Seems like the topic has pretty much been covered but I get the guts out ASAP and rip the hide off as soon as I can. Weather permitting, I like to hang 4 days but alot of times that doesn't happen. Archery season is usually to warm and I have to cut the meat within a couple days and some time even in gun season because it is too cold to hang outside. The meat will sometimes freeze before it actually cools down properly. Hard to imagine but it does.
In talking about those TV shows. An ungutted deer makes a nicer pose and cleans up better for the camera than a gutted one. Most of the areas hunted are on managed land where the ranch managers want to know as much as they can about the animals harvested. So they take it all back to camp. Some analyze intestines for food variety,etc. Also their are other things inside to look at. How the arrow,bullets performed, what organs did it affect, path of bullet/arrow, etc.
I don't put a lot of faith in what happens on tv shows. After all, it is intertainment.
