deerhunter1224

The weather has been in the 70's. Sometimes I have time to hunt before I work. If I get a deer it would be 6 or 7 before i could butcher the deer. What should I do? I thought of cutting it up into quarters and stick it in the freezer.

huntnma

quarting it would be your best option if you could...if not i would shove bags of ice in it's cavity and all around it if possible...

davidhardegree

I've quartered some in the past due to short amount of time. It works well if you have room in your fridge. Once, I quarted one that I shot about three hours from home. I packed it in a large cooler with ice. It was late when I got home and I stuffed it in my freezer. I wasn't thinking. I pulled out a section to thaw and I couldn't refreeze it. So, I had a heap of meat for me and my wife. I went ahead and got another quarter and made a few steaks and some jerky for her family and some of my co-workers.

timbercruiser

If I couldn't take care of the meat, I would carry the deer by a proscessing facility.

Charlie P

Put water in three /four gallon jugs and freeze before your hunt.When you get home Lay some old blankets,sleeping bags on the floor lay your deer on these.Pack the jugs into the body cavity and on top and bottom, of the back legs. Wrap the deer tightly in the blakets and old tarps this will insulate your deer.

If you don't have the freezer space find a place that sells ice in blocks.

skeeter 7MM

Charlie, sorry I disagree. Unless the animal is cooled(which in this case I don't think it will be) I would refrain from rapping the animal in an material, other than breathable game bags, gauze or cloth. Air movement and cooling around the entire carcass is essential to protect meat from spoiling. Quartering if you have room in the fridge would be an option, likewise packing in ice with coolers or a empty freezer. However I think if my time and resources were limited I'd be taking it a meat locker and paying for some hang time. Most charge like 20 bucks a day for the first 5-10 everyday after, then if need be you can leave it for a day or two till you have the time to bone and wrap. If you hang and pack in ice make sure to have a couple of low speed fans blowing to move air, we have also put a bucket of ice in front of these fans to help as well for short duration hangs.

I have said it before and will again getting the body temperature out is the most important factor after harvesting for us hunters, even in a commercial cooler it takes several hours to reach optimal hang/storing temps. Basically if you can get that meat to outside temps or below and process it fairly quickly you should be ok, if you like to hang game then your better to take it a place that will ensure a good result.

TURKEY FAN

Why not???

Charlie P

Skeeter you don't think the 50 lbs of Ice might cool the deer down just a bit?

Last time i had to do this the hind quarters were at 38 degrees very quickly. I know this because I stuck a meat therm. in it just a couple hours after packing it in ice . The bankets keep the cold on the animal.How much air movement you get in a cooler or a frig?

,Believe me packing a carcass in Ice will achieve this result. I spent 14 years as a chef kitchen manager so I do know a bit about proper care of meat.

Lay in a bath tub and cover your self with about 40 -50 lbs of ice and put couple balnkets over yourself and then get back to me.

upstateny

We skin and debone the meat right off, and then put it in fridge untill we get time to procees and vaccum seal it. If you didn't have a fridge I would suggest a large cooler with ice and the meat at least quartered.

upstateny

JerseyJim

If the temp is too warm and I don't have the time to butcher the deer right away I have an old air conditioner in the window of my shed. Between that and packing the deer with ice they stay plenty cold. I know this doesn't help you much if you don't have a shed but if you do you could give it a try...Good luck!....Jim