Heart lung shot is best for meat hygiene

jack

Well-Known Member
In the latest NGO mag there is an article by Felix Bihlmeier decrying head or neck shots on deer.
Apart from the much discussed welfare issue the author asserts that a heart lung shot and the deers' reaction, running mainly, results in the blood to be pumped into the chest cavity with the result that the meat is better as a consequence.

To selectively quote:
"It is not widely understood (including, it seems, by most game dealers) that the meat quality of deer shot in the head or neck is inferior.
The most important aspect of high quality venison is effective bleeding immediately after the shot, following the motto: 'each drop of blood that comes out is good'.
This is due to the micro organisms in the blood that cause decay in the meat.
If too much blood stays in the blood vessels everything looks fine from the outside but inside there is a problem.
A well placed chest shot followed by a short flight and kicking has the effect of pumping most of the blood into the chest cavity.
This cannot be achieved effectively by placing shots at the periphery."

I have been head shooting Roe to reduce meat damage to the shoulders and I have noticed the carcase blood vessels by the kidneys do still have blood in them, I think I'll have to try a chest shot to see the difference.
Having said that I have chest shot Roe and they have dropped on the spot so I am not sure what that means for the blood, other than the need to ensure a good drainage at the gralloch.
 
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I wonder why they don't stab sheep in the chest to improve meat quality in the abattoir ....!!!
 
Interesting theory, i look forward to reading what other people think, im not sure i wholly agree with their theory though. i do agree that the more blood removed, the better though..
 
I like to think that my intended fodder dies instantly.

I feel that a chest shot animal has had the chance (albeit for a short time) to pump adrenalin and other chemicals around its body before dying, this cant be good for a quality end product?
 
I can kind of see where he is coming from about trying to remove as much blood as possible and agree that blood spoils quickly but I'm not sure about his argument that this because it is full of micro organisms! Blood should be sterile... or at least as sterile as the meat tissue through which it flows.... Otherwise it would be suffering with Septicaemia surely!?

Is it not more likely that it is due to it being oxygen rich and full of nutrients that it spoils quickly?...
 
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While quality venison is important, it is a quick safe and humane kill which is important and the choice of shot should reflect this.
 
Interesting theory, but would only really work with a lung shot where the heart remained pumping surely? Head and neck shots which open a major artery can also result in a very clean carcass with massive blood loss as the heart often stays pumping. I can't say that I have noticed any difference really though!
MS:)
 
IMO Proper bleeding is more important than whether head or chest shot.

I say this because I see more and more people who don't bleed the carcase, just open up the diaphragm and let the blood out of the chest cavity.

Their argument is that modern expanding ammunition does so much damage to the blood vessels that the blood is all in the chest cavity.

Personally I don't believe it.

So I would imagine if you don't bleed in the traditional way you would get rid of more blood from the carcase
from a chest shot beast than a head shot one.

I don't see the point bleed in the proper way you will get more blood out of the carcase.

Carcases that are not properly bled go off quicker, and the meat does not taste right, if you get a metallic taste off meat chances are its not been bled properly.
 
I can kind of see where he is coming from about trying to remove as much blood as possible and agree that blood spoils quickly but I'm not sure about his argument that this because it is full of micro organisms! Blood should be sterile... or at least as sterile as the meat tissue through which it flows.... Otherwise it would be suffering with Septicaemia surely!?

Is it not more likely that it is due to it being oxygen rich and full of nutrients that it spoils quickly?...

If I may be pedantic, the correct term for bacteria in the blood is bacteraemia and will happen more often than you'd think. Every time you go to the dentist and have your teeth scaled some bacteria made it into your blood stream. Under normal circumstances your immune system deals with the problem. Equally bacteria can move from remote sites via the blood stream to just cause local disease. Septicaemia is altogether more serious and in layman's terms is when the bacteria are actively multiplying in the blood stream and producing various toxins - an altogether more serious situation (more correctly called sepsis).

What is quoted in the OP is basically ********! CSL is correct that under normal circumstances there shouldn't be any bacteria in the blood and this is not why meat spoils. My understanding was that blood is a brilliant culture medium for bacteria and this is the reason its removal is desirable (bacteria are grown in sheeps blood in the lab).

Quite often I shoot animals (in the head) for the purposes of doing a post mortem. Once the animal is shot and has no eye reflex I crack on and therefore I am into the chest within a couple of minutes (much faster than in a hunting scenario). Almost always the animal is clinically dead but the heart is beating. I would suggest that a good neck shot where major vessels are severed combined with a beating heart would remove more blood from the carcase rather than a chest shot. I cannot see any logic for 'bleeding' a carcase that was shot 5,15,30 minutes ago. If the heart is not beating I cannot see you will remove a single drop more blood than you would when the carcase is eviscerated. It's practised in abattoirs within ~30 seconds of the shoot or stun.

Who is this chap and on what authority does he speak? I googled the name and came up with the chairman of Newnham on Severn Parish Council!
 
I know one thing if you head shoot then its easy to bleed, but shot in the ribs sometimes you just can't get it to bleed much.
 
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