how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

i was wondering because i leave the hide on for the trip home 4 hrs and feel that i protect the meat from road[:'(]
i have read some feel its important to remove immediately for cooling what do you do?

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

well if i have to move it somewhere i ussually keep the hide on. and cooling depends on how cold it is outside. if need be pack some ice into the chest cavity and and make sure to open it up good and that should be fine for the trip home and then take the hide off.

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

onebullet, I am one who believes in removal of the hide for cooling purposes ASAP, which does not always mean immediately though! Travelling with a skinned animals can have it's own diverse effects unless frozen, it will be suspect to drying out and debris in a open truck box. In this case I would as well leave the hide on and if warranted in warm weather persay pack the cavity with some ice for a long duration trip. In most cases I hunt where the animal can be hanged, skinned with in a short duration and then I debone prior to travelling home. It really depends on your situation, but my advise is once possible remove the hide vs hang with it on till time to process (unless you have access to climate controlled cooling unit-like a walk in cooler).

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

YOUNG and SKEETER are very right on the skinning of deer

ELK is way different IF you leave the skin on them for very long at all you could loose some meat. With elk it is best to skin and qwarter it right after you kill it.

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

I skin them right away.My truckbox is coated with armaguard and kept very clean.A rigid cover keeps dust and debris out of the box.

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

its 25-40 degrees where i hunt normally
when i get it home i hang it high in my tree i skin it and watch the temp outside
40-45 is common for me at hunting time falling about 10 degrees lower at night so 30-40 this year was great -this year i aged the deer 5 days outside,because the weather was cooperating- he tastes better than any other i have done i normally butcher immediately after removing the hide-

i do have an insulated a/c garage that might work too if the weather dont cooperate

my dad was telling me that they used to hang ducks by their neck and age them till the weight of the body fell off the neck and the head stayed there -
-i called him a bullshipper but he swears its true-someone else said this is popular in germany
have ya heard of this?

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

onebullet the aging process for wild game is a much debated issue amongest hunters. I personally don't believe any aging is required in game animals, I have done it both ways and have found no difference in the meat quality or tenderness with venision in particular. I do believe their are benefits however to relax the muscle fibres post death, which really means the removal of rigor. Process happens within 24 hours after death, as long as the animal does not become frozen in this period. On occasion due to weather, etc I have had to hot bone or process prior to this period while I have found in some cases the meat might not be as tender if you will as hanging for the approx 24hrs, the most noticable difference is the amount of blood in the meat after dethawing. It has been said this blood is another reason the meat may have a "gamey" flavour if you will. In this case a simple soak in soy, milk, salt water or acid based merinade to remove or draw out blood eliminates the affects. This is the exact same thing I do with duck breast which are breasted asap in my case and iced if warm temps.

To me aging venison for long periods only cause drying, shrinkage and loss in the end. It can be especially dangerous where the temperature is not controlled, the optimium ambient temperature for aging meat is said to be 37 degrees and no higher than 40. I prefer to not risk my meat and if suspect I will butcher. However like anything we do what works and we feel provides us with the best results. It boils down to personal preference and experience. So "Yes" the debate will continue for years to come!!

Of course I am sure many and yourself will agree the butchering and field dressing process play huge part as well.

Never heard that one!!!

I agree bigger game we treat as well differently skinned, quartered and cooled ASAP.

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

As soon as I get it home ,which is usaully less then a hour.That hide stinks when death comes , why let it stink up the meat

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

I skin ASAP. IMO. . .Texas is too damn hot for skins to be left on. We shoot and tag then many times stay put until the end of that Hunt 9:30 at 10 in the AM or after full dark in the afternoon. Then we loadem up and get them over to the skinning pole barn. They get skinned, quartered and have all the other useful meat removed right then. I use a very large ice chest and get the meat on ice with in that first few hours. This season we hunted some days in the 80s.

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

ever eat filet mignon? i'd tell you how long we hang em here on the moose ranch, but it would cause an uproar....

but our venison is the best in town!

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

I talked to a foods expert-he advised that leaving the hide on for up to 6 hours is no problem-after that he says it should come off so the meat can continue to cool-for convience purposes it is easier to take it off while the carcass is still warm so I generally take it off as soon as I am done field dressing.

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

Usually only for about the first 2 miles.

After that, the pavement really starts to burn through the hide, and you'll start losing good meat. If you drive slower, it doesn't burn off quite so fast - try keeping it under 55 m.p.h., and you can sometimes keep the hide intact for 3 miles.

Make sure your dragrope is fastened to your bumper real good, or you're liable to lose the whole thing.

jk

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

I CAN SEE SOMEONE OF YOUR MENTALITY DOING THIS WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME AGAIN
THIS WAS A DECENT THREAD I SEE NO HUMOR IN WHAT YOU SAY- ISEE IT FOR WHAT YOU INTENDED

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

We usually take the hides off when we get home. even if the deer is shot first thing in the morning during rifle season, its usually cool enough to let it sit until 630 PM or so and then we hang it and skin it. I shot one during early rifle season when it was 75 degrees out, and we just took it to a meat locker right away as my dad really didnt want to mess with it that night, and he wanted some venison HD's made(mmmmmm good). we tore down the old barn next to our house and rebuilt it. now we have one half thats insulated and heated for a shop area, and the other half is unisulated and not heated, so we hang deer up in there.

slayer

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

We hang deer on a game pole in deer camp with hide on. If the temp warms up (very rare in Ontario in November) we will skin and quarter them and rush them to a freezer. Under normal conditions hide is kept on until we have them processed by a butcher. My butcher now refuses to take in a deer with hide off as he finds that his temp controlled hanging room ( which I have seen with 70 deer inside it ) cools and ages them nicely. He is expensive but does great work and since switching to him I and my family enjoy the game much more. Makes great sausage and pepperettes too!!!

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

We used to hang pheasent until they fell of the line from their weight. Yes, it is a German thing, at least that is who taught me to do it. Also, you will find your best, most tender beef is aged forever. Back in the day of the thick backfated shorthorn they would hang them until they ripped through the hook. You would just scrap off the mold from the fat. Doesn't sound to sanitary but grandpa ate like that for the first 40 years of his life and is pushing 90 now.

Anthony

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

i do this with ducks, head down. what a difference it makes!

RE: how long do you leave the hide on your deer?
 

I did it with a fat lamb this spring. Best meat I have ever had. Sucker hung a long time but oh it was good. Leg was like butter.

That all being said, the few deer I killed or was there when they were killed in Montana we skinned on sight, while the carcass was still warm but the buck was killed maybe 100 yards from the chiller that we hung them at.