Gonna be a hot one. How do you cool down your...

[deerminator]

deer in such weather. I've taken deer when its in the mid to high 70s before and then cooled them down with several frozen milk jugs of ice in their body cavity before I could get them to the processor. Less water and mess that way and the ice doesnt melt as fast. That said, I don't have any ready for Saturday! Will have to get on that tonight just in case. So what does everyone else do - besides not going out or cutting them up themselves right away. Neither of those will be an option for me.

[Jim Uran]

I cut them up as fast as I can, cut and debone and store in my fridge. I hate to even go out when it's like that, and I avoid it if at all possible now. But the time to hunt only arrives once in a while for most folks.

[B. Amish]

at least try to skin it asap, then quarter it and put it in a large cooler. if you can skin it, quartering it will only take another couple of minutes.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thats just it... its really hard.. so, to be honest, I dont go. I know it sounds like a cop out. But I hunt for the fun and for the food.. I do all the processing myself and dont have a walk in cooler. I also dont like the bugs that still be out at those temps too.

[InTheNorthwoods]

I won't shoot one this time of year unless its something special. Its too much work and you risk losing the meat when it is so hot unless you can get to it very quickly. If you do shoot one, make sure to skin it quickly and get it on ice as soon as possible (or at least in a cool shady area).

[deerminator]

Thanks for the replies guys. Not a cop out to me Deitz, if I processed it myself, I wouldn't be going out either. I was just wondering what people do. I took my first deer, a doe, many years ago now on a warm October day (70s) and cooled her down via the ice method for several hours before getting her to the processor. All seemed to turn out fine that way and has the few times I've done it that way since. I was more just wondering what others do.

[Bear55]

If you don't want to shoot when its warm I don't blame you but its pretty easy to cool them down anywhere and any time. When the temps are up I just skin and quarter them right away, it doesn't take long and they can be in a fridge or in a large cooler with block ice in no time.

[Scoot]

I've been taking care of my critters with the gutless method for the past few years. It takes me about 10 extra minutes longer when I deal with the animal in the field, but it's so much less hassle from there it's unbelievable. I highly recommend it! It's very easy and pretty quick. The meat can go straight into a cooler from there...

Do a quick internet search for "gutless method" and you should find out how to do it.

[FishingWebGuy]

This is my first time bow hunting so I can't speak from experience but I do have a plan.

I have 2 100qt coolers in the truck with 8 gallons of ice. If I get a deer, I am skinning it, quartering it (leaving the head attached to one quarter until registered), placing the quarters in the cooler, pouring whatever icewater there is in the jugs over the meat, leaving as many gallons of ice in the coolers as possible, when I get to the registraton station I will pick up a bag of cube ice to dump over the top when I cut the head off.

No idea if that will work or not but I'm gonna try. Only reason I'd quarter first is because It could take over 3-4 hours to get out of camp, to the registration station and back to camp to quarter.

Now quartering with that dang head attached will be interesting...

[bigbucks]

If it's warm we usually hose them out as it does a lot to cool them down. Then if they're not going to get take care of right away lay them on there back in a pickup propped open good & dump a bunch of ice in there. Get the truck in a shed or garage out of the sun & leave the doors open on the building if you can keep cats from getting at it. You can always go buy a 20 lb. bag for about $5 & lay the whole bag in there. I've kept them overnight like that when it was in the 70's & the ice wasn't all melted. I gave the deer to someone, lockered it, or cut it up myself the next day & it was fine.

Once you get it quartered that next day those quarters are fine in a fridge for a week or maybe more. Wrap it up or put it in a bucket of water to keep it from drying out.

[FishingWebGuy]

I've been taking care of my critters with the gutless method for the past few years. It takes me about 10 extra minutes longer when I deal with the animal in the field, but it's so much less hassle from there it's unbelievable. I highly recommend it! It's very easy and pretty quick. The meat can go straight into a cooler from there...

Do a quick internet search for "gutless method" and you should find out how to do it.

Do you find a lot of hair on the meat doing it that way? Seems like it might be alright if you have access to running water near by.

[charliepete]

I've got 1970's chest cooler at my hunting shack that I picked up for free. If I shoot one at last light and am feeling like celebrating instead of butchering, I just put the deer in there whole and turn it on. By the next morning they aren't quite frozen solid, but they are mighty cold and just right for cutting up. If I didn't do my own butchering I'd probably just let them freeze solid and then throw them in a truck frozen and drive to the processor.

If I didn't have a freezer I'd just skin and quarter and put it in a cooler with ice. Anybody who can take a sweater off can skin a deer, and once you learn to take out backstraps and the tenderloins, quartering is a snap. The whole thing shouldn't take more than a half hour even if you're not very good at it.

[HookEmHard84]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I have been wondering the same thing.

Anybody know of a good butcher that does deer processing this early. The one I usually go to is not doing deer processing this year. I live in Stillwater, so it would have to be in the east metro.

[Scoot]

Do you find a lot of hair on the meat doing it that way? Seems like it might be alright if you have access to running water near by.

No, just the opposite. I find no hair in the meat this way. It's not only hair free, it's 99.9% blood free too. It's cleaner, almost as fast, and takes a lot of effort away from when process the meat. I honestly am not sure if I'll ever gut another deer again.

[Jim Uran]

I looked it up, looks pretty darn simple. It probably takes 5 minutes or less to gut a deer and about 10 minutes to skin/quarter it with a partner. But I can see how this would help me when I go by myself!! Which is quite a bit the last couple of years.

[fishin58]

Here is a good page with many pics.

http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27

I have not done this method but it would not be a bad idea in the heat. I do like the inside loin on the upper back. That makes the best steak in my opinion.

[Scoot]

I looked it up, looks pretty darn simple. It probably takes 5 minutes or less to gut a deer and about 10 minutes to skin/quarter it with a partner. But I can see how this would help me when I go by myself!! Which is quite a bit the last couple of years.

leechy, I've gutted/skinned/quartered way over 100 deer- gutless is WAY less work in total. I was skeptical too... until I did it. Either you'll have to trust me, consider me a liar, or give it a try. Like I said, after having done it on a few critters, I'm not sure I'll ever gut another deer out.

[FishingWebGuy]

leechy, I've gutted/skinned/quartered way over 100 deer- gutless is WAY less work in total. I was skeptical too... until I did it. Either you'll have to trust me, consider me a liar, or give it a try. Like I said, after having done it on a few critters, I'm not sure I'll ever gut another deer out.

What about registering the animal with the head intact? Just leaving a little skin between shoulder and head? Or registering it first?

[Bear55]

Scoot I have done it once and it worked out pretty good. However did you leave the tender loins behind or eventually open up the guts and go after them?

[Scoot]

No, I popped two ribs and took the inside loins out with no problem.

Regarding registering them, I've never done it on a MN animal. It was pretty easy and straightforward for ND and WY animals though...

[Jmnhunter]

Scoot; that does look like a neat method, the back legs look like it could be a hassle-- so for the deer or speed goats you shoot to do this method, you pull the animal back to your shack/truck and then do the gutless method?

[Scoot]

Scoot; that does look like a neat method, the back legs look like it could be a hassle-- so for the deer or speed goats you shoot to do this method, you pull the animal back to your shack/truck and then do the gutless method?

Nope- the back (and front) legs are no hassle at all. As mentioned before, the only tough part is getting the inside loins- but that's no biggie once you figure it out. I do it where ever I find the animal and not back at camp- that would defeat the purpose, IMO. I carry enough game bags to take care of the critter (two or three when deer or antelope hunting and four when elk hunting) and just do it on the spot.

FYI- I don't care how people take care of their animals and I'm not trying to sway anyone to do it this way. However, I have found this to be really easy and has helped me, particularly when I've had a long distance to haul a critter when I have it down. It works great for me, so I thought I'd share it with others in case it might be helpful to others. If what you're currently doing is different and you're happy with it, great!

[Archerysniper]

My friend own's the meat locker in Isanti and I have a key

[B-man715]

I wish we could do the gutless method in Wisconsin. The deer has to be whole for registration.

However, I have done 2 road kill deer this way (if a cop tags it there is no registration). But I debone it right off of the deer in the field instead of just quartering.

(When I butcher a hanging deer I also debone right off of the carcass. I honestly don't understand why people ever quarter an animal. All it does is add time to processing and takes up much more space in the fridge/freezer.)

All that is needed is a 5 gallon bucket, a knife and a bag for a liner. Once at home I lay the meat in a tub covered with cling wrap and lined with some paper towels. I then allow the meat to cool/bleed for a few days. Then I get out the cutting board, grinder, jerky slicer and freezer paper.

After butchering well over a hundred deer, I can have a deer go from a fuzzy critter to meat in a tub, in 30-35 minutes by myself. With a little help the time is just under a half hour. Final processing (grinding/slicing/wrapping) takes some more time ofcourse.