What Do I Do Now?

[Wanderer]

I've been looking forward to the upcoming bow season here in Indiana, I was let go from my job on Jan 27th of this year , so I'll have the entire bow season to hunt. Whoo-Hoo.
A complication has arisen. A neighbor, 2 miles east and 1 mile south of me, has just received a nuisance permit that allows him to take 20 deer from his farm fields. He told me that I could have the venison if I wanted it. I hate to see deer go to waste, but , if I take even as few as 2 or 3, I'll not feel right killing a couple of deer this fall. I'd donate the meat to Hunters Feeding The Hungry, but , as I'm not working, I don't know if I can afford to pay for butchering and then donate the meat. As it stands right now, I told him to call me whenever he kills a deer and I'll come get it. I can gut,skin and butcher it myself, but, it's July, and that doesn't leave much time to process the meat. Nice problem to have, I guess. Any suggestions?

[fasteddie]

I contacted a farmer that I saw on TV explaining a problem he had with nuisance deer about 4 years ago . He gave me permits to shoot deer in the summer . It's rough because of the warm weather . You have to do everything fast so the meat won't spoil . On a couple of occasions I have purchased a couple bags of ice to put in the field dressed cavity to keep it cool .
Once I had my foot in the door , I got my oldest son involved in helping the farmer . He gets my youngest son to come over and help so they can expedite the process .
If your friend shoots the deer in warm weather and you can't pick them up in a timely manner , the meat may spoil . Not good ! Would he let you shoot any of the deer ? We are only allowed to shoot does .
As for Hunters for the Hungry , we have done that . The DEC has a list of designated Butcher Shops that will take the deer and process them for the program . The state pays for the processing in New York State .

[msbadger]

Wanderer....if you have the refrigeration room and can grind the meat ...take the deer and make it into what I call the goodie stuff......summer sausage...spice sticks...thuranger(sp)...ect...or lots of jerky....do you or know anyone with a smoker?
 then during reg season any deer you get can go for table fare....roasts ...steaks ...stew meat and burger

[vipertech]

We get nuisance permits for our farms too.  I don't go anymore.  The warm weather was just not worth it.  Once you kill a deer, gutting it in hot weather BECAUSE OF THE BUGS(!!!!) is terrible.  Seriously....it's a major PITA.  

Sitting on stand fighting the bugs is not worth it either.  You have to do one of a couple of things:  1.  Dress super light as in shorts, t-shirt. Then DOUSE yourself with bug spray.  Effectively ending all chance of being scent free.  2.  Dress with enough layers to protect your skin from bugs and/or wear a bug suit.  Then BOIL to death in the heat. Again, effectively ending all chance of remaining scent free.   3.  Go out only on days that are not as hot or when the weather is bad, like light rain, etc.

One thing to also keep in mind.  If you shoot some does on nuisance permits, you might make your regular season very very slow.  You could easily upset the balance.  This of course depends on just how out of control your herd is.

As an FYI: the DEC is giving these permits NOT as a free license to hunt BUT as a means to protect crops.  Hunting should not be out in the woods or they can get on your case.  You'd also better make sure your hunting over an actual crop fields too.  They can get testy over this.  I know because a neighbor once saw me going out to hunt on nuisance permits but did not know I had these permits. He called the DEC.  The officer talked to my Brother-in-law about all of what I just mentioned.  I was in the right but needless to say, it reinforced the rules. 

[buckhunter21]

I see your issue here.  I guess help your neighbor out as much as you can and when he shoots one, if he's not willing to take it in to get butchered, you can do that and then donate it.  Usually you don't have to pay for processing this way.  Also, maybe take one or two deer yourself (however much you need to last till next year), and then when you go out hunting this fall, if you like shooting big bucks, only hunt for them.  If you end up shooting one, then you can take it in and donate it as well.  If you don't, you enjoyed a lot of fun time in the stand.  Sounds like a win-win to me! 

[passin through]

You might check around like Eddie said for Butcher shops the state pays to cut up for H 4 H or for ones that donate thier services or would this time of year for H 4 H or a local food pantry.  Our Hunters 4 the Hungry program utilizes shops that donate their services.  He needs to definitly expidite the skin and gut process once he has the deer down.  & if one happens to be gut shot I personally would not fool with it unless maybe for dog feed.

[fasteddie]

Go to this site and look for the information in your state
http://www.nrahq.org/hunting/hungry_nat_list.asp

[Wanderer]

I appreciate all the help given here. I better call around and see who will take deer at this time of year. The one guy that I talked to last week doesn't even have the power on to his walk in cooler at this time of year. Think about what it would take for a commercial deer processor to open up for onesie-twosies and then have to clean up all his saws,grinders,etc. I guess if I'm gonna do it, it'll have to be in my own barn at the coolest part of the day. I'm not really interested in "hunting" the deer myself, but I'd feel better if I was there when the trigger gets pulled. At least then I'd know how long the deer was down before it was taken care of. I'm thinking of building a little room and putting a window air conditioner in it. Kind of a "mini walk in cooler". I doubt I could get it any cooler than 60 degrees, but that might be enough to get through processing.

[Squirrelhawker]

Sometimes the best you can do, is the best you can do.
 
If I couldn't get the whole job done on a nuisance animal, I might consider at least taking the back straps.
 
Any deer can be quartered and strapped without touching the body cavity, at least limiting insect activity.
 
Someone was mentioning a vacuum packer the other day and how it seriously lengthened shelf life in the freezer. This might ease your mind a bit about taking in more meat than you normally would
 
A quality bug suit can reduce the amount of repellant needed for a warm weather sit.

[Squirrelhawker]

Kind of a "mini walk in cooler". I doubt I could get it any cooler than 60 degrees, but that might be enough to get through processing.

ORIGINAL: Wanderer

I appreciate all the help given here. I better call around and see who will take deer at this time of year. The one guy that I talked to last week doesn't even have the power on to his walk in cooler at this time of year. Think about what it would take for a commercial deer processor to open up for onesie-twosies and then have to clean up all his saws,grinders,etc. I guess if I'm gonna do it, it'll have to be in my own barn at the coolest part of the day. I'm not really interested in "hunting" the deer myself, but I'd feel better if I was there when the trigger gets pulled. At least then I'd know how long the deer was down before it was taken care of. I'm thinking of building a little room and putting a window air conditioner in it. Kind of a "mini walk in cooler". I doubt I could get it any cooler than 60 degrees, but that might be enough to get through processing.

 
I dunno, but depending on how you built it it might get a whole lot cooler than that. Especially with a window unit that was designed to remove heat from a much larger area, installed in a space just large enough to hang a deer in. Might be a good idea.