RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

Is it that you want to wait until the next day to drag it to your truck? If so, the answer is to take care of it now, especially if the temps are that high.

I wouldn't trust that the meat would be any good after letting a dead deer sit that long in temps close to 60 degrees.

Otherwise, you'll just be wasting a deer.

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

If i was in the situation, an i have been before, i gut it out, throw the deer over my shoulder and hike it out ASAP. Here in jersey, you dont need the entire deer to check it in, just the cape, so i would take it home, butcher it up then check it in the morning.

I agree that there are some times we shouldnt hunt, but why go out in the woods if you know your not going to shoot?

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

I'm confused here! Why the question? Drag It out and take care of It, done story!!

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

Not understanding the dilemma.....

I shot this doe, interestingly enough (to the point of the thread)....at 5:33PM, Monday night. temps were in the high 70's. Drag would be 1/2 mi....with no ATV access.





At 7:20.....more does come in. At 7:30....I shot this doe, hitting her a tad back. I never looked for my arrow....and retrieved my downed doe (who went down in sight....not going more than 40yds) and exited as quietly as I could.




Temps dipped, Monday night, into the low 50's. From past experience....I knew she'd be OK if I could retrieve her quickly, Tuesday morning. I took my son to school....and went on the search. I found her in less than 10 minutes......drug her out......butchered her....and got her on ice.

I don't think people realize how long meat will be GOOD in 50's temps. I think too many times people use this as a crutch to take up a trail too soon. It's not necessary. I've proven it more than once.

You have no dilemma. Shoot. Drag. Butcher. Take photos.;)

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

Despite what everyone thinks, it can be in the mid-80s, well into late October in Minnesota. A few years ago, I arrowed a nice big doe in mid-October when it was in the 80s first thing in the morning. I knew the processor, my local IGA butcher, would not be able to start in on it until that night, but I was prepared. For early season, I always keep a half dozen milk jugs full of water frozen solid in our freezer in the garage. If I get one that early, I simply insert them into the body cavity and then fill up the holes with a bag of ice, wrap a tarp around the deer to keep the bugs off and leave out of the sun in a well ventilated garage until that night.

I've thought about learning how to process myself but I like this guy and giving him business, and the sausages and snack sticks he makes, so I just make sure I'm prepared for warm weather.

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

For me the process would go as follows: (with the assumption being that I was on the public ground that I was hunting last weekend and there is no ATV access allowed) I would gut the deer. Attach my drag rope. Pull the deer 100 yards. Stop and cuss, wipe sweat and swat mosquitoes. Drag 100 more yards and repeat (while hoping Chris didn't shoot one also and will soonjoin me and help drag). Repeat again until I reach the truck. Load deer. Drive the 1 hour and 45 min. home. Take the deer to the processor close to my buddies house or the one close to mine depending on who picked who up. Unload deer. Hang it on hook and roll it into walk in freezer. Fill out the slip for how I want the meat cut up. Pick up meat when the processor calls and put it in the freezer. Hope I didn't forget anything...

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

whoooo....Crisis averted! Almost doomed him to a life of sack punching....It would have been sad :(

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

I would like to see temps a little lower (anything under 50 is great), but I would get it out that night. My wife would be throwing things off the table to get it cut up that night. She loves fresh venison. (When cool enough, I prefer to let them hang a day or two.)

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

I have a friend with a walk-in cooler. That comes in real handy in the early season.

RE: YOU KILLED, NOW WHAT?
 

Currently, I have a skinning tree set up in the woods, I use a 4-wheeler to haul the deer.. Go to the truck, call the deer in, get the cooler, clean and bone the deer, throw in the cooler and ice down on the way home...

When I used to hunt public land, I would carry 3 garbage bags with me...I would recover the deer, call in with the cell phone and skin and clean the deer on the ground...I would use my knife to pop out theball and socket joints to remove the hams, remove the shoulders and backstraps, gut the deer, remove the tenderlions...All of this would go into the plastic bags and I'd strap these to my climber and haul the meat out...You could also bone out the meat on the hams and shoulders to reduce weight...