Bringing Home The Bacon

[WapitiTalk1]

Would like to hear some methods that you folks (or friends) have used successfully to haul your big game meat home from many miles or multiple states away.

[Toby]

We cut, wrap, and package ours in camp so when we get home we just divide it up. We use Saran Wrap and freezer wrap. We put all the meat packages in double plastic bags and put them in coolers with ice, add ice as needed. We were lucky last year as it was very cool. In our previous area we had access to a locker plant and took the packaged elk in and had it froze before our 24 hour trip home. If we have a warm year and kill elk early in the hunt we will have to scramble as our new hunting area does not have freezing facilities.

We thought about bringing a generator and freezer, keeping our food in it and adding packaged elk if we got some. We may need to do this in the future.

[Fridaythe13th]

We have always brought a freezer and generator, good for food on the way and elk on the way home. paid $25 at a auction. made 5 trips out west hauled 9 elk home saved lots of money on ice. the one year we stop at a hotel on the way home ran the cord through the window and it ran all night.

[Deafirishman]

We packed a chest freezer in the back of the truck along with a generator. We even packed the freezer full of food so it would take up less room while packing up everything. We de-boned all the meat and put it all in freezer bags and made sure everything was frozen before the long trek back to Minnesnowta. Worked like a charm

[Trophyhill]

"Nuthin Fancy" here. A 120 qt and 150 qt ice chest does the job for me. So far my kills have all been right before dark and the meat is chilled plenty for the remaining pack out in the morning. A little ice and so far no more than a 5 hour drive home whether hunting CO or here at home in NM.

[WapitiTalk1]

Here's what one of my buddies uses (Zane) aka Da white shoe on several forums (only the best ones, including ours). Here's what he does:

"I make my own meat box. I have also made one out of an existing box that I picked up from a local warehouse. If you own a circular saw, drill and a tape measure... you can do it yourself. With some plywood, a 2" thick styrofoam sheet, deck glue, 2X2s and some screws... you can make a meat box big enough for 2 quartered bull elk.... without having to de-bone it all. I like to age meat on the bone for as long as I can. We use horses though, so if you're backpacking it out, it would be best to de-boned it. I use a gamebag or even another piece of cloth inside to hang dry ice from the top of the lid... cold air falls. Nothing freezes if you keep the dry ice up, off the meat. Nothing gets wet. Everything stays ice cold and one 10lb bag of dry ice will last a long time. This is the one I built out of a box that was already made. I planned it so that the quarters will stand upright. I used 1 inch thick Styrofoam instead of 2" to save room... because this box isn't nearly as big as the one I made from scatch. We pack the meat box full of tarps or whatever on the trip out there. The green thing in the pics is an old T shirt, stapled to the inside of the lid to hold the dry ice.
There is no need for a drain if you use dry ice. It is pretty much sealed with the over lapping foam joints, so I doubt there will be much air leaking out if it works like my other one. I made corners for it so the lid won't slip around. The handles are just some scrp flat metal I had laying around... wrapped them in electrical tape. The foam is glued in place with "liquid nails", but you could use sheetrock screws with a washer to hold them on. I used a ratchet strap that runs through the handles to hold the lid on. It's so clean because it hasn't been used yet... but the other one, (my brother has it now) has been used for the last 15 years."

Here's the pics:

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[Swede]

The most common way I bring home meat is in a cooler. Years ago when it was still warm during the day, I would leave early in the morning after wrapping the bagged carcass in the tent.

[elk-n-walleye]

"I make my own meat box.

Same here... The box also works great in the off season and the trip in for storage of camp gear. You have to plan ahead for a space to put all the gear once it is full of elk meat. Not a bad problem to have though.

[Triplebhunters]

We cut wrap and froze mine last year, put the meat and hide in coolers and bought 15 pds of dry ice. It lasted the 1700 mile trip home.
Put packaged meat in a garbage bag
Cover with newspaper
Set dry ice on top of newspaper