Ideas to bring home a moose....

[92xj]

Three of us went up this past fall and we brought home 1300 pounds of meat. I’d suggest just having it processed up there will save a bunch of headache and save a lot of room. We paid $.70/lb Canadian and everything was vacuum sealed.

We stuffed all our gear and coolers into a crew cab f150 with a tonneau cover. We ended up having to purchase a few coolers up there but managed just fine. Way up coolers we’re full of gear, on the way back shit was stuffed into every crevice imaginable.

Three quartered Newfoundland moose. View attachment 376039

How many coolers did you have to hold 1300 lbs of meat?
How did that many coolers fit under a tonneau cover. I believe those are the covers that are flat with the top of the bed sides? in an F150, 6.5' bed?
I am planning on a BC moose hunt and trying to get an idea of how many coolers to take for two moose with the hope of processing them up there. If we don't have time to process they will be boned out meat in meat bags, in contractor bags inside coolers with ice. Just like I do my elk.
I was planning on 4 120qt coolers for meat and 1 120qt cooler for hide per moose shot.

 

[Mudflap621]

How many coolers did you have to hold 1300 lbs of meat?
How did that many coolers fit under a tonneau cover. I believe those are the covers that are flat with the top of the bed sides? in an F150, 6.5' bed?
I am planning on a BC moose hunt and trying to get an idea of how many coolers to take for two moose with the hope of processing them up there. If we don't have time to process they will be boned out meat in meat bags, in contractor bags inside coolers with ice. Just like I do my elk.
I was planning on 4 120qt coolers for meat and 1 120qt cooler for hide per moose shot.

The tonneau got rolled up and stacked coolers to the roof lol. It was a 6.5’ bed. We brought three 120qt coolers and upon guides recommendation we bought 12 48qt Coleman’s before heading to the processor. Needless to say we had way too many coolers.

Once at the processor we used the small coolers first and didn’t even use the 120s. I’d safely say we would have been fine with 2 120qt per moose.

All three moose weighed in between 900-1000lbs

 

[Mudflap621]

I will say that the 48qt fit like a glove stacked 4 wide in the bed of truck.

I think it all depends on how much gear your bringing and what type of hunt it is. We ran light with just essentials for weather, tripod, binos, rifle. We brought one spare rifle in case we had one go down. This was a guided hunt with all lodging/food provided.

 

[92xj]

Roger that, thanks.
I think sticking to my plan of 4 120s for meat and 1 120 for cape will work.
We are going light, 2 back packs with hunt stuff. 2 Duffles with clothes and a double rifle case. So should have plenty of truck room.
Crew cab 2500 with 8foot bed and canopy.
I will have the ability to process the moose myself and I am stupid picky about getting every piece of meat. When shoot cow elk, I fill 2 120qt coolers completely with boned and trimmed meat and ice. I am hoping I shoot a moose and if I do it will be substantially more meat than the elk. We shall see.
Thanks for your info!

 

[Larry Bartlett]

You guys are all giving great advice. It's awesome that so many of y'all have been here and done it and share your experiences. Bad ass fellas.

 

[Floater00]

From PA as well. We hunted NL last year and brought home 2 quartered moose. I used 2" rigid foam board and some scap lumber to turn the bed of my Ram 1500 into one big cooler. A piece of plywood over the top allowed room for all of our gear (I have a cap on my truck). Frozen 2 liter soda bottles for the drive home worked great.

You'll save money on the ferry if you don't need a trailer.

 

[PorterNY]

I hunted NF last year end of October…had a great time and did fly in hunt.. I recall there being a lot of rules and paperwork on what I could bring back etc…. Double check to make sure you can bring quarters with bones back across border…. You may have to at least debone… also I had my moose processed up there… I could not find any dry ice from deer lake down to the port… I used (4) 100 qt coolers for meat and a 120qt for hide.. I hade no spare room.. it’s beautiful country , enjoy your trip

 

[LCsmith]

I just checked out their website, what does a hunt like that cost?

Besaw's log cabin outfitters

 

[JGBowman]

I just checked out their website, what does a hunt like that cost?

5500 Canadian

 

[Sako76]

For the guys that had moose processed, how long did you have to wait to get the animal processed? Last time I was up there, a couple of guys scored and they we're told it would be 3-4 days before the animals would be done. We are taking a helicopter in and I'm not sure they fly the meat out mid week.

The last time we hunted we were flying anyway, so the meat was transported to the states several months later. We are driving this time, the outfitter says they debone the meat in the field, we were thinking about taking the deboned meat home and getting it processed at home.

Any idea on how many 120 quart coolers do we need for 2 moose and a caribou (5)? Thanks.

 

[PorterNY]

For the guys that had moose processed, how long did you have to wait to get the animal processed? Last time I was up there, a couple of guys scored and they we're told it would be 3-4 days before the animals would be done. We are taking a helicopter in and I'm not sure they fly the meat out mid week.

The last time we hunted we were flying anyway, so the meat was transported to the states several months later. We are driving this time, the outfitter says they debone the meat in the field, we were thinking about taking the deboned meat home and getting it processed at home.

Any idea on how many 120 quart coolers do we need for 2 moose and a caribou (5)? Thanks.

I got my moose on Tuesday morning and they flew it out with helicopter. I picked it up Thursday afternoon. The meat was processed and shrink rapped in cardboard boxes. Only the meat on the outside of boxes was starting to freeze. I packed my moose into 4 , 100 qt coolers then put 3 bags of ice on top of each cooler and taped the lids shut. The hide went into 120 qt cooler because it was frozen and wouldn’t fit in 100 qt.. I drove home 3 days and still had half the ice left.
What outfitter are you hunting with?

 

[Sako76]

Rock Camp Outfitters.

 

[wildwilderness]

No way I’d mess with a chest freezer and generator unless it was mid summer and over a week to get it back.


Easiest by far will be deboned. I like the ice on the bottom of the cooler and leave the drain unplugged for the water to run out. Or you can drain periodically if there’s other gear you don’t want wet, bloody.

I have a soft topper so I put the other gear on top the coolers so it doesn’t matter. Heck I’ve stored meat for days in my garage in a cooler til I processed it. Think of it as aging the meat! Instantly freezing isn’t a good thing….

 

[Smtn10pt]

How long is it going to take you to get home? If the outfitter can get the quarters cooled down I'd just wrap them in bed sheets and drive home.

 

[woodmoose]

hate to be "that guy" but legally you are not allowed to bring moose into Maine, NY, etc with the bones attached - CWD issues

I had my moose processed in Newfoundland last Oct - dropped it off Friday and picked it up Saturday - first game animal I have paid to have processed

the moose I got in VT back in 2006 I deboned there and then processed when I got home

 

[Aluminum Rain]

Built this cooler box for Newfoundland last year out of OSB and 2" foam board. Cost about $200. It was 1100 qts and held 4 moose that were processed and vacuum sealed on the island. Processing there was cheap and gets your meat frozen. Less than $200/moose. We threw a few bags of ice in with the meat but didnt need to. 44hr drive back to Wisconsin. Thats a 6.5ft box truck. Had about 15" of space left above box, under topper for gear.

 

[Aluminum Rain]

Oh, and I did install a drain plug too.

 

[Sako76]

Our booking agent said the processing would be $400/animal Canadian. Is that what everybody else is paying?

 

[DonV]

As long as the meat is below 40 degrees, preferably 33-34 and you have decent coolers and pack gear around it I do not see a problem at all. No need for a chest freezer, unless you drive really slow and/or have hot weather. Keep the coolers covered with blankets and, if over 40 protected from wind. Meaning do NOT put in the open bed of a truck and drive all day in 60 degree sunny weather. If below 40 at night open coolers.

The MOST important thing is get ALL the meat cooled as close to freezing as possible.

I love fresh meat so I would bring a lot home unfrozen.

If you freeze it you will have no issues. Even if some thaws (outside pieces) they will stay below 40 and can be refrozen with no harm to meat taste. If you can freeze it to 0 degrees or below even better.

I have flown and driven thousands of pounds of meat home from AK and out west to Ohio. Never lost any. Cool meat immediately upon kill and get it below 4 asap.

 

[PorterNY]

Our booking agent said the processing would be $400/animal Canadian. Is that what everybody else is paying?

Yes… that was about what I paid in 2021 at butcher near deer lake