I can't understand why you would bring your deer back to the "meat pole", gut it and NOT quarter it and put it into a cooler? Why bother with a processor or for that matter, why not bring the quartered deer to the processor when it's convenient? I leave meat on ice in coolers for a week or 2 before I trim it out. Pieces for grinding get stockpiled in the freezer and then I grind it when my hunting slows down. Fuggh bringing deer to a processor
I learned gutting, etc. from a guy from Alabama. I frankly didn't know any better, and when I did try it in the field, I found it was a lot more hassle. We throw a chain around the neck and hoist, and all the guts go in a big tub without any coaxing. I've since learned that if your season occurs in warm weather, this method is more common. We use a processor as a time saver. Most of us at camp work, and we have to maximize the time afield. Probably when I retire and I'm living down there, I'll stop using the processor. However, it's just easy to drop them off and get it done and pay someone. We've only had a couple bad experiences with processors, and we have enough close by that there is competition in price and service. I know I'm not going to change minds, and that's fine. When I got online 30 years ago, I found out other people had different methods of doing things.
