if the weather allows, i prefer 5-7 days. i'm beginning to think i might want to stretch that out to 8-10 days next year. on antelope, because of time of year and weather, i have to butcher them the next day.

I generally butchered the same day if possible. My main reason for doing this being that a week after I have taken a deer motivation to butcher is hard to muster. Since I have moved to Eastern NC the weather doesn't permit hanging a deer overnight in many cases and you pretty much have to get your deer quartered and on ice. Some people here will even let the meat soak in the ice water which ruin the flavors to me and turns the meat greyish.

I don't like to go over 5 days, but I also have boned a few deer out in the field just to get it over with and couldn't tell any difference.

It all depends on the weather, use common sense.

Reference my post on walk in cooler. It definitely helps to age your deer, plus I can control the temp too. Several of the books I read on aging deer also states that you shouldn't let them freeze in the first 24 hrs, which causes your meat to be tough.

At our camp we like to leave our deer hang for 5 or 6 days with the hide on. We have a professsional butcher that hunts with us and he has proved to us that even though it may get warm ( 40 - 50 ) during day the hide keeps the meat cool. If you would like to try something cut the hide and slide your hand between the meat and hide and see how cold it is. I skin our deer with a 4-wheeler so it dosen't matter how hard the hide pulls off, Our deer meat tastes excellent and thats what matters. Temperture in your area will determine what you do. Our camp is high in the mountains of WV.

I live in northern Utah where I can hang the deer 7- 10 days in cool weather. If it is warm, I will quarter and hang it in the cool room for a week.
Remember, the best beef steaks are aged 21 days- that means hung for three weeks.

depends on the weather. As long as it stays below 45 degrees and it's skinned I let mine hang 4-7 days, otherwise it's the the same day.

We usaully let them hang a week if weather permits, but they skin harder when frozen. Skin pullsright off when done soon after the kill.

I won't hunt them unless the weather is freezing, because you can't age the meat properly for taste otherwise. A week at an average temp of 32 or less.