How do y’all keep your meat cool after the kill? I always quarter mine down, and put it straight on ice in a cooler, never wrap in plastic. I have heard arguments for both ways.

What says the THF brain trust?

I gut mine, put in cooler, fill cavity with two bags of ice. Simple and never had an issue

I keep big frozen water jugs, iced tea jugs, etc. for this purpose. Especially if I'm killing an axis in summer and running into town to the processor.

There's a walk-in cooler on our lease, so we usually skin, gut and hang whole and quarter later with a Sawzall in the cool of the cooler.

For me, has always depended on outdoor temperature. If highs in 40s or less, don't worry too much about having it hanging for a day or so, then off to processor.

I usually do my own processing, so my process will be different than those that take to a processor. If cold, hang it in the shade and leave hanging until I am ready to process. I like to age mine for up to 5 days before processing. If it is warm, I get the XXL ziplocks from wally world, quarter, de-bone the hams, and you can fit a large deer in one bag. Put in cooler on ice and let it sit for the 5 days to age.

If weather is cool I gut and skin it and let it hang for awhile, then quarter it and into the 150 quart cooler. If weather is warm gut it, skin and quarter it then straight to the ice in cooler

Straight, no plastic.

I gut it and put it in the walk in cooler. If I’m hunting where there is no walk-in cooler I quarter and put on ice but leave the drain open so the meat doesn’t sit in water. If it’s cool enough I’ll leave it hanging over night as well then take to processor.

I don't even gut my deer. I hang it by the back legs and skin down past the shoulders. I then take off the shoulders and go for both backstraps next. Then I will open up the cavity a little between the hindquarters and remove the tenderloins. Finally, I cut and divide the hindquarters. Everything goes under ice in the ice chest if its not below 50F. The head stays with me and the rest to the coyotes. The meat is always better to hang and "age" for about a week provided you have a walk in cooler or if it stays below 50.

I like to gut and wash out cavity with cold water asap. Then ice in the cavity on the way to the processor, if it’s warm.

I normally don’t guy my deer, just hang, skin, quarter and pack on ice in a cooler. We don’t have a walk in cooler, and our cleaning station has no shade. Only time I’ll guy a deer is if I’m having the entire things made into sausage, then I take ribs neck and all with me.

You normally don’t gut your deer?

I have been wanting to try removing all meat without gutting. I’ve seen a few videos.

I do gut my deer right after I tag it, but I'm after the heart and liver. After that, skin in camp and everything on ice ASAP.

I gut in the field and then skin it at the house. I am lucky to hunt where I live so after I skin it and wash it down. I let it drain and cool in the shade for a little while, dependent on temps. I keep an older fridge in the barn that I can put the quarters and trimmings into to cool down if I am processing myself. If I am taking it into town I will quarter and put in an ice chest with several frozen jugs.

I don't gut my deer. I process all my own so I just hang it skin it and cut my meat off of it and throw it in a white trash bag and put it in the bottom of the fridge for a few days. Then start cutting it up.

I just toss em in the truck and head to camp. Dont remove the guts, just skin then drop front shoulder, cut out backstrap. Trim back the innards to get to the loins then drop the rib cage guts, in a tub and haul it off to the buzzard meet. Lay it in the cooler quatered with ice packed between.

Hang it in the walk in, which was built inside one end of a Conex. Turned out great.

I hunt on our place, so after shooting the deer I drag it with ATV to the barn. Then hang it and skin it and then remove the meat. Don’t gut them any more. Put the meat on and under ice for a few days. The wife takes it from there. Packages up the backstrap and grinds most of the rest. The remains of the deer go to the back pasture for the critters, and as coyote bait.

Hunted with some guys in West Texas for a few years....they’d shoot a deer, skin and quarter and throw quarters and back straps in a big ice chest full of slushy ice water and leave meat in there for 2-3 days. They’d drain a little water and add ice. Quartered meat would bleed out quite a bit and turn white. Never understood that process...but the stuff they’d make from the meat and bring to camp was always pretty dayum good.
Myself I would never put red meat in water.

All my years in the mountains hunting on foot taught me to bone-out my meat on site. I don't carry extra weight like bone and hide or guts. I am used to it so it just comes naturally. I can fit all the meat from a deer in my pack and walk back to truck or camp. I have a fanny pack that the top unzips into a backpack, I have carried out dozens of deer in that pack since the early 90's, has had a few zipper replacements since then but still use it everywhere I go.

Same here. Did the gut-less method on 2 deer last year and it works great. I keep the tenderloins and straps, rest goes to the processor.

Depending on temperatures we will gut and hang for a bit. If it is an evening kill and cool enough let it hang overnight then skin quarter and debone. If its hot we gut hang skin quarter and cut the rib/flank/straps and loins out into meat tubs that go in a fridge to cool. I hate cutting warm meat.

Hang, gut, skin, quarter up, then throw on ice. I always keep the meat on top of the ice and ALWAYS leave the plug open so it can drain. I let it chill for 5-6 days then process it at the house.