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RandyRhoads
09-16-2012, 07:19 PM
I'm going up to D5 for 3 days. If me or my buddy gets a deer one the first of second day, what can I do, or not do to keep it good for the remainder of the trip. Gut it and hang it, but leave the skin on? Mesh deer bag? I'd like to skin it right away, but that seems like it would just open it up for more to go wrong. If I don't skin it until I get home, how hard will it be to skin the rigored carcas, if that's even possible?

randyt
09-16-2012, 09:45 PM
It is ok to skin later. Skinning any carcass when it is fresh is easier. The skin can be pulled of with a little knife work. After it has cooled off you will need to use the knife more often with care if the skin is going to be kept. I've not used a mesh bag.

edr730
09-16-2012, 09:46 PM
Hanging it in the sun is bad, in the shade is good. Skining I've never seen done, although I've read about it. I find it silly.
after you clean it, I would use water to clean it better. I know that you may read that skinning it is better and that you should not use water but it's better that way. Put the bag over as much as you can. You probably will need to break the back legs to get the bag up a little higher. Flys get in though the nose and you will need to cover the nose too. There may be small areas where the flys could get in so look for those areas. If it drops into the 40's you should be fine.

wtrfwlr
09-16-2012, 10:17 PM
edr730, I'm trying to understand your reply. You think that skinning deer is silly? What or how do you clean deer?

hunter63
09-17-2012, 01:26 PM
Where you are, is it necessary to have the deer whole intact?.....some places do for registration...then you have a whole different set of problems.

Reason I ask as hunting out west and in southern states, we generally skin, clean, quarter, and place in coolers full of ice.
The SIL's method, in Louisiana, is to not even gut out the deer, but hang, skin, cut out the back straps, then quarter...then in a cooler...I don't really like this way, as it does waste some meat.

Wyoming, we used the 'game bags", helps keep flies out., hanging in the shade, till we could get them to the processor.

Colorado, up on the mountain, we skinned our mulies and elk, quartered and place in coolers with dry ice......bought before hand.

Missouri, skinned and quartered, in the ice chest.

Wisconsin, Illinois, hang till processing.

So it would depend on your laws, temp, and time of year.

kyratshooter
09-17-2012, 04:04 PM
Down here in KY/TN we gut them and fill the body cavity with ice and get them to the processor ASAP. I am talking about at the processor within a couple of hours at this time of year. In the heat a "mesh bag" is just trying to fool yourself. The maggots will be all over that carcus within hours.

You kill your deer and you are out of there. Let the other guys hunt if they want too but a deer down means you are on your way to town.

As the weather cools you can take your time, but if it is above 65-70 degrees it is a race to the processor.

wtrfwlr
09-17-2012, 05:13 PM
No one ever touches any of my wild game other than me!
I too 1/4 my deer and ice it down as soon as I can. I will do that even in cold weather since it is so much easier to skin.

Old Professor
09-17-2012, 05:23 PM
I have done commercial butchering of deer for several years. I prefer to get the deer skinned and cooled as soon as possible. In warm weather, quarter the animal and put the quarters on Ice in a cooler. In cool weather, hang the carcass in a cool place, in a cloth bag if flys are present.(king size pillow cases work very well) I have seen too many deer and bear spoiled by not getting the skin removed and the carcass cooled. Skinning and quartering is not a difficult skill and any serious hunter should learn this skill.

RandyRhoads
09-17-2012, 05:48 PM
I have done commercial butchering of deer for several years. I prefer to get the deer skinned and cooled as soon as possible. In warm weather, quarter the animal and put the quarters on Ice in a cooler. In cool weather, hang the carcass in a cool place, in a cloth bag if flys are present.(king size pillow cases work very well) I have seen too many deer and bear spoiled by not getting the skin removed and the carcass cooled. Skinning and quartering is not a difficult skill and any serious hunter should learn this skill.

I want to skin and gut it right away. I like the cooler idea, but it sounds like a ton of ice and coolers? How big of a cooler(s) do you need for a quartered deer?

intothenew
09-17-2012, 06:01 PM
I want to skin and gut it right away. I like the cooler idea, but it sounds like a ton of ice and coolers? How big of a cooler(s) do you need for a quartered deer?

How much beer do you drink?

Bad joke, I know, a 128 quart. And if it's a biggin'/biggins put some in the beer cooler/coolers. That's boned by the way. Carry block ice.

RandyRhoads
09-17-2012, 06:10 PM
How much beer do you drink?

Bad joke, I know, a 128 quart. And if it's a biggin'/biggins put some in the beer cooler/coolers. That's boned by the way. Carry block ice.

I don't drink.

I think i'll bring a plastic trash can. If we get one, we can go fill it up with ice and head back to hunt. I have no idea how to (de)bone a deer...

intothenew
09-17-2012, 06:12 PM
Freeze some two liter bottles, and put them in that can. Be ready.

RandyRhoads
09-17-2012, 06:14 PM
OK thanks. I really doubt we'll get anything though. I've only gone one other time, in a similar fashion of just pointing in a direction with no real plans, and hoping to get one.

intothenew
09-17-2012, 06:16 PM
.........and hoping to get one.



Leave early, go deep, stay late.

hunter63
09-17-2012, 07:52 PM
I don't know how big your deer are, but after the head, legs, rib cage are removed there is not near as much meat as you might expect, we have several 84 qt coolers for various things, including several with just ice.

If really pressed for cooler space, one could "empty" the beer cooler, of course you don't want it to go bad, so just drink it up.......Just kidding.

intothenew
09-17-2012, 07:58 PM
It's been mentioned, but the cape needs to be shown in WV for a legitimate tag.

A really nice "hat" can make that cape very precious.

hunter63
09-17-2012, 08:28 PM
Wisconsin has all sorts of weird laws about tagging registering transport and such, so skining and cutting can't really be done till you check in, to a check station.
Good thing it cold enough that it really doesn't make a difference.

So, mesage here is to check your states laws before following any of this advice.

wholsomback
09-17-2012, 10:32 PM
Here in Texas unless its on a WMA in the first days of the season it's quarter and ice as fast as you can,then to the house to process,I don't let anyone touch my game had too many friends get rancid meat from other peoples deer in the past.

randyt
09-18-2012, 06:59 AM
I usually leave mine hang for a few days but there are times considering conditions we will process the deer right away.

your_comforting_company
09-18-2012, 07:33 AM
If you want to keep the hide, DO NOT use a knife other than to open the hide so you can peel it off.
If you aren't keeping the hide, get it off however you wish.

RandyRhoads
09-18-2012, 02:49 PM
If you want to keep the hide, DO NOT use a knife other than to open the hide so you can peel it off.
If you aren't keeping the hide, get it off however you wish.


Of course i'm keeping it! I haven't got to try brain tanning with a DEER hide yet! :)

postman
09-18-2012, 03:06 PM
If I'm hunting some distance from where I live I usually like to skin and then quarter the animal, placing each quarter in cheese cloth game bags and then burlap bags. The meat needs to breath, and stay cool, quartered makes it easier to transport. If I'm hunting near home I usually just field dress it, and then get it home. Once I'm home I hang it, skin it and butcher it as soon as possible.

hunter63
09-18-2012, 04:57 PM
Here is one way to skin a deer with out too much knife work......Check the page out several more variations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmcLhkHjfeg

randyt
09-18-2012, 07:17 PM
There's a method called fisting for skinning deer. I've not used that method but I've been skinning animals since I was a little fella. There's nothing like trapping for fur to teach a fella how to skin.

edr730
09-18-2012, 07:58 PM
I never take off the skin because it drys the meat faster. If you transport it without the skin you need to protect it since it has no covering. Deer are very easy to skin anyhow. Here we have nights cold enough to cool the meat yet days often warm enough for flys. I don't know about hunting in warm climates since I've always hunted close to home. I break the hind legs and use a game bag. There are two hollow spots on both sides of the upper chest that can let in flys if you don't make sure the bag is tight in these areas. The flys can enter in the mouth and nose also, so we put something over the nose too. It's a rare deer that I hang less than a week with the hide on and after way more than a few dozen deer, I've never had a bad one. Cleaning the inside of the deer with a rag very clean is something I was always told to do well. Put your ear to the chest and tap on the other side if you want to know if there are flys inside. The inside should remain dry with very little weeping or moisture. Of course if it is too warm you have to quarter it and put in the refrigerater and let it finish aging or process it.

Batch
09-18-2012, 09:40 PM
When you stick a deer down here you during archery the clock is ticking once the arrow is released. Our archery is over for the year already. So we hunt between July and mid September and it is hot, humid and their are bugs everywhere.

I have a 150 quart Coleman that serves no other purpose than chilling animals. I've thrown an 80lb doe in that cooler whole. Once we get the deer back to camp we have a half hour drive to the road and then a little less than that to the nearest store. Other than gutting we usually process the game at the check station. Then we leave it in the cooler for a couple days with the drain cracked open and keep icing it down. Same way for gators, hogs and deer.

wtrfwlr
09-18-2012, 09:47 PM
What part of the world are you in Batch?

Batch
09-18-2012, 10:13 PM
South Florida

your_comforting_company
09-21-2012, 06:24 AM
Actually, deer have a membrane underneath their skin, next to the meat. It's a semi-transparent film that will remain intact IF YOU DON'T USE YOUR KNIFE LIKE A LAWNMOWER BLADE. I live in Southwest GA, and hunt on the point of land that is the absolute farthest southwest you can go in GA without standing in the lake. By dinnertime, it's always above 40 degrees any given day.
I have never had any problem with flies ruining my meat by skinning too early. I don't use any body bags or anything like that. We field dress the deer, bring the whole carcass home, and finish the job. We work quickly, yes, but never so fast as to use a knife to remove the skin. I tan every hide that comes across our hanging tree.
In the dead of winter, South FL still isn't that much warmer than it is here.

your_comforting_company
09-21-2012, 06:26 AM
and likewise, we have a 30 minute haul to get back to the boat, then a 15-20 minute boatride to the landing, then a 30 minute ride back home.

Now.. in July, yeah, you better work fast.

RandyRhoads
09-28-2012, 01:55 AM
Didn't see a single buck, but I still had a great time. Came across lots of doe, and got a chance to practice stalking. It would have been the perfect shot on one I stalked pretty close to if we were allowed to shoot doe. Absolutely beautiful scenery.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d86/randy666rhoads/Woodchuck%20Basin%20Deer%20Hunt/DSCN1860.jpg
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wtrfwlr
09-28-2012, 02:04 AM
Wow! Thanks for all the great photos. What spectacular country out there. Sounds like a great hunting trip even though you did bag a deer.

Rick
09-28-2012, 07:22 AM
You are spot on. Absolutely beautiful scenery. Did you get your hand caught in the vice again? Thanks for posting!!

RandyRhoads
09-28-2012, 11:59 AM
That's my buddy. He juggles knives. Within 10 minutes of meeting up to head out to the spot he gets hurt. Pulls out his new knife and gives it a few tosses and spins, and slips and cuts his hand wide open. Off to the ER for a few stitches . Luckily it was the ER he works at. He slipped in the ambulance bay door went straight to a doctor, got the stitches and left. 10 minutes, that's gotta be a record.

crashdive123
09-28-2012, 11:11 PM
Beautiful pics. Thanks for taking us along.

intothenew
09-30-2012, 08:25 AM
Fantastic scenery, thanks for taking us along.

Bucksnort
10-09-2012, 12:04 PM
Beautiful country! Regarding skinning immediately-if it's 40 degrees or under, and you've had a few hard frosts, then you should be ok. If there's still fly's around, then you can bag the carcass. I've always been one to let my deer hang for a week or more to allow the meat to start breaking down a bit-if temperature's allow it. After that long, it can be quite a chore skinning the carcass though.