My 13 yr old son shot his first buck last weekend. Nice little 5 point, a good first deer. We notice a small cut on its back side, looked to be acouple of days old and thought nothing of it. So we let it hang in the garage bringing that sweet aroma of aging deer meat. I went in there today to process it and there was a funny odor while taking off the hide. I figured it was from the meat around the gun shot. But when I cut into the rear leg by the small cut a green milky substance came oozing out. I figure it to be some type of infection. With the deer hanging by its back legs it gave the puss a chance to drain down the deer. I know it sounds disgusting but I want to make sure I made the right choice but not processing the deer. I really hate not using the meat but I think every time I tried to cook it I would see that green snot oozing out.

I would say that you made the right decision, if your not sure what it is, then there is no reason to risk it

sure dont sound like "the sweet smell of aging meat"

prolly coulda saved most of the meat by processing it the same day.

green puss!!!! i wouldnt eat it

Just gravy. If you are color blind it wouldn't matter

Unfortunatly probably the right call. In NY if you shoot a deer not fit for consumption, they will issue another tag. How about where you are?

Forgot about Daveboone's type response. Maybe you can get a new tag issued? Some DNR officers or whatever they're called in your area follow a guideline and if it's a possibility, I'd say give it a shot or just use that special area you referenced, in your split-pea and ham soup.

iSnipe