This will be year 2 for me hunting in Texas, I am a northern guy stationed down here and all my hunting has been, MN, IA, ND, SD, MT. Question is, the few guys I hunted with last year would bring their kill home or back to the campers to gut. For those of you that do this, why? I and those other northern folk generally gut where they fall or close to it. This way you get it out before it starts to blow up and ruin meat, don't bring that mess back with you and makes the animal lighter and easier to handle. I have never had animals spook over gut piles, in fact killed many animals while smelling the gut pile from a day or two prior, both elk and deer. I am not knocking anyone's process just wanted to know why some folks do this.

Unless it's right under my stand, I'll gut it where it dropped.
I've gutted a many a deer in the morning and the gut pile would all be gone by the afternoon hunt.
Oh, to answer your question, more than likely, the reason people do it at camp or home, they can clean it up easier with a water hose handy.

We clean ours at camp, the longest they go is about three hours and usually much less than that. Personally I have seen lots of deer shy from gut piles. Also, although we haven't yet built our cleaning station, it's handy because there is water to clean up afterwards and light as well. Our cats and Great Pyrennes appreciate the food.

I always gut mine in the field, usually where they fall. If its right in my main shooting lane or under my feeder I'll drag it off 50 yards or so and gut it there. I will also move it to an area where I can get the headlights on it if it is already dark.

Quit shooting.....3 hours? Are they not bloated by then?

Depends.
Some places I hunt have a designated place to dump guts, they just want to make sure guts are not left near camp.
We generally throw the animals in the Ranger and make the few minute drive back to camp where we weigh, gut, skin and hang in the cooler.
The few minutes to drive to camp ain't hurting the meat all all. And two guys can handle any Texas whitetail. The animal will not "blow up" in the short trip.

Example:
I shoot a deer and it falls at the feeder, I load it up an drive back to camp. In 10 minutes it is gutted.
My buddy shoots a deer with his bow (or a bad shot with a rifle). Then waits the 15-30 minutes to go look for it. We look and track for 15-30 minutes, or even for a few hours. He guts it right there. I beat him by an hour or more and I gutted at camp.
Neither animal is ruined.

My property owner doesn't want gut piles left on the land. I cart the deer back to the ranch house which takes all of 20 minutes.

But as I grow older and get more experience, I think this idea of getting the guts out of the animal to let it cool down immediately or else the meat is "ruined" is a false one. I've eaten animals that weren't recovered until the next day, and they tasted just fine.

If by bloated you mean do the gasses build up in their stomachs? Yes, but I've seen that happen in a lot less than three hours. We've taken well over 200 deer in the last 30 years and never had a problem. Again, many times it is not three hours but in cooler weather I've never had a problem shooting a deer at first light and cleaning it at 10am back at camp. One of the reasons we clean at camp is we tend to shoot in groups; three hunters might bring in a deer and I'm usually the cleaner because I'm fast and strong.

The experts will also tell you that the meat should never get wet or you're going to get sick from it but it has been SOP in Texas for decades to quarter deer and put them under ice in a freezer and keep it like that for several days and well, we all alive and kickin'.

In my experience this is very true. I shot a spike one evening that managed to fall into a dry creek bed almost under the bank and we didn't find him until the next morning despite being right on top of him. Overnight temp was around 40 and the meat was nice and cold. He ate well.

Camp. Cleaning station, water, gambrel, pandora, libations, and a couple of extra hands. It's a no brainer for me.

Good to hear the comments and to those that think I was trying to stir the pot I was not. Just trying to see what others do and why. I to have had to recover animals the next day and meat was still good. To those that have a meat cooler at camp I envy you. I used to being able to hang deer and elk for 2 weeks up north and butcher our selves. Now it's a rush to the butcher in this weather. Once again thanks for the thoughts as to why.......we all were brought up different and learn from those in front of us. Good luck to all this year!

I do mine where it falls unless by the feeder and I have yet to shot one standing there eating corn, so...

I drive back and get the tractor...hang it from the fel... clean it at the barn where it can be washed, butchered and put in a freezer. The guts go in the fel and dispersed somewhere away from the barn. Gut pile usually don't last more than 2 days.

I do both depending on the situation. If the deer drops where there will be a long drag, I gut right there because it makes for an easier drag. If he/she falls where it is a short drag to a trail or road where I can get my Truck, then I will use the cleaning station. Much easier to gut and wash with water when they are hanging and you have a hose. If you gut at the cleaning station, it is also easier to save the heart and liver. yum!

This, although I don't actually gut them. Skin, quarter cut straps, some neck trimings and reach in and get the tenderloins. All with the guts still sitting in the chest cavity. Grab the wheelbarrow, and dump the remains about 100 yards away on the bone pile. All this with a cold beer in my hand.

If I'm hunting in my neck of the woods, normally, it's just too easy to load the critter up and do all the cleaning at camp with a water hose and everything else handy. Gut/skin/quarter/pack in ice or hang in cooler depending on where I'm at. As you know it is different up North. I used to hunt Nebraska when I was married and had no choice but to gut the deer in the field. We normally had to drag them big deer out & was always a loooong way from a camp or home where we could hang it up and finish. Plus it was always freakin' cold, so no worries about the meat going bad. Gut where it fell (normally) and drag out. Load in back of truck, wash hands and knife in the snow, and go on about your day. It was sure different my first time hunting up there, kinda like your first down here. I shot a big doe my first trip out with my muzzleloader. We got back to the house that night and the first thing I did was look for a water hose to rinse out the chest cavity. Of course couldn't find one out that time of year and they were looking at me like I'd lost my mind. Ain't no rinsing nothing when everything is frozen I learned.

If I do gut them I always put guts in same pile. I coyote bobcat hunt the pile.

Gut them within 20-30 yards of where they drop. I try to find a hill or something to lay them on so the blood will drain. I also try to not leave the guts on the road.

Some folks just like to make everything a production, my FIL being one of them. I like to get it over quick and clean. I try to always have a jug of water in the truck, rinse more thorough at camp.

If it's been gut shot or I think the shot may have nicked the stomach or guts, I'll gut it where it fell and I'll do it as quick as I can. I've only had to do that with one deer shot by my son. Otherwise, I throw it in the back of the truck or Kubota and take it back to camp. I like to clean them at camp because no matter how much I try to be careful, I still look like I've been in a horror movie after I get done.

I got almost everyone I kill in the field or where they drop. I can move the gut pile away if needed, but vultures are on it quick or coyotes depending on the time of day. I have always gutted deer on the ground and have gotten really quick at it with the right tools. I use a gut hook, knife and tree loppers. On does I can gut one in a minute more or less depending on how many I have had practice on that season. Bucks that someone is wanting to have shoulder mounted I will take a bit more time on.

I've done both field dressing and brought them back to camp. All I know that all this talk of gutting and quartering whitetails is seriously building my anticipation for this season! I enjoy processing my game after the hunt. To me its all part of the experience.

I stopped gutting deer and hogs years ago. I skin and querter put on ice, haul the carcas off.

Back at camp where we have good running water and winch/skinning area. Have guy buckets and haul to ranch dump.