From shot to freezer
The shot is only the start. What you do in the hours after decides whether you end up with good meat or wasted meat. This is the whole path in order - recovery, field dressing, cooling and the kitchen - with each step linking to the guide that covers it in full. Respecting the animal means seeing this through properly.
- 1
Before the shot: know the vitals
A clean recovery starts with a clean hit. Put the shot into the heart-and-lung zone, low and tight behind the front leg, and only take the angle you are sure of. Knowing where to aim before the animal steps out is what makes the rest of this path short.
- 2
The shot and the first five minutes
Watch the animal's reaction and mark exactly where it was standing and where it ran, using landmarks you can find again. Then, in most cases, wait. A well-hit animal usually goes down within sight or a short distance; pushing it too soon turns a short trail into a long one. Sit, calm down, and note the time.
- 3
Tracking and recovery
Go to the spot of the shot and look for first blood, hair and any sign of a hit. Bright, frothy blood points to a lung hit; dark blood or stomach matter means backing out and waiting much longer. Follow the sign slowly, marking each spot so you can see the direction of travel, and grid-search likely cover if the trail thins. Take your time - patience recovers animals that rushing loses.
- 4
Field dressing
Once recovered, field dress the animal promptly - getting the guts out and the body open is the single biggest thing you can do to cool the meat and protect it. Work cleanly, avoid puncturing the stomach and bladder, and keep hair and dirt off the meat. Prop the cavity open so air can circulate, and get the carcass moving toward cold as soon as you can.
- 5
Field care and aging
Heat, dirt and moisture are what spoil game. Get the body heat out fast, keep the meat clean and dry, and hold it cold. Where conditions allow, aging the carcass for a period at the right temperature tenderises the meat and improves the flavour - the field-care guide covers the temperatures, timings and what to watch for.
- 6
Butchering and the kitchen
Finally, break the carcass down into cuts, trim well, and wrap and freeze what you will not use fresh. Good handling all the way from the shot pays off here in clean, mild meat. The kitchen guide covers processing, from breaking it down to making the most of every cut.
New to hunting the whole way through? Start with the Start Here guide, check your regulations, and sight in with the rifle sight-in card. Do it right, and nothing is wasted.