Hi every one I shoot a 8 pointer on monday after noon and he ran into a lake full of reeds. I tracked him as far as I could go but he crossed some deep water. I went around the other side to find the trail but couldnt find it before dark. I went out the next day with chest waders and found his trail agin. I found him around noon laying in about 3in of ice water.
Now here is the big question is the meat edible? I was about 24 hours after I shoot him before I gutted him. he had a very bad smell when I gutted him the guy at the locker said it was gasses in the meat. He was'nt sure if it would be ok or not. He told me to cut out the loin and fry it up and see how it smelled when I cooked it. The deer has been hanging in a cold room (not frozen) for 24 and dosnt smell any more.
I dont know if this is safe to eat or if I should dispose of it anyone have any thoughts? Jeremy

If it was ice water he should be fine.

If the meat does not smell or taste bad it will be fine.

Try it, but cook the first trial to medium-well done. If it tastes good, cook it any way you like it.

I've seen people eat meat that hung in 100 degree heat covered with flies for three days. It didn't kill them, but I would not eat it!

You may have gotten lucky, icey water will sap the heat out of tissue quickly. AS long as you didn't gut shoot him, the meat very well could be just fine.

What was the temp outside during that time period.

I wouldn't eat him unless it was cold from the time you shot him to the time you gutted him. Say below 40...

It just gripes me to see the idiots on these TV hunts shoot one in short sleeve shirts, put a good shot on him but, they say it's getting dark we'll come back tommorrow. Then it shows them retrieveing their game around noon the next day. You can tell they are only after the horns.


I've killed piles of whitetails and I've never retrieved one the next day. We stay on them until we find them even if it takes til midnight because it doesn't get very cold down here.



Reloader

The over night temp was about 32 the water in some areas refroze over night. I'm going to cut the back straps out and cook them and see how the smell & taste.
I know a guy that will sell me his jon boat for $200 with a motor I think I'm going to get it Just incase I ever have one run out there agin. It took me 4 hours to drag it out I water any were fron 2in to 3 foot. At least with aboat I would have the option of driving it right to the boat ramp.
I dont spend any time duck hunting so I was suprised how shallow most of the lake is. And how many deer trails there were in a couple foot of water
I hunt on small public ground surounded by corn fields I didnt think I would need my gps but thats how I found his trail on the other side of the water I couldnt pass the night before. jeremy

The guts will stink because of the heat inside and the bacteria. The meat should be fine. The cold water and air would have been very good for the meat.
I always go back for a Coleman fishing lantern, the very best for seeing blood. Some of the diode flashlights show up blood too but a regular flashlight is junk. I will look all night so at least I can gut the animal. Pull the deer far from the guts so vermin won't eat on it. Best if you can hang it.

If it was cold your in good shape.I allways worry in early bowseason in the south when its hot weather... sometimes it takes all day to get one outta the woods and cut up in the freezer,I wonder about all the hunters in hot states like texas and arizona,new mexico, how they must worry too.....If you ever get into a stinky deer butcher job again,i would recommend cutting the hams and shoulders off,cutting out the back loins and tender loins and get the neck and head and forget about gutting and hauling the ribs/carcus out....I know it had to stink,Ive been there done that myself...Glad you got your buck & Good luck!

Two times I didnt find my deer until the next morning.Both nites were between 55 and 60 degrees.Both deer were completely edible and tasty.I
cut out a steak fried with no seasonings to be able to taste anything not right.There was nothing wrong with either one.

Your deer will be perfectly fine

tasted good hes cut up and in the freezer. thanks for everyones input Jeremy

Next time, mix up a couple cups of bleach in a 5 gallon bucket. While its hanging up and gutted, dowse the inside real good. Sometimes you even get store bought meat and it's not past the expiration but smells like its starting to turn. Soak it in some bleach water just to be on the safe side.

Plinker

Eat meat soaked in BLEACH!?!? Isn't that Dangerous? Bleach ain't for marinating, it could kill ya.

Plinker603, I must admit my ignorance here, by asking if you're serious about the bleach water treatment, or are you just joking? I had never heard of this before. Please understand that my question is a serious one, with absolutely no offence intended. Best regards, starcharvski.

LOL, if bleach could kill ya, there'd be people dropping dead all over from all the chlorine in the public water systems. Ya only use a little in the water.

Brad, im not joking. You might not want to come to my house to eat, though. But one time we were having a cookout and it was delayed so the steaks were a day over the expiration and so my sister told me put them in diluted bleach just to be on the safe side. Said she does it all the time. Hummm, we probably should have cooked them well, done, but it was fine. And my husband always douses the deer, like that.

Plinker

Plinker603, Thanks for the reply. The longer I'm at this, the more I learn. It stands to reason that if the solution is sufficiently dilute, it should effectively kill micro-organisms on the surface without doing any other harm. I believe that I would rinse with a generous quantity of plain water afterwards, though. Best regards, and good hunting, Starcharvski.

FWIW, I remember I was a little nervous the first time I saw folks dumping a gallon of Clorox in the water bull (the big water tank on a wheeled trailer that we used to transport water in the Marines). I'd noticed before how the water smelled like pool water, but didn't put it together until I saw that.

I've never soaked meat in chlorinated water. Makes sense, though. Glad to learn something new.

Steve

I have never heard of anyone soaking a deer or venison in bleach, baking soda, yeah but bleach? I dont think so, i have washed out the cavity with a hose and fresh water when a deer was gut shot and as long as i got the water out everything was fine. To each their own, but if the meat is that contaminated that you need bleach to kill bacteria i wouldnt eat it.