What to do with the carcasses?

[Freeforester]

Red venison is a big no no after a slightly rutty stag was butchered, I was nearly divorced after the lasagne went in the bin.

Now they all go to the dealer

Always a major mistake to imagine the outcome will be something you yourself, much less potential customers may thank you for and come back for more. Mince from summer stag is great until end August, after that I wouldn’t offer any of the animal to the dog (especially if said dog lives indoors!), much less so to customers, unless your intent is destroying your customer base. It may pass with hungry squaddies, but certainly not for most paying customers.

 

[VSS]

You are on about flat flies or louse flies , get them on birds.

Flat flies, louse flies and keds are just different names for the same thing.
There's lots of varieties of ked, and I think they’re host specific.

 

[Nickb]

Flat flies, louse flies and keds are just different names for the same thing.
There's lots of varieties of ked, and I think they’re host specific.

I get loads of flat flies when Im pigeon / crow shooting but never had a ked on a roe only ticks and lice.

 

[Klenchblaize]

The stories I could tell of stalking with FCS and returning to my hotel room covered in the wee booogers. An hour in the shower without a willing assistant to play hunt the ked was an oft' pointless exercise.

Sadly, such a service did not feature in the hotel brochure's list of "extras".

K

 

[Sol]

I've seen more keds on pigeons than I have on deer, but you don't hear the pigeon shooters making such a song and dance about sharing their hide or their car with the carcasses of their quarry.

There probably more likely too be "Pigeon Louse fly" If I were too guess, there very similar looking to Keds but a bit slimmer

 

[Freeforester]

The stories I could tell of stalking with FCS and returning to my hotel room covered in the wee booogers. An hour in the shower without a willing assistant to play hunt the ked was an oft' pointless exercise.

Sadly, such a service did not feature in the hotel brochure's list of "extras".

K

The intrepid adventurer is best advised to make
provision for his or/and her personal comforts and hygiene regimen when on safari or manoeuvres…

 

[Taff]

You boys have obviously never had chiggers, now they are fun, always a good reminder of hunting weeks later.

 

[Ruby Tuesday 2]

Personally I would shoot your first one and decide what to do with further carcasses after sorting the first, as the land is owned by relatives you might be lucky in that there’s no pressure to hammer the deer and you can take one when you want or need . If they want them gone then you’re under more pressure which can make dealing with a few big animals a chore and no longer what you enjoy . Personally I would keep the smaller species for myself and unload the bigger stuff at the dealers especially if the dealer is Close enough so you don’t need a chiller. Remember what goes in the car has to come out again, a long time ago I managed to get two red spikers in the back of my Jinny a long way from home , when I got home eventually good old rigour mortis had set in and no matter how much I tried I couldn’t bend them enough to lift back out, a rope around the nearest telegraph post and a drive away way the only thing I could think off. I shoot mainly fallow and find very few keds but every red I’ve taken has been full of them. The good old jimmy was really fun over the next week with the visitors.

 

[Jh1986]

You boys have obviously never had chiggers, now they are fun, always a good reminder of hunting weeks later.

That this one?

 

[weblyish]

Red venison is a big no no after a slightly rutty stag was butchered, I was nearly divorced after the lasagne went in the bin.

Now they all go to the dealer

I grew up in the high end restaurant trade, both parents ran restaurants including a michelin star place.

worked in kitchens from my first jobs and cooked and ate everything
our seasonal Autumn/Winter menu always had a few warming rich game dishes for when the nights closed in; Rabbit, Pheasant, partridge, grouse, Venison etc
all the rest were good but I could never see the point of venison - grainy, fibrous texture, overly rich coppery flavour and more susceptible to overcooking and more expensive than fillet steak

I was a full grown adult before I took half a Roe doe off a friend under duress expecting it to be the same and it was very much not - I've eaten a lot of deer since then but would still steer clear of venison in a posh place
I'm convinced game dealers pushing large rut/post-rut Red deer loin steak as the high end venison cut is a key reason no one eats venison here - it's a challenging dish at the best of times and definitely not the best that venison has to offer

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

I grew up in the high end restaurant trade, both parents ran restaurants including a michelin star place.

worked in kitchens from my first jobs and cooked and ate everything
our seasonal Autumn/Winter menu always had a few warming rich game dishes for when the nights closed in; Rabbit, Pheasant, partridge, grouse, Venison etc
all the rest were good but I could never see the point of venison - grainy, fibrous texture, overly rich coppery flavour and more susceptible to overcooking and more expensive than fillet steak

I was a full grown adult before I took half a Roe doe off a friend under duress expecting it to be the same and it was very much not - I've eaten a lot of deer since then but would still steer clear of venison in a posh place
I'm convinced game dealers pushing large rut/post-rut Red deer loin steak as the high end venison cut is a key reason no one eats venison here - it's a challenging dish at the best of times and definitely not the best that venison has to offer

100% they are they still take them and they have to get shot of them somewhere

 

[hendrix's rifle]

I’ve found that, the biggest waste of time for big deer, not worth the hassle

Calfs/yearlings in the freezer, anything else gets given to dealer/friends/family unless I've got a hankering for a big steak in which case, steak out the haunches and keep back strap, anything else is chucked in a bag for the dogs

 

[VSS]

100% they are they still take them and they have to get shot of them somewhere

The daft thing is that there's no need to shoot the stags at that time.
The cull of stags could be completed in the summer, for much better quality venison, leaving just the breeding stags and any promising youngsters on the hill to overwinter.
I think it's only people's love of antlers and the excitement of the "roar" that dictates that they are shot during the rut. From all other perspectives it's a daft time to cull.

 

[Mike1979]

The daft thing is that there's no need to shoot the stags at that time.
The cull of stags could be completed in the summer, for much better quality venison, leaving just the breeding stags and any promising youngsters on the hill to overwinter.
I think it's only people's love of antlers and the excitement of the "roar" that dictates that they are shot during the rut. From all other perspectives it's a daft time to cull.

One butcher I supply made it very clear with the fallow "no stinky bucks" ... so nothing big was shot...well 1 was but that went into our own freezer

To be fair antlers and excitement are 2 things I enjoy .... but you are absolutely spot on that it does nothing to improve the flavour

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

The daft thing is that there's no need to shoot the stags at that time.
The cull of stags could be completed in the summer, for much better quality venison, leaving just the breeding stags and any promising youngsters on the hill to overwinter.
I think it's only people's love of antlers and the excitement of the "roar" that dictates that they are shot during the rut. From all other perspectives it's a daft time to cull.

You tell all the stalkers that

 

[Tim.243]

The daft thing is that there's no need to shoot the stags at that time.
The cull of stags could be completed in the summer, for much better quality venison, leaving just the breeding stags and any promising youngsters on the hill to overwinter.
I think it's only people's love of antlers and the excitement of the "roar" that dictates that they are shot during the rut. From all other perspectives it's a daft time to cull.

What a lot of people forget is people (including me) keep the ground as owners want a lot less deer showing, landowners have the say not the butcher Never had any deer turned away as it was "stinky" had deductions for Fat and 2 saddle shot over the years.

Too many office wallers worrying about stuff just shoot them

 

[Apthorpe]

Sounds like a great opportunity, the only struggle I can see is getting them into the back of a Passat, a change of vehicle might be in order, a truck and small winch would be a good investment

It'll fit in a Passat seats down, probably easier than an SUV given the loading height. Use a suitable tub or plasterer's bath, line it up on a ramp and shove. If you get stuck use a cargo strap around the door pillars to winch it in. Can be a bit cackhanded, but can't be more trouble than buying a vehicle and winch for the purpose. The only red deer I've had in a Passat entered via the front at high speed, but I've had a bullock in one (admittedly not with the in-laws sitting in the back).

 

[VSS]

You tell all the stalkers that

The carcass buyers should just turn them away. They're not doing any of us any favours by buying and selling venison that's not up to standard.

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

The carcass buyers should just turn them away. They're not doing any of us any favours by buying and selling venison that's not up to standard.

I don’t disagree in the slightest

 

[Tommy_gun]

Personally I would shoot your first one and decide what to do with further carcasses after sorting the first, as the land is owned by relatives you might be lucky in that there’s no pressure to hammer the deer and you can take one when you want or need . If they want them gone then you’re under more pressure which can make dealing with a few big animals a chore and no longer what you enjoy . Personally I would keep the smaller species for myself and unload the bigger stuff at the dealers especially if the dealer is Close enough so you don’t need a chiller. Remember what goes in the car has to come out again, a long time ago I managed to get two red spikers in the back of my Jinny a long way from home , when I got home eventually good old rigour mortis had set in and no matter how much I tried I couldn’t bend them enough to lift back out, a rope around the nearest telegraph post and a drive away way the only thing I could think off. I shoot mainly fallow and find very few keds but every red I’ve taken has been full of them. The good old jimmy was really fun over the next week with the visitors.

There’s certainly no pressure at the moment so I’ve got time to work it out. As you suggest, I’ll take one and see how that goes then decide what to do with the next one. I went for a mooch this morning but didn’t see anything, it was more of a recce. Looking at the potential distance I would have to drag them to my car did make my heart sink a bit.