Backcountry meat care

[Breeves1]

My buddy and I are new to hunting out west. We are both planning on getting a mule deer tag next year somewhere. My question is, if one of us shoots one, being we want to be a few miles or more back in, how do you preserve your meat/trophy? Would it be better for one of us to get the meat out, or do you have any suggestions for preserving the meat for a few days in the backcountry? Thanks everyone.

 

[OldRussian]

Get the animal opened up as soon as possible to get the heat out. If the temperature if going above ~10 degrees Celsius as a day time high you will be good hanging it in the shade for several days. hang it in quarters to let the cool evening air efficiently chill the meat.

 

[Hunt the Top]

The biggest thing is getting the meat bagged up and hanging in a tree to where the air can get to it. As long as it’s not scorching hot during the days and the nighttime cools are decent (30-40s). You’d be fine. Preferably pick a spot to hang in a cool draw and in the shade if possible. Meat bags are important to keep the flys off the meat


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[Mr.Crumbz]

A question I’ve always wondered myself. I going to be hunting you first season next year and proper after care is something I’m afraid I’ll mess up.

 

[wapitibob]

Always best to get into coolers as soon as you can but sometimes that isn’t readable.
Quarter, bag, hang in shade the rest of the day and that night so the wind can case it over and cool it off. Pack it out the next day, put on ice and you’ll be fine. I’ve hung antelope quarters off my camper jacks when it was 90+ in the sun. Get them in the shade and let the wind do the cooling.

 

[Wrench]

Citric acid can be your friend. Get your meat setup in a wet draw bottom and let it air out during the night.....cover during the day to insulate.

If you have flowing water and garbage bags, immersion technique can be used.

The nuts and bolts is simple, do whatever you can to encourage the meat to get to the lowest possible temp.....and then protect it from warming up.

 

[John Herrera]

What about a good, sturdy, washable meat bag?

 

[Breeves1]

We have meat bags. I was just wondering whether there were methods to keep it from spoiling for a few days in the backcountry or if we’d have to hike it out and then hike back in. Thanks for the responses. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Poser]

Hang it over a creek. You can also submerge with in the water. Opinions vary, but I’ll always put in a waterproof bag of some type before doing this.

 

[PMcGee]

We have meat bags. I was just wondering whether there were methods to keep it from spoiling for a few days in the backcountry or if we’d have to hike it out and then hike back in. Thanks for the responses. I greatly appreciate it.

It’s pretty easy to keep it from spoiling if it’s not crazy hot. I’m assuming you want to hang it and keep hunting. IMO you’re better off getting the meat out. Take whatever both of you can carry out. If there’s still meat left one person should be able to take that load out by themself when you get back in. The person that still has a tag hunts solo until your partner gets back. How far back you are is another thing to consider. If you never packed an elk out I don’t think it would be wise to shoot 2 before packing one out.


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[Bull_n_heat]

Hang it over a creek. You can also submerge with in the water. Opinions vary, but I’ll always put in a waterproof bag of some type before doing this.

Agreed - get it in the shade, hanging with air circulating around it. A north facing slope with a creek will be 10-20° cooler than anywhere else. Getting the hide off is task #1. LOTS of info out there on YouTube and the like for how to quarter and where to hang it.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

If you're only gunna be a few miles in, why not just get it back to the coolers?

 

[Goose10]

Bone/quarter it right where it falls. Don’t mess with the guts as it just gets more chance for bacteria to go to work. Put the meat in a couple bags for a deer and get it to a shady spot where you plan to store it for the time needed. Hang it in the evening and overnight. In the morning take it down and wrap it in a tarp in a shady/cool spot. It will keep for several days like this with daytime temps in the 70s and evenings down to 30-45.

 

[Travistroop]

If flying area around while you quarter it you can use black pepper to keep the flys off. But get it into a bag as soon as possible.

 

[AndySee]

Good info, thanks! Planning to do a wilderness area hunt this fall and meat spoilage is my biggest concern. Do you guys keep coolers in your vehicle iced up while you're up the mountain?

 

[Sobrbiker]

Here in AZ I keep coolers with super ice in shade at camp just for meat. Care as above if under 70* max then into coolers.

Super ice is 2L or gallon bottles with 1/3-1cup salt dissolved in water and hard frozen.
Don’t put beverages in coolers with this stuff for the drive, they will turn to slush or burst within 4-6hrs. Great stuff.

 

[calreef18]

What do people do for some deer seasons like coastal california where it can be in the 80’s due to time of year? How fast can the meat go bad at warmer temps?

 

[Marble]

Here in AZ I keep coolers with super ice in shade at camp just for meat. Care as above if under 70* max then into coolers.

Super ice is 2L or gallon bottles with 1/3-1cup salt dissolved in water and hard frozen.
Don’t put beverages in coolers with this stuff for the drive, they will turn to slush or burst within 4-6hrs. Great stuff.

That's a good tip right there. I never thought of putting ice in the water.

 

[Sobrbiker]

That's a good tip right there. I never thought of putting ice in the water.

You mean putting salt in the water, right?
It lowers the freezing point of the water.
My Coleman Xtreme from Walmart usually will have ice still in it a day or so longer than my buddies’ high end rotomold coolers that they just toss bagged ice in.

 

[Sobrbiker]

What do people do for some deer seasons like coastal california where it can be in the 80’s due to time of year? How fast can the meat go bad at warmer temps?

Hot weather doesn’t lend well to hunts deep in away from coolers and ice. I try to about yo where the most areas can be accessed from where the coolers/camp/vehicle is based.

Most importantly in my book is getting kill out of sun, don’t spend time taking a bunch of pictures and high fiving-get to work right away. A smaller animal (like a Coues deer) may be best served going gutless, bigger animal dropping the guts to open up and sometimes to be able to drag it to shade may help. Depending on skill at taking major muscle groups apart, it may be better to get meat off bone and in bags in shade quickly.

I guess I’m trying to saw that for me, it’s a fast evaluation of variables and having a plan to take care of the meat as priority one.