leaving deer lay overnight

[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.