Home

shot deer left overnight with temps below 0?

Posted By: DadN3Boyz

shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 11:55 AM

My son shot a doe last night just before closing time (bow). Temp at the time was 4. He backed out. I told him to go to the house and warm up. We went back out an hour later. He saw it with his headlamp. It struggled to get up and stood and was wobbly. We backed out. Waited another 2 hours. (I know not long enough). Could not find arrow. Drips of blood up on brush, not ground. Did not see her. So we backed out and will look for her this morning. It got to below 0 last night and it is 1 as I type.

My question is: Has anyone dealt with an undressed frozen deer? Issue with the innards freezing affecting the meat? How did you process it? Gutless method? What was your experience like?

FYI: He was hunting a metro unit, with the season running through the end of the month.
Posted By: 3togo

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 12:00 PM

Deer will be ok, plenty cold. Retrieve and process like normal.
Posted By: BernieB.

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 12:00 PM

You'll have to warm it up to skin it. Chances are the skin will be frozen to the meat if it died more than a few hours ago. Seriously doubt it will be frozen to the guts though.
Posted By: jbyrd63

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 12:12 PM

Find it first then figure out how to skin it Meat will be ok May have a few spots to cut out if arrow pulled guts through if it was gut shot
Posted By: crosspatch

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 12:15 PM

Get and gut ASAP and allow air to get at it to rapid cool inside. Get it out of woods and hung, at just above freezing, with hide off as quick after that as you can. Let us know what happens. Innards should not be frozen to meat.
Posted By: slowpoke

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 01:01 PM

Meat will be fine , but get it out today ..
Posted By: Turtledale

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 01:19 PM

It may smell a little off but the meat will be ok. Get it gutted, hang, skin, process and enjoy
Posted By: Eagleye

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 01:28 PM

It will take a while for that animal heat to dissipate- who knows when it expired after you quit looking? You'll be fine.
Posted By: redsnow

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 01:31 PM

At that temperature it's not going to spoil overnight.

Should be getting daylight before long, I'd put your son out front and let him track it down. Probably should take a spool of survey tape and mark the trail every 10 or 15 yards, if you're just getting specks of blood. That way if you lose it, you can go back and look again.

You don't want 2 or 3 guys messing up the trail, scuffing up the woods and all. Never know it might turn 90* and be laying there 30 feet away.

Good luck on the recovery.
Posted By: Rusty Axe Camp

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 01:53 PM

I'd bet it isn't frozen solid. Treat it like any other deer.
Posted By: GREENCOUNTYPETE

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 01:54 PM

you may be surprised how warm it still is inside

it is kinda crazy

I gutted a cow at -5 last January , the next day when I skinned it after 18 hours of sub zero there was still heat coming off that cow

now deer are several hundred pounds lighter and smaller but if you don't have the hide off and them hanging they might be rather warm inside yet


I let my first eer over night this year temps were about 30 it was a little stiff legged but all the innards flowed out find
Posted By: 653

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 02:10 PM

no worries
Posted By: corky

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by BernieB.
You'll have to warm it up to skin it. Chances are the skin will be frozen to the meat if it died more than a few hours ago. Seriously doubt it will be frozen to the guts though.

Agreed
Posted By: Wanna Be

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 02:17 PM

Haha, if it’s in the 40’s we’ll go back the next morning if necessary. We just get the guts out as soon as we find it.
Posted By: DadN3Boyz

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 03:32 PM

He found her. She was about 70 yards from where we last saw her. She made it almost to her bedding area. Yep still warm inside. Not steaming but warm. Looks like she turned at the shot. She was in a nice opening broadside. When he found her, entrance was just before the hind and the exit right at the start of the lungs. Arrow still in her with the broadhead busted off. All dressed out, and in the process of being skinned.

Got to hand it to my son. Sitting in bow stand with single digit temps, because I said we needed some veni to make snacksticks and brats. Not his fault the deer jumped the string, but he stuck with it and found her. Makes a dad proud.
Posted By: PA.Trapper

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 03:35 PM

Good deal. Those temps are definitely tough sitting in.
Posted By: Law Dog

Re: shot deer left overnight with temps below 0? - 01/11/22 04:05 PM

I would of been more concerned about coyotes getting to it first here sounds like it worked out well for you guys tell him good job on the tracking.
© 2024 Trapperman Forums