How long hanging deer

Fill the cooler a third of the way with ice and lay the bag s of meat on top of the ice. If warm outside temperatures have you concerned, pour ice over the meat, but make sure the trash bag never fills with water. Close the cooler and place in a shaded area, preferably somewhere with a slight incline with the drain plug open and facing downhill. Try not to open the cooler too much and replace ice as necessary. I do not recommend this method for long-term aging due to the lack of air flow and less-than-ideal humidity.

Our editors have hand-picked these essential pieces of gear to make you a more successful hunter when you hit the game trails this season. Give a Gift Subscriber Services. See All Special Interest Magazines. All Petersen's Hunting subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow. Get Digital Access. Subscribe To The Magazine. More Articles From How-To. It is recommended to hang your deer carcass for at least two days before butchering and cooking it. This will allow rigor mortis to run its course and will result in more tender venison meat. Learn More. Sign Me Up. Is the. Richard Mann. Is the 10mm Enough Gun for Bear Defense? An optimal temperature to hang deer meat at should be temperature above freezing but below 40 degrees F.

Many people let the deer hang in their garage, but this far from the proper conditions because of contaminants, pests and temperature fluctuations that come with an uncontrolled environment such as this. If your meat is stored above 40 degrees it will start to rot, but if it is frozen at temperatures below 28 degrees it can become freezer burned.

In these situations, having access to a commercial-sized refrigerator that will keep your deer at a constant temperature and free of outside contamination is optimal. The U. Cooler Game Locker provides an elegant solution for proper deer aging.

The Game Locker is a walk-in cooler equipped with up to 8 meat hooks on a sliding rail system. These refrigerators have been reinforced to bear up to lbs hanging from the ceiling.

This is the hang time many hunters prefer under ideal conditions—34 to 37 degrees. Tip: If temperatures temporarily spike, put a bag of ice in the chest cavity and wrap the carcass in a blanket or old sleeping bag. The older your deer, the more connective tissue in its muscles and the more it will benefit from extra days on the meat pole.

If conditions are consistently good and you can keep a close eye on the meat, two weeks is not too long to hang an old buck. Tip: Ambient temps matter, but what counts most is the internal temperature of the meat. The rate at which meat is tenderized as a result of aging falls off sharply after 14 days, so wrap it up.