Thread: Overnight meat recovery - thoughts?

[QUOTE=Tahr;1271654]Yes. Always play it safe, especially when on your own. I did that a year ago. Arsed up over a bank in the dark with a pack full wen I should have gone back for the load in the morning. Concussed my-self and dislocated 2 fingers. Putting them back in there and then was an ouch moment. One finger is still pretty buggered. So the co-reltionship between age and wise is a fallacy.

I have the same prob
Arsed up and dislocated middle finger
Put it back in immediately
But now the joint that was not dislocated is like yours
Deformed and wont straighten
Do you know what it is

The one new age talk is “Cut em”! Absolutely hate it, you usually here it in duck shooting videos. We would just say “Now”! What’s wrong with that it’s shorter too! Oh well must be getting old!
As for leaving animals I’ve never done it. But there’s always the chance with an across gully shot. Then can’t find it. But I’d try my hardest to find it the next morning.

I wouldnt do it. Guts out and hanging as quickly as possible . If it was the next day id only take back straps depending on bullet damage etc.

Leaving a carcass overnight is not something I would do by choice, but if it's down to being safe I'd take the risk of the meat spoiling. If I could get to the animal but not have enough time to do the full butchery job, getting the guts out then coming back tomorrow would be a good move.
That's actually what I did with the first deer I ever shot - it was on a slip at dusk, we were camped at the top of the slip, I climbed down and found it (wasn't sure until I touched the furry "rock" under the trees!), guts out, then a rather hairy climb back to the top in the dark, back down and finished the butchery the next morning.

Are you guys talking about leaving overnight not gutted ??

I shot a Spiker in Thermal at 4am - tried to light into it immediately in gorse and crap
Gave up quick and thought go back in daylight
Back barely 90 mins later - found it
Had foam coming out its arse and mouth
Actually found it by the stench

Walked away

I must be fussy
But no way would I dress and eat an animal not gutted within a short time

I plucked plenty of dead sheep when a kid - so its not the smell (not to mention Possum skinned belly black/green)
Just cant eat something like that
Prob "mind over matter"

As a minimum, I would get the guts out and cover well before leaving overnight.

Similar story with game fish. People catch a marlin on a trailer boat, have it sat on a hot deck all day, take it to a weigh station where it spends some more time in the sun. Our game fish are filleted after capture and put on ice.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Have never done it. Hate the thought of it. I know others' do it. When I was meat hunting in the Ruahines often enough I would find them in the dark and then bivy there and carry them out in the morning. I have spent some uncomfortable nights in an old fairy down bivy bag and all of my clothing. But its never longer than 8 hours and you can get going with the carry.

Leaving them overnight seems to go hand in hand with long range shooting. My approach has always been if I cant retrieve it or get to it that evening I don't shoot it.

Duleys do it and their vids seem to have normalised it. But I bet they don't kill a house mutton on their farm and then leave it laying outside for 10 hors before they get around to skinning and gutting it.

And while Im at it, WTF is this YouTube invention called a "blind"? Im guessing its what's always been called a "look out" or "shooting spot". And a "recovery" - jeez - what ever happened to "going to get it". And "checking weapon status"? What happen to "have ya checked ya gun"? And "got my eyes on one". FFS, it was always "there's one" or "I can see one". And people walk "clicks"?? My hip clicks when I walk, but I guess they are actually meaning something else. I dunno. Its whole new YouTube language.

Agree with everything you said there mate, all these military terms like ''checking weapon status'' really irks me , i dont have any ''weapons'' got a few rifles though, LOL

Tahr
The lingo those guys use is very much Army. A lot of youtubers hunting the Ruahines are either Army or ex Army.
Other classic give aways are the use of "team" all the time amongst others. I am Air Force and have spent quite a bit of time working alongside Army guys and can pick it a mile away.
It does my head in to the point i just flat out refuse to watch the vids.

never leave them, get to the animal as soon as possible, gut it. If cant get it out that day (or night), hang it and prop chest open or better still remove the back wheels and back stacks and hang everything. Meat bag or safe is best. Come back next morning before its too hot and before the flies get to it. Had mate shoot a decent stag just on dark (roar, so April temps), could not find it. Came back next morning, it was farked. Bone taint and then some. Smell was revolting

Don't do it myself, Don't like the idea of it. If you can't recover it the same day then leave it in peace. Sometimes shit happens and you are forced to leave it overnight. That is a bit different to just shooting and saying "oh well we will recover tomorrow".

I hunt on the river flats,shoot deer and roos out to 300yds.Mostly last light or early morning.Some deer are tricky to find,but my thermal monoculars will find them.Never leave a deer a few hours whole,other wise it will start rotting away in its own stench.I wipp the legs and steaks off,just leave them on the tussocks to cool off over night if its tricky to carry them to the truck in the dark.Pick up the next morning.
Even hanging the hqs over night,parting those mussels the next day,theres a little bit of odour.
I watched about 2 of those utube blind(stand) hunting vids a few yrs ago,never bothered since.

I wouldn't leave it ungutted and return to it next morning, the smell alone would put me off as others have said.

Gut it on a cool night and hang in tree overnight should be ok like in winter months.

Originally Posted by Huntfisheat

Recovery the next day at the right time of year, i.e. winter or cooler weather, then maybe. But always gut, disjoint it and a stick in the rib cage to hold it open. Anus and poo tube removed plus throat and head if taking the neck meat.
But shot overnight and recovered the next day without any of that prep? Not for me, unless I was desperate.
Shoot within the range you can recover.
And the whole "team", "Clicks", yep, it's military, but why get upset over words? You've got more of an issue than the team doing the clicks from their blind and the videographers, if that's important to you.

Tongue in cheek. You know - not taking yourself too seriously.
Its still millennium, strange sort of talk though, eh. Better suited to war vid games really.
And have you noticed (you may not have) its all about brands and flash gear too. Come to think of it, Ive never seen a hunting vid that uses all this strange jargon where the hunters wear black singlets and swannies, and use 4x 'scopes.

Grates an old guy like me no end.

I shoot most animals in the gloom of early dark. If they are gutted and off the ground they are perfect to leave one till morning as happens if you shoot two. Drape over a bush or a big rock if there are no trees handy.
The main gut bag in deer is full of bacteria all breaking down plant material and generating heat and gas. They dont stop their work just because the deer was shot, this is the source of the gas taint smell. If the weather is cold and the animal does not have a full guts you might get away with leaving un-gutted over night but its not a sure thing. If in doubt walk closer before shooting so that there is no doubt about finding the animal

And for pigs; don't ever even consider it unless gutted and hung in the coolest place possible and even then be very quick with full recovery and butchering. Cullling sometimes we would hang a skinned hind leg 20-30ft up a shady tree where the outer flesh would dry hard. A week later the meat under that hard dry layer was awesome tender tucker. That hanging height seemed to dodge the blows. There were no wasps in those days though. Was'nt uncommo to enter an empty hut and find a note saying where meat was hung.