Shooting a deer on its stomach is not a rare phenomenon. Especially if you’re new to hunting, missing your target is not a big deal. It always takes a while to master any skill. It’s a dilemma whether or not you should eat a gut-shot deer or not. You’re probably in that dilemma too.
So can you eat a gut-shot deer?
Yes, it’s pretty common to eat a gut-shot deer. However, you must wash the deer thoroughly before preparing it for eating. Also, you must be quick so that the stomach fluid and indigestible foods can’t spread. Even after all these, there are several parts like the liver of the deer you should avoid.
This is not all. The full article contains a lot of information which will help you clear all your queries. So go ahead and give it a read!
Why You Shouldn’t Eat A Gut-Shot Deer
The first reason not to eat a gut-shot deer is health concerns. If you shoot a deer into its stomach, it will definitely puncture the gut cavity. A punctured stomach of a deer will expose the undigested foods, liquids, and millions of bacterias.
n the worst-case scenario, the stomach can also carry parasites if the deer is sick. All of these will immediately spread and touch other parts of the body. As a result, those parts get spoiled and inedible.
The smell coming from those spoilt parts is awful and intense. So even if you cook such meat, the smell will make you vomit after eating.
More importantly, you’re exposing yourself to different deadly diseases due to that. This probably doesn’t change the taste that much. But the smell should make you think the taste is terrible.
Is There A Way To Eat A Gut-Shot Deer?
There are some easy steps to eat a gut-shot deer despite the risk factors. Wash the deer right after the kill and thoroughly clean the parts near the stomach.
For this, you’ll need a massive amount of water supply. If you look around, there should be creeks or lakes around the Hunting place.
Remove the gut as soon as possible from the deer. If any other parts of the body are ruined, remove those as well. You can do this while separating different parts of the body as well. But then you must be extra careful.
At first, try removing the neck meats, back straps, and all the quarters. Then you have to retrieve the parts of the body as well. However, to be good at hunting, you must master the skill of attracting a deer.
In that case, a good deer attractant can give you an edge.
Which Parts Are Safe To Eat?
Different parts of a gut-shot deer body are more contaminated than the others. It is recommended that you don’t eat the liver, stomach cavity, and tenderloins. These organs have a greater possibility of getting spoiled.
But if you’re willing to take the risk, you can have those as well. Just wash the parts over and over again before eating.
Should You Send A Gut-Shot Deer To A Butcher Shop?
To quarter and cut the deer into smaller parts, sending it to a butcher shop is very convenient. Usually, it should not cause any problem. But how they manage the whole process is tough to say from the outside.
There are butcher shops that don’t clean the carcass properly. Washing the entire deer with utmost care is a must when it comes to a gut-shot one. So if the shop is a renowned one or you know them very well, go for it. Otherwise, you’re taking a huge risk doing it.
However, butchering the whole deer by yourself is not feasible, and it takes a lot of effort and equipment to do so.
Time Is The Key
While processing a gut-shot deer, timing is the key. You need to be very quick in the whole process. The more you wait, the more chances of contamination of more parts.
The ideal time is usually one hour. But the faster you can manage it, the better. So after you pick up the deer, go and look for a creek or any other water source.
In case you fail to find one, use your drinking water for the clean-up purpose. A slight delay can sometimes cause you to abandon the whole deer.
However, you might want to grill the deer to prepare it for eating.
The Temperature Factor
Temperature is another important factor here. If it is winter, you get a specific advantage. In cooler temperatures, the stomach fluids will take more time to spread. Thus you get a bit more time for finishing up the process.
Also, in the winter, raw meats can be preserved outside for a longer period of time.
So this is it. This is all you need to know about the precautions you need to take before eating a gut-shot deer.
Are The Taste & Smell Different?
As we mentioned before, the taste remains pretty much the same. However, the smell is a deciding factor here, and your nose can play a judgemental factor in this case. If you get any rotten smell from the deer, avoid eating it.
And if there is no rotten smell coming from the deer, it is pretty safe to say that it is edible.
And with this, our discussion has come to its end. We hope our guide will be helpful for you!
FAQs
Does a wounded deer ever run uphill?
No, a wounded deer will never run uphill. The deer is in unimaginable pain after getting hit by an arrow. So it usually looks for a water source. Sometimes they have a hard time figuring out what is going on. In that case, the deer just backed out.
Should you pet a wild deer?
Deers are wild animals. They are, however, pretty familiar with the human presence. So it is generally discouraged to pet a wild deer. In the mating season, they become very territorial and aggressive. At that time, approaching a deer for petting can be deadly. A deer can kick you or headbutt you if it intends to hurt you.
What does it mean when a deer snorts at you?
Snorting is a common trait among wild animals. They forcefully expel air through their nasal passage to make this distinctive sound. By this, the animal smells the thing and assesses whether it can cause any harm or not. Whenever a whitetail deer snorts, it means it’s an alarm signal and is in a dangerous position.
What are diseases carried by a deer?
Deers typically carry Q fever, chlamydiosis, leptospirosis, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, and giardiasis. However, there are also STDs carried by deers. The most common STD deers carry is brucellosis or undulant fever. However, the good news is deer meat doesn’t spread Lyme disease.
Last Words
We hope to clear out all your queries about can you eat a gut-shot deer. Be careful when you go hunting, so you don’t get attacked by any wild animal. And refrain from hunting any endangered species.
If you still have any questions, feel free to let us know.
Until next time, goodbye!
