Getting your meat home tips for first timer

[Signal 20]

Hey guys. I wanted to start by saying hi since this is my first post. I have been an archery hunter for about 10 years now. All of my big game hunting experience is from Florida (I guess more like medium game hunting in FL). I moved out to Colorado almost 2 years ago now and I'm planning my first archery elk hunt this year. Its going to be a solo trip so I've been doing all the research I can to get ready.


  My question is I have read alot of articles and watched a ton of videos about field dressing and field care for elk meat. However my question is once you have your meat in game bags and back at camp what is the best way to get it from camp to your house and eventually to your butcher?
  I have acquired 1 of the coleman xtreme 120qt coolers so far and I plan on getting a second before I leave. Will I be ok to pack the meat in the game bags in ice in 2 of those coolers for the ride home? Or do you remove the game bags before packing the meat in ice in the coolers?


  I also am toying with the idea of using a bunch of half gallon water jugs pre-frozen in the coolers as cooling instead of ice.


  Sorry if this topic has been covered to before, I searched through the forums and just couldnt find much.

 

[lang]

Shouldn't make any difference in our out of bags at that point.  I think I usually just take them out and do some cleaning of meat if I'm not on my way home at that instant. 

 

[hank4elk]

I have 3 of those coolers I use for gear, food and game. 2 will hold a boned out bull easy. I keep my meat in game bags for protection and try and avoid getting meat wet.
I use frozen food meals and water bottles to keep cold, and they usually last a week.
I use shade/air flow during the day ,and dry ice for long trips home.
I'm lucky I live within 2 hrs of home most places I hunt now. Good tree cover for coolness and extra fridge's for aging.

 

[cowboystl1]

wet dry doesnt matter in the cooler brother once its there the battle is over you can take it out or leave it in the bags that doesnt matter either. i personally love freezing jugs it last way longer than strait ice cubes. that is a great way to keep cold for long periods of time. now question is not worth refreshing an answer too or revisiting for a different perspective if you have one ask man good luck. on your hunt.

 

[ElkQuest]

Your question could have numerous answers based on the context of you situation.

The jugs of ice are a great way to go, but if you are going to be out hunting for several days will the ice still be ice when you return to the truck?

Keep the meat in the shade, put it on ice if you have it, get it to cold storage as soon as you can.

My drive home from my favorite elk grounds is about 6 hours. I have always quartered rather than de-bone. For my trip I place the quarters inside a folded tarp, stop at the first store with ice and toss a few bags in with the quarters, cover with an old wool blanket and head home.

If you need to wait for a butcher to open after getting home, just keep it cool. I have used the "tarp and blanket" method with ice in the garage for this as well. Never had a problem.

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[Pat]

In 2012 we took three bulls.  One the first day, two on the sixth day.  Before our trip I found a few places, within reasonable distance, that would do cold storage for us until we came home.  We used the gutless method to take care of the bulls, put the meat in meat bags and packed it out, on foot, a little over 6 miles to the truck.  From there we put it in cold storage.  From Colorado back to PA we had a big military cooler in the truck and a big coleman cooler.  In those we used dry ice.  The meat kept perfectly.  We are going again this year and would not do anything different.

 

[northwesthunter84]

This past year we boned out the elk.  I spent the time and cleaned it up good then placed it in 1 and 2 gallon ziplocks.  The meat was good in the coolers for a whole week.  Everything was kept in the shade.  I tried a meat locker but the old lady had passed away.  The biggest thing is getting it under 40 degrees as this inhibits bacterial growth.