Deer hunting processing

Thompst1111

Need advice. Starting deer hunting this year. So from September we can shoot fallow. If I was on a hunt and intend on camping over (I have private land with permission) if I am lucky enough to get a deer and am camping over what’s the best way to keep the deer from spoiling when staying over night as the weather would be quite warm that time of year. My one thought would be cooler box on the car bring deer back(would that work) but for argument sake let’s say the car is too far way and camping no where near car how would i keep the deer over night?
Thanks.

cookimonster

You need to think this one through, no doubt others do it here but I won't say it's common. What you see in the USA co-insides with the practice of butchering the carcass imeaditly on culling or retrieval (if left over night to bed up and bleed out). Butchering can be just quartering or complete boneing out. Either way your going to be left with a lot of waste to get rid of instead of the usual by product of the initial field dressing. This may be an issue with the land owner. The benefit of doing it this way is it allows the meat to cool faster then if it was still intact as a carcass. Now once the meat has cooled suspended in the shade with the added help of a breeze and protected from flies by use of cheep as chips IKEA cotton pillow cases you can load them into pre chilled cooler boxs, 'tip' don't let the meat come indirect contact with the ice or water use good plastic bags to keep the meat dry. This will keep your meat safe for a day or two - dependent on quality of coolers and the ability to stop taking the lid off to check or admire your meat. Remember that about 50%+ of your animals gralloched weight will be lean meat so. I can put a full grown Sika hind into a 1x1 foot square box after complete boneing out, so have enough space for ice and meat.

All the above is mute advice once the temp drops below a steady 10C as you can hang an animal in a sheltered shady area for the day. If its a smallish animal leave intact, larger animals can benifit from cutting the pelvic floor and opening ther sternum. On a full day of shooting I often leave the animal out on the ground stashed from view before putting it into the car. This also helps cooling and prevent condensation building up in the vehicle. Under no circumstances cover a warm carcass with anything other than a breathable material such as cotton or some such. You can turn a carcass very quickly if it sweats back onto itself.

My further advice is start watching the weather at all times of the season. During the hind season gone past I held a few animals in the shed and not the cold room due to the low air temps. Animals will cool quickly on the ground but can still remain warm 12 or more hours later if kept in a confined space like a car. In the last few deer seasons we've had uncharacteristically warm weather at times when we should be in winters grip, so watch out for those winter days when the temp spikes above 16C.

Thompst1111

cookimonster wrote: »

You need to think this one through, no doubt others do it here but I won't say it's common. What you see in the USA co-insides with the practice of butchering the carcass imeaditly on culling or retrieval (if left over night to bed up and bleed out). Butchering can be just quartering or complete boneing out. Either way your going to be left with a lot of waste to get rid of instead of the usual by product of the initial field dressing. This may be an issue with the land owner. The benefit of doing it this way is it allows the meat to cool faster then if it was still intact as a carcass. Now once the meat has cooled suspended in the shade with the added help of a breeze and protected from flies by use of cheep as chips IKEA cotton pillow cases you can load them into pre chilled cooler boxs, 'tip' don't let the meat come indirect contact with the ice or water use good plastic bags to keep the meat dry. This will keep your meat safe for a day or two - dependent on quality of coolers and the ability to stop taking the lid off to check or admire your meat. Remember that about 50%+ of your animals gralloched weight will be lean meat so. I can put a full grown Sika hind into a 1x1 foot square box after complete boneing out, so have enough space for ice and meat.

All the above is mute advice once the temp drops below a steady 10C as you can hang an animal in a sheltered shady area for the day. If its a smallish animal leave intact, larger animals can benifit from cutting the pelvic floor and opening ther sternum. On a full day of shooting I often leave the animal out on the ground stashed from view before putting it into the car. This also helps cooling and prevent condensation building up in the vehicle. Under no circumstances cover a warm carcass with anything other than a breathable material such as cotton or some such. You can turn a carcass very quickly if it sweats back onto itself.

My further advice is start watching the weather at all times of the season. During the hind season gone past I held a few animals in the shed and not the cold room due to the low air temps. Animals will cool quickly on the ground but can still remain warm 12 or more hours later if kept in a confined space like a car. In the last few deer seasons we've had uncharacteristically warm weather at times when we should be in winters grip, so watch out for those winter days when the temp spikes above 16C.

Thanks Cookie Monster. Excellent advice but let’s say the temp over night was above 10’C. If quartered amdnin cotton hanging would it be ok to leave hanging for the night or would it be better to bring back to car and put into the cooler. Also how long would you let your deer hang for and it quartering it and hanging it the same as just hanging it full carcass. Live in an estate small back garden so going to try get a fridge but will only hold quartered deer

cookimonster

The guidelines (FSAI) allow you no longer than 12 hours un-refrigerated if the meat is to go into the food chain. By this they would mean temps exceeding 5C. My advice as to cooling meat ie bagging and hanging in a tree would be for the express storage in coolers if the ambiant temp is above 10C. You need to allow the meat to cool before putting it in a cooler or you run the risk, even when tempered with ice, of the meat remaining warm and spoiling or be subject to microbiological contamination. If it was me, and I have experience of culling out of season during warmer months I would be getting my meat / carcass into refrigeration ASAP during the warmer days. I'm not talking about shooting on the hill and tear arseing back home but I won't be leaving in warm ambient temperatures over night.

Hang times are controversial, some will hang for 3- 4 weeks others like myself prefer 7-10-ish days. Either way you must have the right conditions, the meat must set, but not dry out, the atmosphere must be most but not so much to encourage the growth of mould. If your using a standard fridge commercial or other wise routine air changes will help prevent this. Open the door every couple of days. By the way if it's last year's calf, it won't see the inside of my fridge for more than 4 days or less.

Quartering the carcass is another deal altogether, I know lads that do this and I have done so with a couple of reds that where broken on the ground due to unforgiving terrain. The more you break or process meat the shorter it's shelf life under refrigeration. Even vacuum packed meat processed into small cuts, diced or minced doesn't have the extended shelf life of vacum packed primary joints and cuts. Again and only in my opinion, ref to USA hunter practice and some experiments of my own, if you have to quarter your carcass process it within days and not weeks. If at all possible get yourself a larger fridge that can take a whole animal or two, you'd knock up a simple lean to in the garden to store it out of the direct elements. Commercial fridges are not as deer as people think, have a look at Nissbets.

A simple bit of motivation....I like to stalk deer, during the season I'll go out at least once a week or more if I can. Often or not I'll draw a blank, like last season the whole month of September I saw no Stags only Hinds and Calfs. Come October I averaged one deer every 2 weeks. I can continue to stalk every week knowing I have space to hang a deer. .....
You'll start off saying one or two a season will be enough but once you start eating it you'll be hooked...in my house beef fillet steak is looked at with disdain compared to a back strap of venison or come to think of it a venison 1/4 pounder.

cookimonster

The guidelines (FSAI) allow you no longer than 12 hours
un-refrigerated if the meat is to go into the food chain. By this they would mean temps exceeding 5C. My advice as to cooling meat ie bagging and hanging in a tree would be for the express storage in coolers if the ambiant temp is above 10C. You need to allow the meat to cool before putting it in a cooler or you run the risk, even when tempered with ice, of the meat remaining warm and spoiling or be subject to microbiological contamination. If it was me, and I have experience of culling out of season during warmer months I would be getting my meat / carcass into refrigeration ASAP during the warmer days. I'm not talking about shooting on the hill and tear arseing back home it I won't be leaving in warm ambient temperatures over night.

Hang times are controversial, some will hang for 3- 4 weeks others like myself prefer 7-10-ish days. Either way you must have the right conditions, the meat must set, but not dry out, the atmosphere must be most but not so much to encourage the growth of mould. If your using a standard fridge commercial or other wise routine air changes will help prevent this. Open the door every couple of days. By the way if it's last year's calf, it won't see the inside of my fridge for more than 4 days or less.

Quartering the carcass is another deal altogether, I know lads that do this and I have done so with a couple of reds that where broken on the ground due to unforgiving terrain. The more you break or process meat the shorter it's shelf life under refrigeration. Even vacuum packed meat processed into small cuts, diced or minced doesn't have the extended shelf life of vacum packed primary joints and cuts. Again and only in my opinion, ref to USA hunter practice and some experiments of my own, if you have to quarter your carcass process it within days and not weeks. If at all possible get yourself a larger fridge that can take a whole animal or two, you'd knock up a simple lean to in the garden to store it out ofcthis direct elements. Commercial fridges are not as deer as people think, have a look at Nissbets.

A simple bit of motivation....I like to stalk deer, during the season I'll go out at least once a week or more if I can. Often or not I'll draw a blank, like last season the whole month of September I saw no Stags only Hinds and Calfs. Come October I averaged one deer every 2 weeks. I can continue to stalk every week knowing I have space to hang a deer. .....
You'll start off saying one orvtwo a season will be enough but once you start eating it you'll be hooked...in my house beef fillet steak is looked at with disdain compared to a back strap of venison or come to think of it a venison 1/4 pounder.

Thompst1111

Cookie your a legend thanks for the advice. I was thinking of making a little cold room out the back (very small back garden) to hold one deer and have an open fridge to cool it and wrap it in the silver foil to keep cool but then would have to worry about flies and the likes. So have heard that an old Coca Cola fridge hard to get but still possible and only about €200 becaise they have built in fans to keep the air moving. That would hold a full fallow but nothing bigger so probably will have to quarter the meat this season anyway. I love venison have eaten it for years and just love it. I have been wanting to deer to hunt since my first time being brought when I was ten (20 years ago) been hunting small game for years now but this year is big game year.

cookimonster

I started deer hunting later in life after decades of smaller game hunting. Have been eating venison since I was a small child and now that I have access from farm to fork as they say, I've been able to combine it into three of my great passions in life - hunting, cooking and eating.
I've fished, hunted/shot and scuba dived from both child hood years and early teens, but with the exception of a relativly small break due to young family, now grown, I have always gone back to hunting.
Best of luck with all your preparations for the up coming season.

Grizzly 45

Quick question.Using the lidil pillowcases or such.I take it it is the same idea as those hideously expensive cool a buck or Alaskan game bags? And what do you think of this version of processing out your game in the field?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XncnheY0TE

cookimonster

Cotton pillow case = poor man's game bag. I use them when stalking for the heart and liver (to be honest on colder days the old plastic bag is better and less messy.) I also use them for warmer days pigeon decoying to keep the flies at bay. After use, soak them in a bucket of cold water to extract the blood ( works on all blood soaked cloth) before washing them. Improve them by treading a string through the opening to a allow it to be tied off.

The Gutless Deer Processing Method:
I haven't done it this way, one hind I processed was a suspended gralloch and butchering. The three reds where gralloched in place before it was decided to butcher them on the spot.
One I cut up hide and all - never again, butchering later on was a nightmare and very messy especially with the hairs.
The others where skinned while on the ground, opening the hide at the limbs as per the traditional suspended method and peeling back around the ribs. Here's where utube came into play. I used the hide as a mat to keep the carcass off the ground. Just roll the skinned side onto the open hide, skin the opposite side and spread out that portion of hide.
The gutless method looks good, but I think you'd want to be every careful going in for the fillets or de-fleshing the ribs, and maybe pointless if harvesting offal.
One other thing I do when butchering from a gambel is that I sometimes will remove the back straps all the way up to the neck straps and continue around the rib cage taking the shoulders and onto the belly / brisket (like filleting a fish from back bone to belly). I couldn't see why this would not work with a animal lying on its side.

By the way the tools in the vid do look cool, but somehow to me a bit cumbersome for the job.

Grizzly 45

Haven't used the Raptors,but have and use the Outdoor edge game skinner and the wildbone outdoor edge knives.Once you get used to the odd "push knife" design,it is actually a very easy and pleasant blade to use.I'm going to try this method as it seems alot cleaner and less risk of meat contamination from internal fluids.

hempel

Sorry for bumping this up is there any lad buying deer carcase in the Munster area I know there’s a lad in the midlands.

wirehairmax

hempel wrote: »

Sorry for bumping this up is there any lad buying deer carcase in the Munster area I know there’s a lad in the midlands.

Season finished last week

rugerfanatic

wirehairmax wrote: »

Season finished last week

Only for genuine deer stalkers.

Some hunters, commercial shooters, are probably using Section 42's now to keep the cash coming in.

ganmo

rugerfanatic wrote: »

Only for genuine deer stalkers.

Some hunters, commercial shooters, are probably using Section 42's now to keep the cash coming in.

only the land owners can apply for the section 42s

hempel

ganmo wrote: »

only the land owners can apply for the section 42s

Ya going to go for a section 42 anyone have a contact in Munster willing to buy

rugerfanatic

ganmo wrote: »

only the land owners can apply for the section 42s

They can nominate someone too.