Too hot to hang?

[Black Bird]

Hi there,

I am looking for some advice. I am heading off to a cabin at Thanksgiving with my family (about 10 of us) and am considering hunting on one of the mornings (probably Sunday). The forecast is looking a little on the warm side. Where I go I am expecting it to get up to a maximum of around 15 during the day and dropping down to 10 at night. I am pretty new to hunting and have shot and hung 2 deer where it got to a maximum of 9 during the day (plus a breeze) and 1 deer last year where the temp was probably around 12 or so (with some breeze). Last year I had to get the game bags on as the flies were a problem, the year before I didn't see any.

So, I guess my question is this. If I shoot a deer Sunday morning, hang the deer by around noon, the temperature gets up to 15C during the day down to 10C at night and back up to 15C the next day before I have a chance to butcher late that night, is the deer likely to be toast?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Cheers,
BB

[358win]

Skin it quick. Remove all bloodshot meat. Bags. Keep it in the shade. At those temps you should be good for the time you mentioned.

[Tron]

I personally would not hang anything in those temps. The meat would not have a chance to cool.

[jeff]

my opinion . the daytime high of 15 would be ok . but the nighttime temp has to be cooler 3 or 4 even 5 but ten is to high.

[604redneck]

if its 15 during the day it should drop the 10 degrees at night i would be weary though

[mikeboehm]

I was up in cranbrook area last week in 30 plus temps. I hung my deer for 4 days in that heat. I covered it with vineger and a wet sheet. I skinned and gutted it in a river so it cooled quick. I also brought my freezer with me and filled the cavity with ice. When i go to the lowermainland the meet was excellent. If u do it right the meat would last

[anethema]

Ya I'm actually going to frame in a hanging box/room this weekend in the garage. Basically frame up a couple walls in the corner of the garage, and put an in-wall AC unit hanging outside. Should keep the room from 5-10 degrees. I'm scared to shoot any muley right now since I can't hang the damn thing! This should fix that.

[M.Dean]

I went to a young guys place yesterday to look at his first bear, and the first big game he's ever shot, huge black bear! But what really made me drool was the meat cooler he bought for 800 bucks! It's a 10x10 factory made cooler, the walls are about 4 inches think, very light weight, silver color, and you can set the temp to any dam temperature you want! You can freeze with it, or set it to a few degrees above zero and hang your game for a good week or so! And getting back to your question, I'd pack the Deer with ice like mikeboehn did, that way the meat has a chance to cool right to the bone. There's nothing worse than cutting into a hind and when you hit the bone, you get a real rotting smell hit you like a frozen puck in the face!

[shed-hunter1]

that cooler sounds good but what would that cost to run

[coach]

That sounds awesome, M Dean. Where did he pick that cooler up? Do you know the manufacturer's name? I'd love to have one of those.

[RoscoeP]

Thanksgiving is still a little ways off. Hopefully the temps will come down, if not follow some of the tips or take it to a cooler. Good luck!

[Black Bird]

Thanks everyone,

I think I will pack some extra bags of ice to the cabin if the temperature look reasonable. I am hunting blacktailed deer so I am thinking that they will cool down pretty quickly (pretty small compared to a mule deer or whitetail). I will keep my fingers crossed for cool temperatures...

Cheers,
BB

[M.Dean]

that cooler sounds good but what would that cost to run In hot weather, who cares what it cost's. I'm not sure who makes them, next time I drop over there I'll take a look and see.

[Darksith]

don't forget that most butches will hang your animal for you for a tiny cost as long as they have room. You have 24h to get your animal cooled down to 4 degrees, if you don't do that then you are flirting with spoilage and personally I won't risk that. If its not getting down to 4 degrees at night then you need to help it cool. Packing it with ice will definately help, building a small room with a AC unit is also another way to help, but make sure to keep an eye on the temp in the room, and make sure you have good air circ otherwise you are again flirting. Its not a guarantee that your meat will or won't spoil, so do whatever you can to helpt he cause and Im sure you will be fine. Just remember lots of ice, lots and lots of ice :)

[Springer]

I purchased a large 164 qt Cooler from Costco a few years ago. I fill it with ice before we leave home and dont open it until i have a reason to. We packed 2 antelope into it a fe wyears ago and last week I shot an Bul Elk calf with my Bow . It was 32 c during the day. I just layed a gunny sack on top of the ice and opened the drain so whatever melted drained out.
It was cold into the bone 5 days later when i cut it up.
For $100 it has been well worth it....Oh and its great to have a dozen beer in there for celebrating at the end of the hunt..