How important is it to consciously shoot big game in the chest/lung or the boiler room so as to facilitate maximum bleeding, (versus a head shot etc) in order to render the animal as blood free as possible, and if it were possible to take such a shot, Is blood drained meat desirable?
Bleeding Question
- Thread starter Total_eclipse
- Start date
- Location
- West Central Alberta
Go for a heart/lung shot and enjoy the steaks.
Head or lung shot isn't really the issue - it's about how quick you bleed the dead animal out. You really want to get as much blood out of the animal as possible (ideally - all), as quickly as possible. You'll get dark spots, unpleasant (metallic / iron) taste, and the meat will spoil quicker. It can get a smell too once the plasma starts to separate in the blood.
The red/pink juice that comes out of cooked meat is not blood. The blood is thick and slippery. Even if you can't get your animal out of the bush until the next day, try to do everything you can to position it so that when you sever major arteries and veins (usually in the neck, and when you remove the heart and lungs you'll hit the major ones too), the blood flows out and away from the meat.
This applies to fish, upland birds, etc etc. - anything you kill to eat.
Getting back to your original question - yes, a lung shot will cause more blood loss, and it's a larger area, and easier to hit, but I believe it's what you do when you're field dressing that makes the big difference in the quality of your meat.
Hope that helps
The red/pink juice that comes out of cooked meat is not blood. The blood is thick and slippery. Even if you can't get your animal out of the bush until the next day, try to do everything you can to position it so that when you sever major arteries and veins (usually in the neck, and when you remove the heart and lungs you'll hit the major ones too), the blood flows out and away from the meat.
This applies to fish, upland birds, etc etc. - anything you kill to eat.
Getting back to your original question - yes, a lung shot will cause more blood loss, and it's a larger area, and easier to hit, but I believe it's what you do when you're field dressing that makes the big difference in the quality of your meat.
Hope that helps
- Location
- Saskatoon Saskatchewan
I personally shot a whitetail in the back of the head once
I didn't even go up to it right away but instead went to get the truck to drive closer to it. Approximately 30 minutes is what it took. All of the whole roasts and steaks had congealed blood in it and it wasn't at all appetizing. Had I got up to it sooner and slit it's throat, it may have bled put a bit better but I'm not sure. Any of the deer I've shot in the heart lung area have not had that problem at all. I know it's a small sample size but it was enough for me to never purposely shoot an animal I'm planning on eating in the head.
I didn't even go up to it right away but instead went to get the truck to drive closer to it. Approximately 30 minutes is what it took. All of the whole roasts and steaks had congealed blood in it and it wasn't at all appetizing. Had I got up to it sooner and slit it's throat, it may have bled put a bit better but I'm not sure. Any of the deer I've shot in the heart lung area have not had that problem at all. I know it's a small sample size but it was enough for me to never purposely shoot an animal I'm planning on eating in the head.
If you head shoot something, you should stick it in the neck to bleed it and point it's head downhill if possible.
Think of killing livestock- if you brain shoot them the first thing you do is bleed them.
Chest shots are always the higehr percentage shot and no need to bleed after since bullet wounds create lots of bleeding.
Think of killing livestock- if you brain shoot them the first thing you do is bleed them.
Chest shots are always the higehr percentage shot and no need to bleed after since bullet wounds create lots of bleeding.
I will have to agree with that head shots are very low % shots, too much can go sideways and cause problems. My go to shot is a lung shot.
After the animal is down, I gut it in the field asap and either cut the neck to bleed or remove the head. Bring it home where I hang it (neck down) over night allowing more blood to drain and cut up the animal next day.
After the animal is down, I gut it in the field asap and either cut the neck to bleed or remove the head. Bring it home where I hang it (neck down) over night allowing more blood to drain and cut up the animal next day.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Everyone I know that kill’s and processes their own livestock uses a .22 of some sort to shoot the animal in the brain, it doesn’t kill them as much as it stuns them and then the throat is cut bleeding the animal out. The heart will still be pumping essentially.
Can’t say I’ve had much bleeding out once I cut throat’s on large game but I don’t make head or spine shots, I prefer to take lung/heat shots. They have all been dead by the time I walked up to them, the last wt doe I shot 4 yrs back ran 30-40 m with a double lung shot that pulped her lungs. I’ve never seen a blood trail quit like that, was like a fire hose of blood and when I opened her up there was almost no blood in the chest cavity.
I will say the couple deer I’ve put down in ditches that were hit by vehicles bled out hard, one I brained with a ball peen hammer before I cut its throat and the other was with my 3.5lb falling axe.
Last edited:
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I think there are litres of blood in most animals - not going to get that out without the heart pumping? I have pretty much cut off deer's head thinking to get it to "bleed" - I doubt I got a cup-full out.
I notice when field dressing - is nice when no holes or bullet pieces to the rear of the diaphragm - can get that rear end cleaned out not bad - with bullet passing through chest, is almost always "full of blood" in front of diaphragm - have to be ready for that when splitting it or when poking through diaphragm.
As posted above - most all our deer were hung overnight by tendons on rear legs - gutted in the field as soon as possible after the kill shot, then skinned that evening at home. Usually they froze - many were dealt with like that - if there was excess blood in meat, I did not notice. Some did not freeze - would have puddle of "stuff" on floor under the neck - some "stuff" drained out, but not litres of it.
From various small town Prairie butcher shops - can see various versions of "acceptable" to some people - bits of gut still in carcass, windpipe still in throat, etc. - there was the bladder still in one pelvis - they must feel butcher is going to magically make that pristine - why we tended to cut up our own meat - process it ourselves, for past 30 odd years. I was never overly worried about "bleeding" compared to what I have seen call "field dressing". One fellow - at a community college meat cutting class - was all proud of the whitetail buck he shot that morning - had several of us come out to look at it in his 1/2 ton truck - loaded up in there, guts and all - spent whole day like that - not field dressed.
I notice when field dressing - is nice when no holes or bullet pieces to the rear of the diaphragm - can get that rear end cleaned out not bad - with bullet passing through chest, is almost always "full of blood" in front of diaphragm - have to be ready for that when splitting it or when poking through diaphragm.
As posted above - most all our deer were hung overnight by tendons on rear legs - gutted in the field as soon as possible after the kill shot, then skinned that evening at home. Usually they froze - many were dealt with like that - if there was excess blood in meat, I did not notice. Some did not freeze - would have puddle of "stuff" on floor under the neck - some "stuff" drained out, but not litres of it.
From various small town Prairie butcher shops - can see various versions of "acceptable" to some people - bits of gut still in carcass, windpipe still in throat, etc. - there was the bladder still in one pelvis - they must feel butcher is going to magically make that pristine - why we tended to cut up our own meat - process it ourselves, for past 30 odd years. I was never overly worried about "bleeding" compared to what I have seen call "field dressing". One fellow - at a community college meat cutting class - was all proud of the whitetail buck he shot that morning - had several of us come out to look at it in his 1/2 ton truck - loaded up in there, guts and all - spent whole day like that - not field dressed.
Last edited:
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The comment above about shots through the rib cage and above the diaphragm are spot on. The stomach and intestines are full of food on its way to making poop. You don't want that! The heart lung region will stop the deer, and fill the chest cavity with blood. I was taught to start field dressing at the breast bone and go to the butt. Clean to dirty, bloody to "other". In my experience, once the chest is opened and the blood emptied you will probably have to reposition the carcass. No need to walk or kneel in the mess.
I shot a doe in the back of the head with a .250-3000 Sav. 3 years ago , as it walked away from me.
It hit the ground & never moved. When I approached it I saw the ground under it's head bright red
about 1 1/2' in dia, in the heavy grass. When I opened it up ( 25 min. after shot), there was NO BLOOD from stem to stern.
Very pretty really & easy to clean out as no blood in the way.
I saw this "Dry Cavity" take place once before usuing a .69 Cal. Rnd. ball in a Flintlock Musket , shot through lungs.
The ground underneith the deer was also red with blood.
Of all the deer or other animals that I have hunted and that got shot other than the boiler room/basket/chest cavity/lung and heart, either in the neck or head bled the least and the meat quality and the taste has been the least appetizing. For me it is now a priority to place the shot in the chest area provided that it were possible to take such a shot.
This is my experience as well. What ever ruins meat and causes the clotting needs to travel via a beating heart and blood stream. Shut down the system quickly and the meat is as good as it gets. The animal bleeds out (or in I guess) into the chest so cutting the throat makes little difference.
I once spoke to a farmer that held two Black Angus in a private feed lot for himself and his brother. The first one was easily loaded for slaughter and the meat was perfect. The second one got spooked during the loading process and was tough. It also did not taste as good according to him. Second hand information but every time I have made a less than perfect shot the animal is more stressed and the meat not as good.
Clean double lung shots will properly bleed your meat a deer relaxed eating when shot will taste way better than a deer on the run . Same with the cattle in the butcher shops hit it with a “stun gun” then bleed immediately if the heart stops to soon you will see blood spots throughout the meat
Best care for big game meat is to gut and skin the animal ASAP. Cooling the body is most important, especially when there are temperatures above zero. I always cover the carcass with cheese cloth and hang it from the hind legs/hocks. Hanging from the rear hocks will allow gravity to flow blood away from the rear hinds.
Meat keeps breaking down, but that's mostly water not blood. If it was blood it would coagulate and you'd have your steak sitting in a pile of jelly rather than liquid.
While I have taken a couple of head shots, they're not my go to and I don't recommend them. Unless you're very familiar with the animals habits and your gun. And even then, you can't predict when an animal with move its head resulting in an injured deer. I've seen and heard of a lot of blown off jaws on deer.
I didn't notice any difference with the meat but I generally brine all my venison anyway.
I didn't notice any difference with the meat but I generally brine all my venison anyway.
