# How can you tell if a deer has spoiled?



## killabig1

Some hunters may find their shot deer after many hours or the next day, and when its warm out, there is the risk of the meat spoiling.

How can you tell if its spoiled? If you see green or nasty slime on the meat, does that mean the entire deer is spoiled? Can you scrape the bad part off? 

If its spoiled on the surface, is the meat on the inside bad too? Can one part be bad and the rest OK? Can you tell by smelling or visual inspection?


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## Handgunner

In this current heat, I wouldn't want to touch one that's been dead for more than 2-3 hours... 4 hours tops.

After death, the meat starts to rot immediately, which is why it's so important to find, cut and clean one as soon as possible.

On colder days, I'd say the time may be longer, and on nights when the temperatures are near freezing or below, it would probably be safe to consume one.

If I ever saw green or nasty slime on the meat, I would discard the whole thing without hesitation.

Yes you can tell by smelling and looking.  IF it looks bad, it's bad, if it looks good but smells bad, it's bad.

You'll know if it's bad or not when you take a big whiff of it...


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## gordylew

I was told that if the hair pulls out easily, then the meat maybe bad.  don,t now if this is a wives tale.


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## Glenn

I have let them lay over night when the temps on in the low 50's and below with no problem. It all depends on when they die.

Say you shoot a deer at dark 30 with your bow and you made a good hit but a little far back and you decide to wait till the next day to recover it.

That deer may go bed up and not die for several hours. So that means by 6:00 am the next day maybe that deer has only been dead for 4 or 5 hours. Still good? More than likely, yes...

But if it is stiff and the meat smells bad (not the guts) then I say cut the horns off and bury the deer.


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## Bruz

I shot my Doe at 7:50 and she went 250 yards....I don't know how long she lived but by 7:30 the next morning she was bad...I quartered her and the smell of the meat was .........."distinctive"...Yea that's it.  I had to do the last thing I wanted to with my first Bow Kill.....bury her. It got down to 58 that night.


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## chambers270

How about if the deer is stiff? If it is a warm night and you are not sure how long it has been dead can you check this? 

I dont know, all the deer I shot with a gun I recovered in a couple of minutes. But I need to pay attention to this now because I am bowhunting.


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## huntnnut

If the hair slips ie. pulls out real easy I would say the odds of the meat being bad is like 100%.


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## SouthPaw Draw

I think if a deer lays in the woods over night after being shot the temp needs to be in the 40's for the meat to be ok. One thing to remember, when a deer is shot and lays on the ground all night, the body is slow to cool while laying on the ground with the hide on it. Its hard for even cold air to circulate around the body to cool it. Not to mention the guts still being in it too can spend up the spoilage process on meat.


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## Jim Thompson

no tried or true method and no tried or true temps for spoilage.  BUT if the deer has any odor to the MEAT at all other than meat smell it is spoiled


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## huntnnut

SouthPaw Draw said:


> One thing to remember, when a deer is shot and lays on the ground all night, the body is slow to cool while laying on the ground with the hide on it. Its hard for even cold air to circulate around the body to cool it. Not to mention the guts still being in it too can spend up the spoilage process on meat.



That's true and the side that's laying on the ground will be the side to first show signs of slippage.


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