10 replies to this topic

[zippy1970]

I am asking this because all of what I ever read about Deer , Birds , Rabbits is that you want to get them gutted / clean as soon as poss to have great meat .

But I have been watching a lot of Archery shows where Deer is the primary target . But after the Deer is shot , the hunters seem to take hours before getting to their Deer . Some even say " lets give it an hour or so " to go look for it .

The Bear hunting show waited 3 hours , I think , to go look for it . Understandable but are not Bear mostly harvested for the hides , not really the meat ? And mostly to help control the population .

I even saw on " MeatEater " , the guy hunted Javalina in Texas . Shot it with a Bow & proceeded to " take a little nap " ( his words ) before getting to his Javalina .

Does it really take that long for them to bleed out / die ? Does it " funk-a-fie " the meat ? He proceeded to cook it , boiled it in the Stomach , in water .

Just wondering ,

Andy

[Divernhunter]

Bow hunters tend to wait to be sure it is dead and not cause it to run off wounded. It does not help the meat but it is better than loosing the animal. Bear are hunted for the meat also. It can be quite good and even an old one makes great salami. Also consider it is a TV show and a lager number of people required which will cause the animal to try and flee more so than a single hunter. If you shoot a rifle/pistol you usually can go right arfer them as if you shoot well and use proper bullets they will be dead quickly. I have killed allot of deer and most all never went anywhere but down. Also in Ca during the rifle season on public land if you wait someone else will have tagged it and probably already hauled it off. Heck I have ad a guy tagging the deer I shot before I could walk the 75 yards uphill to the downed animal that I shot and watched fall head over heals. I could have taken the deer but I just made sure he filled out his one tag and placed it on the deer, also made sure some blood got on the tag. That way there would be one less idiot out in the woods and I would just kill another one.

PS "REAL" hunting is nothing like the TXV shows. If you have hunted long and especially on public land you will know this. They deer zone I usually hunt has always had a success rate of approx 2% and that is never shown on TV. But if you work at it you can still do ok. I killed at least one deer for 22 years straight on public land when I use to seriously hunt Ca. So do not give up.

[243wssmar15]

I have shot a lot of deer and birds. After I shoot my deer I walk and get it I have never waited to get it. Then I gut it right then and there sometimes I tag it and walk over the hill and get the truck then gut it. Now with birds I clean all of them at once when I get home.

[DirtyDave]

A lot of those hunting shows are hunting whitetails in the midwest. Weather is cooler and there is nothing wrong with leaving your deer and getting it hours later or even the next day. When I hunt whitetails in SD, i like to gut them right away cuz its a good way to warm your hands hahaha.
Its the warm weather here in CA that you have to worry about.
Birds get thrown in a cooler and cleaned at the end of the day.

[sxshooter]

In warmer climates, I try to get the meat cooled down as quickly as possible. If you believe the FDA, bacteria forms after 4 hrs at temps above 40F. If possible, I skin and quarter and put deer in a large icechest to cool asap. I like to wait a bit for tracking a deer hit with my arrow. To me, it's a matter of how well hit the deer is, as to whether I track immediately or much later. A well hit deer gushing arterial blood several feet to the side of their tracks will be down and dead in not too many minutes. At least the few that I've hit that way did.

On the birds, I like to do what Dave said, put them in the cooler whole if I don't want to clean them on the spot at the moment. I've found that the meat is much better if cooled asap. 3-4 hrs in warm weather detracts from the great flavor of a quail. Ideally, I like to breast my quail and get htem in the cooler after each return to the vehicle for rest and fluids for the dogs and myself.

[Divernhunter]

Is it legal to do that with the quail or any other bird?? I thought you had to leave the bird so that it could be identifeid should a warden want to see them? We always cleaned them after bringing them home. Sometimes that was only 50 yards from the house but still waited until home and guns put away.

[ShooterJohn]

Dove you need to leave on a feathered wing for identification.

[Bisley]

I like to breast my quail and get htem in the cooler after each return to the vehicle for rest and fluids for the dogs and myself.

That is about the best way to do it for sure. Not only does it give everybody a chance to get their breath back, but it also is good for the meat.

Is it legal to do that with the quail or any other bird?? I thought you had to leave the bird so that it could be identifeid should a warden want to see them? We always cleaned them after bringing them home. Sometimes that was only 50 yards from the house but still waited until home and guns put away.

You can remove the wing(s) when you get home if desired, but need at least one on until then. I usually leave both because one (sometimes both) always seems to be broke and ready to fall off.

Dove you need to leave on a feathered wing for identification.

Actually John, it's ALL birds . But you were real close

251.7. Possession, Transportation and
Importation of Game Birds.
(a) No person may possess any birds taken
in this state in excess of the daily bag and
possession limits. The exception to this is for
the purpose of transportation, cleaning, storage
(including temporary storage), shipment, or
taxidermy services, where an individual may
possess game birds taken by another hunter
provided that they are tagged by the hunter who
has lawfully taken them. The tag must contain
the hunter’s name, address, hunting license
number, kinds and numbers of game birds
taken, date and location of kill, and signature.
b All birds, including migratory game birds,
possessed or transported within California must
have a fully feathered wing or head attached
until placed into a personal abode or commercial
preservation facility or being prepared for
immediate consumption. Doves must have a
fully feathered wing attached.
© Migratory game birds imported into
California shall be accompanied by a declaration
of entry as prescribed in Section 2353 of the
Fish and Game Code.
(d) Only one possession limit of migratory
game birds may be possessed per individual
after the close of the season for that species.

[ShooterJohn]

That's okay Bob, I only shoot doves so I take the fifth on all of the others.

[Bisley]

I hear ya. We'll let this one slide. 1 out of a million that you post correctly every year is bound to be slightly askew . I actually just didn't want anyone to get nailed come quail/chukar season.
And I only know this because I know that quail can look like small chukar if no wings are on them at times, so they have to have a way to tell the difference.

[sxshooter]

I usually just leave both wings on till I'm home. It's just faster to breast them with no tools to cut a wing off in the field. I carry a 7 gal jug of water for the dogs and rinsing bird breasts. Then I just bag em in a large ziplok and toss em in the cooler. I can see the difference in the meat color from those that got into the cooler within an hour or so of being shot and those that went several hours in my game bag.

I have a friend from Idaho that summers in So AZ that hunts quail down there most days of the season. He likes them whole. So, he does not field dress them at all, just gets them in the cooler asap. When he returns home, he cleans them and keeps them whole. Lot of work, but he's not one to waste the leg meat.