Options for keeping meat in the field for 14 days.

[3855WIN]

If you’re dragging a trailer, might as well bring a freezer.

 

[thusby]

It could be freezing overnight at that time of year. We hit one morning with -34F while I was out there last November. I do remember a time 5-6 years ago when it was in the 70's as well. Kind of a mixed bag that time of year.

 

[Shangobango]

It could be freezing overnight at that time of year. We hit one morning with -34F while I was out there last November. I do remember a time 5-6 years ago when it was in the 70's as well. Kind of a mixed bag that time of year.

-34? Wowzers!

 

[WyoDoug]

That is what I am saying, that time of the year it will be cold at night and should not be too hot in the day. You should be fine with a couple of really good quality coolers. I got two 100 qt coolers and I use it to keep game meat in until I can process it or run it into town to have done. I bought them when I had to get bear resistant containers and best investment I made in hunting gear. If you were not in bear country, you could age the animal as a carcass safely and just let it hang especially of the daytime temps were below 70. Beef is aged for 14-21 days at 34-38 degrees. So if it is kept in a dry cool place out of snow and any rain, you should be fine. It's better to dry age as a carcass if you do that though and hang it rather than put it in coolers. I hunt in bear country so I keep it quartered into large coolers of ice and keep the drain open to drain it out and put a quilt over it as insulation to keep the sun off the coolers. We make trips into town every 7 days or so to get fresh ice and anything we need but usually the ice is needed only for the beer and soda coolers.

 

[44hunter45]

In Texas you may not process your game beyond quartering until it reaches a final destination. That can either be a game processor or your residence. You can cook and eat a piece of your harvest in camp, but best not steak or grind the rest.

14 days is a long time to go unfrozen!

Other states forbid you to bring in any part of the game animal but the meat due to CWD fears. Other states forbid all meat from CWD positive states (like MT). Hunters need to know the regs for each state they may pass through.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Other states forbid you to bring in any part of the game animal but the meat due to CWD fears. Other states forbid all meat from CWD positive states (like MT). Hunters need to know the regs for each state they may pass through.

Which states ban all meat? Never heard of that one.

 

[44hunter45]

Which states ban all meat? Never heard of that one.

Good catch. I was thinking of Washington, I just re-read that. They accept de-boned meat.

 

[WyoDoug]

Which states ban all meat? Never heard of that one.

None. Some states prohibit interstate transport of meat until it clears CWD and some states ban import of game meat from another state with certain exceptions especially if it comes from CWD or other deseased area. If you read Wyoming's regs for example, it states: "Whole deer, elk and moose carcasses cannot be transported out of Wyoming. The only parts approved to leave the state are edible portions with no part of the spinal column or head; cleaned hide without the head; skull, skull plate or antlers that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue; teeth; or finished taxidermy mounts. While these parts are permitted to leave Wyoming, not all states regulations align with this." However, nothing in the regs I read tell me I can't transport the whole carcass to my house to dry age in my shed if I wanted to do that, being a Wyoming resident. (Not saying there isn't a prohibition, just that I don't know of any.)

 

[antlerradar]

If Washington hunters can not take the meat home I might have to reevaluate my view of CWD. Maybe there is a silver lining.

 

[WyoDoug]

If Washington hunters can not take the meat home I might have to reevaluate my view of CWD. Maybe there is a silver lining.

If you are hunting in Wyoming, you can take the edible portions home as long as Washington allows that. Read about the 4th paragraph here: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Wildlife-in-Wy...ease/CWD-in-Wyoming-Wildlife/Carcass-Disposal. BUT I would not recommend eating the meat until you get your CWD results back. Wyoming does testing of all deer, elk and moose harvested in Wyoming CWD positive areas. If I remember right, you are sent a test kit to mail in.

You just can not take the whole carcass out.

 

[seeth07]

The state to state laws on transport of wild game is so silly. Get this one: I travel to NE to hunt deer diy public land. Rule says I cant debone the meat in the field all 4 quarters are required to be taken to the check station along with the head. I do this and then ask them "ok so my state of wisconsin doesn't allow me to bring the head back. What do I do?" they tell me that I actually need to hang onto the head until the meat gets to its final processing location in case I'm checked yet before leaving the state of Nebraska.

 

[2rocky]

BROADUS, MONTANA (241127)
Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary
Period of Record : 02/23/1920 to 06/10/2016

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Annual

Average Max. Temperature (F)

32.6​

38.0​

46.8​

58.7​

68.6​

78.0​

87.7​

86.7​

75.1​

62.5​

45.7​

35.8​

59.7​

Average Min. Temperature (F)

7.3​

12.6​

20.8​

31.3​

41.3​

50.3​

56.2​

53.5​

42.6​

31.8​

19.8​

10.6​

31.5​

Average Total Precipitation (in.)

0.47​

0.45​

0.79​

1.52​

2.42​

2.70​

1.49​

1.04​

1.10​

0.99​

0.61​

0.46​

14.04​

Average Total SnowFall (in.)

6.5​

5.7​

6.9​

4.0​

1.0​

0.1​

0.0​

0.0​

0.4​

1.8​

5.2​

6.4​

38.0​

Average Snow Depth (in.)

3​

3​

1​

0​

0​

0​

0​

0​

0​

0​

1​

2​

1​

Meat can likely freeze at night. So hanging it outside could work. For part of the time anyway. As long as you have a way to keep magpies off of it.

I don't know of very many people who would be not able to go to town to take the meat to a cooler in what I assume is a 10 day hunt.

Even in the wilderness we timed our meat runs with feed and food resupply about every 3-4 days. Most Locker will have a cold storage rate. You can go to town every 4 days and take multiple critters and they will keep fine until then. First big grocery store we hit leaving the state we got dry ice to put in the coolers , and the meat was cold and nearly all frozen by the time we were back to 80-90 degree CA .

 

[WyoDoug]

The state to state laws on transport of wild game is so silly. Get this one: I travel to NE to hunt deer diy public land. Rule says I cant debone the meat in the field all 4 quarters are required to be taken to the check station along with the head. I do this and then ask them "ok so my state of wisconsin doesn't allow me to bring the head back. What do I do?" they tell me that I actually need to hang onto the head until the meat gets to its final processing location in case I'm checked yet before leaving the state of Nebraska.

I may be wrong but once you are out of the state, they no longer have jurisdiction on it. I would then follow what your home state requires at that point. You can always dispose of the head in a dumpster somewhere. Check the laws of the states you pass through on the way. I think most of them you can maintain evidence of sex on one of the hind quarters and enough hide to determine species and be OK all the way home. Farthest I have ever hauled game meat though was states neighboring Wyoming and Colorado so I am not 100% sure on that. If they are part of the interstate compact, they probably follow the model law that is put out through the compact on handling interstate transport of game meat.

 

[seeth07]

You can always dispose of the head in a dumpster somewhere.

Idk about you or anyone else on here that is something I'm for sure not feeling good ethically about doing whether or not that is the correct legal way. I honestly just take the head home, ignore and be illegal in my home state and then properly dispose of the head at my home where I'm for sure not spreading CWD to a local herd here.

 

[WyoDoug]

Idk about you or anyone else on here that is something I'm for sure not feeling good ethically about doing whether or not that is the correct legal way. I honestly just take the head home, ignore and be illegal in my home state and then properly dispose of the head at my home where I'm for sure not spreading CWD to a local herd here.

You need to check. Game and fish here in Cheyenne provides dumpster specific for that purpose. I should say dump it in designated dumpsters provided for that purpose. Most states, the carcass and waste parts of the animal have to be disposed of in an approved landfill. G&F and the AF Natural Resources provide dumpsters specific for that. If I dispose of game carcass and viscera and that on base, I have to double bag it and put it in the dumpster they have staged at the southwest corner of the HMA.

 

[2rocky]

Regarding transport, the main thing they are concerned about is going to be prohibited material like spine and brain tissue.
Skull capped antlers and scrambled and flushed intact skulls are the way to go. scramble the brain with a rod or a wire coat hanger and flush it out with a hose. Heck the Egyptians did it through the nose! (you can use the Atlas Joint)

I've been checked by WY and ID wardens at check stations, and at the CA border Bug Station. Most just wanted to admire the antlers and when they saw the coolers duct taped shut and the tag and receipt from the locker they gave us the thumbs up, and we went on our way. CA made us fill out a form.

 

[WyoDoug]

Regarding transport, the main thing they are concerned about is going to be prohibited material like spine and brain tissue.
Skull capped antlers and scrambled and flushed intact skulls are the way to go. scramble the brain with a rod or a wire coat hanger and flush it out with a hose. heeck the Egyptians did it throught the nose! (you can use the Atlas Joint)

I've been checked by WY and ID wardens at check stations, and at the CA border Bug Station. Most just wanted to admire the antlers and when they saw the coolers duct taped shut and the tag and receipt from the locker they gave us the thumbs up, and we went on our way. CA made us fill out a form.

I like this. I have been checked by Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas myself and never had an issue. Removing the spine and brain tissue is the key to everything. Very good information. Good ole KISS concept LOL

 

[Sam Colt]

They are serious about CWD because there is practically no way to kill the prions that cause it. Randomly dumping remains that are infected can create a nasty, long-term situation. From Scientific American:

"According to one account, prions resist digestion by protein-cleaving enzymes, may remain infectious for years when fixed by drying or chemicals, can survive 200°C heat for 1-2 hours, and become glued to stainless steel within minutes. Oh, and they’re also resistant to ionizing radiation."

Stainless steel surgical instruments and veterinary tools that come into contact with Creutzfeldt-Jakob or CWD can not be sterilized, they must be destroyed.

 

[Shangobango]

I will be in a CWD management zone in Montana.

From FWP: "CWD Management Zones are areas where CWD is known to exist. To prevent the spread of CWD from infected areas of Montana to other parts of the state, the whole carcass, whole head, brain, or spinal column from any deer, elk, or moose harvested within a CWD Management Zone may not be removed from that Management Zone unless the animal has tested negative for CWD."

Not really an issue as Louisiana's reg on CWD reads like this:

"Effective March 1, 2017, no person shall import, transport, or possess any cervid carcass or part of a cervid carcass originating outside of Louisiana, except:

• Meat that is cut and wrapped
• Meat that has been boned out
• Quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached
• Antlers
• Clean skull plates with antlers
• Cleaned skulls without tissue attached
• Capes
• Tanned hides
• Finished taxidermy mounts
• Cleaned cervid teeth

Any and all bones shall be disposed of in a manner where its final destination is an approved landfill or equivalent."

I am going to be boning out the meat at the least before leaving camp up in Montana. If we get something that we want to mount I will just cape it and take off the skull cap or make a euro at the camp while we are up there.

 

[Shangobango]

BROADUS, MONTANA (241127)
Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary
Period of Record : 02/23/1920 to 06/10/2016

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Annual

Average Max. Temperature (F)

32.6​

38.0​

46.8​

58.7​

68.6​

78.0​

87.7​

86.7​

75.1​

62.5​

45.7​

35.8​

59.7​

Average Min. Temperature (F)

7.3​

12.6​

20.8​

31.3​

41.3​

50.3​

56.2​

53.5​

42.6​

31.8​

19.8​

10.6​

31.5​

Average Total Precipitation (in.)

0.47​

0.45​

0.79​

1.52​

2.42​

2.70​

1.49​

1.04​

1.10​

0.99​

0.61​

0.46​

14.04​

Average Total SnowFall (in.)

6.5​

5.7​

6.9​

4.0​

1.0​

0.1​

0.0​

0.0​

0.4​

1.8​

5.2​

6.4​

38.0​

Average Snow Depth (in.)

3​

3​

1​

0​

0​

0​

0​

0​

0​

0​

1​

2​

1​

Meat can likely freeze at night. So hanging it outside could work. For part of the time anyway. As long as you have a way to keep magpies off of it.

I don't know of very many people who would be not able to go to town to take the meat to a cooler in what I assume is a 10 day hunt.

Even in the wilderness we timed our meat runs with feed and food resupply about every 3-4 days. Most Locker will have a cold storage rate. You can go to town every 4 days and take multiple critters and they will keep fine until then. First big grocery store we hit leaving the state we got dry ice to put in the coolers , and the meat was cold and nearly all frozen by the time we were back to 80-90 degree CA .

I guess it hasn't sank in fully the difference in a Montana November and a Louisiana November.