What is the highest safe temp. and for how long can you leave a game animal at that temp. after being shot, if it has to be left

[jim freeman]

What is the highest safe temp. and for how long can you leave a game animal at that temp. after being shot, if it has to be left over night.

[Gary Devine]

If it is warm out you should fill plastic bags with ice or go buy bags of ice. Place the ice bags inside the game animal's chest cavity.

When I was bow hunting warm weather in Colorado the guide had cheesecloth game bags to put over the elk quarters and the deer. The game bags also kept the insects off the meat.

[Treestand]

JMO~ Any Temp over 40*+ You need ICE!

[WA Mtnhunter]

There is no safe temperature to leave an animal not dressed and hung overnight. If skinned and hung, 35 degrees F is about the safe limit to hang overnight. If it is below that, you might be OK to leave a deer hung skin on, but not a larger elk or moose. JMO

[themadflyfisher]

As a chef the major rule of thumb in the kitchen is 42-141deg. Fahrenheit is called the "danger zone". Foods should only be left in this temp. zone for NO longer than 4 hours. So if you kill an animal you should bring the INTERNAL temp of that meat down to 40deg F within 4 hours (which in outdoor temps. above 32deg. can be very difficult without icing the cavity).

[themadflyfisher]

Some easier ways of cooling an animal down before skinning it is to split the ribcage and hang it up by it's hind legs allowing the warm air to escape the chest cavity easier instead of it being trapped by the chest & head when hanging it up right. I always recommend skinning as soon as possible and splitting the deer in half right down the spine to let it hang. JMO

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Too many variables to answer that question accurately: size of animal, type of animal (grouse vs moose), wind conditions, etc.

Always err on the safe side. Never try to cut it close with wild game. Take every precaution.

[Sarge01]

At our camp we have a professional meat cutter with 20 years experience. Our nights usually get down to low to mid 30's and our days sometime get up to 50. We leave the hide on. Our deer are gutted, blood washed out of chest cavity, dried real good, propped open to cool, hung in the shade and left hanging sometimes for 4 or 5 days. The hide insulates the meat from the heat during the day. I didn't believe until my buddy cut a slit in the hide and had me slide my hand under the hide next to the meat and it was so cold you couldn't hold your hand there. Our butcher brings a tenderizer and a grinder and a generator and after the meat is worked up it is put in coolers on ice for the trip home.