Dry Aging (possession limit vs daily limit)

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gps4

Active member
in the off season I came across a few articles about dry aging pheasants before cleaning them. as I understand it, to dry age, you leave the bird fully intact for several days in cool/cold temps.

My buddy and I were up recently and caught the weather just right where the temps stayed below 50 for just about the entire 5 day hunt. usually the temps were between 22-45. we stayed in local motels that stay pretty warm inside the rooms (well above 60deg).

my buddy and I were discussing the risks of leaving the day's harvest in the bed of the truck out in the cold temps until the last day, and then clean them all at one time before we head home, those having been killed earlier in the hunt having dry aged longer.

Suppose we had done this. and by day 3 we had 12 fully intact birds (less than the 18 possession limit for 3 days). on day 4 we hunt, kill 4 birds for a total of 16 birds, and on the way back to the motel after shooting hours, we run into a conservation officer who finds 16 fully intact birds in the back of the truck. Are we getting cited for over the daily limit?

thoughts?
 
Last edited:
gps4 said:
in the off season I came across a few article about dry aging pheasants before cleaning them. as I understand it, to dry age, you leave the bird fully intact for several days in cool/cold temps.

My buddy and I were up recently and caught the weather just right where the temps stayed below 50 for just about the entire 5 day hunt. usually the temps were between 22-45. we stayed in local motels that stay pretty warm inside the rooms (well above 60deg).

my buddy and I were discussing the risks of leaving the day's harvest in the bed of the truck out in the cold temps until the last day, and then clean them all at one time before we head home, those having been killed earlier in the hunt having dry aged longer.

Suppose we had done this. and by day 3 we had 12 fully intact birds (less than the 18 possession limit for 3 days). on day 4 we hunt, kill 4 birds for a total of 16 birds, and on the way back to the motel after shooting hours, we run into a conservation officer who finds 16 fully intact birds in the back of the truck. Are we getting cited for over the daily limit?

thoughts?
Click to expand...
Maybe pics of each day. Hard for a CO to determine. Birds will be tougher then the fresh one. Depends which CO you get.
 
He will be able to tell they were not killed that day as the meat is drying out and the birds stiff as a board, and has no proof you killed them all the same day just like already cleaned and frozen birds. Just be straightforward and tell him what day and who killed what, and that they are being dry aged.

However i would be tagging each leg with some tape and the date and hunter written on it. That will go a long way...

In the end though its officer discretion and unfortunately you being from out of town might be an immediate ticket just because he knows you wont come back and fight it. Some wardens are like that. Also be aware some states require game wardens to issue bond for the ticket to out of staters, youd need to pay the bond at the courthouse or be held in jail until you see a judge.

But also, to dry age you hang the birds by the neck.. you don't lay flat in a tuck bed. Air has to get all around the bird so it doesn't rot, and you definitely dont want any punctured gut materials to spread into the meat.
 
For 15+ years we’ve laid our birds on 8’x10’ plywood 4’ off the ground in dark garage. Normally cool enough at night to do the job just fine. Breast them out, thigh met included, when I get home after 4-5 days. Easily over 1000 pheasants in that time treated this way. No gutting, nothing. If it was warm out, I’d cool them in a cooler with ice after they cooled off naturally for 4-6 hours or so…overnite. Have done that a few times. Never had an issue.
 
it's what i usually do if it's cool enough
 
I like my pheasants cold when removing the meat. I feel they cut much easier. Cool in the garage or even in the fridge if just a couple.
 
I dry age all my birds now and last year some friends and I got checked by a warden on the second day of a hunt in MN. We had our limit from the day before and a bird or 2 from the current day so we were under our limit for the trip, but had more intact birds than a daily limit. I have a 1x2 across the bed of my truck where I hang the birds and a blue tooth temp sensor so I can keep track of the temp all the time. I explained how I hang the birds to the warden and he didn’t ask many questions at all. I think as long as you could prove how many days you’ve been hunting and you aren’t over that limit you’d be ok. For what it’s worth, I hate when the temps are too warm for aging, aged birds are the best.
 
Would you still do this if it is freezing out or colder. I am thinking it would not stretch it frozen. Is there a temperature range. High and low
TIA
 
Hank Shaw’s article is what I’ve went by. He’s a big bird hunter and a chef. The article has plenty of info in it to back it up. People get all worried about the guts but I’ve never lost a bird to that. Hank says if you don’t plan to pluck them, you can gut them before you age them if it makes you worry less about it. The temp range is 50°-55° 3-5 days depending on the age of the bird. It won’t work if the bird freezes so what I’ve done when it’s that cold is let the bird hang for a bit to get it cooled down but not frozen, then I put them in a cooler and put my temp sensor in there. You don’t get the airflow in there but it works. If it gets cold enough to freeze inside the cooler, then you just have to clean them.
 
gps4 said:
in the off season I came across a few articles about dry aging pheasants before cleaning them. as I understand it, to dry age, you leave the bird fully intact for several days in cool/cold temps.

My buddy and I were up recently and caught the weather just right where the temps stayed below 50 for just about the entire 5 day hunt. usually the temps were between 22-45. we stayed in local motels that stay pretty warm inside the rooms (well above 60deg).

my buddy and I were discussing the risks of leaving the day's harvest in the bed of the truck out in the cold temps until the last day, and then clean them all at one time before we head home, those having been killed earlier in the hunt having dry aged longer.

Suppose we had done this. and by day 3 we had 12 fully intact birds (less than the 18 possession limit for 3 days). on day 4 we hunt, kill 4 birds for a total of 16 birds, and on the way back to the motel after shooting hours, we run into a conservation officer who finds 16 fully intact birds in the back of the truck. Are we getting cited for over the daily limit?

thoughts?
Click to expand...
Burdon of proof is upon the government. If your legally licensed, your legal. Now if you have 16 birds that all have the same internal body temp then you might have to answer some questions.
 
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