I haven't seen this talked about, so forgive me if this is a repeat,... But as a non-res. hunter I have this concern. My buddy and I will be hunting Colorado OTC Elk in mid Sept. for 8 days. We are planning to backpack hunt wherever our boots take us. Now, IF or should I say WHEN we shoot an elk, and get it boned out and in game bags, then what do you guys do? I have heard of people cooling it in waterproof bags in creeks, and hanging it in trees. I assume we start hauling meat to the truck as soon as we can. My question is, what do you do with it when you get it to the truck? Do you go up the Mt. with coolers full of ice in the back of your truck already so that you have a way to keep the meat cool when you get it to the truck? or do you head for town to get ice in coolers when that happens? I'm guessing we could easily be an hour + drive on not so great roads from a town big enough to get block ice at? I was planning to pack big coolers full of frozen milkjugs of water and fill in the voids with cubed ice, tape coolers shut, and insulate with old sleeping bags. I guess it will depend on the weather , but I may just end up with a bunch of heavy water to get rid of at the end of the hunt... any advise?
Meat Care
- Thread starter Muskeez
- Start date
npaden
Well-known member
How about a resounding... It Depends...
If it is getting into the 70's during the day and not making it into the 30's in the night I go to town and get ice. Just easier than worrying about it. It's about a 45 minute one way drive to get ice where I usually hunt in Wyoming, but it's kind of a wind down thing for me. The rest of the day is shot after putting one down anyway, might as well go get ice.
In cooler weather I've hung quarters in trees for the rest of the week with no issues, just keep it in the shade and make sure your bags are good enough to not let blow flies or hornets get to the meat.
I think your idea of bringing some ice with you is a good one. I might not go so far as to insulate it, if you have decent coolers and have it packed with block ice, it will stay that way for a long time.
Good luck!
If it is getting into the 70's during the day and not making it into the 30's in the night I go to town and get ice. Just easier than worrying about it. It's about a 45 minute one way drive to get ice where I usually hunt in Wyoming, but it's kind of a wind down thing for me. The rest of the day is shot after putting one down anyway, might as well go get ice.
In cooler weather I've hung quarters in trees for the rest of the week with no issues, just keep it in the shade and make sure your bags are good enough to not let blow flies or hornets get to the meat.
I think your idea of bringing some ice with you is a good one. I might not go so far as to insulate it, if you have decent coolers and have it packed with block ice, it will stay that way for a long time.
Good luck!
I fill one cooler with frozen milk jugs and tape the seams and have one other cooler that is empty. If it is getting in the 80's or 90's this will keep the meat cool for a day or two but I still try to get it to town as soon as I can.
Most important thing is to make sure that you have a plan. After you get something down when it is 85 deg is not the time to figure out what you are going to do. If you have a plan and act quickly it will be fine.
Most important thing is to make sure that you have a plan. After you get something down when it is 85 deg is not the time to figure out what you are going to do. If you have a plan and act quickly it will be fine.
BlakeA
Well-known member
On solo hunts I bring a couple coolers filled with frozen jugs and leave them in the truck. On trips where it's me and 2 others, and we know that we will be there for a week or more we always bring a small freezer that we keep in the box and just run it with our generator once we get something down. It works great especially if you fill a tag in the first day or two! Like Dave said, you can always drink what melts in the jugs!
spook12
New member
Yep.
I always take a couple frozen jugs of Orange juice,Grape juice,and Tea. Some hunts when I'm near the truck I use it all,other hunts it's only purpose is to cool meat.
Jorgy
Well-known member
I muzzleloader hunt the same time of year in Colorado, the weather is normally between 90 degrees and 0 degrees, sometimes in the same day 
I would guess that average temp normally gets up to the low 80's, and then down to the high 30's at night.
I also pack frozen 1 gallon water jugs in coolers, I normally take 2 coolers just for meat. Nothing else is packed in them. Then on my way out of town I stop at the grocery store and buy 4 blocks of dry ice and put 2 blocks in each cooler. I have some big 3" thick foam insulation panels that I drop in to take out the airspace at the top of the cooler (and they are great for sitting later on). The dry ice will keep the water jugs frozen for a few extra days and I normally have a least half frozen bottles by the next weekend.
Make sure you keep the coolers in the shade. If I am packing in I stick them under the truck as much as I can and then put a blanket over it. I also take a long steel cable and wrap it around 4 sides and lock it (it's like a big bike lock) and then chain that to my hitch. Yep, some DB stole my coolers 3 years ago.
I would guess that average temp normally gets up to the low 80's, and then down to the high 30's at night.I also pack frozen 1 gallon water jugs in coolers, I normally take 2 coolers just for meat. Nothing else is packed in them. Then on my way out of town I stop at the grocery store and buy 4 blocks of dry ice and put 2 blocks in each cooler. I have some big 3" thick foam insulation panels that I drop in to take out the airspace at the top of the cooler (and they are great for sitting later on). The dry ice will keep the water jugs frozen for a few extra days and I normally have a least half frozen bottles by the next weekend.
Make sure you keep the coolers in the shade. If I am packing in I stick them under the truck as much as I can and then put a blanket over it. I also take a long steel cable and wrap it around 4 sides and lock it (it's like a big bike lock) and then chain that to my hitch. Yep, some DB stole my coolers 3 years ago.
hornart
New member
I always take big coolers full of ice and keep them in the shade to help keep them from melting, its easier to pack crushed ice around the meat after you get it to the truck, you can also keep your camp food and drinks in the ice until you need the space for the meat.
wingman1
New member
Evaporation is your friend this time of year. Keep your meat in the shade and make sure the game bag is always damp with water. If it cools down at night open up the bags. I've have kept meat for 5 days in temps above 85 during the day. Btw canvas bags work best for this method. Air movement is critical to prevent spoilage. If I was going to do the ice thing it would be with a ice salt brine mix in a large glad garbage can like we do for shock cooling tuna. Good luck
Last year in CO archery (daytime highs in 70s, lows 30s), I bought a huge coleman extreme cooler. On the way out to the forest picked up 10 bags of ice for $15. At the TH I stashed a few PBR in there and buried the cooler in blankets and an old sleeping bag - in the bed of truck with topper. We got an elk on day 8 - to my surprise there was plenty of ice in there, in fact too much to fit all the meat.
Keep a couple contractor bags in there so you can keep the meat dry when buried in wet ice. This setup should get you back to your house or processor.
Keep a couple contractor bags in there so you can keep the meat dry when buried in wet ice. This setup should get you back to your house or processor.
DRAFTSTUD
Well-known member
Big Fin uses a variation of the Milk Jugs, he stops at Dairy Queen and fills one with Soft Serve and eats it as it starts to thaw. Fact! John
muledeerjunkie
Member
We use a citric acid power and mix it with water, then trickle the orange smelling liquid onto game bags/meat. It helps keep bugs off and create a good crust, but it doesn't drop the meat temperature much or keep it cold.
