I don't deer hunt until after the first frost.
To me, Deer hunting is a cool weather sport.

I use trash bags and coolers to age my meat. Never had a professional butcher do it. I'm not opposed to it, just never needed the service.

 

I have one in the cooler right now. Warm weather or cool doesn't really change my routine. Cures for a week, then I cut. Except the heart. That got ate tonight.

 

View attachment 156153 I have one in the cooler right now. Warm weather or cool doesn't really change my routine. Cures for a week, then I cut. Except the heart. That got ate tonight.

You age it a week in 80 degree weather?
I'm guessing you have a big refrigerator?

 

It's in a cooler. With ice in it. Keeping it cool.

 

Same here, we have put two away already, and we age a week to 12 days in coolers. Used to have access to a walk-in cooler, but that ended about 5 or 6 years ago. Coolers and ice work just fine if you are vigilant.

But, those were deer that were given to me. I, like @Slacker , do not enjoy hunting until it is nippy at the very least. I will not go until I have to wear a long sleeve shirt at a minimum. I would be just as happy if the season did not even start until November, but then, like some of the other southern states, ran through January or even into February. But I don't want to cramp anyone else's pleasure, so I am just resigned to the seasons being what they are.

 

I've been in the stand twice since rifle season opened. Wasn't horrible but wasn't "comfortable" either...and the mosquitos were bad. I passed on a little feller once and saw nothing the other time.

 

I hate hanging out of a tree while sweating.

Cool and frosty.

Yeah baby.

 

I am lucky enough to hunt close enough to our barn I rarely gut one on the field. I gut/butcher at the same time and age the meat in a old refrigerator. I took all the shelves out and hang hams on hooks and age loins on a rack in the bottom. Shoulders don't take up room because I tend to shoot them up ( Shoulder shot anchors a deer and in hot weather I won't touch one that has sat over night). I can get close to three in the fridge at the same time. I don't bother aging stew/jerky meat. Just the stuff I eat like a steak. Best part of the deer IMHO is the liver. When it gets good and cold I just hang them in an empty stall for 1-2 weeks if it doesn't get above fifty.

 

Neck shots "anchor" them better without the meat loss.

 

Earlier this week I saw the forecast for Saturday morning was a low of 53° outside of Henderson where I have my stand, and that was barely cool enough for me to want to go out for opening day of muzzleloader season. But the forecast has been creeping up since then, and now that it's looking like it's not going to get under 60° I'm getting less and less interested.

I've always used a processor, so I always field dress it then take it in to be butchered, so the heat isn't quite as big of a concern for me, but it's still not good necessarily.

 

I was in the tree on Saturday night in Ashe County. It was way too warm to be hunting deer in late October. Muzzleloader opens Saturday morning and hopefully it will be a bit cooler. We need cold weather for the rut to get interesting.

 

My FIL worked for Coca Cola 45 years. He has the hookup on Coke machines. He takes all the guts out, of the coke machine, puts in a steel bar to hang by. You can get two nice sized deer in one or three smaller. Uses little power and stays around 34 to 36 degrees. He sells 4 or 5 a year.

 

Sweet.

 

Get the deer gutted and out of the woods and to the processor as soon as possible, if it will be awhile fill the gut cavity with ice.
Cooling the meat down buys you extra time.