Cleaning your backpack/hauling out meat question

[Sundance]

Just wrapping up washing and putting away my gear from a successful elk hunt, which includes pulling apart my mystery ranch pack and washing it. When packing out meat I put the meat in a game bag then use the meat shelf on the pack and away I go. The bag and frame always get bloody, if I'm still hunting with a group I either soak it in a creek or when available go to a self-serve carwash and hit it with a light pressure wash. At home I fill a tote with warm water and use a very small amount naturalish soap then hand knead and scrub with a brush. After that I rinse the hell out of it with a garden hose than hang dry. It's a chore but it's part of my routine.

I've seen guys use trash bags and roll tops to protect their pack from getting bloody, but I've always been afraid of the heat this is trapping in the meat. If it was cold out I wouldn't even think about it and go with the trash bag, but from August to early October I've never risked it. My thought is if I'm packing an hour + why would I put the meat in a bag that doesn't breathe and traps moisture and heat?

Give me some insight on your thoughts or if you've come up with a better solution for keeping your pack clean.

 

[Wrench]

I put it in a game bag inside a drybag. It's an hour....you already bought a ton of time by deboning it.

For blood stains i use peroxide....then rinse.

 

[BBob]

Breathable game bags. Will sometimes dump them into trash bag lining the pack. Only a garden hose for major blood but if minor it gets left on. I don't think I've ever properly "washed" blood off a pack other than the hose. Blood stains make the camo much more natural looking

 

[MuleyFever]

I have tried the garbage bag thing but I also have worried about heat in the early season. If its cold out by the time the meat is deboned and I am all done it has cooled a lot. I usually just throw the game bag in my pack and when I get home the pack goes in the washer. Its way easier than messing with trying to not get my pack bloody. Especially if a head is coming out. The head strapped to my pack usually gets everything bloody anyway.

 

[BBob]

If its cold out by the time the meat is deboned and I am all done it has cooled a lot.

Exactly, even on a Sept AZ/NM hunt when it's hot it'll still cool fine if you do it right. We throw the meat on a tarp in the shade and it cools just fine while we work.

 

[5MilesBack]

I use game bags inside a white trash compactor bag whether I put the meat in my pack or on the meat shelf. Never had a problem with that and I'm hauling meat in September when it's warm normally.

 

[BRTreedogs]

So I carry a contractor trash bag in my kill kit.
You can use it for a rain coat, rain water catch, and a meat tarp.
Then I taco the game bag of meat..
Even tho its just a taco and not a full enclosure it keeps a surprising amount of blood off the pack. And more importantly from running down my back.

 

[SkunkCabbage]

..........

 

[highcountrymuley]

Game bags so meat can breathe. No Trash bags: Trash bags have pesticides and who knows what else in them. Meat is not trash!
Wash pack afterwards. It's a tool not a museum piece

 

[Zach Herold]

I haven't had any issues with simply leaving it bloody. It doesn't hurt anything and saves you the time and hassle of washing it.

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[intunegp]

I haven't had any issues with simply leaving it bloody. It doesn't hurt anything and saves you the time and hassle of washing it.

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The stains help me reminisce about past hunts and get excited for new ones!

 

[Zach Herold]

The stains help me reminisce about past hunts and get excited for new ones!

A kindred spirit awesome!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Holycross07]

I just give it a good rise when I have time after the hunt. Usually the blood stains get about 90% out with just a rinse a good scrub with a wash rag.

 

[PA Hunter]

I use my pack for moose,I put a contractor bag in my pack for deboned meat but I still get my pack slopped up. I actually toss my backpack bag in my super large washing machine with some tide on a gentle cycle.

 

[Carlin59]

I’ve used my Kifaru pack and frame hard for 6 seasons. Multiple animals packed out each year, never been washed. Always throw meat (in synthetic game bags) in a contractor bag before going in the bag for packing out. My math related to heat is: I’m hunting x miles from the truck based on (for elk) a minimum of three trips outs, so my time frame is built around that last load out. A one way trip in my pack in a contractor bag is a fraction of the time that meat is outside an iced down cooler. I’m more worried about the total time that last load of meat has been hanging than the time in my pack for any single trip. Also, even with a load shelf pack, what % of the game bag is actually subject to circulating air? At minimum, 25% is against the frame. If between the frame and a bag, there is another 25% (bag side) of no air circulating. And given how meat compresses against the frame, maybe ~30% total of the game bag is exposed to air in a standard frame/load sling/bag configuration? Just not enough to worry about in my book. Kill kit goes in the contractor bag in the pack, pull the whole thing out once an animal is down. Use the contractor bag as a work space while breaking down. Throw game bags in the contractor bag when ready, throw contractor bag back in pack, minimal blood anywhere. Apologies for the ramble, hopefully there are some useful tidbits in there for someone

 

[SoloWilderness]

I’ve used my Kifaru pack and frame hard for 6 seasons. Multiple animals packed out each year, never been washed. Always throw meat (in synthetic game bags) in a contractor bag before going in the bag for packing out. My math related to heat is: I’m hunting x miles from the truck based on (for elk) a minimum of three trips outs, so my time frame is built around that last load out. A one way trip in my pack in a contractor bag is a fraction of the time that meat is outside an iced down cooler. I’m more worried about the total time that last load of meat has been hanging than the time in my pack for any single trip. Also, even with a load shelf pack, what % of the game bag is actually subject to circulating air? At minimum, 25% is against the frame. If between the frame and a bag, there is another 25% (bag side) of no air circulating. And given how meat compresses against the frame, maybe ~30% total of the game bag is exposed to air in a standard frame/load sling/bag configuration? Just not enough to worry about in my book. Kill kit goes in the contractor bag in the pack, pull the whole thing out once an animal is down. Use the contractor bag as a work space while breaking down. Throw game bags in the contractor bag when ready, throw contractor bag back in pack, minimal blood anywhere. Apologies for the ramble, hopefully there are some useful tidbits in there for someone

Ditto, except with a Kuiu pack... I hose it out with a garden hose at the end of the season. If its hot out I hike meat out at night, and keep the meat in the shade, or stop to put the whole trash bag covered meat sack in the creek for a bit while I catch a breather. This is with average solo pack outs of 8-10 miles. If it's well cooled before hand then I don't sweat it, meats usually still cool to the touch when it goes into the coolers. I do try and get it down into a shady creek bottom to hang where it won't get much sun, and hanging it over the water gets nice cool air moving over it. If it's blazing hot and I'm going to be hiking in the sun, I just let the pack get bloody so it doesn't trap heat, but I lay the contractor bag on the bottom and side of the pack towards my back to keep blood off my back. Also can make a layer of whatever clothing, camp stuff, etc. close to your back to make a little space/ insulation between the meat and all the heat I put off huffing and puffing my way down the mountain.

 

[UpSideDown]

I haven’t tried this but would some breathable mesh material with some thickness to it work as a taco? Like a section of burlap, or a whole burlap sack, so the blood dries on the outside of the game bag without having so much direct contact with the pack? Don’t know if it would make any difference or be worth the weight.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I like meat to breathe so just use game bags and let the pack get bloody, stains don't bother me so I'll just wash with the hose at home. Hydrogen Peroxide works great for blood if a stain bothers you, squirt before washing and let it soak after working it in gently with your fingers then spray with the hose but you have to do that before any kind of other washing or it'll set in.

 

[MJB]

I just take my time while deboneing and I use the hefty contractor bags with a zip tie, but I will use 2-3 bags to limit the heat if any. I will also sink them in a creak for a few hours or overnight if it's a hot day.

 

[Smokeslider]

Hunting with a bloody pack sounds great and all until you hunt the following season and get rained on. Reactivated the blood and stunk pretty bad. I wash my packs thoroughly now after getting bloody before storing for winter.