Depends on the average and high temperature over the period. I would not hesitate to leave it hang a week if the high was below 45 and the lows in the 20s or 30s. I usually cut my deer after a couple days if time permits though.

On the other hand, if you skin the deer while the carcass is still warm, the hide will peel right off like the skin off a banana. Something to think about if you are not planning to let it age with the hide on.

I agree with 99explorer. Down South here we don't expect temps to stay very cold for very long. So as soon as the deer is killed, it is skinned. But I know that's not everyone's preference from around the country. I also know that if temps stay above a high of around 40, you are ok for about a week

I was taught to skin right away for the reasons mentioned by 99explorer and Gary Devine. You could certainly hang it in those temps but I would do it w/o the skin. There are always different views when this comes up. Maybe try it different ways and see what works for you.

Sarge, I would love to hear details of how to skin a deer with a 4-wheeler. An old timer once told me how their camp did it by using a tree, a golf ball under the skin of the neck,a rope,and a truck. He claimed with a piece of plywood under the deer, they could do one every five minutes. I thought it was just the scotch talking...

Walt it's true. You can peel the hide right off if you have something sturdy enough to tie off to.

walt in wi,
We have a 4 inch steel pipe sitting in steel brackets put between two trees about 10 feet apart and 7 feet off the ground secured with with lag bolts that we use for a hanging pole. We use the same pole to skin the deer on. We hang the deer head down with a heavy duty gambel. Cut around the back legs and skin around the tail and cut the tail bone free. We use the teethed tongs you see in the catalogs to grip the base of the tail and hide and hook the hook on my winch cable in the handles on the tongs. Cut the front legs off and slit the hide from the end of the front leg to the brisket. As I pull in my winch the tongs get tighter and the hide starts coming off. My buddy stands ready to cut anywhere that seems to be in a bind. When I get close to the head we cut the neck with a knife and then off with a saw. My buddy is in the electrical business and has a heavy duty battery saw saw. These work wonders sawing deer legs and necks off. If you have a shoulder that is completely shot up and ruined it will probably come off with the hide. You can use a rock or a baseball and a rope in place of the tongs and winch cable if you wish. That is how I did it in the early days before I had a 4-wheeler with a winch. Some people hang the deer head up and skin around the neck and put the ball in the hide in the neck and pull the hide down that way. I like the head down way better.