dirty shot

[K.I.D.D.]

ok soo i know all shoots should be to the lungs, but what happens if you miss and say u hit the stomach, can you still use any meat? is it all spoiled or can can u not use any meat in a certain area? what do you do?

[buckfever]

first off with a gut shot you just hope you find it. takes a while for them to give up the ghost with a gut shot. and i believe an even harder time trackin it. this is heresay from other hunters though. not by my own experience. when i have missed in the past for some reason its always high. not in the belly. i dont think the meat would be affected to a great deal. but like i say lets see what other guys that have experieced this have to say.

[buckfever]

i gotta take that last post back because i did hit a deer low one time (or just crazed it). all i found was white hair. no blood anywhere and i looked for what seemed like forever. im assuming by the white hair i just grazed under the deer.

[K.I.D.D.]

Originally Posted by buckfever

i gotta take that last post back because i did hit a deer low one time (or just crazed it). all i found was white hair. no blood anywhere and i looked for what seemed like forever. im assuming by the white hair i just grazed under the deer.

yeah today i lost my first arrow this season,(the dang arrow nicked the side but kept going)...hence my question on missing.

[burgerking]

my first deer i hit the lungs but also nicked the stomach(weird angle). It only ran 40 yards, but like i said i got the lungs too. anyway, i dont think it will wreck the meat much, just rinse it off real good and it should be fine, just try not to let it sit before you clean it. Oh yea...plug your nose!

[alabama deer hunting fool]

Usually it doesnt mess up the meat... Just make sure you wash it out very very very good!!!!!! I've made a few bad shots... I always clean them really good

[midwestmonsters]

I have shot a few deer in the gut but i was always lucky enough to get a second shot on the deer. It is always messing the clean them but it wont ruin the meat. Like bugerking said dont let them sit, you have to get the mess out of there or else it will rot. I let me couzin from chicago hunt my spot, bad mistake. he ended up shooting the big boy in the guut right before dark. I tild him to let the deer expire. we went and found him int eh morning and it was already to late. even with a cold night he was still bad. we capped hime and got whatever meat we could.So the best way to prevent this is practice practice and pratice and don t make the gut shot.

[timberghost]

With an arrow it shouldn't be bad at all but if you hit that area with a bullet you will 99.9% have a nasty mess on your hands. Normally when you have a gut shot and you do retrieve the deer the main area to inspect is the tenderloins.

[Whitetail_ENT]

If the temperature outside is cooler than 40 degrees(the stronger the wind, the better!), you could let that deer sit for 24 hours and still use the meat without any problem. Should the outside temperature be higher than 40 you want to find and get the deer cooled below 40 degrees within 4 hours. After 4 hours the potential for bacterial growth is too high to consider consuming the meat.

Gut shotting a deer makes no difference whether or not the meat will be good. Simply take a damp towel and wipe away any mess and wipe with a dry towel after that.

[BruceBruce1959]

Whatever kind of shot it took to down the deer, just dress it out quickly, and if you can, wipe the inside of the cavity out, do it. then HEAD HOME, IF it was a dirty gut shot, Hose the cavity out (with cold water only) as soon as you get home A.S.A.P.

Note: I Always hose out the cavity regardless of where or how it was shot.

IN most cases you have to hang the deer overnight because the deer has to be reported at a weigh station/check-In station/ reporting station or whatever your state calls it...
IF the outside temperature is 40 degrees or lower you're all set to just hang the deer head down Overnight and the meat will be fine.. IF it's going to be warmer than 40 degrees GO to the store and buy a bag or 2 of Ice and place the bags in the cavity of the animal and that should be all that needs to be done for an overnight hang...

the Butcher will determine if any of the meat is bad... In most cases The meat won't be affected at all...