Thoughts on Packing your Deer Out

[GotBowAz]

There are those that prefers or enjoy the taste of gamey meat. I have a buddy of mine that prefers it over beef. My buddy does not consider it gamey yet I can barely choke it down. I have given him the meat I took care of and he didn't believe it was venison. He felt it had little to no flavor and to me it was way better than beef or any venison I ever had from him. The difference between us is I get the hide off ASAP and I debone and get the meat cooled just as quick as I can. So for those that say the meat tastes great I can see how they can think it.

 

Back East it is customary to hang your deer with the hide on for a few days. My mom wouldn't touch deer, she couldn't stand it. Then I killed one and only had a few hours to get it butchered and taken care of. I asked her to try it and she liked it a lot. So for those that say leaving the hide on makes no difference I can tell you from experience that it can and will taste different. That’s not to say the meat is bad, its not bad…its gamey and some people like that flavor.

 

GBA

[THE RIFLEMAN]

There are those that prefers or enjoy the taste of gamey meat. I have a buddy of mine that prefers it over beef. My buddy does not consider it gamey yet I can barely choke it down. I have given him the meat I took care of and he didn't believe it was venison. He felt it had little to no flavor and to me it was way better than beef or any venison I ever had from him. The difference between us is I get the hide off ASAP and I debone and get the meat cooled just as quick as I can. So for those that say the meat tastes great I can see how they can think it.

 

Back East it is customary to hang your deer with the hide on for a few days. My mom wouldn't touch deer, she couldn't stand it. Then I killed one and only had a few hours to get it butchered and taken care of. I asked her to try it and she liked it a lot. So for those that say leaving the hide on makes no difference I can tell you from experience that it can and will taste different. That’s not to say the meat is bad, its not bad…its gamey and some people like that flavor.

 

GBA

Like you I don't like gamey venison - Unlike you I don't know any that do ...Gamey tasting venison is the main excuse for the non hunting folks I have met that turn up their nose at a venison meal because they had a bad experience with gamey meat!

On another note I have talked to several deer ranchers about venison processing - Most of them say they harvest when the bucks are in velvet and before the doe's come into estrus... The meat has a higer fat content then and it tastes better!

I have bow shot some 6 0r 7 year old bucks in the velvet and was suprized that the meat wasn't tuff or gamey...And I have killed young hard horned bucks in December that definately had a slight game taste even though I used the gutless method and skinned imedialtely....

Venison tastes differant than beef and I don't have to have it taste gamey/crappy to be more differant!

Crap tastes like crap and no amount of salt or pepper will change that!

[rabidApache]

Four of us shot 17 deer last November in the Texas Hill Country where the limit is 5 whitetails per year. We kept them hanging in a barn for up to five days before we skinned, butchered and froze the meat the day before we left for Tucson. I can assure you that the meat from those deer did not suffer. It was delicious!

 

Bill Quimby

I usually keep hide on for pack outs until camp or find a nice skinning tree on the way out if its cool and you have time. If its in the field and its hot......skin and hang in shade until cool to the touch,then pack. If leaving any meat over night I move all the meat a good distance away from gut pile and hung up in a tree. Fresh meat doesn't stink and most scavengers would go to the gut pile anyway .Heavy solid meats like elk and deer hindquarters, I filet back the meat off the bone to cool. Heavy muscle and bone holds heat. When extended packing I usually separate meat cuts with fresh green juniper/cedar boas sandwiched between cuts in game bag. Helps air flow and prevents spoils. Venison usually does good even in hot conditions.....as long as its cooled immediately and hide is removed. I've never had meat go bad, most of the times I heard of meat spoilage is due to careless "killers" and not hunters.

[songdog11]

Bone it out and game bag it. The three point I shot last year I gutted and hauled out whole because it was getting dark. I just tied him up compact and tied him to my Mil surp Ruck. I always try to take the meat and antlers only to the nearest road so I can drive to the pack. I carried the litle buck like 1 1/2 miles. It wasnt bad at all. I carried all the meat from a 6ft black bear and I mean all of it! for three mhiles once. That sucked. A total stranger I met in the woods carried my head and hide he was so cool for doing that. I packed a whole boned out Cariboo once with horns off the Sag river that also sucked. I think Im seeing a trend here. Anyone want a pack buddie? Just feed me and Ill pack anything. LOL! Hahaha! I just rememberd! I packed in and out this 80 something years old dude I met once. He just wanted to hunt one last time. I carried Him into a bait station pulled him up into a tree and carried him back to the truck we didnt shoot a bear but that guy was so happy to be hunting he made me laugh so much that I dont ever remember being tired.