After the shot --- warm weather.

ok guys as ive said in several other posts im doing my first ever elk hunt, on my own this year with a bow.

i have ideas of what i want to do should i put one on the ground, but what do you like to do to make sure your meat stays cool until you can get it to the truck and home?

after quartering the animal and getting it in gamebags and hung in the shade, is it off to the coolers as fast as you can carry it? im thinking several large coolers with ice, but i dont want to get the meat wet either so maybe putting it in a bag before the cooler....but then im also thinking the bag could keep some of the heat in..

anyways what do you do with your meat from the time the animal is shot, all the way to the house? ill probably have to take several couple mile trips to get the meat out and a 2 hour 30 minute ride home...ill be out there on the utah opener august 21st :D
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I use burlap bags because they breath a bit and their cheap. Then get them to the cooler as fast as possible because of the warm weather. Once I get them in the cooler I put them in garbage bags and get ice at the first gas station. But yeah, the biggest thing is to get them cool as fast as possible this time of year.

If you have that problem, it's a good problem to have... :thumb

Brandon
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Buckmaster
Here is some great advice from Elk101.com

http://elk101.com/contact/home/matt-brimmers-response-11/


Good luck :thumb
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Loafer
Put the meat in the cooler, I keep it in canvas game bags, then a towel or something similar on top then put dry ice on the towel. It will keep the meat cool and you don't have to worry about the meat getting wet. If your cooler has a good seal the dry ice will last awhile. Last year my cooler lid warped and I was going through the ice quick, I used some ratcheting tie downs to fix the problem.
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did some scouting this morning it was 31 degrees at 10,000 ft.....hopefully i shoot one in the evening and pack it out early in the morning :D
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Loafer
"steve8410" wrote:did some scouting this morning it was 31 degrees at 10,000 ft.....hopefully i shoot one in the evening and pack it out early in the morning :D
 Sound like a touch of fall is in the air up there and not a minute too soon. :thumb
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waynedevore
It's important to get the body heat out as fast as possible. Even if the temps are in the seventies. Cut the meat in smallish pieces. Quarters are to big, takes a lot to get the interior cool. Spread the meat out in the shade on a piece of plastic. Overnight is good, the ground is cool and in the high country nights are cool. Putting warm elk quarters on ice will get you a lot of water. Better to get the meat cooled down then the ice. If your in an area that's warmer, warm nights and flies, ice and cooler fast is the only way.
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i have similar issues in california hunting in july its over 100 degrees and only 70 at night. once the animal is skinned, deer or pig we quarter or bone it put it in game bags than a garbage bag to keep it dry. then in the cooler with ice. Then keep the ice chest in whatever shade there is.
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