Heavy Bloodshot

[slavenoid]

Got a deer on the last day and managed to get it out whole. First time I have ever got a chance to hang something in 30 degree temps. Started breaking it down this morning and found that gross black jelly on literally everything other than the back hams.

I have never had this happen. I have tried to trim it but my waste pile is getting pretty big. Is there a best way to proceed? Am I just going to have to expect a lot of wasted meat? It's disgusting and so frustrating. Appreciate any advice.

[lewy]

How many times did you shoot him? The shock doesn’t typically migrate to far from the point of impact and can usually be worked around. Sometimes it will travel between the muscle groups but doesn’t affect the muscle. Pics may help….

[James]

I have had blood travel further than you expect on a few occasions.  In 2021 I put the bullet right through the heart of my buck, and it totally blew it up. I had blood shot meat in places that didn't make sense other than maybe a pressure wave starting in the heart? My deer I shot in the heart in 2017 didn't have the same issue, but the heart was intact with just a neat little hole in it.

I turn blood shot meat, tendons, sinew, meat with hair/dirt into dog treats.

Dry in the oven at 250-200 deg unil they look like dog jerky.

[slavenoid]

How many times did you shoot him? The shock doesn’t typically migrate to far from the point of impact and can usually be worked around. Sometimes it will travel between the muscle groups but doesn’t affect the muscle. Pics may help….

One perfect shot through and through on the ribs just behind the shoulder. I was excited to not have any meat damage and then I found this. This was just the tip of the iceberg.

[paguy]

Vinegar and water in a bowel, Get a clean rag and wipe all the blood away. Let it hang and set up good. If it is really bad trim it off.

[lewy]

Pretty typical for it to be under the shoulders like that

[Ridgeratt]

What did you choot it with?

[paguy]

If you have to get it really wet and it's not really cold out put a fan on it.

[Remnar]

Vinegar and water in a bowel, Get a clean rag and wipe all the blood away. Let it hang and set up good. If it is really bad trim it off.

  that just looks like clotted blood between the shoulder and ribs . Different than actual "Bloodshot" that is forced /ingrained into damaged muscle .

[Tenkara]

Most probably won't agree with this but I do it with every animal I harvest., I spray any bloodshot, dirt or hair off with a hose and then blow it off really well with an air hose. Works great for me.

[Encore 280]

I always spray mine down inside and out with the garden hose to get hair and blood and anything else off then wipe down with a cold, damp towel. 

[Stein]

Vinegar and water in a bowel, Get a clean rag and wipe all the blood away. Let it hang and set up good. If it is really bad trim it off.

  that just looks like clotted blood between the shoulder and ribs . Different than actual "Bloodshot" that is forced /ingrained into damaged muscle .

 

Looks like blood clots.  I use paper towels or kitchen rags to wipe it out of the way and then you can see if there is any actual damage.  I bet most of that would wipe off with little to no waste.  If there is "waste" the dog will grin, she loves pretty much anything I carve off an animal except the liver.

[slavenoid]

Alright I'll keep wiping. Its not only the shoulder but inner layers of entire ribs, back straps, and all throughout the neck.

[NOCK NOCK]

At times using a fillet knife you can use it at a 90 degree to scrape the blood clots from the meat. As stated earlier, that should be clots and it should not have penetrated into the meat, just along the slime layers  (dont know the correct terminology) between muscle groups.

[Fidelk]

Got a deer on the last day and managed to get it out whole.

Curious as to what "managed to get it out whole" means? Did you gut it out right away where you shot it and get the blood out? If not, how long before you did so? That's all I've got and that's from watching CSI.

[Kc_Kracker]

Bazooka? 

[boneaddict]

I'm sure there is lots of studies out there in regards to what calibers etc, or what bullet........   Growing up, my Dads .270 was a meat eating gun.  Man that thing caused shock damage.   I shot lots of deer with a .25 and then 30-06.   I mean really, a 150 grain bullet out of a .270 or one out of a 30-06, whats the real difference on the receiving end.  Of course there is smacking a shoulder or something, but even a clean through and through.......   curious   energy is energy, but anecdotally, to this day, I would be afraid to ruin meat with that .270


(bullets would probably be noz or horn.)

[jrebel]

Couple thoughts.....

1.  I always cut upon the shoulder after getting it gutted, skinned and hanging.  Sometimes I will just take the shoulder(s) off and hang them separate to make sure I don't have flood sitting in the voids.  Like Nock Nock said....take your knife and at a 90 degree angle and scrape out the blood clots.  Also....if its cold enough, don't be afraid to take a hose to it.  If you do, leave it hanging and let it drip dry or air dry overnight.  Never had meat go bad due to rinsing my animals with a hose....never.

2.  Bullet choice and placement will make a big difference in the amount of damage.....more so than caliber.  We shot a black bear with a 338 lapua and had almost zero meat loss using a Hammer Hunter bullet.  I have seen people shoot animals with sst's and destroy meat due to the way the bullet dynamites.  I have shot a lot of animals with accubonds and if you hit bone, you will do damage....park it behind the shoulder and they work great. 

What I see on your pictures is blood clot in voids between the shoulder and ribs....open it up and clean it before it clots and you are good to go.  Now you just have to wash or scrape it off.  Ultimately...not a big deal. 

[buckfvr]

https://www.themeateater.com/wired-to-hunt/whitetail-hunting-gear/is-hydrostatic-shock-real


Hydrostatic shock and velocity is what makes different calibers give varying results.  300fps difference from the same caliber can cause different results.  Just as a 150gr .270 vs. a 150gr. 30-06.

[slavenoid]

It was one shot with a 270 copper bullet through the ribs dead in seconds. Drug out then gutted within an hour. Gutted it after to keep it as clean as possible.

It was my first time hanging deer so perhaps there's some things I could have done to prevent this. My wife shot a deer on our property at the same time and I hung both at the exact same time. Hers looked nothing like mine after.

I ended up scraping, washing, and trimming the stained meat out. It has a different kind of odor to it that I can't imagine taste real well. So I trimmed way more than I normally would. My dogs and chickens will be getting some extra protein in their diet.

I think I'll go back to gutting and quartering right away. I didn't enjoy this experience at all.

[Remnar]

 Sometimes projectiles/ ballistics do weird stuff . But if you havent shot an animal with this combo before and this is the result , I would be looking for a new bullet 

Oh! I dont think you ever did say what the "combo" was rifle/caliber,ammo,bullet . If you dont mind .

[boneaddict]

I’m telling you, those damn .270s. 

I looked up my Dads loads, he used 130 grain and 150 grain nozler  partitions.  Mostly the 130s for deer I believe.  He killed two moose with the 150s.

[Ridgeratt]

I think a fella known as "Jack O'Connor " thought it was a great caliber.
 

[300rum]

Stop talking about the .270.  All of the creedmoor millennials are going to look up the ballistics and when they do they are going to mope around the woods like someone took their lollipop. 

[boneaddict]

   Yeah, you shoot big game with a .270 and you shoot ground squirrels with a creedmoor. Ole Jack would be laughing up a storm at all the hype that cartridge got. 

[Twispriver]

My guess is that the blood in the chest cavity leaked out through the wound channel and settled during the time between when you shot the deer and when you cleaned the deer - maybe it had nothing to do with the caliber or round 

[Fidelk]

It was one shot with a 270 copper bullet through the ribs dead in seconds. Drug out then gutted within an hour. Gutted it after to keep it as clean as possible.

It was my first time hanging deer so perhaps there's some things I could have done to prevent this. My wife shot a deer on our property at the same time and I hung both at the exact same time. Hers looked nothing like mine after.

I ended up scraping, washing, and trimming the stained meat out. It has a different kind of odor to it that I can't imagine taste real well. So I trimmed way more than I normally would. My dogs and chickens will be getting some extra protein in their diet.

I think I'll go back to gutting and quartering right away. I didn't enjoy this experience at all.

My guess (plus what Twisp River said) is that the blood pooled and coagulated in that hour between when you shot it and when you gutted it. I usually have an animal open within 10 minutes of shooting it and drain out the blood soup quickly (once gone, it can't clot). You mentioned your wife shot a doe and it was different. If hers was opened up quickly, that is probably the difference.

[C-Money]

.270win & 30-06 are truly very powerful cartridges. Another thing that blows my mind is all the know it all sportsmen (same people who believe non forking mule deer antlers indicate Whitetail genetics) who belittle the common cartridges mainly the .243win and prop up the creedmore.

[slavenoid]

I'm not thinking caliber had much to do with it at this point but it was Federal 270 win Barnes TSX 130 grain 250 yards.

[Stein]

Was the bloodshot side the side the deer fell on when it died?  Maybe head downhill?  There is only a bit of really light connective tissue in there and easy for blood to move around and then congeal.  I've had it happen several times although not that bad.

[OutHouse]

Do you have more pictures of the carcass so we can see the extent?

[Ridgeratt]

   I'm getting out my lab coat and my black sharpie and writing across the back "forensics."
Or maybe like I suggest to my wife "DOTI"  Don't over think it.

[slavenoid]

Was the bloodshot side the side the deer fell on when it died?  Maybe head downhill?  There is only a bit of really light connective tissue in there and easy for blood to move around and then congeal.  I've had it happen several times although not that bad.

Apparently I used the wrong terminology. It was the black jelly that spread through the ribs, brisket, shoulders, inner neck and the backstraps. The ribs were pretty much a lost cause I couldn't manage to clean that up real well. Identical on both sides.

[slavenoid]

Do you have more pictures of the carcass so we can see the extent?

I don't. Pretty much everything imaginable was covered in it except the hams.

[7mmfan]

The first deer that I shot with a monolithic was out of my 7mm Mag travelling about 3050 fps. It entered behind the shoulder and exited low through the opposite shoulder. The amount of bloodshot was tremendous. The obvious shock and trauma was unreal, nothing like I'd ever seen. The ribs were a waste and there was bloodshot all the way up the neck to the base of the skull. I was of the mindset to change bullets after that but gave it a couple more tries. The buck I killed this year was JUST behind the shoulder, just touched the shoulder blade on the exit. There was virtually no bloodshot, could almost eat right to the hole. I was certain I was losing both shoulders, but in reality lost almost no meat. I don't know, just an observation.   

[Stein]

Was the bloodshot side the side the deer fell on when it died?  Maybe head downhill?  There is only a bit of really light connective tissue in there and easy for blood to move around and then congeal.  I've had it happen several times although not that bad.

Apparently I used the wrong terminology. It was the black jelly that spread through the ribs, brisket, shoulders, inner neck and the backstraps. The ribs were pretty much a lost cause I couldn't manage to clean that up real well. Identical on both sides.

That's strange.  I have shot several antelope does with a TSX from a 30-06 at 40 yards and there was minimal loss.

The most bloodshot I ever experienced was with a .243 frontal shot, won't take that one again for sure.

I think all a guy can do is chose a bullet that retains weight and make the best shot they can.  Once you get up to the dead animal, everything that is going to happen has already happened or well along the way.

[Fletch]

I’m telling you, those damn .270s. 

I looked up my Dads loads, he used 130 grain and 150 grain nozler  partitions.  Mostly the 130s for deer I believe.  He killed two moose with the 150s.

This is what my Dad said too.  @#$ Damn .270 meat eaters... We all happen to shoot them too LOL

[fishngamereaper]

I don't think it was the round or placement. Hydrostatic shock is possible but most often occurs when a primary bone is hit.
Like has been said. Time till it was gutted is important. Gut asap when you can.
Also I've seen deer acting pretty normal that have been rolled by a car. They present that type of deep tissue damage upon skinning. Within a half mile of a road?
And lastly I've seen bucks that have had their butt's kicked fighting other bucks sustain that type of tissue damage. It's pretty much deep bruising.
Lots of possibilities beyond round choice and placement.

[Come Get Some]

There is no substitue gor heavy bullets. I shoot 180 accubonds  oit of an 06 ackley improved  and 195 out of 28 nosler, 210 from 300 weatherby. 300 out of amything .338. I alnot never have much if any damage. Muzzle velocity is measured at the muzzle. All heavier bullets retain kinetic  energy down range better and usually pass the lighter bullets in speed and trajectory down range unless you go from a very  light bullet to a lot heavier bullet. Bigger heavier bullets stay together better and typically cause less damage as well as anchoring the animal. Some will argue that all you need is a light gun witha light fast bullet amd sure you can kill an elk with a .22 if you hit it just right. You can never be assured the animal wont do something upon the shot that may change you perfect point of impact so why not use a heavier more stable bullet. You have auto insurance incase something unexpected may happen. Why not take the same precautions when trying  to make a good clean kill with as little damage as possible.

[Caseknife]

As others have said, that is pretty normal, I call it "grape jelly".  Try to open up between the scapula and rib cage of the front quarters when I hang the quarters to let the blood drain out.  If the shot was through the rib cage, the thoracic cavity will be full of blood and the longer that it stays in there, the more chance that it will leak out the holes on either side and get trapped between the blade and ribs and seep between the muscle groups.  When cutting meat, I always have a bucket of warm water and a rag, wipe the meat down, and remove all the hair that my aging eyes can see, this I now wear 1.5 safety glasses, clean the quarters thoroughly on both sides and then proceed to boning.  The majority of sour meat smell when processing is due to coagulated blood trapped between muscle groups or due to true bloodshot.