How fast do you need to gut a deer

If it's fairly cool, I just haul it back to camp and do it there. Mind you, I've got a place that allows me to get a truck in nearly everywhere. If I down a deer, it can be up on the meatpole in a half hour or less. I've had them on the way to the processor in under an hour from being shot.

You have to look at it this way: In warm weather you can't gut them fast enough. If you feel the need to apply ice to the carcass, you should not delay in gutting.

The only time I had a problem was years ago. I shot a big buck (255lb) on opening day of bow season. The temperature was in the high fifties when I reached the carcass, about an hour after I shot. The tenant farmer wanted me out of there-- he wanted deer taken, but the owners did not. We hoisted it into the back of the truck and I took off. I got it back to town in 2 hours and gutted it in the back of the butcher shop down the street. All of the meat was fine, except for the ribs. They had suffered from the gas build-up and they tasted like fresh-cut grass. If I had it to do over again, I would have stopped at a roadside park on the way home.

One bonus to prompt attention is that if you are skinning it yourself, the hide will slip off quicker if the carcass is still warm. If you are doing your own skinning, and the weather allows, doing the gutting and skinning in rapid succession is the best. I usually leave the hide on until it reaches the processor and pay the five bucks extra.