Game meat bags - what to buy?

[Kevin Dill]

I have a frugal friend who buys $1 pillow cases at yard sales and that's all he has ever used. No problems and no meat loss. It doesn't get much simpler and cheaper than that.

I have seen the stretchy cheesecloth bags used successfully, but they do damage more easily and flies can penetrate if that's an issue for you.

I've used TAG Bags successfully on multiple hunts and they have never let me down. I haven't tried the BOMB model yet but the ones I've used previously were just oversized for bone-out meat. That's not a hassle, except it means extra ounces of unneeded bag x 8 or 10 bags when hunting moose via backpack.

I have a friend who bought Caribou bags and likes them just fine. I avoided them simply because they didn't offer me any advantage over TAG Bags.

This year I had a specialized meat transport bag made by Jim Dean. I knew what I wanted for shape and size. I had him make me 10 (white) meat bags custom sized to fit the transport bag. Everything worked perfectly for the moose I killed and packed out alone.

Lots of options out there. The answer depends on your uses, pocketbook, and preferences.

 

[Gumbo]

Caribou Bags have exceeded my expectations and are fantastic. When I need new ones I will probably try TAG bags because I think they are lighter and they support this site.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

TAG bags are my preference. Quality bags, and a stand up guy runs the business.

 

[doverpack12]

Had a chance to try out some of the Black Ovis bags yesterday on my dads bull. We used a combination of TAGS Bomb, Caribou and Black Ovis. They all worked as advertised. The black ovis were the size large and I will say a deboned front quarter off a large mature bull elk was all the big bags could handle so if you are gong to debone the hinds and get a big elk it will take more than one bag per hind. Caribou was the small single quarter bag. Personally I still prefer TAGS but I do carry two Caribou because its too much of a pain to fit deboned elk hind quarters in the TAG BOMB bags. I know there are other sizes but the 24" x 44" is giant. There needs to be an in between size about 20" x 30" which is what the Caribou single quarter dimensions are and roughly matches the Kuiu medium bone in deer bag. Can't go wrong with any of them because they all work and work well but I think TAGS perform the best and I know they are very durable.

 

[5MilesBack]

There needs to be an in between size about 20" x 30"

The Allen bags I used this year are 20" x 30" and IMO perfect size for me, especially solo. The openings are large enough to use solo and get the meat inside the bag instead of fighting to slide it through a smaller opening. But I'll probably pick up another set of these and take 5 bags with me. I like a separate bag just for the tenderloin and back strap.

 

[BackcountryMT]

Currently using Caribou Bags and love them. Planning on picking up some of the new KUIU duffle meat bags. I think these will hold boned out meat in a much more consistent shape for packing and should be the cats ass.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Planning on picking up some of the new KUIU duffle meat bags. I think these will hold boned out meat in a much more consistent shape for packing and should be the cats ass.

I had picked up one of these to try out, basically fit a quartered out mulie doe into one (didn't put one of the front quarters in it that was shot up so I kept it in a separate bag but it seems like it would have fit in as well) and then proceeded to carry it by the duffle handles half a mile. The straps seemed to hold up fine for that (even though I think they are mainly just intended to briefly lift the bag), the shape retention of the numerous quarters was nice and would be similar to boned out meat of a bigger animal. Dropped nicely into a cooler back at the truck and was easy to zip open and fish out the tenderloins and heart to cook up that night.

Long story short its a decent option in the assortment of game bags I have. I like open top ones better for bone in elk quarters but I can see this being of use in other instances.

 

[doverpack12]

The Allen bags I used this year are 20" x 30" and IMO perfect size for me, especially solo. The openings are large enough to use solo and get the meat inside the bag instead of fighting to slide it through a smaller opening. But I'll probably pick up another set of these and take 5 bags with me. I like a separate bag just for the tenderloin and back strap.

Are these Allen bags similar in thickness to TAGS or caribou? I like their price.

 

[5MilesBack]

Are these Allen bags similar in thickness to TAGS or caribou? I like their price.

It's similar thickness. But they feel more cottony than synthetic over the Tag and Caribou bags. They're supposed to be synthetic, and mine weigh 12oz with the carry bag, so about 3oz per bag.

 

[Dos Perros]

I just put my set of Jimmy Tarp bags to the test. I bought the original boned-out meat bags, set of 5 that came in a mesh sack. Very nice little setup, I'm able to keep my tag, my Outdoors Edge knife, mini pen, and zip ties in the sack all together. I used them on a cow elk. The front quarters actually fit on the bone into them, but of course only covered half the meat. I was able to get the truck close to her so no big deal and I was otherwise able to keep her clean. But, I used the bag and string to lug around those quarters and hang from my basketball goal and they held strong. I also used the same bags on a whiltetail doe earlier in October. They wash and dry very well and I think (hope!) I get a lot of use out of them. I'm going to buy a set of the bigger ones he now makes for bone-in elk quarters. I believe the fabric and stitching are no doubt much superior to the Hunter's Specialties ones I've bought from Bass Pro. I haven't tried the TAG but when I was shopping believed Jimmy to be lighter and more economical. I don't mind if they are maybe not as durable, I'll just buy more if/when I need them. That would be a great problem to have.

 

[stx.dead.I]

It sounds like everyone likes tag bags. Don't mean to hijack but what sizes do yall prefer for elk sized game?

 

[doverpack12]

It sounds like everyone likes tag bags. Don't mean to hijack but what sizes do yall prefer for elk sized game?

Do you want to de-bone all the meat or leave the bone in?

 

[16Bore]

How about the Kuiu game bag or the Stone Glacier?

 

[Ruskin]

I liked TAG bags, but I would have loved the reflective strip on the Caribou Game Bags when I had to find them in the dark by head lamps.

Agree. I use the Lawson Outdoor reflective glow wire cord to hang my bags. It's super bright when hit with a headlamp. Sometimes I'll just hang a couple of feet to mark a spot.

 

[doverpack12]

How about the Kuiu game bag or the Stone Glacier?

I bought two of the Kuiu size medium bone in bags to use for elk hinds deboned and they worked well and cleaned up nice. I also bought the small zip kuiu bag and it performed just as well as the bone in bags. I would put them right with the rest in terms of function. I still prefer the TAGS BOMB for everything except deboned elk hinds. You need a bag similar in size to the Kuiu medium bone in bag for those or caribou small single quarter. My friend had the black ovis large set and they worked well on a big bulls fronts deboned and a mule deer. Not sure you could fit a big hind in one of the size large black ovis bags

As far as I know stone glacier only makes a load cell dry bag which I would not put meat into without first having cooled some in a game bag. Kurts dry bag is designed to let all the blood drain out the bottom as you pack out over long distance.

 

[pyroducksx3]

I've used both tags and caribou. Initially I preferred the caribou, I liked the reflective tab and cords. But since using the bags more, the caribou are falling apart (after the third use it seems)and the tags are going strong. I'll be buying tags from now on.