My friend Tim shot a nice 132" 10 pointer on Sunday November 14. He hung it up that night and took it to the processor the next day. Now this processor isn't a big meat locker or anything like that it is a couple guys that has processed deer for as long as a can remember. Tim told me this Monday that he hasn't got his deer back yet. (This is only his second deer, he shot a doe in bow season) I told him that he needed to check on it. He went down there yesterday and they still haven't even cut the deer up yet. It has been hanging for 17 days now. What should we do about this. I know that his deer is ruined but what else can we do? Hard telling how many other peoples deer have been ruined and somebody might eat some bad meat from this place and get sick. Call the DNR and tell them his situation? Thanks for any advice!

If he's looking for another tag; fuhgettaboutit. They don't give tags out for bad luck,decisons whatever. Is the deer frozen? It might be OK if it is. I don't jnow otherwise. I'm sure someone will come along who knows.

I would most definitely call the DNR and see if they can give you any advise on what to do? I doubt that these guy`s would have ever told your friend that they had let that deer hang for that long unless he had not went down there to see for himself. Someone could get very sick! or even worse?

I grew up in the meat locker business and have probably done about 10,000 deerI got out of the business in1984)
You should learn to do your own deer or take it to a real locker plant, not a couple yokels doing it on the side.
Letting a deer hang that long just makes me wonder what else these guys do to ruin peoples hard earned venison.
In most states you need to be licensed to cut up any meat for others for money. There is a reason for this. You have just fond one of them.
I am sorry you lost your deer.

Buell-I always either do my own deer or take them to the major meat locker 15 minutes down the road. When I take it to the meat locker I get my meat back within 2-3 days.
Shadow- I wasn't looking for an another tag was just wondering what I could do to help from having other people have the same problem or people get sick. And no this deer isn't frozen, probably in a cooler that is 40-50 degrees.

Huntinfool,
Tim could learn a lot from you!
My hunting partner and I have our deer butchering down to a good routine. Takes us about 45 minutes to an hour per deer. No power equipment,just a sharp knife. I take the trimmings to a locker to have the sausage and ground deer done.
Last year we cut up 11 deer.
So far this year the deer have not cooperated with us so we have only done one.
I'm off deer hunting for 3 weekends while shotgun season is on in Iowa(going to do some pheasant hunting).
I need to get busy after that!
Still packing 2 bow tags each and we both have a late season,doe only tag.
I figure I've got 3 more Sunday/Monday mornings to bow hunt and then a Sat/Sunday hunt with the muzzleloader.
Can you say "crunch time"?

Buell,
Good luck man, hopefully you can fill those tags and not let them go to waste. I helped Tim process his deer that he shot in early bow season, but since he didn't call me the Sunday he shot it, just told me about it at school Monday at school I didn't have time to help him do it this time because I work. He wasn't comfortable enough to do it yet because I pretty much did it all the first time and let him watch. The next time we will do it together so that he can get the feel for it!!