Early archery deer. What is the longest duration you had meat in pack?

[boom]

It's gonna be on the warm side. Say you let meat cool overnight in breathable meat bags. Then you stuff it all into the pack and head out. How long until you start to worry about spoilage?

Okay. What if you arrowed the deer and then packed out without the overnight cooling period? Meat is warm when you put it away.

Any experiences here? Anyone ever pull meat out and it smelled awful?

 

[JNDEER]

archery B zone in the lower elevation. I have hung a whole deer in breathable game bag (modified to not allow for flies to contact the meat) for 3 days under the shade of a tree when day time temps were in the high 80's /low 90's.

A zone archery opener a few years ago. daytime temps were 100+. I killed a buck around 1100 and had it quartered and hung in a tree by 1230. We rested and around 1430 packed it back to camp about an hour hike. I unloaded the deer and re-hung it while we tore down camp. Re-packed the deer and hiked out 2 hours to my vehicle where I put the meat in an awaiting cooler full of frozen water jugs.

my family has hung deer for 2 days (weekend hunts) in the lower elevation B zone in modified game bags (pillow cases) when temps were 90-100 degrees during the day with ZERO spoilage.

As long as I clean the meat good with water and keep it in a game bag to not let flies get to the meat I never worry about spoilage.

 

[boom]

thanks bud.

it appears drying the meat was key for you. i appreciate the info.

 

[JNDEER]

thanks bud.

it appears drying the meat was key for you. i appreciate the info.

no problem. letting the meat air out for a little bit does make a difference. I would say let it hang for a bit to cool off in the shade, even if it is 100 out for a while would be key. I also used a blue widow with the mesh so while I was packing it, it was also breathing.

 

[ftballman125]

Anyone else have any experience/tips on this? I'm concerned about the same thing. I hunt the desert, though, so I don't have any trees to hang the meat from, and not much shade to go around. Will still see temps in high 90s to 100s. Any ideas?

 

[archery bum]

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/show...mp-Why-s-on-Citric-Acid&highlight=citric+acid
this is what I'm going to use if I get one down early.

 

[westrnwild]

Ive shot muleys in the deserts in California for years...granted I try to get them out as fast as possible but sometimes that just doesn't happen..if I have to leave it I find places under permenant shade like rock formations or something..I'm not as worried about bugs in the desert. I have also cut limbs to put over it for extra shade. Another thing I do that helps with cooling and packing is I debone the meat...always. If you know where water is like a stream or alpine lake bring contractor bags and put the meat in there and seal it and submerge the meat in the water,make sure the bags are sealed...if you can't make sure the top of the bag is above the water...pararcord can help you drop it into water..if I have it in the pack I try to get out of there in less then a day..the heat combined with your body heat can be a bad combo

 

[69ChrisCraft]

archery B zone in the lower elevation. I have hung a whole deer in breathable game bag (modified to not allow for flies to contact the meat) for 3 days under the shade of a tree when day time temps were in the high 80's /low 90's.

A zone archery opener a few years ago. daytime temps were 100+. I killed a buck around 1100 and had it quartered and hung in a tree by 1230. We rested and around 1430 packed it back to camp about an hour hike. I unloaded the deer and re-hung it while we tore down camp. Re-packed the deer and hiked out 2 hours to my vehicle where I put the meat in an awaiting cooler full of frozen water jugs.

my family has hung deer for 2 days (weekend hunts) in the lower elevation B zone in modified game bags (pillow cases) when temps were 90-100 degrees during the day with ZERO spoilage.

As long as I clean the meat good with water and keep it in a game bag to not let flies get to the meat I never worry about spoilage.

You just gave every USDA inspector a heart attack. My best friend is a meat scientist and he refused to remove the viscera of a hog we killed in the field because of the likelihood of introducing any microbes to the meat.... I'd rather get camphlyobacter than ever have to drag a 280 lb hog nearly a mile again.

I killed a deer in A zone last year and had to return to find it about 11 hours later. Prob high 50s at night.... When I severed the head I found blow fly larvae in the trachea so damn big it reminded me of the creatures from the Tremors movies. Could have been there prior to death?

That being said, remember that moist, warm meat is a veritable Petri dish. Keep it clean and cool it as quickly as possible.