What do I do when I shoot a deer?
08-21-2005, 04:02 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ocean Springs, MS
Posts: 4,103
What do I do when I shoot a deer?
I have a few questions about what I should do after I kill a deer.
1. I hunt by myself. When I shoot a deer, I would like to take a picture of me with my deer. During the day, it is very hot down here. The temperatures are anywhere from 90 degrees to 20 degrees during the season. If I would double lung a deer how long can I wait before I field dress it? I am planning on waiting half an hour before starting to look for it. Once I find it I will drive back into town to pick up my brother to come take a picture of me. I can get to town and back in forty minutes. Is this a bad plan?
2. I would like to get a mount of the deer I shoot. I found a taxidermist, but he is only open on the weekdays. I don't know if I can bring the whole deer to the taxidermist, or if I have to cut the head off and bring it in. If I have to cut the head off, who do I bring it to?
3. What would I do if I shoot a deer on the weekend? How should I preserve it until I can bring it to the taxidermist?
1. I hunt by myself. When I shoot a deer, I would like to take a picture of me with my deer. During the day, it is very hot down here. The temperatures are anywhere from 90 degrees to 20 degrees during the season. If I would double lung a deer how long can I wait before I field dress it? I am planning on waiting half an hour before starting to look for it. Once I find it I will drive back into town to pick up my brother to come take a picture of me. I can get to town and back in forty minutes. Is this a bad plan?
2. I would like to get a mount of the deer I shoot. I found a taxidermist, but he is only open on the weekdays. I don't know if I can bring the whole deer to the taxidermist, or if I have to cut the head off and bring it in. If I have to cut the head off, who do I bring it to?
3. What would I do if I shoot a deer on the weekend? How should I preserve it until I can bring it to the taxidermist?
08-21-2005, 04:17 PM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 15,451
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
If the temp is hot the sooner you get the deer field dressed the better. I would gut it as soon as I find it. Dont think I would let it lay and go to town.Yotes might get it .Takes only minutes for a pack of yotes to rip it in pieces. You can take a pic after you gut it and get it back to town. Warm weather will get to it fast.
Normally you dont take the whole deer to the taxi,Just the skun out hide and head. Make sure you get someone to show you how to skin it without messing up the neck. After you skin it take hide and head attached and pack it in ice till you can get it to the taxi on Monday
Normally you dont take the whole deer to the taxi,Just the skun out hide and head. Make sure you get someone to show you how to skin it without messing up the neck. After you skin it take hide and head attached and pack it in ice till you can get it to the taxi on Monday
08-21-2005, 04:22 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: IA/MO
Posts: 742
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
1st I would field dress the deer as soon as you recover it....You want to get the heat out of the deer and cooling down as soon as possible...You are probably going to go and get your brother to help you get it out so waiting until you can get him to take pics I wouldn't think would be to big of a deal...Afterward just get it cleaned up and cooled down as soon as possible..
If you are not familiar with caping out a deer find someone who is or I know that alot of lockers will do it for you...As far as keeping it over the weekend I would also contact a locker that will let you store the head...Most will do this for little to nothing...I keep mine in my deep freeze in the garage most of the time if I have room....
When skinning out I take all of the hide and some prefer just to take what they need... Remember also when field dressing not to split it all the way up to the neck...I stop at the ribcage when it is one I mightwant to mount...Then just skin it down from the hind end and once you get to the front legs follow down the backside of the leg and then skin around and down them....Continue skinning down to the neck and as far down the neck as you can get then cutting the head from the body...I know its not very detailed but I hope it gets ya started
If you are not familiar with caping out a deer find someone who is or I know that alot of lockers will do it for you...As far as keeping it over the weekend I would also contact a locker that will let you store the head...Most will do this for little to nothing...I keep mine in my deep freeze in the garage most of the time if I have room....
When skinning out I take all of the hide and some prefer just to take what they need... Remember also when field dressing not to split it all the way up to the neck...I stop at the ribcage when it is one I mightwant to mount...Then just skin it down from the hind end and once you get to the front legs follow down the backside of the leg and then skin around and down them....Continue skinning down to the neck and as far down the neck as you can get then cutting the head from the body...I know its not very detailed but I hope it gets ya started
08-21-2005, 04:41 PM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Louisville Kentucky USA
Posts: 1,207
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
ORIGINAL: zak123
I am planning on waiting half an hour before starting to look for it. Once I find it I will drive back into town to pick up my brother to come take a picture of me. I can get to town and back in forty minutes. Is this a bad plan?
I am planning on waiting half an hour before starting to look for it. Once I find it I will drive back into town to pick up my brother to come take a picture of me. I can get to town and back in forty minutes. Is this a bad plan?
08-21-2005, 05:22 PM
#5
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
I would agree with the others. Gut it after you find it. Don't wait around. In that type of heat the meat could spoil very easily.
I would also agree with that. Find some way to take the picture without others' help. Time is of the essence in this case.
As for taking it to the taxidermist....after you skin the entire deer, leave enough of the skin attached to the head so that it basically covers all the way down the neck and to the legs. This should provide enough of a hide for the shoulder mount.
Forget going to get your brother and get a small portable tripod to take your picture with a digital camera.
As for taking it to the taxidermist....after you skin the entire deer, leave enough of the skin attached to the head so that it basically covers all the way down the neck and to the legs. This should provide enough of a hide for the shoulder mount.
08-21-2005, 05:54 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blissfield MI USA
Posts: 5,293
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
How long would it take you to get your brother? or do you have a cell you could just call him on?
If it's a short trip you could call him or go get him after you shoot the deer. Then look for it when you get back. This is very hard to do if it's your first deer. You will want to see it! That would give the deer plenty of time to bed down and die, even if it was not such a good shot. I'm talking half an hour to 45 minutes.
Or you could find the deer and field dress it, then drag it into the shade and go get your brother. I have to have help since I am small any way, So I would try either of those.
If you really don't need anyones help, I would find the deer, field dress it, drag it out and load it up. Then take the pic when you get it home or to the processors. I am sure they would take some pics for you, or at a check station. If you want to mount it I would highly suggest finding a good processor to take the deer to and pay them to cape it out for you. They will butcher the deer and cape it out and put it on ice for you. Maybe you could arrange for them to show you how to cape it out if you wanted to do it next time.
If you are on public land I would not leave the deer alone at all. Best thing to do is make arrangements a head of time and try to use a cell phone or something after you kill the deer. Most of my pics end up getting taken on the back of a truck or at the processing stating.
Good luck,
Paul
If it's a short trip you could call him or go get him after you shoot the deer. Then look for it when you get back. This is very hard to do if it's your first deer. You will want to see it! That would give the deer plenty of time to bed down and die, even if it was not such a good shot. I'm talking half an hour to 45 minutes.
Or you could find the deer and field dress it, then drag it into the shade and go get your brother. I have to have help since I am small any way, So I would try either of those.
If you really don't need anyones help, I would find the deer, field dress it, drag it out and load it up. Then take the pic when you get it home or to the processors. I am sure they would take some pics for you, or at a check station. If you want to mount it I would highly suggest finding a good processor to take the deer to and pay them to cape it out for you. They will butcher the deer and cape it out and put it on ice for you. Maybe you could arrange for them to show you how to cape it out if you wanted to do it next time.
If you are on public land I would not leave the deer alone at all. Best thing to do is make arrangements a head of time and try to use a cell phone or something after you kill the deer. Most of my pics end up getting taken on the back of a truck or at the processing stating.
Good luck,
Paul
08-21-2005, 06:01 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Deep in the heart of......... Texas USA
Posts: 1,327
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
I'm glad zak123 asked this question. I'll be hunting Sept. 1 in south central New Mexico....coolmost nights but can be very warm during the day. I've been gathering advice from all directions on how long to wait to go after the deer. Some have said that if you get off a questionable shot off and think you might have gutshot the deer or hit it somewhere besides the vitals, to wait overnight and go look for it in the morning. I figure that is good advice for colder conditions, but I'm going to play it by ear out where I'm hunting. I'm going to do everything I can to prevent spoilage.....and I know I wouldn't sleep a bit anyway thinking about all them coyotes down there ripping it to shreds. I'll just have to try to make good decisions as I go and mainly keep that danged bow steady so that I'll have this dilemma in the first place.....
08-21-2005, 06:14 PM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Quality, KY
Posts: 135
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
With the temperature being as hot as it is in the early season, a quick recovery is crucial. If you feel that you have made a good shot, get on a blood trail as soon as possible. After you find the deer, filed dress it immediately. The guts of a deer will only add to the already hot conditions. You will be able to position the deer for pictures so that noone will be able to tell the the deer has been touched. Just be clean and try not to smear blood all over the cape. If you do, take your pictures form the opposite side. Keep the time of death to freezer to a minimum. If you have to, you can put bags of ice in the deer's cavity to by you some time.
08-21-2005, 06:51 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: WV
Posts: 4,484
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
If this is your first deer, it will be a trophy no matter what. However, You might only consider mounting one that you consider a true trophy based on horns, etc. I am not trying to discourage you. I am just saying that there are other ways to immortalize your first or one of your first kills w/o going to the taxidermist. You could put the horns on a board with a nice framed picture below or do one of those european mounts (bare skull and horns on a board) on an engraved piece of wood giving all the stats of that hunt.
You might also plan in advance by asking an experienced hunter to help you skin and cut up your deer once you get it back to the house instead of taking it to the processor. A processor is good, but learning how to take care of your own deer from start to finish has its own value and reward ( "we can skin a buck and run a trot line, 'cause a country boy can survive---bocephus). you may have to bribe them w/a little deer meat but that would be ok. Although it would probably be best to skin it as soon as you get it home, it would probably be ok for up to 24 hrs or more (depending on the temp), especially if you could hang it in a cool garage or in a nice shade tree and put a bag of ice or two in the chest cavity.
no matter what you should always gut your deer as soon as you find it.
I hope you kill a monster so that most of what I've written here is moot, but , if not, there are other ways to keep cherished memories, plus
10 years from now, when you have some true brutes for the wall , you might need the extra space
just something to consider
hb
You might also plan in advance by asking an experienced hunter to help you skin and cut up your deer once you get it back to the house instead of taking it to the processor. A processor is good, but learning how to take care of your own deer from start to finish has its own value and reward ( "we can skin a buck and run a trot line, 'cause a country boy can survive---bocephus). you may have to bribe them w/a little deer meat but that would be ok. Although it would probably be best to skin it as soon as you get it home, it would probably be ok for up to 24 hrs or more (depending on the temp), especially if you could hang it in a cool garage or in a nice shade tree and put a bag of ice or two in the chest cavity.
no matter what you should always gut your deer as soon as you find it.
I hope you kill a monster so that most of what I've written here is moot, but , if not, there are other ways to keep cherished memories, plus
10 years from now, when you have some true brutes for the wall , you might need the extra space
just something to consider
hb
08-21-2005, 06:53 PM
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ohio
Posts: 1,709
RE: What do I do when I shoot a deer?
1. I hunt by myself. When I shoot a deer, I would like to take a picture of me with my deer. During the day, it is very hot down here. The temperatures are anywhere from 90 degrees to 20 degrees during the season. If I would double lung a deer how long can I wait before I field dress it? I am planning on waiting half an hour before starting to look for it. Once I find it I will drive back into town to pick up my brother to come take a picture of me. I can get to town and back in forty minutes. Is this a bad plan?
2. I would like to get a mount of the deer I shoot. I found a taxidermist, but he is only open on the weekdays. I don't know if I can bring the whole deer to the taxidermist, or if I have to cut the head off and bring it in. If I have to cut the head off, who do I bring it to?
3. What would I do if I shoot a deer on the weekend? How should I preserve it until I can bring it to the taxidermist?
2. I would like to get a mount of the deer I shoot. I found a taxidermist, but he is only open on the weekdays. I don't know if I can bring the whole deer to the taxidermist, or if I have to cut the head off and bring it in. If I have to cut the head off, who do I bring it to?
3. What would I do if I shoot a deer on the weekend? How should I preserve it until I can bring it to the taxidermist?
2.- 3. Most processing centers will offer a cape which gets the head and all that ready for the taxidermist. It the process center is closed on the weekends which is retarded if they are. Gut the deer buy alot of ice bags keep the ice in the bag and put it in the chest cavity or throw it in a freezer.