Citric Acid

[VikingsGuy]

Have read several articles suggesting use of a citric acid spray to help reduce microbial growth and insects on meat while packing out. My assumption is this is only for folks who will take several days to get the meat on ice due to distance back to camp or waiting for outfitter pick up. For our upcoming pronghorn trip we will never be more than a 2-3 hour walk from a cooler full of ice so I am assuming there is no need for citric spray, but thought I would confirm with HTers. Your thoughts?

 

[IABoilermaker]

You will be fine without any type of spray. Keep it clean and put it in a bag and you won't have any worries.

 

[wytex]

Yep, the boilermaker has it right.

 

[antelopedundee]

It's good to use every so often in your clothes or dish washer. You can find it pretty reasonable on eBay.

 

[Gut Shot]

As stated you won't need it on your antelope hunt.

If you ever do need it on a hunt I have a suggestion. Mix a bucket of it up and soak your game bags in it. You won't have to take a bottle of the stuff with you then. Did this on a caribou hunt and it worked great.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

As stated you won't need it on your antelope hunt.

If you ever do need it on a hunt I have a suggestion. Mix a bucket of it up and soak your game bags in it. You won't have to take a bottle of the stuff with you then. Did this on a caribou hunt and it worked great.

I'm bringing it on a Caribou hunt this year... was thinking of mixing it in a gallon bag and then cutting a pin prick hole in the corn to use as a make shift sprayer... Do you think it would be better to just dunk each game back in the gallon bag mixture and then add the meat?

 

[VikingsGuy]

I'm bringing it on a Caribou hunt this year... was thinking of mixing it in a gallon bag and then cutting a pin prick hole in the corn to use as a make shift sprayer... Do you think it would be better to just dunk each game back in the gallon bag mixture and then add the meat?

While looks like unnecessary for me this year, if I were to use it in the future I would probably choose something lightweight like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KP6842O/

 

[Gut Shot]

I mixed it up pretty strong in a 5 gallon bucket, soaked the bags in it for a few minutes then hung them on a line to dry. Put them in ziplock bags and went hunting.

We tagged out on caribou and the bags worked great. The acid will cause a glaze to form on the meat, the higher PH keeps bugs off and helps with bacteria as well. We were on the tundra for a week and lost no meat. We did hang the meat and put a tarp above for shade and to keep rain off.

 

[Kneetopia]

I've used it before on a warm archery hunt a few years ago. The temps in the shade were 70. I sprayed the quarters down and it seemed to make a pretty good difference in keeping flys off. The meat was in those temps for maybe a total of 10 hours....no issues. If you think you might need it, just put a few tablespoons in a ziplock and get a tiny little spray bottle.