I was watching a few of the hunting shows last night, in 2 of the shows a buck was shot late in the evening. After a quick search and on coming darkness, all attempts to find the deer were put of until the next morning. Both of these deer were found the next morning. One had been completely eaten by coyotes, the other was discovered intact. This lead to a questions.

1. Would you still eat a deer that laid out all night?



My answer is pretty easy, NO. After that many hours laying out with the guts still i it, I'd have to pass, just don't trust it. But i also think i would have made a better attempt to find those deer irregardless of the on-coming darkness.

Depends on how cold the night is, if it was below 50, then I don't think leaving it out overnight is bad. Unless its gut shot.

Depends on what part of the country I was in. If it is cold enough, it doesn't make any difference. In Texas...sorry but I ain't eatin' it!!

Those guys on the TV don't care about the meat anyways they just want the mount, right.

The guy that lost his to the Coyotes, was pretty tore up about losing the meat, the other i believe processed his. I'm just curious about the meat going bad over that length of time.

Thats a good question! I don't think I woudl unless it was very cooled outside. other that I'd have to leave it for the yotes. Someone correct me if I am wrong caus eI would like to know. What is the first sign of the meat spoiling?

All of the shows I see leave their deer if they are shot with bows in the evening. They might find their deer 100 yards away, but they leave them all the time it seems. It is colder where they are hunting. I have never seen a deer shot on TV in TX that was left overnight and not eaten by coyotes. You know, if you just sit and wait for the coyotes, you can probably find it in TX.

Personally, I would eat it.

If it was taking them that long to find it was probably gut shot anyway...I would still eat it if it was really really cold and a good shot...otherwise...COYOTE BAIT...drag it out in a field to shoot coyotes off of...

No way would I eat a deer left out all night with the guts in them, and that is why no way would I give up the search, untill I found it. You can tell that the folks on TV arent the most responsible and dedicated hunters out there, and most of them dont eat their deer any how, so what do they care.

matt

Maybe not but they only leave them overnight in conditions that favor it. Rule is typically always under 40 degrees from what I have seen. The guts are separated from the meat so unless you gutshot it, how would guts leak through into the meat when it is under 40 degrees? I have smelled nastier chicken at the grocery store.

I saw the same show. They made a comment about the fact that it was 90 degrees while they were hunting. In my mind they made the wrong decision. They hit both bucks well. If they had wanted to wait a couple of hours and then start looking fine but to wait all night for no reason is just stupid.

-john

If the conditions were right, yes, I would eat a deer left out overnight, but my conditions are 40 degree or less weather.

In fact, I will not hunt right up till dark. To me, I just do not want to be stumbling around trying to find a blood trail, irregardless of whether it is a doe or a 30 point buck. In some places you can get away with it, in Texas, either the coyotes or the hogs will end up getting it.

Something I brought up last year about this time, concerned a couple of stories and I believe one of them was posted on The Forum, about people shooting nice bucks right at dark, then not being able to find them. I may have been taking their posts wrong, but they didn't seem that concerned over the loss of the meat, they just wanted to find the antlers.

That bothers me. How many other folks out there only care about the antlers, and could care less about the meat. If they only find the rack on a mostly eaten carcass, they don't have to worry with going by the processor, and most Taxidermists have neck capes they can put on a form for mounting.

HWY MAN it would just depend on the conditions,lots of variables,BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE,I WOULD NOT MIND YOU HUNTING ON MY PLACE ANYTIME.I just got thru reading skillet shotting and wow did it get interesting common sense goes along way.And as far as hunting blues,I dont knowwhere some of these guys are hunting but if you dont ground shoot sometimes you dont have any blues to go with the bobs on the dinner table,you sound to me like a ethical hunter and a man with good common sense,everybody has its own hunting rules (good & bad)Ill just leave it at that.......

Thanks Gut Shot, no way in hell i wanted that thread to go in that direction, and i apologize to all for letting myself get so carried away. As for the invitation to hunt, well I'll offer the same to you. Hope ya don't mind hunting Blues

Man I am getting gun shy about starting a thread on this forum,Im just going to sit back and watch the bullets fly, and hope nobody lobs a missle my direction.

This is exactly why I'm waiting until cooler weather before I go bow hunt. As far as gut shot - If it was left out on a cool night, I would eat it. The backstrap, neck, hams, or shoulders do not come in contact with the guts. No fluids are pumping any more and the meat is not tainted. Just stay away from the gut meats, tenderloins or flanks.

I’ve left out animals all night before but I have some simple rules that I try to follow. If I can’t rely on these factors then I’m usually out all night looking.
#1 is – shot placement and how fast (or slow) will the animal die?
#2 - the low temperature for the night and how fast will it reach 40 degrees or lower.
#3 - will the animal’s body cool down after death within 3 to 4 hrs. to around 40 degrees?
When I process my own venison I’ve always aged it for 1 to 2 weeks in an old refrigerator set between 38 and 40 degrees. Years ago I was friends with a professor that ran the “Meat Lab” at TTU. From what I can remember to age meat you need enzymes to grow. They grow best around 38 to 40 degrees. Over 40 is when bacteria grows and that’s what spoils meat.
Now, I don’t profess to know everything but I do know that my whole family loves venison.
Man, I hope I didn't jinx myself for this weekend.

I lost the neck roasts on the Bull elk I shot in Colorado, even though we had the body cavity propped open, and the temperature got down into the low 20's, we hadn't split the skin on the neck, and it ruined, simply because we didn't get it exposed to the cold.