Tracking the next day

[BobT]

I have a question.

I mentioned in another thread that my nephew hit a buck on Saturday evening about 4:45. After about an hour of trying to find a blood trail, we were unable to track it that night in the dark and so opted to pick it up in the morning. I eventually found him at around 8:30am on Sunday morning.

The overnight temps dropped to about 27 degrees. When we opened him up we discovered he had been lung shot. He was still warm and full of blood (still liquid) on the inside as we expected. The smell from the blood was quite noticeable but I gutted it out anyway.

We have things set up so we can hang deer in the woods so we got it hung right away and spread his chest to help cool him down while we waited for 11:00 to come around. Then we brought it back to my brother's and rinsed it out with a garden hose and skinned it as soon as we could so it could finish cooling down as quickly as possible. It was a warmer day but my brother's garage stays cool for quite some time. The meat seemed okay and didn't smell any different than the other deer we had.

We were curious thought. How long after death do you think it is safe to take the meat?

[LightningBG]

You should be fine.

[Cheetah]

I agree, should be fine.

[mwal]

You did everything right. Just make sure to never wash the actual meat as that starts the Bacteria buffet. The most important thing was to get that hide off asap in warmer weather. I have seen a deer left 24 hours in the 30's smell really rotten when it was found and gutted. It was gut shot and all of the thin belly meat was turning green and slimy we trimmed everything away from the area and washed and dried the cavity then skinned it. When we butchered it the meat smelled the same as the other deer that were gutted and hung within hours of being shot.

MWal

[LightningBG]

Just make sure to never wash the actual meat as that starts the Bacteria buffet.

MWal

So last night I dropped off a deer at the processor (already did 2 and didn't have the time for the third) and I had it on ice because of the hot weather, but there was a lot of ice melt in the sled it was in. The butcher told me it was no problem to have that water there and that they actually suggest to rinse it out if its a gut shot. News to me. I'm guessing its the lesser of two evils?

[mwal]

body cavity is ok to wash and dry. Leaving digestive juices or fecal matter stay is always a bad idea. never wash meat unless you are going to cook it immediatly.

Mwal

[Neighbor_guy]

You will be fine Bob.

It's those overnights in the 60's that cause you to worry about meat loss.

20's-30's = A-OK.

[bak2MN]

Yes that meat should be just fine would butcher it up and not worry a bit. Glad to hear you found it.

[96trigger]

Yep, it has been cold enough at night not to worry about it.

[R. Miller]

I came across a wounded 8 pointer on Saturday...jumped him three different times w/o really getting right up on him...tough swampy area.

Anyway, I walked the area again on Sunday and there he was...looked like he died in the night or sometime on Sunday. It was hit in the front above the left leg...what a shame. Anyway, I received permission from a CO to bring it to the meat center w/o tagging it, to see if the meat was good. A DNR guy almost convinced me that it was, and I seriously thought about tagging it myself...b/c we had/have three tags to fill. Anyway, long story longer the owner of the meat center didn't recommend eating it(said it smelled ripe)...I couldn't believe it but he also said that just the sheer amount of stress the deer went through while injured could turn the meat bad...you could just be a jackpine savage and cook some of it up...tell us how it tastes...

[sticknstring]

You did the right thing trying to put the meat to use. It was pretty warm last weekend and you usually can't argue with a meat processor. That's a long time to be laying with the guts in. If it smells, the meat is usually spoiled. The stress argument is also correct. I shot a doe 3-4 years ago and when I found her one of her legs was just hanging, completely useless. It had been that way for awhile and we presumed from being hit by a car. Worst dang tasting deer I've ever ate. A good quick clean kill will yield the best tasting meat.

[Steve Foss]

Yup, like everyone else said you'll be fine for sure with that meat.

The buck I shot Saturday morning was immediately dressed out, and the cold morning ride in the pickup 30 miles back to the cabin cooled it off even faster. It spent until Tuesday morning on a piece of plastic on the floor of the garden shed, which is right against the ground, and in the shade. Nighttime temps were 25-32, daytime temps into the low 50s. I doubt the carcass ever got up over 40 degrees.

Not of whiff of bad meat odor at all. It was in full rut, so it was a stinky critter, but once the hide was off and it was prepped for the butcher it smelled nice and clean.

It's the gut-shot ones that decay like lightning if that stomach/intestinal stuff is left in there. Saturday's deer was a neck shot to boot, so there weren't even any bullet holes through the meat/body cavity to contend with.

We do lightly rinse the meat under cold water before shrink-wrapping it with the Food Saver. Takes off the gristly fat left behind by the bandsaw and any stray hair as well. Since it's going right into the freezer and in airtight condition, we don't figure bacteria will be an issue.

I used to help an old guy butcher a steer every year up at 10,000 feet in Colorado. He'd slaughter it in the fall and hang it for 5-7 days in 35-40 degree temps inside a shaded shed to age it. Aging actually is the beginning of the decomposition process, and if you time it right the meat is very tender because the cell walls have started to break down but the meat has not gone bad yet.

He had been doing that for years and had his conditions and processes all dialed in. He also looked in on it every day to check it. Best beef I've ever tasted.