How long does deer meet stay good on the hoof?
 

A nice buck was shot and we had to track the deer. It got dark on us and we had to stop looking for it. We went out the next morning and found the buck. It was cool during the night. Does anybody have a thought if the meat would still be good after being down for about 15 hours? Not sure if I should trust the meat for processing. The meat didn't smell while deboning.

Should be ok if there wasn't any odor. Where in east tx are you? I'm in Athens and if it was a cool at night as it is here then the meat should be fine. Clean it immediately and get that hide off and get it on ice.

I am between Groveton and Trinity. I thought the meat would be ok but a family member got me questioning my thought on this. As soon as I found it we skinned and cut up then straight to ice for a couple of days or so.