Worse thing if the meat freezes within 72 hrs which will "cold shorten" the meat= very tough. Rigor mortise begins about 3 hrs after the kill. Larger sections take longer. A few years ago I had to grind an entire bull for it froze solid the night after the kill (-20F). Best to keep meat unfrozen for at least 3 days before freezing.
Article on Game processing.
http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B513Rpdf.pdf
