The key words in your question is "old hunter", unfortunately sometimes what they have to say falls into "old wives tales." No I have not heard this one before, but have heard variations involving the use of vinegar, milk, salt, Coca-Cola, and untold other ideas. Do I follow or believe in any of it, NO. I am basing that on me being a "somewhat" old hunter (42 seasons) and 35 years in the meat business.

    Much of what you hear has been handed down for generations and was based on the weather, transportation, refrigeration, economy, etc of 100+ years ago. My contention is that the deer of today is in no way similar to the deer of our grandpas's day.

    First and foremost I don't believe in aging a deer, and if a person were to age a deer it can only be properly accomplished in a controlled atmosphere of a cooler, not in a tree! The deer of yesteryear had to continually be on the move to find adequate food, the food they found was in the form of natural browse. As a result their muscles  were used much more,  the food may not have been overly high in protein, and the deer would have been tough.

    How about the deer of today? Most of the deer of today exist in or close to suburban or even urban areas. These areas offer gardens, landscaping, gold courses, and bird feeders that provide easy meals for the deer. Then in the rural areas of today are highly productive farms offering a multitude of crops that deer enjoy. Add to that the alfalfa and rye planted on the shoulders or todays highways,  food plots, recreational feeding, and legalized baiting in some states and you have deer that are better fed than domestic animals. Have you ever heard the complaint that the deer are becoming nocturnal? Why should they browse in the daytime and be a target, when they can wait until dark and know right where the food is? 

    Another point about aging is the fact that the temperatures during the hunting seasons of today are in most cases extremely warmer than 50 or more years ago. In my opinion grandpa didn't age deer, he let it freeze solid and then hung it by the wood stove to thaw in order to be able to cut it!

    Another belief that I've heard was that you shouldn't rinse your deer! I assume this started because the only water available at deer camp was the river or lake and seeing the water was full of bacteria I'm sure it hastened spoilage. Therefore it was assummed that water was bad. Again that's bologna.

    The bottom line in my opinion is that the deer of today is a delicious addition to the family meal if it is properly handled. To make it simple I use what I've termed the 3 C's:

        1)  Clean - get it clean! Rinse it after field dressing and after skinning.

         2) Cold - get it cold! If the temperature is going to exceed 40 degrees at any time, get ice bags in                          the cavity and get it to a cooler ASAP. 

         3) Cut - Get it cut within 48 hours if possible. If not, only age it in a cooler.

 

    When handled in this manner I personally have never notice the "gamey" taste.

 

Thanks for visiting,

 Dave