I am new to Maryland and bow season just started and I'm not use to being able to hunt with it as warm as it still is. I don't butcher my own deer. If I shoot a deer in the evening and have to hang a deer up overnight, what is the minimum temp that it needs to get down to in order to keep the meat from spoiling before taking to a processor the next morning?

I've done deer overnight when it was about 50 with no problem. I would think that one could go a bit warmer as long as you can keep flies off it.

The concern should be what is the daytime/evening temp. If the temp drops to 50 at night, it was probably in the 70's during the day.
If I shot a deer in the evening and the temp was 60, going down to 50 overnight, I would get him to a locker asap.

Pack it with ice! I shot a nice 8 point a few years ago, temps were usually warm. I hung the deer for one night, temps werearound 40 to 50 degrees, first thing in the morning I got about 7 bags of ice. I laid the deer on those cheap plastic painters tarps, packed ice in the chest cavity, and then put bags on all the major meat areas; shoulders, thighs, neck. I wrapped up the tarp as tight as I could. Didnt cut it up for three days, the meat was fine. I am forunate to be a member of our local Eagles club, so I get ice for $.75 a bag.

when you say you dont butcher your deer what do you mean. You dont know how to gut and skin it ? or you dont know how to quarter it up ?
I would quarter it up and put it in an ice chest. Its very easy to quarter a deer.

I wouldn't let it hang unless its gonna be down in the low 40's or less.

When it is 50 or above i usually gut my deer and head for the nearest store and buy 2 bags of ice i put one in the chest cavity and one between the hams and wrap in a plastic tarp. The next morning while it is cool i skin and quarter it and put in a cooler.

Martin

I have to agree that 50 degrees is the minimum for hanging a deer. BUT, here's an old poachers trick. If you have a window mount AC unit, you can set that up near the deer, or better yet, enclose the deer in a shed or something like that, and set it at coldest setting, and it will do a great job at cooling down a deer in warmer temps. Taz

tazimna, ild poachers trick? the best poachers trick is shoot it and get it processed ASAP. Your in MD. you can get 120 qt cooler at any marina, quayter that deer and ice it.

A real outlaw only worries about thebackstraps and hind quarters and is outta there5 minutes after it hits the ground.