Deer Hunting Question

[ddog27]

I am a novice deer hunter, (I have only been deer hunting twice and only saw a deer on one of those hunts. And we did not come home with a buck!) I have a question that I have heard debated a couple of times. After you shoot the deer do you need to gut him and skin him right away or can it wait until you are back in camp. I have heard others say if you wait that the meat will be ruined. So tell me what do you need to do and what can wait until later. Thanks!

[gspsonny03]

ddog, the sooner that your animal is taken care of the better the taste of the meat. I always gut the animal as soon as it is down. I leave the skin on until I get it home, which for me is maybe 45 minutes, this helps to keep the dirt out. I see you show a location of Arizona, so that means it will probably be warm when you hunt. What that means is the sooner that you can get the insides out and the skin off to help cool the carcass down the better. Now with all this being said, depending on where you hunt be it public or private, some landowners do not like to have gut piles left on their property, it draws varmints, so that means that if you hunt on private property you need to find out from the landowner his preference. Hope this helps.

[grayghost]

I'm with gspsonny03; field dress the Deer ASAP. I carry extra water in case of "gut shots" which can and will happen on angling shots sooner or later. I always were dish washing gloves to protect my hands from infection or disease. Also keeps blood contact to a minimum. I wash out any bile, cud or stomach contents that get exposed to the interior cavity. This will go a long way to preserve the delicate flavor of the venison. I also will not remove the skin/hide until I'm home or at camp. If it's cold (below 40 degree's) I may wait anywhere from a few hours or until morning to skin. A cooled carcas will skin easier than a hot or warm one. Your locale may dictate how fast you remove the hide, as hot weather or transporting your Deer on top of your vehicle is a bad thing. Get some quarter bags (Cabela's) if your camping. Place the meat in the bags and secure out of Bear reach or place in a cooler. Avoid letting water soak into the meat. This will ruin the flavor and make the meat tough. I recommend getting yourself a book or two on preparing game; from field to freezer types. Some video's and DVD's are also available, probably from Cabela's. Good hunting this season. Keep us posted on your luck; keep downwind and straight shooting. grayghost