Most places it is still pretty warm opening day of bow season.

Last year I took my doe in to get processed by 10am opening morning.
This year I'm not sure I want to shell out the $70.

So..... What do you guys do with your deer opening season?
Send it to the processor or butcher it yourself???

For those that butcher themselves - Do you have air conditioners in your garage for hanging the deer, use a modified refridgerator, use a friends walk in cooler??? How do you keep your deer cool for hangin?

and for that matter how long do you hang it for? this is a good question i also wondered about.

good question Hazcon7.

Just quarter them and put them in a cooler full of ice. I am from the south (hot) and that is what we have done for the last 30 years. They will stay in a cooler full of ice water for several days. Not to mention it soaks out a lot of the blood.

I do it the same way as silentassassin. 1.Kill 2.check-in 3.skin 4.quarter 5.put in ice filled cooler for 3-7 days 6.debone. I haven't found the need to hang a deer. I can work hard for 5 hours and save the $70-$100 and buy new hunting equiptment for the next season.

I typically start butchering the first nite. After I shoot, I either quarter and put in a refrig in the garage, or on ice. I butcher on my wife's counter. She really must love me.

ditto silent

What these guys have said is great, but if for some reason you can't butcher that night......getting the hide off is key. The faster you can get that meat cooling the better off you are. Skinning out a warm deer is very easy to do. Just get someone to help you hang it up and always have a sharp knife handy. Just make sure you decide if you going to mount the buck before you start skinning. You'll need to somewhat cape it out. Good luck!!

Cooler of ice is what I've done in the past but you lose a lot of meat from only quartering it.


Did I mention - I'm allergic to deer fur - God's little joke for me!!!

I just call in sick the next day and do the deed. If it's extremely warm I'll quarter and ice but I live in Maine and hot is not the rule. Usually letting it hang over night isn't a problem.

I also quarter them and put in a cooler. The only meat I lost was the ribs, and although my deer last year was pretty small, I didn't lose much. It worked quite well