Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2017 15:50:04 GMT -4
Yeah, read a lot over the years about the importance of getting the meat cooled down. I can just about count either the deer or bear I have taken on the fingers of both hands so I can't speak for dozens or scores of animals taken of each species hunted. Hunter small game & upland game since I was a kid but had to teach myself (at age 45) to hunt Ursus and Odocileus.
Things are great in a perfect world eh? Then reality hits. Nice if you take your animal in 40 deg weather & colder. In another thread I addressed the issue of bug invasion. Got a lot of theories by other hunters but I want to hear from you & what works for you....not what someone wants to sell me. Getting old does have a way of making you more conservative.
I agree w/the saying that you learn from your mistakes, I'm gonna tell ya one instance where I have gotten a little smarter this way. Yeah, those of you who are without fault can throw the 1st stones.
The year was 2007, Place the Kitsap Peninsula in North Western, WA. The occasion.....late general Blacktail hunt. Long story short, got my biggest buck...not a record for the state but it was & still is my record. Mid morning, temp in the 70s, a buck definitely rutted up & his mission was more important than being smart. Me & my partner had him gutted out within half an hour after shooting him. Stuck a stick inside to keep his sternum open to help cooling. Put him in the back of the pickup. When I had shot the buck & stepped out of cover we spooked another buck which must have been traveling w/mine.
We heard him more than saw him but we heard the heavy ker-plunk ker-plunk bounding away thru the trees & knee deep salal brush. After loading my deer, we cruised around the immediate area on the lookout. I kept thinking of my deer in the back of the truck, in & out of the sunlight, w/his skin still on as we slowly crept down some side roads. After awhile we decided that we should park the truck & hunt right. I was concerned about my deer but also felt an obligation to help my pard in his quest. We found a spot in the trees where we backed the truck in & out of sight. There was no breeze blowing, it was a nice day but warming up as the sun got higher in the sky. I felt the deer which had been dead for a couple hours. He felt warm enough to still be alive. Uneasily, we left it there & continued to hunt the rest of the day.
That night, to my dismay, when we got into the state campground & I was doing my best to skin the buck lying in the truck by flashlight, I realized the meat was still warm. Well, cut to the chase Bruce, a couple days later w/the deer bagged & hanging in my cool but not cold garage, I notices that I thought it smelled a little sour...or was that my imagination? It wasn't my imagination, after about 3-4 days I went to butcher the meat...it was smelling a little sour. Well, I made some highly seasoned breakfast sausage & ate a good part of it but I was truthful w/the wife & my breakfast was a solo affair.
Learn from my mistake....I sure did! What would I do different? Have an agreement ahead of time w/partner that I would take care of my animal before resuming the hunt.
Bruce