transporting meat

[Mike_Parson]

I have always hunted just a couple hours from home so its never been of a big concern on transporting game. This year i am traveling 9 hours from home and i hope to be bringing some tasty elk meat home from CO. I have checked the weather averages and it should be around 75 in the day with 37 in the nights. I think i will be quartering out the elk and have it in game bags.

My question is how best do i get it home to NE NM and to the processor safely. The temp here will be in the mid 80's to 90's. i have heard to use 120qt coolers and ice but those are a big expense. do i really need to spend that kind of cash to get the meat home safely?

just looking for advice on how you veterans might try to get your meat home if you were only 8 hours away from your processor.

[WapitiTalk1]

Mike, I live about the same distance from my house to the area I hunt in ID. I use the local processor there (take the boned out meat to them and pick it up when the hunt is over and bring it home in large coolers). Really not even a need for additional ice as the meat is frozen solid and remains that way till I get home. If that's not a consideration for you (to use a local CO processor) then you can place the boned out meat in a couple of large coolers as you mentioned. Dry ice would work better than normal ice for a long drive (you just suspend the dry ice in a cotton hammock above the meat). Don't want to invest in a couple of big coolers for just that hunt, and, want to transport your elk in quarters? Then you could build a foam lined box out of plywood, put the quarters in that, and again suspend dry ice above it. There's a thread here somewhere where a buddy of mine Zane built such a box and has successfully transported un-processed meat from CO/WY all the way back to SD. I'll see if I can dig it up. RJ

Edit: Here's the thread that shows Zane's meat transport box.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4243&p=52088&hilit=zane#p52088

[Mike_Parson]

i will be hunting solo so there isnt really a need to take it to a processor and wait for it to be done then drive it home. i love the idea of a meat box. that is totally cool. maybe i can build one before i leave. it will have to be sturdy to hold the weight but i think i can get it done with little cost. ill post pictures if i get time to build one. Thanks for the idea.

[Bow4me]

I've seen a lot of people get an old deep freezer that does not work and use it for a cooler. You can usually find one for free just to get it hauled off.

[Lefty]

Hit those garage sales for older big coolers or assign a friend who goes to garage sales, Maybe need to go as far as Craigs list
Ive cut up deer and antelope on the spot and have even wrapped it on the location ( with help),.. first town ice or dry ice.


My daughter has received a few foam fish coolers at tournaments
http://www.mrboxonline.com/33x16x1225-quart-tough-foam-cooler-p-7979.html

[saddlesore]

Do not use dry ice if the cooler is inside your vehicle

[WapitiTalk1]

Do not use dry ice if the cooler is inside your vehicle

Why not use dry ice inside a vehicle, or, an enclosed place? Here's why:

"Asphyxiation. Dry ice forms carbon dioxide gas. Although the carbon dioxide isn't toxic, it changes the chemistry of the air so that there is a lower percentage of oxygen. This is not an issue in a well-ventilated area, but it can cause problems in enclosed spaces. Also, the cool carbon dioxide gas sinks to the floor of a room. The increased concentration of carbon dioxide is more likely to cause problems for pets or children than for adults, both because they have a higher metabolism and because they may be closer to the floor where the concentration of carbon dioxide is highest."

Back of your truck is fine

[bald9eagle]

What about 20+ hours of driving?

[Indian Summer]

Giant cooler and dry ice. That simple. You can fit 1 front and 1 hind quarter in each one with the smaller stuff around them.

[Mathewsz7-elkridge]

I haven't ever used dry ice. Do you put it directly on the meat?

[tikka]

I hunted in Montana and live in Michigan. We transported two deboned elk in a homemade cooler. We got dry ice and placed on top of cardboard. Was told not to let ice touch the meat as it would cause freezer burn. Most of elk was frozen or very cold when we got home.

[Brendan]

Killed my bull in Montana the day I was supposed to leave for home. Got it deboned and promptly off the mountain as temps were in the high 60's or low 70's by afternoon and sunny. Didn't have time to let it hang to dry out, so it immediately went into trash bags and was put in coolers submerged in ice to get it down to 32 degrees. Drove 2 days to the east coast - changed it into new game bags and new trash bags when I got home to get some of the blood out, left it submerged in ice for another week - 10 days as I finished packaging it. Came out great and I still have a couple steaks and some burger left almost two years later.

I have one nice cooler - but if you can pick up 2-3 coleman extreme's off craigslist or cheap - you can store your other gear in them until needed.

[Indian Summer]

The 120 quart, I believe, comes in the Coleman Extreme and the Igloo Marine.

I usually put something, anything between my meat and the dry ice so it doesn't get burned. I grab newspapers from the grocery store when I buy the dry ice for that. Remember cold sinks so put the ice on top not down on the bottom. Also remember that dry ice doesn't melt meaning become liquid. Instead it evaporates. So two things I do is also put something on top of the ice such as more newspaper or better yet something that insulates a little like towels, paper towels/toilet paper or clothes etc. Then I run duct tape all the way around the seam between the lid and cooler and don't open it until I get home. Don't skimp on the dry ice either. I think I bought twice as much as my partner last season. His quarters were fine when I dropped him off in Ohio and mine were a wee little bit frozen in spots when I got to Pa. Perfect!

I can't remember what I paid for it but whatever it was it sure was a cheap insurance policy on al of the other time and money invested in what was in the coolers.

[Mike_Parson]

thanks guys on all the great advice and tips. this is exactaly why i joined this site.

[Backyard]

In the past we've just got a couple large boxes to put our meat in from a local store near our hunting area where we also purchased dry ice to use. Then we just covered them with sleeping bags for the fifteen hour trip back. Worked great!

[bald9eagle]

Sounds easy enough.

[Tigger]

If you have access to a generator, find an old freezer that works and bring that along. We ran the generator all the way home and the meat was slightly frozen. Menards sells freezers that they replace at people's home for $15-20 typically. ask them about it. They mark the ones that work differently than the ones that don't.

[Swede]

For a 9 hour trip you can do just fine using a garbage can with a block or two of ice in it. As an extra measure you can wrap your sleeping bag around it for insulation. I would recommend using a clean garbage can, but that is just a matter of personal preference.

[TomB]

An ice chest is nothing more than plastic and insulation...lay several sleeping bags open and flat on the pickup bed....then a plastic tarp....lay the meat (processed and frozen works best, although if you just had the meat hanging to cool at night or from the locker that's okay too)....then cover with a plastic tarp and then sleeping bags on top of that. If the meat is processes and frozen, it will act like ice and continue to cool all the meat, frozen or not.

We travel from Colorado to California for two days and the meat is still frozen when we get there. We've been doing this method for over 40 years without any failures.

We don't have to carry the extra ice chests or any other items to carry the meat home. Another advantage is that if you get several animals, like the 4 bulls we did last season, they can all be safely carried using this method...the more critters, the longer they stay cold.


Still having doubt...test it. build a makeshift ""ice chest" as listed above and put a garbage bag full of ice in it...see how long it lasts. You will be surprised.

[Swede]

Welcome to the forum Tom. It is good to have you in the campfire discussion.

[TomB]

Thank you sir for providing this forum. I've been a lurker for some time now and thought I should join.

[Swede]

Tom, I am glad you came into the circle around the fire. There are some good folks here with a wealth of elk hunting knowledge here. I would still keep my eye on a couple of them. I won't mention any names, but Rory and Indian Summer are the initials of a pair of pranksters to watch.