Author Topic: should I eat the meat?  (Read 4195 times)

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Offline sman

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should I eat the meat?
« on: December 02, 2007, 06:35:34 PM »
     I shot a nice big 8 pointer the other day and it had already been hit in the bottom half of each rear quarter.  Upon skinning the deer I found a big area around each wound that was kind of yellow and slimmy looking, I dont know if this is gang green or just starting to get infected.  This kind of turned me off about eating the deer.  What do you guys think about eating any of the other meat off this deer?  Do you think this infection gets through out the meat of the entire deer?      Thanks, Steve 

Offline buffermop

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2007, 06:46:05 PM »
Yikes :o I would definitely pass that one up.

Offline Siskiyou

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2007, 08:36:16 PM »
Sounds like the deer is filled with infection from the wound.  I would have left it in the woods.  Want to kill your families appetite for venison, serve that deer up.
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Offline corbanzo

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2007, 04:57:09 AM »
Agreed.... better safe than sorry, that is for sure.  The stuff that can fester up and pass through the body from something like that is definitely not something I would want to mess with. 
"At least with a gun that big, if you miss and hit the rocks in front of him it'll stone him to death..."

Offline teddy12b

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2007, 05:26:15 AM »
If it were me, I wouldn't even touch the thing again.  It's too bad, but you can't jeopardize the health of whoever you'd feed that too. 

Offline DDelle338

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2007, 08:32:34 AM »
  I have to be the only one to disagree. I had the same situation last year, talked to a Dr. and a Vet friend. They both said it was a localized infection and didn't effect the rest of the body. Just cut away the effected area and eat the rest. I did in fact trust both individuals and ate the other meat. Tasted fine and I had no ill effects.  I understand your concerns, I felt like you and that is why I asked. But it is up to you. Are you close to south central PA.?  I'll take it off your hands.;)
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Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2007, 09:06:27 AM »
most hunt to get a few meals of special fare ! if it worries ya why eat it ?
call game warden and see if you can get tag back if season is still open !
If i can't enjoy it - wouldn't eat it !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline beemanbeme

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2007, 04:40:58 AM »
It might be fine to eat but I don't think I could put a bite of it in my mouth without visualizing the open, oozing wounds. It'd turn me off'n deer meat I'm afraid.  That's something I wouldn't want to chance.

Offline ~Ace~

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2007, 05:29:41 AM »
Damn right I'd eat it

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2007, 05:38:06 AM »
The movie COLD MOUNTAIN had some guys eating a tainted deer !
check it out and then make up your mind !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline ~Ace~

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2007, 05:42:04 AM »
Just FYI... Movies are not real  ::)

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2007, 05:45:45 AM »
That may be true , but some depict reality in an uncanny way !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline DDelle338

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2007, 07:16:44 AM »
The movie COLD MOUNTAIN had some guys eating a tainted deer !
check it out and then make up your mind !

We aren't talking about week old road kill.
This critter was on the hoof up until it was given a lethal dose of lead poisoning by SMAN. It had an area around a wound that was infected. That's not being "tainted". But like I said, I understood his concerns and know that some people are more easily "turned off" by something than others are.
  I don't play the Banjo, or canoe anymore because of another movie I saw. ::)
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Offline ~Ace~

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2007, 07:20:17 AM »
HEY ! No Personal shots.. you Had to know it's my brother that was playing the Banjo !   :'(

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2007, 07:34:16 AM »
if liquid was oozing out both hind quarters and it wasn't fresh blood the meat is tainted IMHO !

ya'll enjoy !

If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline six_gunz

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #15 on: December 14, 2007, 07:43:13 AM »
It might be fine to eat but I don't think I could put a bite of it in my mouth without visualizing the open, oozing wounds. It'd turn me off'n deer meat I'm afraid. 



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Offline six_gunz

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #16 on: December 14, 2007, 07:44:27 AM »
The movie COLD MOUNTAIN had some guys eating a tainted deer !
check it out and then make up your mind !




Awesome flick!!!
"I don't hunt for the kill, I kill for the hunt!"

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #17 on: December 14, 2007, 07:45:16 AM »
that it is !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline ~Ace~

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #18 on: December 14, 2007, 09:15:46 AM »
I reckon being Poor White Trash all my life has given me a dif perspective on Food... I don't Waste it, if it's a lil off, I cook it a lil longer.

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #19 on: December 14, 2007, 09:17:45 AM »
enjoy !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline giturgun

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #20 on: December 14, 2007, 12:39:46 PM »
I don't even eat gut shot ones. Just my choice. Don't take any bad shots so I don't have to worry about it. Was good that you put it out of it's misery. I can't stand shooting at hair , don't understand the use of it and no one hunts on my place that throws up and shoots wild. Just me and my feelings. Got a friend that I found out is like that . Shoots when he sees hair in the scope , he don't hunt here or with me anymore. Period So I guess it will be a definant no for me

   By the way I just run the old snoot over the crock pot to check on my back strap slow cooking on low tonight . Smelled pretty good ! Guess I 'll rant somewhere else for a spell.

Offline 30-06man

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #21 on: December 14, 2007, 02:05:44 PM »
I might would. I can't make that decision because I can't see it and don't really want to.
The sportsman lives his life vicariously. For he secretly yearns to have lived before, in a simpler time. A time when his love for the land, water, fish and wildlife would be more than just part of his life. It would be his state of mind

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Offline The Gamemaster

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2007, 02:30:13 PM »
I guess compared to some people, I am a old timer, considering that I have butchered meat since I was 7 years old and I am now 43.

In that time frame of a dad and an uncle and a grandfather and two brothers and a cousin that all hunts deer.  Plus neighbors and relatives and friends that has also asked me to cut their meat for them - I have done hundreds of deer in my time.

Without a degree in Veterinarian Sciences, I cannot tell you over the Internet - weather or not your meat is fine.

BUT

In 35 years of being around meat, and having a cousin that was a PA Dept. Of Agriculture meat inspector.  I can say with a clear conscience that you will not die from eating a piece of meat that came somewhere other than the injured portion of the deer that you harvested.

My dad once shot a doe that only had 3 legs.  I'm sure that if you been around me long enough that I already told this story before.  It came running down a hill in antlerless deer season and my dad shot it and it took a couple of steps and was walking funny.  My dad finished it off and when he went to field dress it - he noticed something wasn't right.  It only had 3 legs.  One of its front legs was missing and it scabbed over and you couldn't tell there was anything wrong with the deer -- other than it walked with a limp when it was going slow.  When it ran, it put its front leg into the middle of its chest and ran just fine on 3.

We cut that deer up and threw away the ribs - just as we always did and ate the rest.  None of us got sick and none of us died.

It sickens my stomach when someone shoots a deer because they want the antlers - just to find out that someone stuck it with a arrow in archery season and it lived until rifle season and then some fool shot it and refused to eat the meat.

MOST of the times, the PGC Game Warden will refuse to give you a second tag and they will also charge you $10 a point if you want to keep the rack.

There are Lot's of scam artists out there that will shoot a deer and tag it to win a buck pool or just be able to brag that they shot a big one - only to find out when they get home that there was something wrong with the meat.  They then think that the state owes them a second tag and that they should be able to keep the rack!

A friend of mine owns a processing plant and they have called the game warden several times over that issue and the game warden tells them that if it was no good when they shot it that they should have left it there and that they are not eligible for a second tag.  It makes people mad, but once you find out that you cannot get away with it, you won't think twice about trying to call them and have them feel sorry about the situation.

If it was a arrow, and if the season ended 1 month ago, the yellow or green that you see is actually the wound healing.  In nature the wound will either scab over, heal over or the limb that is affected will fall off.  If it had gangrene that bad, it would just die somewhere out in the woods and that would be the end of it.

Deer gets hit by cars everyday.  Deer gets into fights and gets gored and injured every day during the rut, yet if you didn't see it until after you caped the deer out, you never would know that it was injured in the first place.

It sickens me when I walk through the woods in hunting season and someone shot a deer and left it lay.  How people all of a sudden becomes deer experts is beyond me.  I couldn't tell you if it was ruined or not until I got it home.  How could you tell me that it was ruined.

As far as gut shot deer goes, if you shoot it, you eat it.

You take the deer and you gut it out as best as you can.  Then you find a spring or a creek and throw the deer into it.  Wash it out until you get it as clean as you can get it.  Take it home and hang it in a tree and get a wash bucket and a garden hose if you have one and wash it again.

Then cape it out as soon as you can and wash it again.

I don't eat the ribs, so you can quarter the deer and hang it in your shed or garage on hooks and throw the ribs away.

I will guarantee you that if you do this, and then trim off any tainted meat that you will never get sick from eating gut shot deer.

My one brother did one last Saturday and after we got it home, he gave it to his sister in law.

I gave him heck for not doing a good job field dressing it out before we took it out of the woods.
But his wife and his sister in law doesn't get along good and I think he did it just for spite.

I just finished cutting up 2 deer today and I will guarantee you that you will not find a hair or a piece of bone or dirt or leaves or feces in any of my meat.  I clean my butcher boards and my knives and my pans for meat every 15 minutes.  When I am done, I clean everything with Clorox and Dawn dish detergent and hot water.  I will guarantee you that 90% of the processing plants that you take your deer to does not do that as often as I do.

So you can actually get worse meat from the butcher - just because his shop was not clean and he cut someone else deer before yours and transfered dirt, feces,hair, blood, infectious meat etc. onto your deer meat.

Throw away what ever you are not sure of and keep or give away the rest.

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #23 on: December 17, 2007, 01:45:07 AM »
gee been processing meat for over 40 years myself , and fer sure cleanliness is Paramount ! I wash mine before I freeze it or cook it !
I also hunt in an area where deer have disease and the game department do replace tags . If you wish to eat a deer with the chance of making you sick GO FOR IT !  I DON'T NEED TO ! LIKE ONE GAME WARDEN TOLD US - IF ITS COOKED LONG ENOUGH IT IS SAFE TO EAT ! BUT THEN IT AIN'T FIT TO EAT CAUSE IT IS OVER COOKED !
We kill several deer and find sometimes many that have or died from disease , one guy found over 40 while walking a 6 mile stretch of river ( they seem to go to water in the final stages )
If ya can't enjoy your meal for worry , why eat it ?
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline giturgun

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #24 on: December 17, 2007, 12:32:19 PM »
Guess I didn't make it clear enough . I don't eat gut shot deer because I don't gut shoot em in the first place. Never get excited about killin one , it's just a target. Don't shoot if it is not a good shot. Didn't like this years shot simply because the deer went about 10 yds. I like to drop em in the road and back the truck up to em load em up and drive about 50 yards to the front yard , wash em out with the garden hose and wrap em in a tarp , pack the gut cavity with ice and go check out the game . Then drive to Va and either let it hang overnight or skin it out at my sisters house. They got a shed set up to skin in.

Am even more old fashioned than most others, while growing up we killed 3 or 4 hogs and at least 2 beef a year not including the traded help with others , sometimes we probably did 12 or more hogs and probably 4 or 5 other beef besides ours. Them was the good old days cut out the tenderloin and when I was a very young pup it was my job to get it to the house to be fried for lunch. Man that was fresh meat . Right out of the cow in into the skillet.All this is probably just old wives tales or urban legend , but I don't care , it is my dime I'll spend it any way I want. Better not make a hog squeal or a beef not drop straight down . You would never hear the end of it . The old farmers swore it tainted their meat and that was that. Guess it carried over to my hunting , I wait for a very good shot only shoot with a rest . The one I took this year was not up to par, won't happen again. I shot while the body was behind a bush . If I had waited the deer would probably stepped behind a 18 to 20 inch popular tree. Next time I will just let one go by . Lesson learned.

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #25 on: December 18, 2007, 01:47:42 AM »
that's fantastic !
we knock um down anyway we can cause most are running with hounds on their tails !
gut um where they fall and often carry them a mile or more to get to the truck !
don't drop many in the road as its illegal to do so round here !
different strokes for different folks ! RIGHT !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline dukkillr

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #26 on: December 18, 2007, 06:25:50 AM »
I wouldn't eat it.  Can't think of a reason to eat it. 

Offline teddy12b

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #27 on: December 18, 2007, 06:48:40 AM »
When you harvested the animal you had the best of intentions with eating it.  I'm pretty sure if you'd have known it was going to have nasty/sickly spot on it you'd have let it walk on by.  I don't think there is any shame in not eating the meat, you had the best of intentions but it didn't work out.

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #28 on: December 18, 2007, 07:39:23 AM »
some would have put it out its misery !
and some would drink the KOOL-AID ! no matter what !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline 30-06man

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Re: should I eat the meat?
« Reply #29 on: December 18, 2007, 10:53:09 AM »
If it was hurt I would have shot it. Then when I skin it out I plan on using the meat but if it looks infected then no I am probably not going to eat it unless it isn't that bad. Like I said It depends. I don't think its wrong to kill a deer and not eat the meat. You could give it to charity and I do that a lot with bucks if I am just looking for a rack and don't need more meat.
The sportsman lives his life vicariously. For he secretly yearns to have lived before, in a simpler time. A time when his love for the land, water, fish and wildlife would be more than just part of his life. It would be his state of mind

Rick