[dianalv]

Hair does ruin the flavor of the meat. It has bacteria and other things that change the taste and quality, not to mention being hard to get off. A professional butcher showed me the neat trick of burning the hair off with a propane torch. Evaporates hair on the spot and won't burn or harm the meat if done right.

After skinning, I always burn the hair off, then rinse the meat with vinigar, let it air dry, then bag it. Vinigar is a natural disinfectant and forms a protective barrier on the meat that helps repel flies and such until you get it home for processing.

Most important things in field dressing in my opinion are get the meat chilled out as soon as possible and keep it clean as much as possible given field conditions.