This might not be the right forum to post this question, but here goes: we process about 300 carcasses a year, and have witnessed every possible carcass damage imaginable.
We do get however several carcasses that have massive blood trauma between the skin and the flesh, we skinned a red hind weighing in at 130lb today, shot indicated that it was shot just behind the front leg and would of taken the top off the heart and possibly the lower section of the lungs, there was no massive exit wound,
the blood staining was immense, it covered the entire chest from top to bottom even covering the top of the saddle,
the blood clot even travelled to the haunches,
we have had several carcasses like this!
the meat is rendered useless with such damage.
Is this down to bullet choice,caliber or some other factor?
I would like to here from anyone who has had this, and what were the factors involved.


many thanks

Griff

Bullet impact velocity - unfortunately - plays a BIG part in this. Why do I say unfortunately? Because hunters (in general) are fascinated with faster calibers. Sad as it is, there is a trade-off between versatility of the rifle/load in the field, and the amount of bloodshot meat you can expect.

There are also other factors in meat damage such as where you hit, and bullet construction. If you happen to hit bone, you'll get more meat damage from bone splinters - sometimes referred to as "secondary projectiles". A bullet that expands very rapidly is likely to produce more bloodshot meat.

All of the above are only pieces in a very complex puzzle. Unless one has access to a very large number of carcasses, and know exactly what has been shot with what cartridge, what bullet, at what distance etc, it is very hard to draw final conclusions. Most hunters never see enough game in their lives to realize exactly what effect their rifles have. Even then, we tend not to be 100% honest, as we are often emotionally attached to one cartridge or the next. Case in point, I really like my .270 Win, even though it is not particularly benign in terms of meat damage.
- mike

Griff, btw, was the bloodshot meat on the entry or the "exit" (I know you got no exit wound) side of the animal?? I see two types of bloodshot meat: one where the blood comes out between the skin and the flesh, and forms a red layer that can spread quite far. Mostly, this is salvagable by scraping off the blood. The other (worse) type, is where the meat turns blue or black as if the meat cells and blood were crushed. In this case, unfortunately, you have to cut the damaged meat away.



Secondly, do you know what calibers this/these deer were shot with??



I try not to suggest any calibers, because that usually ends up in a big fight, when you happen to mention somebody's pet cartridge. I still think the velocity issue is pretty generally recognized, though.

- mike

Griff
I've shot a number of the Virginia Whitetail deer with a 243 Winchester. The shoulder was a useless, bloody mess.
I've cleaned a number of deer downed with 308 Winchester, 270 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 Winchester all made a mess of the shoulder.
A 45-70 allows you to eat right up to the hole.
Jim

Velocity and bullet construction are main factor , a friend in South Africa told me when he hunt for meat uses a strong soft point at no more than 2400 fps , his personal choice 7 x 57 with Hornady 175 gr. SP RN , but he have a tracker , if the animal after hit run 500 meters , it's no a problem they found it , here when I'm after a trophy I want to have the deer in the spot as the meat it's not mine and don't want to track the the deer 500 meters , there is a big chance it's will be lost

Daniel

MHO,
the carcass in question was hit with a 270 @ 125yds give or take a few yards,there was an exit wound but only as big as the entry!
the blood shot was on both sides of the chest and encompassed the saddle right back to the haunch.
the blood is not in the meat but sandwiched between the skin and the flesh. when we buy carcasses it would be handy to know what it was shot with and we could pay accordingly,
I hear what some of you are saying that you can scrape the blood off or even do a secondary skinning,but for the price the carcasses cost it is not cost efective.

griff

Not to be nosy...but how much does a highland stag carcass go for these days?
BTW do you pay equally for a neck shot animal or a male during the rut?

Boss,



There was a report in I think The Field that said Red deer venison prices had started the season at 50p per lb only to have dropped to 20p per lb. This was a attributed New Zealand dumping a load of venison on the market and deflating the prices..

Having said that, I know a "local" dealer in my area that because we don't get many Reds is paying 80p per lb in the skin at present, so it paying to shop around...



Regards,



Pete