How to ?'s

[jcoop7]

So I'll be starting my first early season archery hunt this weekend and with a little bit of a luck I should be able to get a buck. I've never hunted this early and so don't know much about taking care of the animal once it hits the ground. What are the best ways to take care of meat/antlers/cape when its going to be 80-90 degree weather where i'll be hunting. Any advice will help, thanks!!

 

[Zeke]

Remove entrail, skin and hang in the shade, cover with a game bag ASAP. Maybe use some pepper on the meat to keep the fries away. Keep moving the critter into the shade until you can quickly get it transported to a cooler (or quartered and in a fridge).

Don't try to age it outside for a week like we do on the October hunts.

Good luck,
Zeke

 

[treedagain]

+1 to zeke's answer, only thing i would add is that i like to wet the game bag and quarters to pull some of the heat away especially if there is a breeze


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[HayZeus]

You should definatly take pepper it works wonders on detering flies. Also dont skimp on game bags, buy quality.

 

[BUCKNUTS]

Another idea. Get it boned out as soon as possible. I quartered and hung a buck at camp for a few hours in August one year, rushed it home to a cool place and began cutting it up the next day. Meat looked good until I cut down to the bone....holy stink, bone sour had set in. Meat was a loss. The bones really hold the heat, get em outta there.

 

[GotBowAz]

I agree with everything posted above. Get the meat cooled off ASAP. Debone it and hang it in the shady side of a tree as your working on it. This lets the air get around the meat. If you have no choice and have to put it on the ground try to lift it with limbs or something. I used 5 large pillow cases to bag it and keep the flies off.

If you plan to take it into a butcher do NOT pepper it! They cannot determine the difference nor will they take the time to distinguish pepper from fly $hit. They will cut all of it off and you will lose a lot of meat.


GBA

 

[1FastGambler]

My prefferred method...

Keep game bags in your pack along with a container of pepper.

Quarter the critter quickly, sprinkling pepper as you go on all exposed meat, and get it into game bags as quickly as possible and off the ground or in a cool shady spot while you work.

Keep the meat in the game bags and get them surrounded with ice in a cooler. The Igloo 128 qt coolers work pretty good.

 

[jcoop7]

Thanks for all the good advice!! Ya I figured getting the meat cooled as fast as possible was the key, just didn't know if people preferred to quarter or bone out the meat. What about taking care of the antlers? I've heard you can either deep freeze them to keep the velvet on, how well does that work?

 

[elkfromabove]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-29-12 AT 12:04PM (MST)[p]>I agree with everything posted above.
>Get the meat cooled off
>ASAP. Debone it and hang
>it in the shady side
>of a tree as your
>working on it. This lets
>the air get around the
>meat. If you have no
>choice and have to put
>it on the ground try
>to lift it with limbs
>or something. I used 5
>large pillow cases to bag
>it and keep the flies
>off.
>
>If you plan to take it
>into a butcher do NOT
>pepper it! They cannot determine
>the difference nor will they
>take the time to distinguish
>pepper from fly $hit. They
>will cut all of it
>off and you will lose
>a lot of meat.
>
>
>GBA

Depends on the butcher. Mine does exactly what I ask him to do. Of course, I always take it to him skinned and CLEAN.

 

[GotBowAz]

Good point, you must have a superb butcher that is out of the norm. By clean, do you mean without pepper??

To the OP, please go ask your butcher up front before your hunt if he will cut the meat off to remove all pepper or not.

My butcher will do exactly what I tell him to do too. That's because I am my own butcher because I have had 2 butchers do just as I said and cut the meat away with pepper on it because they can't tell the difference! Just giving a friendly warning ?.geesh!


GBA