We've had a lot of discussions on here about meat care in the field and tenderness. My opinion...I've done a bunch of them gutless and in my experience, they've been the toughest. I think leaving the meat on the bone at least until it stiffens up helps with tenderness. The last 3 I've done I've been able to hold off on boning for 6 hrs or even overnight and they've been very tender. That's not always possible, of course.
I've also read that cooling too fast will make them tougher. Obviously, when you shoot one the situation is dictated by the weather so you don't have many options there.
