Boned-out elk...cool it in a cold stream?

[roosterdown]

Howdy - have wondered about this and thought I would see if anyone has done it...We'll be backpack hunting a remote drainage with a fair sized cold stream; a packout is almost certainly a multi-day event. Weather could be cool and our friend...but if it's hot, I am wondering about taking the boned-out meat and going right in the water with it.

That could be in or out of the game bags; I would assume that after cooling for 30-60 minutes we would pat it as dry as possible and hang in the bags until we pack out. But will getting immersed be a problem for the meat?

We could also potentially put it in a few leaf bags if getting it wet would be a negative.

Just seems like using that built-in refrigerator might be a good idea to shed heat quickly...

Anyone have experience with this?

Edit: Belatedly, I see there are a couple of threads on this...sounds like some folks do it, both in plastic and not. For what it's worth, this is a high-country stream that loses about 4000 feet in 6-7 miles - it's very cold, clean and a decent stream for cutthroat.

 

[Taudisio]

In this scenario, I could see this being beneficial if you down a bull before 3pm. I’m a no moisture on my meat typically, but I have been fortunate with cool weather, or evening kills with headlight pack outs. I’m tagging in to hear what others say about hot weather pack outs.

 

[Loo.wii]

Use contractor bags to keep the meat dry.
Do Not get raw meat soaked. Bacteria etc could spoil the meat.

I wonder if it would be a net benefit to ROKSLIDE to write an ai agent that would answer questions like this. Or
index answers and auto reply to with the answer and source post.

 

[180ls1]

Weather dependent, it should also be cool just next to the stream and not actually in it.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

We used to leave mule deer submerged in water tight bags, in streams/alpine lake edges in the high sierras. Keep in mind that this water was always extremely cold often times with snow along the banks year round in the shaded areas.

It works very well, however truly water tight bags aren’t exactly light weight.

We’ve left deer quarters both bone in and deboned submerged as long as 2 weeks this way, and as long as black bears and birds didn’t interfere, the meat was always still just fine.

Using rocks/stringline and sticks to submerge a bit deeper helped mitigate unwanted visitors but hungry bears are hungry bears. You risk losing the meat with them around.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I wonder if it would be a net benefit to ROKSLIDE to write an ai agent that would answer questions.

Yeah. No thanks.

 

[chizelhead]

I haven’t tried it, but I heard from an Idaho outfitter you can leave the skin on the quarters and submerge them without the need for bags. I’m not sure how true it is but it sounds workable. Otherwise, it’s often cool enough to hang meat by creeks in the shade in warm weather. I just wouldn’t hang the meat by animal crossings if you’re not right next to it.

 

[BBob]

Do Not get raw meat soaked. Bacteria etc could spoil the meat.

Maybe in theory but in practice never had a problem with it.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

Some large dry bags would keep the meat from getting wet.

 

[Matt5266]

Weather dependent, it should also be cool just next to the stream and not actually in it.

This. Find some shade. Should be cool enough near it

 

[TaperPin]

No matter how clean and beautiful water looks, there is always a dead animal just upstream, or something worse. One nice clear stream we assumed was just fine for a number of years, then one time we happened to be further up the hill where it starts, and it was an almost stagnant pond at the spring with domestic sheep tracks and crap everywhere from summer grazing and a black fluke of some kind swimming across it flipping us the bird and blowing fart bubbles. I wouldn’t want meat to soak in it.

The guys I know that have tried soaking meat all have stories of leaky bags, every one of them.

 

[Scrappy]

This has worked well for me. I wouldn't trust letting water get on the meat.

 

[BBob]

This has worked well for me. I wouldn't trust letting water get on the meat.
View attachment 901978

Bear bait right there

 

[BigNate]

During bow season it can still be very warm , and I carry one contractor trash bag to put meat in to cool in a creek. Hardly ever completely alone , and I use gutless method so fill a game bag, put it in the plastic in the creek. Go work on the next bag. Pull the first out put next one in. Hang first bag, or start walking out with it. I think getting some heat out quickly helps.
Later when it's cool, I just hang the meat.
I haven't ruined one yet.

 

[OneGunTex]

I've done it, up in Alaska when we had a need to get the meat cooled down FAST. Game bags straight in the water. But the creek was in the 30s. In our case the need to get the meat cold outweighed the bacteria risk, and I figured low risk at those temps.

 

[Pony Soldier]

In nw montana, we cut some lodgepole rails and placed them over the creek. Then we laid the quarters across the rails. By the time we got back the quarters were cool and ready to pack out.

 

[mt terry d]

One extremely hot opener of bow season we killed a bull in the morning.'
Quartered it and packed ti to camp ( horses) then hung on the north side of a tree.
At 8000' elevation, though it got into the 70's in the daytime it cooled off nicely
at night.
A couple days later we saw blowflies laying eggs through the cheesecloth gamebags.
Cleaned them off and took them out then and there. Thankfully it looks like no one
uses cheesecloth anymore.

Another time we left camp for a week but put the perishables in a contractor trash
bag and buried it in the mud by a small spring. Everything was perfect when we came
back.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Contractor bags + shade. Like others said, do not get raw meat wet, also those contractor bags in direct sun light even in the cold can heat up so shade is best

 

[butcherboy]

I would just make a game pole and hang them near the creek. You can pitch a tarp over it for extra shade and weather protection as well. I would hate to leave my meat in the water and have a heavy rainstorm. Creek swells to high rushing levels and washes your meat away. I usually just hang the meat on a pole and cool over night and come back the next day to pack it out.

 

[BBob]

Thread 'Moose meat and water question'

Feb 3, 2014

I know when you submerge meat in water to cool it off you put the meat in waterproof bags to keep water contaminates from getting on the meat.
When you kill a moose and he dies in a marsh or river how do you keep the meat from being contaminated by the water, especially in a stagnate marshy situation?

• JPD350