Gutshot & fallout

[Bean Counter]

Sad to report that I gut shot a buck this evening. 3 out of 4 quarters are just fine, but one hind quarter took on some of the intestinal material  I wrapped it separate and have trimmed and rinsed the heck out of it, but it still smells like fecalness. I've been washing the sink, knives, and cutting boards compulsively every few minutes. Should I throw the meat of this quarter away? 

[Bean Counter]

Shot was at 3:30pm, quartered and in bags by 6, and in my kitchen by 11:00pm.

[Romulus1297]

 

[Halo]

Did the quarter in question have bullet damage? If not It should hose off just fine, If the bullet hole & damaged area get all fouled up with stomach contents etc. now you have a way bigger mess. If the bullet goes through the guts then into an off side quarter it's gonna look like you shot it with a 6" hole saw before you get done trimming. Good luck.

[sirmissalot]

You need to cut out all the meat that's tainted, rinsing won't help those acids soak in quick. Throwing away a whole hind would suck but I wouldn't eat it if it's all tainted, I'd toss anything that has a smell to it if it were me.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

Smell is bad.  I always bring ample water to rinse the chest cavity.  Any stomach comes right out if it was punctured.  Then the rib meat is the only meat that should have even touched the stomach.  I've only had small amounts of it in the chest cavity.  So it rinses out quick then I wipe out the chest to keep it dry.

[grundy53]

You need to cut out all the meat that's tainted, rinsing won't help those acids soak in quick. Throwing away a whole hind would suck but I wouldn't eat it if it's all tainted, I'd toss anything that has a smell to it if it were me.

[mikeybuck]

Lots of trimming and wash with water that has a strong mixture of vinegar in it. I've found by adding vinegar to the water it cleans everything up better.

[Bean Counter]

Did the quarter in question have bullet damage? If not It should hose off just fine, If the bullet hole & damaged area get all fouled up with stomach contents etc. now you have a way bigger mess. If the bullet goes through the guts then into an off side quarter it's gonna look like you shot it with a 6" hole saw before you get done trimming. Good luck.

Halo,
Yes unfortunately it did have a bullet go through it. Worst shot ever.

Not sure why. It was with my range capabilities, I was proned out, and had a surprised shot on a smooth trigger press. Could it have been bumping my scope on the climb up that hill? 

I trimmed the heck out of that quarter last night, segregated,  covered it in Saran Wrap in a tray, and put in the fridge. So I should take it out and let it warm up to room temperature and toss any parts that smell like Poo?

[bowhunterwa87]

Lol "bumping your scope".

I would toss everything that smells like *censored*.

[jtw]

That's way more than a bump. If the scope was hit hard enough to damage it Id recommend calling it a day until you got a chance to check true. Lesson learned for next time.

[billythekidrock]

The whole quarter should not be wasted. Proper cleaning, trimming and hanging should leave most of the meat not just edible, but of excellent quality.

[Bean Counter]

Ok yes lesson learned 

It was mounted with quality (expensive) rings and mounts at a good gun shop (Federal Way Guns) and they know what they're doing so I assumed it would be safe for a good beating. Guess there are limits. 

[grundy53]

It doesn't matter how good the mounts are. With damage like that it needs to be shot to at least confirm it is still sighted in.

[ICEMAN]

The whole quarter should not be wasted. Proper cleaning, trimming and hanging should leave most of the meat not just edible, but of excellent quality.

Agree. Trim and rinse.

[Tom Tamer]

The whole quarter should not be wasted. Proper cleaning, trimming and hanging should leave most of the meat not just edible, but of excellent quality.

That and with the vinegar too. I trim until I get back to bright colored meat. I gut shot one decades ago and trimmed the tainted and still alive to talk about it. Also do it with heavy bloodshot areas, I hate leaving meat to waste so I'll clean the daylights out of it.

[Bean Counter]

So 50/50 with water and vinegar, rub it down, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off and cut and wrap?

[Band]

It doesn't matter how good the mounts are. With damage like that it needs to be shot to at least confirm it is still sighted in.

Definitely.  I fell about 20 years ago and my scope hit a rock and put a big dent in it.  I can't tell you how many rounds I put through the gun to try to get it sighted back in but it was a lost cause and I had to get a new scope.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

The whole quarter should not be wasted. Proper cleaning, trimming and hanging should leave most of the meat not just edible, but of excellent quality.

Yeah that.

 Bean you don't want you meat wet. You want it cool clean and DRY!  When cooling (in fridge) let air.  I keep mine in the game bags in smaller portions so it airs.  Off the bone.  If it's cool you can hang to air it ( below 55) .   You don't want to keep applying water and vinager.  I wipe the hair off and remove and meat that touched the stomach bile.  In most cases it's very little like just rib meat.  Getting the meat wet more that a quick wipe down will speed up the decomp and could be the smell you speak of.  Let it air and cut out the bullet damaged meat and clean the work area lots. 

Cool, clean and dry!!!  Vinegar is to keep flys off! 

[billythekidrock]

The whole quarter should not be wasted. Proper cleaning, trimming and hanging should leave most of the meat not just edible, but of excellent quality.

Yeah that.

 Bean you don't want you meat wet. You want it cool clean and DRY!  When cooling (in fridge) let air.  I keep mine in the game bags in smaller portions so it airs.  Off the bone.  If it's cool you can hang to air it ( below 55) .   You don't want to keep applying water and vinager.  I wipe the hair off and remove and meat that touched the stomach bile.  In most cases it's very little like just rib meat.  Getting the meat wet more that a quick wipe down will speed up the decomp and could be the smell you speak of.  Let it air and cut out the bullet damaged meat and clean the work area lots. 

Cool, clean and dry!!!  Vinegar is to keep flys off! 

As long as you dry it afterward you are fine getting it wet. Spray with a hose if you like, it won't hurt. We use about 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water and wipe/scrub the whole animal with a wet rag. Sometimes two or three times if needed. If too wet, we will towel dry and place in the cooler with a fan.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

I agree but to get it wet every day is what worried me.  And he probably doesn't have a cooler w fan.  Sounds like the fridge was the cooler and air flow is limited compared to a walkin. 

[Bean Counter]

I agree but to get it wet every day is what worried me.  And he probably doesn't have a cooler w fan.  Sounds like the fridge was the cooler and air flow is limited compared to a walkin.

Nope, I don't have a cooler and fan. Most of it was in my well-insulated Coleman cooler with a ton of chipped ice. I drained the water from the bottom of the cooler several times a day  so that it was mostly just ice with little water. For the most part meat was touching ice, not other chunks of meat. The most notorious quarter was cut into the composite roasts, rinsed, trimmed, then rinsed again and kept in the refrigerator while we deliberated.

 

As long as you dry it afterward you are fine getting it wet. Spray with a hose if you like, it won't hurt. We use about 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water and wipe/scrub the whole animal with a wet rag. Sometimes two or three times if needed. If too wet, we will towel dry and place in the cooler with a fan.

I appreciate this detail for future reference, but nobody answered my question earlier about the vinegar so I skipped this step. I've done lots of rinsing with water and a ton of trimming. Anything that was green or smelly was either trimmed or thrown out. Some roasts and cuts got trimmed twice.  So there's been lots of rinsing going around but everything has been kept cold. I probably  should have gone through more paper towels as I didn't do as much drying off as I could have. Roasts and steaks have been vacuum sealed and frozen, and today I'll grind. I also noted on the potentially affected roasts to cook them thoroughly. We'll keep these in house and not give it out to friends, just to be on the safe side. 

What's the purpose of the vinegar, anyway? Just to remove the smell or to actually clean it more than rinsing with water will? 

[billythekidrock]

I agree but to get it wet every day is what worried me.  And he probably doesn't have a cooler w fan.  Sounds like the fridge was the cooler and air flow is limited compared to a walkin. 

I missed that part. Yes, you are right, wash once and dry.

[billythekidrock]

I agree but to get it wet every day is what worried me.  And he probably doesn't have a cooler w fan.  Sounds like the fridge was the cooler and air flow is limited compared to a walkin.

Nope, I don't have a cooler and fan. Most of it was in my well-insulated Coleman cooler with a ton of chipped ice. I drained the water from the bottom of the cooler several times a day  so that it was mostly just ice with little water. For the most part meat was touching ice, not other chunks of meat. The most notorious quarter was cut into the composite roasts, rinsed, trimmed, then rinsed again and kept in the refrigerator while we deliberated.

 

As long as you dry it afterward you are fine getting it wet. Spray with a hose if you like, it won't hurt. We use about 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water and wipe/scrub the whole animal with a wet rag. Sometimes two or three times if needed. If too wet, we will towel dry and place in the cooler with a fan.

I appreciate this detail for future reference, but nobody answered my question earlier about the vinegar so I skipped this step. I've done lots of rinsing with water and a ton of trimming. Anything that was green or smelly was either trimmed or thrown out. Some roasts and cuts got trimmed twice.  So there's been lots of rinsing going around but everything has been kept cold. I probably  should have gone through more paper towels as I didn't do as much drying off as I could have. Roasts and steaks have been vacuum sealed and frozen, and today I'll grind. I also noted on the potentially affected roasts to cook them thoroughly. We'll keep these in house and not give it out to friends, just to be on the safe side. 

What's the purpose of the vinegar, anyway? Just to remove the smell or to actually clean it more than rinsing with water will?

Vinegar is mildly acid and used to help slow the growth of bacteria.

[jrebel]

OK....you get the picture.  Now lets see pictures!!   

[Tom Tamer]

So 50/50 with water and vinegar, rub it down, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off and cut and wrap?

yes, I usually just pat dry with a towel.