leaving deer lay overnight

[blacktaill]

What are your thoughts on taking a deer at last shoting light and letting it lay till morning? This is if it runs off after it's been hit.

[Bob33]

Not very good.  If it dies the meat is likely to spoil.  If it doesn't die, it will suffer all night.  Track it down and kill it.

[focht22]

I would have a flash light with me and make my best effort to try and find it. You might get lucky and find it pretty quick.

[WDFW-SUX]

You will lose a % of the meat.

[6x6in6]

Plan to go find it or don't squeeze the trigger putting yourself into that position in the first place.

[BlackRidge]

Yup, too much can happen after leaving it out there. If you want to get the most out of it, or have something left in the morning at all, its best to go in after it. Headlamps work really well, and having buddies with you definitely helps

[steen]

Enough said!

[blacktaill]

Thanks for the insight. Im out by myself today so i will pack it in early today

[quadrafire]

Seems alot of the TV hunting shows that happens quite alot. I doubt they are eating much of the meat so they probably don't care. But if its warm out it probably wouldn't be too good.

[blacktaill]

Ya that's why i asked.  I see them do it all the time on the out door channel? Guess they don't care about the meat!

[ser300wsm]

Enough said!

[bobcat]

I agree with others- the meat will spoil if a deer is left overnight. At least some of it. This brings a question to mind though. What if you track a deer down after dark and it requires a finishing shot? Is it legal to shoot after hours to finish off an animal?

[blacktailer]

I personally think it depends some on the temp as well as location of the shot.  A friend of mine gut shot a nice 5 x 5 whitetail 2 years back in N. Idaho.  We looked hard that night but never found hair, blood, etc...   Long story short, I found that buck at about 8:00 A.M the following morning and it was nasty.  We spent about an hour skinning, gutting and trying to salvage anything possible.  I will say that it was one of the most rotten things I have smelled and had me dry heaving big time.  It was all shot.  That was a mid Nov. hunt but the weather was unusually warm and balmy.  I think the gut innards leaked out and got into every possible place on that deer.  We both felt terrible but unfortunately, it happens.  
     The flip side to that was I shot a bull elk in Idaho at dusk several years back and couldn't find it until until early the next morning and it was fine.  He was able to bleed out and the temps were below freezing.  Those are two of my personal experiences that got different results.   I'm not a big fan of most hunting shows as they often show unreasonable hunting scenarios and teach a lot of bad habits to those who are watching in hope of learning something

[400out]

I agree with others- the meat will spoil if a deer is left overnight. At least some of it. This brings a question to mind though. What if you track a deer down after dark and it requires a finishing shot? Is it legal to shoot after hours to finish off an animal?

I would say no! If it's still alive I would say no spoiling happening 

[Bob33]

I agree with others- the meat will spoil if a deer is left overnight. At least some of it. This brings a question to mind though. What if you track a deer down after dark and it requires a finishing shot? Is it legal to shoot after hours to finish off an animal?

Bob, I have done exactly that.  I have also asked numerous enforcement officers that question.  I have received consistent responses from every one: if the animal is mortally wounded, go after it.  Shoot it after dark if you have to.  They will know if you're lying.  Show them the first bullet hole, the blood trail, etc.  If you think about it, they could challenge you even before you shoot.  I've trailed animals with a flashlight and rifle after dark.  Very suspicious, and no animal with a wound to justify my actions.  The bottom line to me is that it is the right thing to do.

[J Snow73]

This happened to me one year shot it it took off in deep brush and timber in heavy fog. Grabbed the flashlight and looked for hours then went back the next morning and found it 10 yds from where I was searching just lost some meat around the body cavity ,but it was cold nights then

[wastickslinger]

I have shot many bucks at last light. You just have to know you can get to it and gut it out and open it up to cool off. I have no problem doing that in the dark.  If I cant hang it alone and skin it I will take off a shirt or hat and put it on the deer. I have been told that will keep coyotes and birds off of it. It has worked for me many times. I have never had one spoil.

[donimator]

I shot one at last light last year in the bottom of a large clear cut.  I found him in the dark and got him all gutted out.  Attemping to drag it out in the clearcut by myslef was proving to be extremly difficult and dangerous to myself.  I was falling all over, twising my ancles, etc.   You know how the west side clear cuts can be.  It was cold and I had got the guts out of him so i decided to leave him there for the night and come get him in the morning with some help. Arrived in the morning and he was still there just the way I left him.  Got him home pulled the cape off and lost no meat at all. 

[brianmtsinc]

A few years back I shot a cow (archery elk late season - Nov 26th ish) around 1PM.  We tracked it well into darkness and for safety reason, finally needed to call it quits.  There was about 1 inch of snow on the ground.  We did not find her until around 10 AM the next day and I did not lose any meat at all. 

I think it just depends on the situation - the weather, hunting pressure, any help or hunting alone, and the shot.   

[AKBowman]

Not very good.  If it dies the meat is likely to spoil.  If it doesn't die, it will suffer all night.  Track it down and kill it.

Thats not necessarily true, especially untrue this time of year. In fact I am going to disagree with you completely on this one. If the deer runs off after the shot and you are unsure about the shot you are best to leave the deer lay overnight and get on it first light. First of all, if the deer is hit but not hit hard enough to drop in sight it will most likely die in its first bed if left undisturbed. If you are inpatient    and chase it in the dark the only thing you will do is bump it from its bed and most likely have no idea which direction it ran without a possibility of getting a follow up shot in the dark. Secondly the meat will NOT go bad if even if you werent able to find it until later the next day. I shot a moose in 65 degree weather in Sept that I let lay overnight and couldnt get onto it until almost dark the next day. The meat was fine...all of this "Bone Sour" stuff is BS IMO this time of year.

Hands dowm IMO let the deer lay overnight and let nature take its course. If you feel your hit was decent he should be dead within a couple hundred yards in his orginal bed the next morning. Meat will be fine.

[Shootmoore]

Seems alot of the TV hunting shows that happens quite alot. I doubt they are eating much of the meat so they probably don't care. But if its warm out it probably wouldn't be too good.

My dad always has a few choice words every time he watches a show and they do that.

Shootmoore

[AKBowman]

I really think it makes a difference on spoilage if the animal is bowkilled. Archery equipment kills from loss of blood, with little to no blood in their systems they may be less likely to spoil.

[ribka]

I shot a few wt's in WI with my bow in the 1970's and 1980's that I found the next morning. If I did not have a good blood trail and/or kicked up deer during tracking I stopped tracking  and returned early the next morning. That was the thought at that time. It was in the low 20's/ teens at night so felt comfortable returning early next morning. If hits blood trail was good I went home got the coleman lantern followed the blood trail with my Dad and retrieved the deer. Found all my deer and do not remember any type of spoilage. Of course would not do this if the temps did not drop below freezing. 

[ICEMAN]

As the end of the day approaches, we all put a bright LED maglite in our pockets/packs, and put a quality spotlight on our heads. We prepare for this scenario.

Also keep a big roll of flagging tape in your jacket to mark any sign you have. Tag up high at eye level and you can look back and see the route the deer took if you are losing it....

[ribka]

I'm old school and still bring toilet paper for tracking. Nothing beat a white gas coleman lantern for tracking an finding a blood trail in the dark

[DeerThug]

Get a headlamp with a blood light.  Do what you can to find it.  Most likely the meat will spoil.

I had to leave a deer that ran across a river after shot.  I was able to get over to it and gut it, but the current was too strong to get it back to the other side.  I propped the belly open with sticks and laid him on his back in a few inches of water.

While the meat was not spoiled, I could definitely tell that it was not skinned and cooled right.

[Ihuntelk2]

I agree that you should track an animal as soon as possible. Dont want the thing to suffer all night and of course you dont want the meat to spoil. If it's well below freezing then I wouldnt see any harm in waiting till morning. For one you dont want to be the pop sicle that is recovered the next morning you want your game to be the pop sicle.. lmao

[spotter26]

I would say if you are able to kill it and it gets dark on ya, gut it use a stick to spread the rib cage apart and let it lay, if you can toss it in a creek to keep it cool.

[bobcat]

I think this topic is about shooting at a deer and then not looking for it until the next day. I did this once many years ago and thought I missed, but had no light to even check for blood and it was pretty dark to see without a light, by the time I got to where the deer had been standing. Went back in the morning and had a great blood trail and the deer had only gone about 40 yards. This was in October and it was cool at night but not cool enough. I think it was in the low to mid 40's. The meat smelled and while we did keep all the meat I think we ended up giving it to my uncle because apparently he wasn't as picky about stinky, half spoiled meat.     I won't leave a deer lay out in the woods overnight again. I suppose if the temps were down in the 20's it would be alright but around here it's usually not cold enough.

[Hangfire]

I have left several elk and one deer in the woods over night. They were skinned, quartered, hung from a tree or propped up so air could flow around. I take off my T shirt and hang it by the meat. I also urinate about 10 feet away. I have had no loss to predators and good meat. I did shoot a white tail at last light, trailed in snow about 1/4 mile and then I left the trail. I went home ate diner and came back with flash lights and found it and brought out. If I couldn't have brought out that night I would skin and hang up. If I shoot a animal and it is not hit hard, I would let set over night. If I am trailing it, I will bump it and keep it going.

My son shot a nice white tail opening day of archery, at last light, a couple years ago. He went back at first light the next morning with help. They found the deer within a 100 yards. Coyotes had found it and ate part of a hind quarter.

Each time has to be judged on the individual experience. There is a time to leave and a time to follow. There can be meat loss and other times not.

[fair-chase]

Seems alot of the TV hunting shows that happens quite alot. I doubt they are eating much of the meat so they probably don't care. But if its warm out it probably wouldn't be too good.

My dad always has a few choice words every time he watches a show and they do that.

Shootmoore

I used to like watching hunting shows, but they give out sooooo much bad advice its hard to stomach them anymore. I don't think most of them eat what they kill, most are donated to charities or homeless. They don't care if the meat they are giving away tastes gamie, or if half of it gets thrown out. Why would they, their going to shoot 14 more deer this year.

For those of us in the real world. Get it cut and out as soon as possible. Yes there are going to be situations where its just not feesable to get it out that night. Do what you can out of respect for the animal. As long as you are working your butt off nobody is going to be sore at you if it is just not a possibility that night. If you shoot it and walk away as seen on tv with no effort to save the meat or recover the animal, well then your going to take some heat.

OK, I am done now. Not directed at anyone just getting that out there.

[Wea300mag]

I have left several elk and one deer in the woods over night. They were skinned, quartered, hung from a tree or propped up so air could flow around. I take off my T shirt and hang it by the meat. I also urinate about 10 feet away.

Those are my prefered techniques also, especially for elk, they are sometimes hard to get out in one day.

[nontypical176]

My buddy shot a decent 3 point blacktail before dark.  That dang deer busted down the hill, flipped and flopped across the toutle river and fell dead on the opposite shore line.  We could see it but couldn't get around to it until the next morning believe me we tried.  It wasn't freezing that night, but still pretty cold and the meat was fine.  Now another buddy shot a little spike one evenig, near a logging road and we couldn't find him for nothing, looked for hours after dark.  Next morning find out that we had been walking circles around him, he had tucked up under a log in some stickers.  Again fairly cold that evening, but that deer had deffinently spoiled A LITTLE.  Both deer were one shot kills (lung shots), so I think you are taking a chance leaving them, but it doesn't necesarily mean it will be spoiled.  Just might not be as tasty as you hoped.

It happens sometimes that you've got to leave them lay, especially if theres a chance it might get up and run....I mean things don't always work out like we plan.  Thumping around in the brush at night with lights trying to find a downed animal is easier than it sounds(been there).  Especially in this brushy, foggy, rainy, reprod, devils clubbed, slash piled, stream covered, up and down, blackberry heaven in Western Washington.  In 20 years of hunting and around some real idiots, never has there been a deer or elk that anybody I know has shot that hasn't been edible.

[buckhorn2]

I had a chance to shoot a big buck right at dark tonight only 100 yards away but down a steep brushey hill. Did;nt have a flashlight so decided better not to shoot just hoping he will be there in the morning. Where we live even a spot that looks easy to get to is usually not there are blackberry bushes and limbs and trash from early logging and it would be easy to get hurt trying to get down a hill in the dark. I am like most if you can;t get it leave it you know where it lives.

[charlesbearden1]

if you cannot find it in the dark wait til morning, but the ribs and anything the guts touch are no good so. . . . The deer is not spoiled if you get it at first light, they kill cows and leave the guts in them overnight and gut it the next day and ship it all over america so do what you think is right, but all the meat is not spoiled. Probably get some flack from my response but logically, physiological structure of a deer says its ok.