How long can you wait to gut a deer I have seen on hunting shows on TV sometimes they will shoot a deer close to dark and then go and find it in the morning. So is there really a time limit on guttin?

The time 'limit' is dependent on temperature. The warmer it is, the quicker you want to get the game animal cleaned out so as not to spoil the meat. You also want to get the hide removed to facilitate cooling of the meat. Over the years I have pretty much done away with typical 'gutting'. After making a kill I will skin the animal on the ground one leg at a time and quarter the animal as I go. Start with the hind quarters and work your way forward, placing each quarter in a game bag. This method gets the meat cooled quickly and also gets the quarters ready to pack out. By using the hide as a ground cloth as you remove it the meat can also be kept quite clean. I've used this technique on both deer and elk and it works great. Good Luck! It also depends where you shoot it at if it is a gut shot it needs to be gutted sooner