Gut shot butchering

[crappyice]

What's your plan/process for dealing with gut shot deer on the butcher block to get the most out of a messy situation?

 

Obviously cutting away tainted meat. What about additional rinsing, soaking or cleaning - how about length of aging(in optimal conditions)?

 

 

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[biggamefish]

I think this all depends on how long the deer was laying gut shot. Shoot and gut within 30 mins. I would wash the cavity out best as possible and continue on not worrying about any meat spoilage.

If has laid around a couple hours, probably toss the inner loins but i would still wash the cavity asap. Then judge what to cut out if any meat is bad. I never let me deer hang more than a day or two. They are in the freezer asap.

It really depends on the situation and how gut shot it is. I have opened them up and its soup and then have had it hardly a mess. Always good to be careful though.

[crappyice]

Guess that's the issue. If you know it was gut shot like I did last week, I had to leave it for the "required" 8-10 hours hoping she stayed in the first bed I left her in when i returned. She did stay but at that point I now have no idea how long she been there dead.

Meat has been quartered and in the deer fridge since Saturday. I'm going to let my nose guide the rest of the process starting tomorrow with the processing and freezing.

I usually leave any quartered deer sit for 3-4 days in the fridge and then butcher portions when convenient.

Inner lions have been disposed of already!


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[wolc123]

9 minutes ago, crappyice said:

Guess that's the issue. If you know it was gut shot like I did last week, I had to leave it for the "required" 8-10 hours hoping she stayed in the first bed I left her in when i returned. She did stay but at that point I now have no idea how long she been there dead.

Meat has been quartered and in the deer fridge since Saturday. I'm going to let my nose guide the rest of the process starting tomorrow with the processing and freezing.

I usually leave any quartered deer sit for 3-4 days in the fridge and then butcher portions when convenient.

Inner lions have been disposed of already!


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Sounds like you are doing it right.  I only ever processed one deer that had been left out overnight with the guts in it (outside temp was in lower 40’s).  I threw away the tenderloins and made all the rest into grind.  It was not as tasty as those that I have  gutted right away, but fine for tacos or spicy chile.  
 

That was a big doe that a neighbor gave me.  There is no way in hell that  I would leave a deer that I shot out overnight with the guts in it no matter where it was shot or how cold it was.  I’d be out with a lantern if need be. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by wolc123

[BowmanMike]

Sadly I have had to process a couple of gut shot deer that were left overnight in the last few years. I did toss the inner loins but processed the rest as usual. I don't age the deer if the temps are warm as I have not acquired a deer fridge for it. I can tell no difference in aged and not aged meat.

I didn't wash out the cavity either,I don't have a set up for it and figure the mess in the guts is pretty well separated from the rest of the meat. If it does look dodgy I would toss it but I did not have to.

The one I left overnight was later in the season with temps in the upper 20's at night.

[LET EM GROW]

Luckily we've only had 2 gut shot deer and they were both Rifle hunts. Where a follow up shot was able or the deer died fairly quick given the shot placement.. Certainly rinsed the cavity and depending how the inside looked upon field dressing, the tenderloins were saved and cleaned or tossed.. situation depending. Glad you brought this up as sometimes im in a hurry, and might not even consider this.. had it happened during bow where a dee probably needs 12-24 hrs to lay..   Even with a lantern you cant legally harvest a whitetail that's still alive after dark so its really a waste of time unless an artery was sliced. Give the deer the time it needs. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by LET EM GROW

[suburbanfarmer]

When its a gutshot, i wont even open the cavity further. Use the gut less method and debone where it lays.

 

[G-Man]

Not an issue you may lose inner loins if diaphram was ruptured. Otherwise unless your taking flank meat  nothing is effected.  

If deer is left and bloated then whole other issues exist.

[mowin]

We wash the cavity, skin, quarter ASAP. 

It really depends on outside temps and how soon the deer dies. If the deer dies within a hr or so, and lays there for several hrs, even if the temps are in the 30's, it could be a loss. 

There's been a few over the yrs that we have to toss because after waiting 8-10 hrs to recover the deer, the gut juices had tainted the meat to a point that when cooking you could smell and taste it.  Even with cold temps and washing, skinning, quartering. 

 

[Robhuntandfish]

those inner loins just need an extra shake of hot sauce, they're fine. 

[crappyice]

those inner loins just need an extra shake of hot sauce, they're fine. 

Tabasco or Franks?
Maybe consider a Ghost pepper sauce?


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[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, crappyice said:

Tabasco or Franks?
Maybe consider a Ghost pepper sauce?


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i mean maybe not save the caul fat for @The_Real_TCIII but not saving the loins is ridiculous. Steve Rinella would wake up at night in a cold sweat.  

[phade]

I can't recall ever saving inner loins from a gut shot, ever. Abundance of caution I guess and more of a reminder to be better at shot execution or decision. 

[BizCT]

41 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i mean maybe not save the caul fat for @The_Real_TCIII but not saving the loins is ridiculous. Steve Rinella would wake up at night in a cold sweat.  

you mean Call fat

[wolc123]

50 minutes ago, phade said:

I can't recall ever saving inner loins from a gut shot, ever. Abundance of caution I guess and more of a reminder to be better at shot execution or decision. 

As long as you get the guts out right away and rinse them, there’s no problem.  I always save as much blood as possible, forward of the diaphragm, saw thru the pelvis bone, spread out the back legs, then rinse that rear channel out real good, with the fresh blood.

 I’d much rather have my tenderloins taste like blood than gut juice, piss, or crap.  Once I get the carcass to the house, I wipe those tenderloins off real good with paper towels.  They have always tasted awesome after that treatment.

I had an old Bushnell Banner scope go bad on me in 2018, which resulted in my point of impact shifting about 24” to the left at 100 yards.  My first slug passed thru the center of the 3.5 year old buck’s guts, and the second struck about 4 inches higher, breaking his spine.  Those tenderloins tasted as good as any, after a quick blood rinse, but I had the guts out in under 15 minutes.

All bets are off for sure though, if you leave that mess in there overnight, probably regardless of outside temperature.  The above described one, and my 2016 crossbow buck, which was quartering away and the bolt & mechanical broadhead deflected back thru, are the only two where I had to deal with gut juice on the tenderloins.  A great many had spilled piss issues and the blood rinse always eliminates any flavor traces of that.  
 

I suspect they the vast majority of folks who don’t like those inner tenderloins have had piss, gut juice, or crap contamination issues.  There is no excuse for that, when you almost always have gallons of fresh blood to rinse them with.

[Bolt action]

6 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

When its a gutshot, i wont even open the cavity further. Use the gut less method and debone where it lays.

 

X2

I'll open it in the field from the top of the back and bone it out from the top down. I won't even cut into the gut cavity. Not worth the mess for the sake of 2 potentially tainted loins. 

[Robhuntandfish]

Tabasco or Franks?
Maybe consider a Ghost pepper sauce?


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I'm kidding of course. No meat is worth that. Plus I know you do a top level job with butchering .

I think I'm going to try something new this year and take the outside off the ribs and make a roll with it and cook it in the crock pot. Like trying new ways to make wild game dishes

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[ATbuckhunter]

Cut away the meat that's touched by the guts. Washing can spread contaminants to areas otherwise uncontaminated. Not worth getting sick for a small amount of meat, so better off cutting it away

[ncountry]

4 hours ago, Bolt action said:

X2

I'll open it in the field from the top of the back and bone it out from the top down. I won't even cut into the gut cavity. Not worth the mess for the sake of 2 potentially tainted loins. 

Do you take quarters, backstrap, and neck, etc..? Just like one would typically do with an elk?

I assume not actually boneing it out?

[suburbanfarmer]

1 hour ago, ncountry said:

Do you take quarters, backstrap, and neck, etc..? Just like one would typically do with an elk?

I assume not actually boneing it out?

Its easy to take all that you listed without gutting

[ncountry]

10 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Its easy to take all that you listed without gutting

I concur.. I did it last year for the 1st time on an elk and it wasn't difficult.. I was just a little confused with the "bone it out" terminology.;)

[suburbanfarmer]

3 minutes ago, ncountry said:

I concur.. I did it last year for the 1st time on an elk and it wasn't difficult.. I was just a little confused with the "bone it out" terminology.;)

ah..I get what you were asking. You dont have to bone out the quarters if you plan to hang them but when its fresh and warm it can be done easy enough to pack out a deer in a single trip.

[Bolt action]

This is a pretty good video that basically shows what I do when I don't want to drag the whole thing out. Takes me under an hour in the field.

https://youtu.be/LBbdCBO3ADM

[crappyice]

This is a pretty good video that basically shows what I do when I don't want to drag the whole thing out. Takes me under an hour in the field.

Cool process - just not sure I could have spent much more time with that gut shot smell then I did already especially at night where a bear has been seen!

Definitely want to try that though


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[Bolt action]

You mean you don't want to call in a hungry bear when you're covered in dead deer smells? Odd... to each their own I guess..