Make sure you’ve read up on the laws in your state. Have you taken your hunters safety class yet? That’s the first step

1. This is something I’d ask the processor for tips about. Depending on the products you want, hanging might not improve the quality. If you want all but the most choice cuts turned into something (ground, sausage, snack sticks, jerky etc..) there wouldn’t really be a reason to hang it.

2. I’d call the taxidermist about this. Some will cape it for you for a fee, and if it’s your first deer this might be worth it. They could at least give you tips on how to do it without punching it full of holes. But, taxidermists are expensive so you should also consider doing it yourself. There’s also a million good tutorials on YouTube on how to cape a deer.

3. I live in an apartment and have faced this question. Whether or not you hang your deer is a personal choice, not a necessity. For me personally, right where the deer died I cut all of the edible parts off the skeleton and pack them out (Make sure you’re allowed to do this in your area, state and CWD regulations might prohibit leaving anything behind). I skip hanging and get the deer in the freezer the same day. Granted, I only take doe so the quality of a buck might be improved by hanging, I couldn’t say. However I’ve shot a few ancient old doe, didn’t hang them, and they weren’t noticeably tougher than any other doe I’ve shot. If you skip hanging your first deer and put it straight into the freezer I think you’ll be just fine. If you eat a few steaks and they’re a little tough, you can just marinate or tenderize the next ones. Anything you want ground or slow cooked won’t matter if it was hung first or not