Tagging meat in cooler?

[Shallow Thoughts]

Me and my dad are going to Wyoming for Antelope buck, doe and Whitetail doe. What is the best way to handle the tags when the animals are broke down in the coolers. With multiple people, multiple sexes, and multiple species (obviously if lucky). What can I do to prevent any issues?

 

[VernAK]

I use NAPA Auto Parts polishing cloth for meat bags and when I tie the bag shut, I lay a 12"x2" piece of Tyvek between the two overhand knots.
The Tyvek has pertinent data written with a magic marker......it doesn't fade or run ........15x40# for a bull moose.

 

[SWOHTR]

Bring your own coolers?


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[Shallow Thoughts]

We are bringing coolers. I'm more worried about getting checked by Wyoming Game and Fish.

 

[Bearlodge10]

I would suggest looking at Wyoming Game and Fish Website for FAQ's... Better still would be to find the office closest to your hunt area and talk to the warden. Then make notes as to who you talked to and the directions they gave you.
My thoughts would be specific coolers or to mark the bags of the specific animals and then leave the tag on the bag with the evidence of sex. So for example Bob's antelope are all marked with blue zip-tie and hind quarter with evidence of sex has the tag. I try to always have that bag at the top.
just my .02

 

[Maverick940]

When simultaneously guiding two hunting clients in Alaska and/or Arizona, I always make sure that every piece of a dismembered carcass is easily identifiable for a patrol officer. Never had any issues when doing things that way.

 

[muddydogs]

I'm not sure what a warden would say but I do what the law says. I keep evidence of sex attached to one hind quarter or big piece of meat weather it be a nut or part of the utter and I tie the tag to the bag with the evidence of sex part in it or leave the tag on the head if a buck. Some times I want to be able and keep track of each animals parts so I use different color flagging, parachute cord, marker or anything else I have on hand to mark which bags are which animals. If you haven't already received your WY hunting regs you should be soon, check out page 9 for edible portions, and page 11 for evidence of sex and species.

 

[KJH]

I hunted last year in Saskatchewan with a former USFWS warden. He was specific about packaging the meat in individual coolers. Each person had their own coolers and every piece was labeled with the hunter and what it was. He filled out a form for each of us and put it in a plastic ziplock on the top of the cooler. If I remember right it was very detailed and had license information, hunter information, unit information, and the EXACT contents of the cooler. He said we would have no problems with any authority if it was packed like that. His rationale was that if anyone looked in the cooler, they would see it was so well organized that they would close the lid as soon as they opened it.

I used this same method when bringing a group of friends back home from Canada this spring with bears and fish. We did get checked and they saw it was organized and they didn't look into anything after that. They must have figured that we know our stuff and that the laws were being followed.

They (all wardens and wildlife troopers in general) can spot people who don't know the regs, and those are the people who get the most scrutiny. My experience is that Wyoming has some of the toughest, yet most respectable and professional wardens around. Don't give them a reason to suspect you could be breaking a law or many laws.

So my thoughts are always use individual coolers and label everything and then give them a write up on the top of each cooler with the exact contents.

 

[Bar]

Seems like common sense to keep it neat and separated. Then you're only responsible for your own.

 

[jmez]

An antelope broken down will darn near fit in a lunch box. Just put everyone's in a different cooler.

 

[LostArra]

We were checked in Wyo last season. We had 5 elk in coolers. In game bags. Tags in coolers. They checked three coolers and called it good. They told us in future we could just keep punched tags together in cab of truck. Even so we felt better with tags in cooler with animal. Just make sure they are punched and signed in two places.


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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Doe deer and antelope all fit in a single larger game bag in my experience. So I break them down (with evidence of sex on the quarter) and put all parts and the tag into the same gamebag and cinch it up and toss it in the cooler. As long as each animal is in its own bag I don't see an issue having multiple animals in the same cooler. With elk you need to have a way of identifying which game bags go with which animal if there are multiple animals.

Also if you happen to shoot a buck fawn make sure you take the head or skull cap along too as you need to prove it was a fawn to account for the testicle attached the rear quarter of the animal harvested on that doe/fawn tag.

 

[Bar]

Shooting a fawn should be an automatic ticket in my view. I could care less what anybody thinks of that.

 

[Idaho Sandman]

Never mind

 

[Daniel_M]

Color coded zip ties. You only need to know what you shot. And a double zip tie on whichever rear quarter has the sex attached.


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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Shooting a fawn should be an automatic ticket in my view. I could care less what anybody thinks of that.

Just to clarify above, wasn't talking about a true small body fawn. Its in reference to yearling bucks which fall in to the legal definition of a "buck fawn". They are similarly sized to a doe, their cheek patch is faint and they have short nubs. IE they look like an adult doe, esp. from a distance. There is a reason the brochures define tags as antlerless animals (and what level of antler/prong growth qualifies) rather than specifically doe or cow.

Feel free to be morally against unintentional harvesting of yearling buck/bulls if that is your stance, just don't confuse the legal definition of a fawn with a true new fawn that is visibly such.

 

[Laelkhunter]

When simultaneously guiding two hunting clients in Alaska and/or Arizona, I always make sure that every piece of a dismembered carcass is easily identifiable for a patrol officer. Never had any issues when doing things that way.

I think that is what he is asking, HOW do you tag or identify the pieces for the Officer in case you or he is stopped??

 

[wytx]

Keep each animal separate, either separate coolers or game bags in coolers. Each person may be required to show their meat from each tag.
During transport game tags can must be in possession of person doing the transport, pocket etc., not attached to the carcass.
At camp the animals must be tagged during storage there. Attached it to a edible portion.
Proof of sex does not have to be attached, put it in a bag, udder, testes etc. and keep it with the quarters.
A warden may and will check each animal to make sure all edible portions- quarters, backstraps and tenderloins are removed from carcass and tagged.
Wyoming Wardens are good guys and unless given bad attitude will be courteous and respectful.

 

[Bar]

Keep each animal separate, either separate coolers or game bags in coolers. Each person may be required to show their meat from each tag.
During transport game tags can must be in possession of person doing the transport, pocket etc., not attached to the carcass.
At camp the animals must be tagged during storage there. Attached it to a edible portion.
Proof of sex does not have to be attached, put it in a bag, udder, testes etc. and keep it with the quarters.
A warden may and will check each animal to make sure all edible portions- quarters, backstraps and tenderloins are removed from carcass and tagged.
Wyoming Wardens are good guys and unless given bad attitude will be courteous and respectful.

Proof of sex needs to be attached in Colorado. Wyoming is different?

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Proof of sex needs to be attached in Colorado. Wyoming is different?

The regulations say "accompany". I just leave it attached since I'm used to doing some here in CO and want to retain that habbit.