lot of the blood out. When we are camping and do where near a processer, this is what we do. We take it to the processor in the cooler already quartered up. That is what everyone here does and the meat will be terrific.