I do! Haha. Spend all that money on good ones I plan to get my fill! I’ve carried out a black bear two mule deer and a pronghorn with my bags. Oh and even used my bags on my buddy’s Muley. Maybe I’m just a nasty mofo haha.
I've dropped them in the creek/river and put a rock on them overnight. You'd be amazed how clean they are after that. Then just machine wash with bleach and they pretty much look new.
I’ve been using the same set of HD moose game bags now for going on about 15 years. Granted, I don’t hut moose every year but I think these bags have hauled out about 5-6 moose.
I've used a single set of Caribou Gear game bags on six elk and they are still going strong. Simply clean well - rinse, clean by hand, and then machine wash. On two occasions, we used the bags on two elk in one day. Needless to say, the bags were simply rinsed well between uses. Part of the reason I went with Caribou Gear (like other quality game bags) was to be able to use them season after season. Hope this helps.
We reuse TAG bags for years. When we bring them home bloody, rinse in cold water and then soak in a bleach water solution overnight. Then wash and dry in our home washer and dryer. Typically they come out looking as good as new.
After multiple seasons of abuse, they eventually get holes (usually our fault). If they can be easily fixed I will run a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine. Otherwise we toss them and replace.
Reuse for years. The cotton ones are better after washing. The thread fluffs up and fills in the weave a bit so they aren’t such an open mesh.
The nylon bags look the same after washing as they do new.
My questions would be, do you use them new without washing? Do you wear new clothes before washing?
I don’t mean anything by it, just an observation of mine.
I use them new without washing, but wash my clothes before wearing.
I also consider my gamebags in my survival layering plan.
Have always used the Alaskan Game Bag but they tend to stretch leaving bigger holes for bugs to get in. And then, I used Citric Acid as a fly/bug repellent. Am considering upgrading to a better bag but for certain they will no longer be a one use item! Thanks for the feedback!