Does anyone actually rinse their deer with a hose after it has been skinned?WHY?

[TheHunt]

If I bone it out I typically don't have hair on the meat.  Most of my deer or elk are too deep to take whole.  So I bone them out.

[HuntnFishnRyan]

Had a conversation with my butcher about this. He said not to use water and if a hair was found on the meat then he picks it off with the knife instead of rinsing it off. He did mention vinegar if you needed to do a rinsing. His theory with rinsing with water is that it pushes the bacteria into the meat.

My philosophy is this. Every situation is different. You don't always have a pickup truck right there with a meat locker just down the road to accept it right away. I will take whatever means necessary to keep that meat from spoiling. If I have to throw that meat in the creek to cool it off in September then that's what I'm gonna do. 

[JDHasty]

Had a conversation with my butcher about this. He said not to use water and if a hair was found on the meat then he picks it off with the knife instead of rinsing it off. He did mention vinegar if you needed to do a rinsing. His theory with rinsing with water is that it pushes the bacteria into the meat.

My philosophy is this. Every situation is different. You don't always have a pickup truck right there with a meat locker just down the road to accept it right away. I will take whatever means necessary to keep that meat from spoiling. If I have to throw that meat in the creek to cool it off in September then that's what I'm gonna do. 

That is why I avoid water unless guts are spilled.  My first butcher was adamant about not using water unless necessary and if necessary then towel it off right away and I guess his council stuck all these years.  He said the water absorbs heat and mixed with blood it is a breeding round that bacteria goes wild in.  He a said that a wet bath towel followed up by a dry bath towel was what he preferred.  But I have used a hose or the pressure washer on my toy hauler when available, then toweled it off after hanging and then bagging. 

[Alchase]

I almost always skin with the head up, maybe this keeps more hair off the meat? I'm also not sure where all of this "dirt" comes from? I dragged my gutted deer over a half mile this year and had no dirt on or in it, granted, it was not a huge buck, just a nubbin, but still....

Always skin head up. All the hair lays flat towards the rump.
My first deer I did not know about skinning head up, I came home with so much hair and silver skin on me, my mom hosed me off before I could come in the house,
LOL

[Alpine Mojo]

Someone on Facebook is saying deer and elk should be rinsed with a hose

Well, if you read it on Facebook...

[ghosthunter]

If I have access to a hose I will rinse off and dry with paper towels.

My butcher told me to use a plastic scrubby to remove any hair.

[The scout]

I wouldn't get elk meet wet, it seems to be much more sensitive to water than deer. that being said I have never rinsed either off. but I have killed an elk in some pooring rain in the backcountry that I had to trim some off that stayed damp to long I guess, never had that happen with deer

[Longbow 58]

I wash my deer down with a half rack of rainier beer :

[DOUBLELUNG]

I prefer to hang them dry and brush off any hair.   Hosing them off is a last resort if things get really messy with a gut shot animal.

Same

[jagermiester]

I've always wiped any areas down that needed it with a clean rag and water and then I pick at the animal with a beer in my hand. I used to always wipe down with Vinegar water solution but I don't do that much any more. In the end clean and dry is the utmost important thing for me even if I have to cut something away. I know some guys that use a torch just before it goes into the cooler. I don't really like that idea though.