COOLER PREPARATION

[Northernpiker]

If you're packing in for 5-8 days and you happen to kill (harvest) an elk on day six and pack out the first load of meat are your coolers ready for meat? Ice melted, dry ice, have to run to town to get ice? How do you prepare coolers?

 

[5MilesBack]

I fill them with frozen milk jugs. After 10 days there's still about 50% of each jug still as ice.

 

[TheHardWay]

A quality cooler lined with dry ice on the bottom, and filled with frozen jugs/bottles

 

[Northernpiker]

Thanks 5miles.
Meat storage in the woods. There was a podcast with Aaron and another person and they stated if they harvest an elk and staying to hunt more with another person, they will stash meat(after its cooled some) in a lake or creek for a few days. Aaron puts his in a heavy mil construction bag and the other person said he just puts the meat in the water. Has anyone tried this method?

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

I fill them with frozen milk jugs. After 10 days there's still about 50% of each jug still as ice.

Milk jugs and pre-cooling your cooler before throwing those in make a big difference. Also, throwing an old blanket or sleeping bag over the cooler adds a layer of insulation from the sun, etc. and also makes a big difference.

A decent size roto-mold cooler with milk jugs should easily last 8-10 days in 'reasonable' conditions unopened waiting for meat.

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

Thanks 5miles.
Meat storage in the woods. There was a podcast with Aaron and another person and they stated if they harvest an elk and staying to hunt more with another person, they will stash meat(after its cooled some) in a lake or creek for a few days. Aaron puts his in a heavy mil construction bag and the other person said he just puts the meat in the water. Has anyone tried this method?

I've heard a lot about that. the only thing to consider is making a 'crust' while initially hanging it...not sure If I'd want to put wet meat into a plastic bag, could be problematic once removed and packed out.

All kinds of fun parasites in water, so use a bag and minimize air content.

 

[Lytro]

I've done milk jugs in the coolers and I've even just grabbed ice on my drive out before. If you plan on leaving as soon as it's all packed out, you shouldn't have anything to worry about as long as you can hang it in a shady spot where it will get some air circulating around it. If it's unusually warm, I debone each quarter before packing it out. The only thing I would be concerned about in the heat would be the hide if you were planning on doing a shoulder mount.

 

[SlimWhitman]

I did milk jugs, dumped loose ice to fill voids, and stacked dry ice on top since cool air falls. It was pretty much a solid ice block. That last about 14 days in a standard igloo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mosby]

I use milk jugs too.

 

[stonewall]

i use milk jugs with loose ice around. this lasted in the shade in new mexico (early september) well over a week. have never tried dry ice, sounds like a good idea

that video is a seminar aron and chris roe did together btw. i'm sure putting it straight in the creek is fine, provided you cook the meat, but I'm not qualified to say really

 

[Mattt]

I'm with slim I have better results with dry ice on top of regular ice.

 

[Dlbuttram21]

I use milk jugs and after 24 hour drive find a gas station that sells the square solid block ice. I take the jugs that have thawed and replace it with the blocks. I also make sure the cooler stays in a shaded place all day. I chill my meat by hanging before putting it in the cooler. I avoid ever chilling it with water/creeks. As soon as you do that you are introducing bacteria growth.

 

[Ranger619]

I make blocks of ice ahead of time in a container that fits my 75quart Canyon cooler. This will retain at least 70-80% of the ice for a week. I can drain the water out of the cooler if I happen to get back to the truck during the week. I carry a 150 quart Igloo too that I can split the meat and ice in if needed.

 

[apkleinschmidt]

How do you guys secure coolers in the back of trucks while out on a 2-4 day spike camp?

Are you concerned (or have you had any incidents) with thieves? Especially in situations where you are making multiple packout trips and there's meat in them.



Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[stonewall]

How do you guys secure coolers in the back of trucks while out on a 2-4 day spike camp?

Are you concerned (or have you had any incidents) with thieves? Especially in situations where you are making multiple packout trips and there's meat in them.



Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

When I base camped I just left it out beside the tent. But we were returning each day (not that it would matter)

Another trip packing in, locked two coolers in backseat area of truck

For this season I’ll be using my new camper shell

 

[bhylton]

milk jugs are good, but also freeze up some water bottles or smaller jugs of some kind. when you fill the cooler with meat, you wont be able to fit the milk jugs in anymore. use those smaller bottles to pack in around the meat.

 

[Scrappy]

I also freeze jugs as well as one liter smart water bottles. I use them to line the bottom of the cooler then the meat and jugs. When I get to town I get bagged ice and put on top. Then I start home. As the ice melts the one liter bottle prevents the meat from laying in the melted ice water. Don't know if it really matters or not but it cant hurt.

 

[Trial153]

I bought plastic containersthat are sized to fit in the bottom of a yeti 105 and yeti 110. They are about 8 deep. I fill them and freeze them into blocks. I then stack them in one cooler. When I get meat I then lay them on the bottom of both coolers and i stack the meat on top. It fits better the irregular shape of gallon jugs, neater and more useable space

 

[GrumpyHiker]

Frozen jugs of water with blankets. I also leave my coolers in the back of the truck while I'm out 3-5+ days. I should point out that I don't have fancy coolers, I park in a way that my coolers are not obvious to any passerby, and I rarely park on heavily trafficked roads (other than hunters).

 

[Boog304]

Does anybody make the freeze tubes out of pvc? I was thinking that would work nicely As u can make them to fit your cooler exactly rather than big chunks of ice like milk jugs

Anybody thoughts for those that have tried them?