Thread: Overnight meat recovery - thoughts?

Originally Posted by Chur Bay

Arrgh my eyes. Is there an unsee button??

Once you've tried black, (singlet) you'll never go back

Now thats what I call a fart!!!

I have done it before, but not willingly, only because I couldnt find the damn thing in the dark - or like earlier this year when I shot at two animals that popped up and I inexplicably missed an easy shot, an they both ran off. I looked but couldn't find a trace of blood where they had run. On the way back to the hut the next morning I found a perfectly neck shot deer lying where I saw the two animals the evening before - there had obviously been three and when I shot one another popped up and ran off with the first, and I had just walked past the bloody thing, still looking at the two I thought I had shot at.

Anyway. It depends on how hot it is. I still took the meat from the three animals I have had to leave over night. Winter in Fiordland its not really an issue. During the roar still is okay. But, I don't hunt much at all in summertime. It has been a long time since I bothered gutting any animals anyway, I take the backsteaks, the rear wheels, and sometimes the front shoulders if I do not have a long way to go. This operation si less offensive to perform in this situation I imagine so it didnt put me off. The meat smelled okay. But they bloat up and rigour mortis is a pain.

Sorry, my team do this with their weapons, after checking their status and forming on me, and taking a knee. I can't stand young people in general. I hate anyone under the age of forty.
Long range shooting never interested me. If the Duleys shoot things so far away they have to leave animals overnight regularly, then their interest doen't lie in the hunting of deer is all I can say. He seems like a nice bloke though, I just have my hands full shooting deer at sixty yards I cannot imagine why I would need to build a rifle to shoot one six hundred metres away. Life just isn't that hard.

Originally Posted by Ginga

I wouldn’t eat anything left overnight with its guts in. Even in the middle of winter. It’s basically a big compost heap going rotten from the inside out as soon as it hits the ground. Seen a guy try it once after a hard frost and it was still tainted. Foul.
Go shoot another one, plenty around.

Yep I 100% agree. I’ve only ever left two deer out over night and the meat was tainted even on the 30th of June. I’d never do it (intentionally) again.

I had to leave a deer overnight and it was fine, but I did bleed and gut it first. This was also on a cool Autumn night.

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

I had to leave a deer overnight and it was fine, but I did bleed and gut it first. This was also on a cool Autumn night.

Yeah I think they mean with the guts left in? I’ve often shot deer and gutted and dressed them. Then left them hanging on the shady side of a cool spot for a day or two. It cools the meat down. Sure you get a few maggots on the exposed bits but the back straps and back legs are usually good.

Yeah during summer you need to gut and clean it up asap
I wouldn’t even bother pulling the trigger if I couldn’t get it in a chiller or similar within a couple of hours maybe 3-4 max flys are instantaneous this time of year

In winter up in the hills if you shoot one on last light and go get it in the morning it will be sweet
Rule of thumb though is get it chilling asap