Moose Recovery and Tainted Meat

[dumoulin]

Well hell. I've been after a moose since early September and saw many but had very few ethical opportunities to bag one. Tonight, I was able to find one and take what I thought was a great broadside shot from 150 yards away. After the shot I waited for about 5 minutes and then headed to see where it dropped. It turns out that I needed to track it. I found some deep red blood on the snow (more at first and less and less after 200 yards) and on willows and branches about 40" off the ground. This leads me to believe I may have hit it further back than anticipated like a liver or even a gut shot.

Anyhow, I had to abandon the search as it got too dark to see. It was a real difficult decision to pull the plug tonight because I know if the coyote don't find it, the magpies may! In the unlikely event that I get to it first, if it turns out that it is gut shot, would the meat still be good? I'm thinking so but not the loins and the ribs... Anyone have experience with this?

This really make me upset since I took the time to make sure everything was done just right...😡 It will be even worse to tag a carcasses or potentialy spoiled meat which I'll have to pack out of the bush by hand!

[catnthehat]

Deep red sounds like a liver hit, yup ,
Get on him early and hopefully you will pick him up quick.
As far as the meat goes, hard to tell until you actually reach him!
Good luck!
Cat

[Training Wheels]

Meat will be fine, birds will grab the eyes and around the wound. Would recommend avoiding tenderloins and trimming anything that came in contact with waste. It's cold out, keep at it. Good luck!

[mastercraft]

ya been there should be ok get him in morn

[alacringa]

Liver shot will bleed out internally, fairly quickly. As has been said, Magpies won't get far into it. Heck, they might even help you find it. If the intestines are punctured, then you'll want to be very careful with anything in the body cavity. meat outside of that should be fine, especially at these temps.

[Smokinyotes]

I'm not sure what experience you guys have shooting moose but I know from shooting a lot of moose if the hide doesn't come off and allowed to cool there is a pretty good chance it will be sour, especially through the shoulders.

[Lefty-Canuck]

It's a full moon....I would give it 5-6 hours, set my alarm and go find him tonight personally. Otherwise the side he lays on will hold in the heat and the blood will pool and possibly cause bone sour in the hip. Grab some buddies and some flashlights.

LC

[sjemac]

Won't sour overnight.

[waterninja]

I really hope you find it tomorrow and get it out fairly quickly. Wouldn't worry to much about the coyotes or birds. Not much they can do with a whole moose. We are not talking about a gut pile.
On the other hand.... Bring a saw or battery sawsall along. When you find your moose, gut it quickly and crack it open to cool. A butcher I know had to turn away 2 moose this year because the hunter did not let it cool down properly. Heard a long lecture about Enzymes still being active after heart stops beating. "Sour" or spoiled meat can result. At least it's quite cold out.
Good luck and let us know.

[backyard]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

It's a full moon....I would give it 5-6 hours, set my alarm and go find him tonight personally. Otherwise the side he lays on will hold in the heat and the blood will pool and possibly cause bone sour in the hip. Grab some buddies and some flashlights.

LC

x2

it wont spoil its too cold out ... but I would go back tonight

[shovelheadtn]

Waiting five minutes for a big animal to die is not even near enough time to wait. If I don't se Em drop I wait an hour. Hope you find him cheers

[Sooner]

If you didn't push him, he will be bedded down and most likely expire there. I suspect he is not too far from where you left him. Get on him first light and be ready to shoot quick if indeed he survived the night. It's below 0 so i wouldn't worry too much about spoilage if he did succumb already. Good luck in the am.

[220swifty]

Originally Posted by rpm360

x2

it wont spoil its too cold out ... but I would go back tonight

I shot a moose and gutted it in -27. I left it, hide on, on a landscape trailer (off the ground) and continued hunting for the rest of the day and the full day after. I skinned the moose roughly 36 hours after the kill, with the moose never being exposed to temps warmer than -20. The meat in some areas was still warm to the touch. Moral of the story? Moose hide is one hell of an insulator!

[beaver hunter]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

It's a full moon....I would give it 5-6 hours, set my alarm and go find him tonight personally. Otherwise the side he lays on will hold in the heat and the blood will pool and possibly cause bone sour in the hip. Grab some buddies and some flashlights.

LC

X3

[backyard]

Never had that happen for me or family.
Good to know. Thanks

[shakeyleg02]

Originally Posted by 220swifty

I shot a moose and gutted it in -27. I left it, hide on, on a landscape trailer (off the ground) and continued hunting for the rest of the day and the full day after. I skinned the moose roughly 36 hours after the kill, with the moose never being exposed to temps warmer than -20. The meat in some areas was still warm to the touch. Moral of the story? Moose hide is one hell of an insulator!

X1000 if you can get on it tonight all the better them buggers got some thick hide will definately still be warm tomorrow... good luck

[albertabighorn]

It's around -10 where I am ain't nothing gona spoil overnight if you deep into the negatives like that.

[dumoulin]

This is going to be an adventure at the very least. I think I will head out in the vey early morning. I'm minding the kids and can't leave until my wife gets home which will be in the early hours.

Upon further reflection and reading up on your expertise, looks like it can go either way. I'll will fill you in tomorrow...

Thanks for your insight.

[deerguy]

You should be good, it's cold out. My guess is you will find it pretty close to where you shot him

[Mountain Guy]

If it ain't gut shot then it would be fine. Slow cool is better than a fast cool ( frozen) Too cold out for cooling to be a factor. My thinking..

[buckman]

Originally Posted by Smokinyotes

I'm not sure what experience you guys have shooting moose but I know from shooting a lot of moose if the hide doesn't come off and allowed to cool there is a pretty good chance it will be sour, especially through the shoulders.

x2. Moose are big with long insulating hair.The meat will have"Tang"to it.
These things happen sometimes.

[58thecat]

Well I would be out at first light with a buddy or two if possible, use the gutless method to quarter the critter, I do it all,the time now but if your concerned about internal contamination using this method if you choose you do not have to go after the tender loins.
I mention this because you will find it
We expect a picture or two....

[kayaker]

I have had a deer sit over night with a liver hit and low temp of only -1.

The meat was not only fine, it was fantastic! The meat will likely be fine.

I have left a moose (gutted but not skinned and left with the cavity down-which slows cooling- to discourage magpies) for about 5 hrs in +2 temps with no affect on the meat.

[Dick284]

One one occasion, I was forced to search for a shot animal the next morning.
It was a -10 night. The animal wasn't gut shot either. The animal spoiled over night, and I've since learnt to just back off, get the resources required, and go find em even in the dark. 3 hours vs 8 or 10 or more hours.......

It's now the next morning.....................

[Bigmountainrider]

I want to know, did you find him? I really hope you do.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Any updates?

LC

[Dacotensis]

Up to his elbows in blood and eating a samich no doubt..

[dumoulin]

I searched high and low. Retraced my steps... The blood trail ended and I followed for another 4 miles in circles. The only odd thing I noticed was how it would trip on the leg I would have hit. It trip on every 50 steps or and got more frequent. I think I must have had a reload dud which did not cause enough damage. I didn't see a lot of blood; perhaps a total of 3 cups. This may mean internal bleeding but I didn't find a bed. I finally lost the trail in a pile of human deer tracks.

I'm really frustrated and keep kicking myself. I should have took out the canon rather than the 7mm. Anyhow, I resighted the rifle and it was 1.5" off at 100 yards which could explain why I hit it back more but not enough the explain this mystery unless I flinched.

I'll be out again in a few moments; enough to grab a coffee and somthing to eat. Kinda pooped though. I was up this morning pretty early dragging a calving sleigh through snowy willows, stumps and deadfall. Lol. Who know, maybe it will stand in front of me when I get there!

Keep you guy posted.

[deerguy]

1.5" high at 100 yards is what you want. Your point blank range should be around 300 m +. Just point and click. Good luck

[dumoulin]

Originally Posted by deerguy

1.5" high at 100 yards is what you want. Your point blank range should be around 300 m +. Just point and click. Good luck

It was but also 1.5 to the left...