How Do You Transport Your Elk Home?

[lostagain]

After the elk is down and the field dressing is done how do you get it back home?
I'll start:
The first quarter is backpacked back to the truck. The a game cart is used to get the other parts back to the truck.
If it is cold enough we stay a day or two and hang the quarters in the shade. If it is hot we put the quarters put into two 160 quart coolers. Hopefully the two liter bottles of water are still part frozen and can keep the chest cool. If the ice has melted I head what ever store I can find and put the ice (double bagged) into the chest. The I start the long drive home. Happy and tired. As you can tell I live in the heat and have to drive a long way home.

 

[easymoney]

Any big game I take is usually far from a road and I am by myself.
So, I field dress and bone out all meat, game bag it, take as much as I can back to truck at a time and store in ice chest, hang what I can't carry, when back to camp or cabin I finish cutting and bagging up all meat, freeze in deep freezer, then pack in ice for long drive home. Have not lost any meat to the elements yet, knock on wood...

 

[paulc]

Pretty much the same as easymoney. If i am out of state, I almost always bone it out, make sure it is completely chilled first and if you are in elk country that is almost never a problem.
Then i pack in plastic trash bags and into ice chests leaving enuf room for dry ice.

Then i find just about any grociery store in a small town and buy dry ice. it gets home and normally it is perfect for packaging. In fact often i leave it in the ice chests for a day or 2 no problem

 

[Or/Elkster]

salt water and a cooler filled with ice. the motion of the truck and salt will make the blood all drain out thats how i get mine home

 

[paulc]

Why do you want the blood to drain out?

 

[GooseHunter Jr]

The last two I haven gotten we were able to get them out whole and took them home whole and then processed them at home! But other than that they are quatered out!

 

[greg vs]

1. Cabelas used to have a large, soft ice-chest (I think it was called the Alaskan Cooler)-very heavy duty. I took one in my roof rack and packed the sleeping bags, etc. in it. If I got lucky, I would pack my game in a game bag and load the chest with bags of ice. Brought large mulies home from Wyoming that way.

2. I've packed elk quarters in cheap sleeping bags to insulate them. Brought them home 4-6 hurs that way. Hung them overnight for several days first with lows of upper 30s.

3. When I lived in the San Gabriel Valley, I brought several pigs home in August & September from Hunter Liggett by putting them on my roof rack, soaking the game bags with cool water, pack ice in the cavity and taking the Coast Route home. Stop frequently to re-water the game bags.

4. BE CAREFUL!! Laying game in the bed of a truck can be disastrous! The heat of the exhaust can "cook" the meat. Insulate it with a sleeping bag, duffles, etc. Had friends lose deer that way.

 

[gblrsrst]

Do any of you have it Shipped Home?

We are going to Elk and Mule deer hunt in Area 77 of Colorado in September and it's 2005 Miles from home

 

[Or/Elkster]

not all the blood sorry. it also makes it easier to strip off the membrane and the salt helps fight bacteria

 

[Speckmisser]

Originally posted by gblrsrst@Jul 5 2005, 08:23 AM
Do any of you have it Shipped Home?

We are going to Elk and Mule deer hunt in Area 77 of Colorado in September and it's 2005 Miles from home

I drove mine home from CO to CA, not quite as far as you have to go, but packed in dry ice, most of it was frozen solid when I got home after almost 48 hours (I stopped for the night in Reno, NV

).

Airlines won't allow you to use dry ice, and they don't like it when you use loose ice, so ideally, you'll want to get it hard-frozen before you ship it. A lot of game processors (CO elk country seems to be full of them) will freeze it for you at a "reasonable" charge. Since the airflight is only a few hours, the meat will be perfectly fine by the time you get it, and you can transfer right to the freezer at home.

If you can't get it frozen, then at least get it cooled as much as possible, then pack it with frozen soda bottles. It'll be fine for a day or so like that, as long as it doesn't get subjected to any direct heat.

 

[Stryder]

Ok what about this? I'm going hunting with 2-3 guys this sept. in colorado, what would I do if I shoot something the first day or two but my buddies still have 6-7 days left to hunt and I'm 1000 mi. from home?

 

[Speckmisser]

Unless it's hot, the animal should be fine for six days. Just need to keep the bugs off, and a good game bag will work fine for that. It would be best to split the carcass, and make sure the air can circulate around the meat while it's hanging.

If it's too warm for hanging, then either cut it up and get it on ice, or get it to town and let a processor store it for you.

The nice thing about elk and deer is that, like beef, you can kind of "abuse" it, in that it hang longer in marginal temps better than something like pork or bear. The USDA might never approve, but you can get away with a lot. My CO elk hung for six days, with daytime temps twice topping 60 degrees and nighttime temps at or below freezing.

The surface of the meat will darken and develop a shiny "skin", which is what you want it to do. This skin will help keep the bugs out, and protect the meat underneath. You can skin this off when you process.

Something else you can do if you can't get to ice or to town is to cool the meat at night, then wrap it in layers of sleeping bags during the day. This works, but your sleeping bag will smell like bloody meat, which, on top of making for unpleasant sleeping, isn't necessarily a good thing if you're hunting in bear country.

 

[Coues]

Hang the meat in the open air at night, then wrap it up and store it in the shade, under sleeping bags, blankets, etc during the daytime. It should be fine for at least a week if it is clean and dry.

 

[BOWUNTR]

Lots of great ideas but too many variables to just say "I do it this way". The minute that elk hits the deck, the meat starts to break down and decompose, which causes heat, cooking from the inside out. Depending on the temp, both daytime high and nightime low should dictate how you handle the "just hanging" it. I don't know what the cutoff temp is.... I've done the cooler thing with dry ice and that works fine for the drive home. But, if its warm out I would never chance it for a few days. If I was on an early season archery hunt and down an elk the first few days, I would never wait the rest of a week or two until my buddy tags out. If you are hunting elk, it would be wise to have the $ set aside in case you have to get it to a locker.

Check this out, Bishop today is 100 daytime, 57 nightime temps. On my Tule elk hunt I am going to have to hustle just to get the thing cut up before it spoils. No way will it keep overnight. That is if I tag one!!! My

Ed F

 

[stv]

i usually just bring a fork

 

[Stryder]

Originally posted by stv@Jul 5 2005, 02:58 PM
i usually just bring a fork

Don't forget the salt and pepper!!!

 

[shootwice]

I handle all my deer by hanging up to 2 weeks if the temp is between freezing and 50 degrees. Over 50 and under freezing is ok for short periods. The aging process stops obviously when the meat freezes and speeds up over 40 (ideal) and over 50 spoilage can happen fast. Some people speed age over 50 degrees for a few days but you may lose a bit of meat but you will be happier with the aged meat as opposed to processing and freezing without aging.

With that said, I would ship or transport frozen if the meat had ample time to age. If not, set up your cooler or shipping container with dry ice and transport your meat in the largest pieces possible and age in the fridge at home. Obviously you don't want the ice to touch the meat. Keep the meat in your game bags or bare in the fridge since air circulation is good for aging.

PS. When I freeze, I leave loins and other steak cuts large enough for 4 to 6 steaks and cut after thawing. This reduces surface area in the freezer and makes for better steaks. Vacuum sealers are our best friends too.

 

[FTTPOW]

Bowuntr, I did it this way. I had the luxury of having the meat packaged and frozen. I consoladated my bags from 2 to 1, packed it into my baggage, in paper grocery bags, and paid for an overweight bag -(over 50 and under 100 lbs) for the airline trip home. This cost $25. For $80 I shipped the wrapped and protected antlers from Montana to Ohio. Everything traveled on the same plane as I did and arrived still frozen and secure. If needed you can ship an extra piece ($80) of overweight baggage ($25) and bring more home.

 

[Freedivr2]

Stryder.......another thought (and what we always try to do for the early season); Find a meat processor/butcher or a supermarket that has a cold locker that is within say 30-40 miles (or closer of course) of your camp. Drive those early critters to the processor and let them chill for a few days. I think the most we ever paid was $5 per day to hang em (if we didn't have the guy process the meat). Last year we had the guy process the meat while we continued hunting and ended up with a bunch of nicely wrapped and marked muley (struck out on elk......). Anyway, just a thought that works for many....

 

['Ike']

I've come back from CO, AZ and NM with Elk and never had a problem.......If you can, get them to a coller for a day or so to really get them cooled down! Then wrap them to insulate and put dry ice in the four corners.....I then put a tarp over the whole thing to keep the 'cool' in.......

Ed, there are a couple palces to store/hang meat in Bishop!!!