Post History

Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/6853
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

<p>When hunting small game in a hot climate, is it advisable to field dress the game where it falls, or wait until the carcass can be refrigerated?  Searching has turned up plenty of conflicting answers, but few offer any explanation or justification.  The question is complicated by the fact that small-game hunting is often considered a cold-weather activity in most parts of the US, and most advice found on the Internet is probably based on that assumption.  (For example, there's an axiom that you should only hunt rabbits in months that contain the letter 'r', and/or only after the first hard frost.)</p>

<p>I'm weighing the importance of quickly determining whether the animal I've just killed harbors diseases such as tularemia, vs. the preservative value of keeping the skin intact, at least until I get back to my vehicle where I can put the carcass on ice.  I've also read that carcasses are traditionally hung whole to bring out the best flavor, but I don't know how much importance to attach to that considering that it's also traditional for people to die of preventable diseases.</p>