Predators and recovering deer

[LenP]

I had looked around and not found a good answer, so I will ask it here. With the weather as cold as it is, I know that a deer won't spoil as long as it is field dressed, but what are the risks of predators getting to it if you can not remove it immediately. I ask because there are some places where I will really need some assistance to remove the deer and so it could mean leaving and returning several hours later. What is the likelihood of a coyote or bear getting to it before I remove it, and is there any way to mitigate that risk? Or do you just hunt when you can confidently remove the deer immediately?

[TerryK]

The first thing a coyote or bear will eat is the liver I am told. So that may keep them occupied for a while. Lifting it up in a tree can help a bit. It is a roll of the dice, usually in your favor. So do what you have to do.

[Brandi_Pup]

really it depends on how many predators you have in your immediate area where your kill is at ......I know if I had a kill on the ground around me, it would be good to go all day till night came, then there is a good chance a yote would get it.

Like mention, hoist it up off the ground a good eight feet or so, so if you get any dogs around, their jumping at it, they won't get it. Use to hang deer like that and nothing bothered it around the house or barn.

[Yoder]

Like they said, depends where you shot it. If it's close to a swamp and the wind is blowing into the swamp I wouldn't leave it over night. Seen a gut pile vanish over night from a bear, but it was next to a swamp. I've also seen them sit for days untouched.

[LenP]

Excellent, thanks for the replies. I would only be leaving it for a few hours and during daylight, but I would hate to kill one and have it ruined. From the sounds of it, the risk is low if I get it up a tree a bit. Thanks again.

[Yoder]

If it's a nice buck I would worry about the two legged predators more. I've used the cable for my tree stand to wrap around the deer antlers and locked it to a tree. I figure they would have to cut the rack to steal it.

[rovert97]

The yotes up in Barrett township are pretty efficient. Took a dead dear one day to vanish in my back yard. Only thing left was a small patch of fur. Hoisting it into a tree may be the best way.

[wis bang]

The yotes up in Barrett township are pretty efficient. Took a dead dear one day to vanish in my back yard. Only thing left was a small patch of fur. Hoisting it into a tree may be the best way.

I saw a fawn's skeleton in the SFL in Barrett, stripped clean.

The larger deer you will find some fur and the bones will be scatered nearby

Between the logging and the spurt in the undergrowth after the gipsy moth killed so many trees, I'm hunting closer to the cabin in Middle Smithfield. It paid off this year!

I try not to leave them. A smaller deer I can drag w/ my gear. This year's bruiser I had to leap frog gear/deer back and forth. Made the trip 2x as long and the path looked freaky on my GPS screen. Took about 2.5 hours to drag and carry a half mile. I'm 59 and I plan on telling the doctor I don't need any stinking STRESS test!

[Qtrborecrazy]

Take whatever clothes you can off and throw them on the deer. Predators hate us stinky humans, we use to use this trick when hunting moose. If we shot one late at night and could not get it out before pitch black clothes were put on them, be surprised by the tracks in the morning and moose not touched. Remember we stink.

[Edg]

This year, Cambria county PA. Deer was hit near dark, gentleman couldnt find it, went home, returned the next morning with some friends (my uncles) found the blood trail came to the spot were it died and found that it had been dragged away. They followed the drag marks and found that a bear had eaten it entirely. They said there was raw blood, bones, hair and skin in the bear shit it ate so fast.