Keeping meat cool.

MulletsN’Muleys

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I am doing my first rifle elk hunt in the uinta range in Utah this year. I will be packing in. My plan is to bring a large Coleman cooler, possibly two, and leave them in the jeep at the trailhead 10 plus miles away. Here are some questions I have.

1. How much cooler space do you need for a boned out elk?

2. How much time do you have in moderate weather to get the meat cooled?(If it snows then this question is invalid)

3. Is heavily wrapped dry ice mixed with cubed ice a good idea for leaving the cooler back at the trailhead?

Any info would be appreciated.
 
You'll need at least two coolers if you want room for ice too. You're really going to pack an elk 10+ miles on your back? If you're solo that's going to take multiple days, you'd better pray for cold weather regardless of how much ice you have in those coolers.
My cousins will be with me as well. We will have 3 backs to carry it out. Should’ve put that in the original post.
 
As an acquaintance put it the other day, Elk meat isn't ice cream.
Open the hind quarters along one or two seams to get air down into the bone, let it cool and crust overnight with some breeze blowing across it, load it up the next morning and pack it out. You'll be fine. Depending how far the truck is from town, I probably wouldn't bother with ice in the cooler until I hit the closest gas station/market. The problem areas will be the hind, next to the bone, and big slabs of neck/backstrap/trim meat, all balled up in a game bag, cooking from it's own internal heat. You'll have to lay all that out over night and get some breeze across it to cool it down.
This came up with Antelope on here not long ago. I hung the quarters on the shady side of the camper thru the afternoon/evening/night and with the night time breeze it was cold and crusted the next morning even though the day temps were close to 90.

I use two, 120qt colemans for bone in Elk.
 
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If the weather is cooler, put meat in game bags and hang them over night. I'd suggest getting a small freezer and running it off of a generator. Take some meat to the truck and spend the night there with the generator running and go back in the morning for the rest and put the frozen meat in your coolers. Don't ever put warm meat in a cooler as it will melt your ice quicker. I recommend freezing gallon jugs full of water for longer lasting ice. If you go the cooler route duct take the coolers shut after you get the meat in them. If you go the freezer route you can always sell it when you get home for more than likely how much you bought it for. Plus, the extra room of a trailer is always a good thing.
 
As an acquaintance put it the other day, Elk meat isn't ice cream.
Open the hind quarters along one or two seams to get air down into the bone, let it cool and crust overnight with some breeze blowing across it, load it up the next morning and pack it out. You'll be fine. Depending how far the truck is from town, I probably wouldn't bother with ice in the cooler until I hit the closest gas station/market. The problem areas will be the hind, next to the bone, and big slabs of neck/backstrap/trim meat, all balled up in a game bag, cooking from it's own internal heat. You'll have to lay all that out over night and get some breeze across it to cool it down.
This came up with Antelope on here not long ago. I hung the quarters on the shady side of the camper thru the afternoon/evening/night and with the night time breeze it was cold and crusted the next morning even though the day temps were close to 90.

I use two, 120qt colemans for bone in Elk.
Very helpful thanks. I am going to buy a second cooler for sure then.
 
If the weather is cooler, put meat in game bags and hang them over night. I'd suggest getting a small freezer and running it off of a generator. Take some meat to the truck and spend the night there with the generator running and go back in the morning for the rest and put the frozen meat in your coolers. Don't ever put warm meat in a cooler as it will melt your ice quicker. I recommend freezing gallon jugs full of water for longer lasting ice. If you go the cooler route duct take the coolers shut after you get the meat in them. If you go the freezer route you can always sell it when you get home for more than likely how much you bought it for. Plus, the extra room of a trailer is always a good thing.
Didn’t think about bringing a freezer or generator but if I can find the way to do it with a Jeep that’s not a bad idea. We will be pulling the back seat out and getting a hitch rack. Thanks for the info man
 
You can fit a boned elk in a 150qt cooler with some block Ice & dry ice. Its best if you can get your meat cooled down first before putting it in the cooler. If the meat was cooled down & you keep it in the shade > you should be good for 5 days with 15lbs of dry ice and a good cooler. Keep the dry ice from touching the meat, use cardboard or heavy paper. You will need a separate cooler for capes.
 
Snow is no guarantee of cold weather. Might snow one day and be 75 degrees the next down the trail at lower elevation
 
The first cool down is key in my experience; it's asking A LOT of a cooler w/ ice to get all that heat energy dissipated. Once you've gotten it cool once, you can keep it nicely chilly with a (ballpark) 3:1 ratio of meat to ice, extremes notwithstanding. To get warm meat cooled down all inside a cooler, I'd want 50/50 ice:meat if not more ice.
 
Ouch...make sure you have a day or two off after that pack out your gonna need it to recover! Might look into renting a couple llamas.
 
^^I agree the above statement about cooling it down in the cooler. I would also recommend solid ice if possible. Milk jugs, 2 liter jugs etc.
 
I'll second the comments about freezing milk jugs or some such. Ice lasts a lot longer and you have a lot less mess that way. I've ended up buying two of the Orion coolers Randy is always talking about-they are awesome and worth the money. Good coolers will stay much colder much longer. And once you put meat in em, don't open em back up til you hit the processor. Also, good game bags like the Caribou game bags are really nice-the cheap ones seem to let in more dirt and crawly things than you probably want, if you are going to hang the meat up. The more meat you put in the cheap ones, the more the mesh bulges out and leaves gaps. I've had my Caribou ones now for a few years and they are holding up really well. I keep two in my pack and leave the other two in the truck. Unless you want to make bone broth or osso bucco from the shanks, would suggest boning it out all the way before you pack it out. Oh, and a couple of cheap pulleys from Harbor Freight make life easier hanging your meat up back at camp.

Am sure others here have waay more exp with packing meat than I do, but just my $.02/ what has worked for me.
 
I'm with WB,cool down is key!
I use 2 120 qt igloos with 1/2G frozen water bottles in a separate smaller cooler I also keep my food in. I carry camp/hunt stuff in coolers till needed.
I also will leave bags of meat hanging in a shady tree between trips @ camp, if conditions are favorable. Then pack it all in large coolers with frozen water bottles for trip home.
 
I have killed several elk, when the weather was reasonably warm. First, GET THE MEAT OFF THE BONE! If you are that far from camp, you do not need to be packing heavy meat out with all the trash still left in it. Put the meat in game bags of some sort, hang in the shade-building a shade with pine boughs if necessary-and in a place where the breeze hopefully can hit it. It is amazing how much meat will cool in fairly warm temps, especially at night. It is usually pretty friendly at night in high country. Shaking a little pepper on the outside of the bag-especially around the opening- is not a bad idea, either.
 
I'll second the comments about freezing milk jugs or some such. Ice lasts a lot longer and you have a lot less mess that way. I've ended up buying two of the Orion coolers Randy is always talking about-they are awesome and worth the money. Good coolers will stay much colder much longer. And once you put meat in em, don't open em back up til you hit the processor. Also, good game bags like the Caribou game bags are really nice-the cheap ones seem to let in more dirt and crawly things than you probably want, if you are going to hang the meat up. The more meat you put in the cheap ones, the more the mesh bulges out and leaves gaps. I've had my Caribou ones now for a few years and they are holding up really well. I keep two in my pack and leave the other two in the truck. Unless you want to make bone broth or osso bucco from the shanks, would suggest boning it out all the way before you pack it out. Oh, and a couple of cheap pulleys from Harbor Freight make life easier hanging your meat up back at camp.

Am sure others here have waay more exp with packing meat than I do, but just my $.02/ what has worked for me.
Thanks dude! Any info helps!
 
Lot's of good info on how to cool down elk meat.

Now i'll tell you what I've seen as being reasonable distance for hauling elk out on your back...because 10 plus miles IN ELK COUNTRY is asking for trouble.

Anyone who has killed an elk over 5 miles from the trailhead will tell you it is going to take 5 guys to pack a boned out elk in one trip. Because if it was 5 guys hauling 300# of boned out elk and antlers, not only do you have to haul out 65# of meat but your camp as well. You are looking at 100# plus pack (see the deer hauling thread)

I can make a 10 mile meat run on horseback in 3.0 hours one way and I have turned and burned back in to camp with horse feed with about 10,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. It takes a recreational backpacker (40-50 # pack) 4.5 hours to make that one way trip. I've done it.

3 guys hauling a bull elk and camp out 10 miles without a pack animal assist is not a reasonable goal. I've got guys who finished 100 mile races under 24 hours, and they know to have a packer to get elk out more than 3 miles in. emember you are going to have been hiking in the mountains before you get that bull down. Your legs will most likely be shot.

10 mile pack out? Reasonable for 2 guys hunting Mule deer, where if one guy kills both haul meat and camp. But on Elk with 3 guys, better shrink your radius, or have Uncle Joe with the packstring on standby.
 
I’m sorry, for the exaggerated miles guys. Haha it won’t be ten miles. (That’s for damn sure) It will be probably 4 tops to get back to the vehicle. I should’ve fixed that a while ago. My mistake. I factored in the distances with On X to see what I was really going to be hiking. Regardless, I still plan on a grueling hike out if the stars align and we have success. But from what i hear it’s worth it.
 
Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

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