one of the "guys" wants to set the trap again. we already took something like 10 in 11 days. i have 5 in my new freezer. he said that we only have 3 months left to get em as in the summer when the weather heats up you can't eat em as the meat is no good due to temps and the ticks, fleas, etc etc that get on em then. hes an ex butcher from down south so i GUESS he knows of what he speaks.

now the rant....some kid put THREE FEEDERS just over our fence line. a triangle of feeders in about 2 acres, and his little pop up tent/blind about 30 yards away from em. we jumped his ass about the feeder that is tied to our fence its so close telling him that today is the last day of deer season in this county, and its just rude to do that. his response was "its ok, i'm just after the hogs i see on ur place". i grabbed my sons arm before he climbed the fence. i understand hes only like 17 or so but dammit.

If you catch him shooting across the fence into your property, it is trespass by projectile and then get the GW involved, though sometimes neighbors can become real problems if you don't live on your property.

As far as the edibility in hot weather---get 'em gutted, skinned, and on ice quickly and you won't know the difference other than you'll be hot and sweaty--

His butcher credentials carry no weight with this claim.

Dustoffer perfectly summed it up when he wrote: " As far as the edibility in hot weather---get 'em gutted, skinned, and on ice quickly and you won't know the difference other than you'll be hot and sweaty."

We've butchered them at near 100 degrees in July and August and also in the dead of winter with no apparent difference in meat quality. What they've been eating and how you take care of the meat will matter MUCH more than the date on the calendar.

John:

We've heard the same thing up here for years
about antelope when season was late August
in the heat of summer.

I've always figured those were the one's
that had been chased for miles then gut
shot. OF course they won't be much for
eating.

Like the guys have said: get the meat on
ice quick as you can and you won't be
able to tell the difference.

Here's another: "kill 'em too 'dead' and
the bloods in the meat will spoil it.
Bullshit! I shot one with a big pistol
and didn't bleed over a gallon in all.
Butcher tried to act p'd about it.
We got a half from it and Dad gave us
some from his that bled out well.
We grilled steaks from each side by side and
couldn't tell any difference in taste.

George

Have a chat with the lad, and explain to him, and hand him a letter, explaining that he cannot cross into your land, including bullets, even if after wounded game, even if accident -- and as bullets tend to travel past point of impact, that he's not only setting himself up for inadvertent trespass, but also endangering you. offer to help him swap his setup, with his blind facing INTO his feeders and land, not into yours.

if that doesn't work, invite the GW out to review the situation and ask his/her advice.

Ten acres and deer feeder! I have one across the fence also!

I've eaten ones that I've shot when temps are above 90, but I make real sure that I'm going to be able to get it on ice within 30 minutes or so and haven't noticed any difference from ones killed in winter

As long as he is on his side of the fence, there is nothing you can do about it legally but you could get into big trouble if you or your son crawls that fence...sorry but that's the law, and it works both ways I might add..Why not have a talk with his father and see what can be worked out keeping in mind he has the upper hand..How in the world could you prove he shot into your land, were that so there would be the same problem on 30,000 ac. ranches, bullets go a long ways..only if you hit a cow or cowboy do you have a case, maybe and only then if you can locate the gun, and that's not likely..

If you can get him skinned out in a hurry and hung up in the shade with some fly covering, it will be fine for even a day or two, but get it to a plant as soon as possible..We were 125 miles from town, and had a dirt seller, that would hold a beef until we ate it..forms a rind of jerkey on the outside but the inside was cool..the celer was cool, my guess is 30 degrees and outside was as much as a 120 degrees at times. In the Texas Big Bend..I don't know but most parts of Texas have higher humidity and that's probably not good for hanging meat, the Big Bend is high, hot and dry as a bone..but folks ate meat year around in the 1700s and 1800s and we only had "Ice boxes" when I was a kid and always had a beef hanging..What did folks back then do on the gulf coast or South Texas back in the day.

Id be interested in some comments on the sugject..as Ive never given it much thought.

WEll in Texas during the hart of deer season it can be hot as hell, Ive seen it in the 80s to the 90s best I can recall, at least I was all but naked sweating like a pig in themiddle of November, so perhaps the whole thread is without substance..Also we had deer hanging in the shade skinned until we had enough to haul t town...nothing ever spoiled. This was in Llano county and in Brewster county.

i remember my grandfather telling me how they cut off the crust and then ate what was under it from hanging game in hot weather. the mexican butcher says the rotten begins from inside the bones and u can smell it to tell when its no good. damn if i know.

oh yeah, you can smell it..particullary birds and fish, but any meat that goes bad smells dead, dead, dead,

Your grand father was spot on..We Americans have it too soft these days!!