Gut Deer?

A prime hunting spot on private land I used to frequent when I lived in Albany, NY was posted and made off limits because some yahoo shot a deer and gutted it in plain view of the office complex that overlooked the fields.

I guess the point is that most people have no stomach for that sort of thing.

Joshua wrote: I know some guys who (at college) used to clean their birds in car washes and one time cleaned a deer in the dorm bathrooms in the middle of the night...

We had some of those guys in the dorm when I was in college...one of them cleaned a raccoon and left the entrails under his bed. Another time, they cleaned some smelt in our bathroom and left all the fish guts in the sinks - I went in the next morning to brush my teeth, leaned over the sink and about hurled.

In reply to stuart in mn:

Haha nice, well this was in SD (USD), not too far away from you!

Now Dad is teaching them to distrust "hippy liberals" and the Man.

I hit a deer and seriously damaged my Liberty. While waiting for the tow truck, the deputy asked me if I wanted the deer. I decined. He said DOT would pick it up. NYS btw.

We tow for sheriff and we have taken every deer that a vehicle hit we towed ,,,, the sheriff actually calls us to pick them up ........... backstrap hmmmmmmmmm and we usually make the call to friends and everyone gets a great meal ... Many a night hanging deer up in the garage

I had a shop teacher in HS that hit a deer on his way to school in the morning. I had him 1st period and he drove his Mark VII with the deer on it right into class. He recruited one of the science teachers and he brought his class in and for the next 2 periods they cleaned, quartered and cook deer. It was no big deal, it was just west of Minneapolis circa mid 90's.

I had a deer run out from a neighborhood and run into the side of my van early one morning around 4am. I pulled over to survey the damage. The guy behind me pulled over to see as well, my damage was minimal and was on my way to catch a flight. Guy behind me threatened to call in a hit and run if I left before the Sheriff came.

My 6th grade science teacher had a deal with the town road crews - they brought roadkill deer to the back of the school for his classes.

We had the joy of hauling (with rope) smashed and frequently fermenting deer from the back of the school out to the hill behind the soccer field. Then we'd sit in his classroom and watch and identify the carrion birds...

I can still pick out a turkey vulture or a redtail hawk from a good ways away :)

former520 wrote: It was no big deal, it was just west of Minneapolis circa mid 90's.

As I understand it, if you hit a deer in Minnesota you can take it home after getting permission from the local game warden.

In reply to former520:

Calling in a hit and run on an animal? Seriously? Did the person behind you even know what they were talking about?

DrBoost wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: It's not a rumor, it generally is illegal to just pick up a roadkill. At least without a hunting licence and having it count against that licence limit. Reason is to control "bumper hunters". Guys who go around running into deer. Sounds bizzare, but I actually know several very active bumper hunters.

If you can sneak up on a deer WITH YOUR CAR and bump them, you are a SERIOUSLY GOOD hunter. How the heck is this possible??

The other possibility is for someone to shoot the deer then drag it to the road and fake a hit.

I literally shed a tear when I make the 2-Hour, 120 mile trip to Pittsburgh from Erie and see more than a dozen dead deer on the road.

Not because they are dead, but because they are wasted.

I hate wasting food, that's why I eat so much when its free.

We also had a case of a guy keeping a deer he had hit in his apartment and having sex with it. Neighbors complained about the smell. So gutting it in public just doesn't seem that bad to me.

We had some new neighbors move in when I was a kid who were avid hunters. One morning we woke up to have breakfast and they had a fresh deer hanging from the tree next to our kitchen window so we all got an up close and personal look at it. After that we kept the curtains closed during hunting season.

My dad hit a deer on the way to work one Minnesota winter, threw it in the back of his car and went on about his day. Came home, brought it up to the apt and called some of his friends to come help him clean and quarter up the meat in the kitchen. This was in the early/mid 80s, I was about 5 or 6 and thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Also in NY, they had Hunters Helping the Hungry, where you'd get your deer butchered for free and get to keep the cuts you wanted if you donated some to the food shelters. For a college guy living in a small apartment, it was awesome because I could hunt, keep the good cuts without worrying about waste and also feel like I was helping the community.

Hocrest wrote:

DrBoost wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: It's not a rumor, it generally is illegal to just pick up a roadkill. At least without a hunting licence and having it count against that licence limit. Reason is to control "bumper hunters". Guys who go around running into deer. Sounds bizzare, but I actually know several very active bumper hunters.

If you can sneak up on a deer WITH YOUR CAR and bump them, you are a SERIOUSLY GOOD hunter. How the heck is this possible??

The other possibility is for someone to shoot the deer then drag it to the road and fake a hit.

Gunshot wound is pretty easily spotted, even in a car/truck hit deer. Regardless, the deer still counts against your hunting licence limit (no license, you can 't legally keep the deer here).

Roadkill critters usually have their guts damaged, frequently blowing the gut contents through the meat. Circulatory system also does a good job of distributing the gut contents throughout the meat. I've done enoough roadkills that I'm not longer so keen on picking them up. Now if I see the critter get hit so I know what sort of damage it'll have, I may still do it. Otherwise, you usually end up with an inedible carcass.

Roadkill critters usually have their guts damaged, frequently blowing the gut contents through the meat. Circulatory system also does a good job of distributing the gut contents throughout the meat. I've done enoough roadkills that I'm not longer so keen on picking them up. Now if I see the critter get hit so I know what sort of damage it'll have, I may still do it. Otherwise, you usually end up with an inedible carcass.

^ This + 1

I'd be reluctant to pick up a road kill because of that too unless like you said you saw it get hit and know what you have. Busted guts and bad blood do the meat no good. I was taught as a kid that a wounded deer on the run can pump enough adrenaline to change the taste of the meat.

fasted58 wrote: I was taught as a kid that a wounded deer on the run can pump enough adrenaline to change the taste of the meat.

I won't disagree with this, I just don't know that it's actually true. I've had meat from hard run deer that was fine, meat from calm deer that was nasty.

Here's a weird food for thought one along those lines. The myatonic or fainting goats. They have a hyper adrenalin system that actually causes them to lock up from this. So they are chronically over stimulated with the stuff. Their meat tastes great.

In reply to foxtrapper:

I've heard it both ways too. Some state DNR and hunting sites recommend against the prolonged chase for that reason.

This from a venison preparation site:

Panicked deer flood their body with adrenaline when they’re in danger. Their heart races and blood pours into their muscles. The extra blood helps rev up the muscles for flight, but produces lactic and pyruvic acids in return. These acids, extra blood, and adrenaline are the major reasons venison tastes wild or gamey.

Maybe the motive against the prolonged chase is to get hunters to wait and take one good heart/ lung shot (or pass) instead of emptying the entire berkeleying magazine on one deer.

Recently drove through the hilly country around Portland Oregon... couldn't believe how many dead deer we saw in the ditches. Such a waste!