Transporting elk from CO to East Coast

[Newt]

I live in Arkansas and our regs say it has to be cleaned and tissue free.

When I shot my first bull in Colorado I wanted a true euro mount also. So I drove to town, picked up a feed/water tub big enough, and went back to camp.

I found a place on the ground and dug a trench under it, then built a fire and tended to it the rest of the afternoon. Worked perfect.

Have to make a heat shield of sorts so your antlers don’t burn though. I used a used aluminum foil pan from the last nights dinner.

 

[njdoxie]

Honestly man- I wouldn’t worrry about it. Most guys don’t punch their tickets. Just enjoy yourself and make sure you bring a camera. Lots of beautiful sights to see.

I don’t like surprises, so I would definitely want a plan, wouldn’t want to be checked and then delayed for god knows how long. It’s not an issue for me because I have my elk processed in CO and give the antlers away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[teesquare]

Just a couple of pointers for the meat transport....I carry a lot of 150 qt. Coleman or Igloo "5 day" coolers. And - once they are filled with eh de-boned meat, and frozen solid ( we use a local meat processor every time we hunt...) - I add a dry ice layer approx 2-3" thick over the top of the meat. Then place a remote thermometer/freezer alarm in the cooler - under the top layer of the meat. ( Heat rises, etc..). Then duct tape the coolers shut. I set the sending unit on top o the cooler and secure it with tape. Then I place the receiver units up front in the cab. We can monitor the meat temps, and determine if and when we need to stop and get more dry ice on the trip back to NC. Works like a charm...thus far - no need for stopping for more ice - but have had favorable cool weather. Your milage may vary..... .
T

 

[open_source]

On Page 16 of the 2020 CO Big Game Registrations it is stated, "Nonresident hunters should follow their home state regulations in place for transporting harvested deer, elk or moose back from a state known to have CWD."

 

[Herringbone]

From Alabama-this was helpful. Thanks for posting.

 

[Mustang06]

Since you specifically mentioned PA I thought I'd try to help.

The Pennsylvania Regs are pretty strict, and I do know of a couple pals that got in trouble when they brought back their heads that still had the eyes and some brain material in them. Best to do one of the following:
1. cut off and clean just the skull cap
2. fully boil and clean the skull "euro style"
3. have your taxidermy done out there and shipped back


From the PA Game Commission Website PGC CWD page

What if I'm hunting outside Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvanians who harvest deer, elk, mule deer or moose out-of-state likely can’t bring them home without first removing the carcass parts with the highest risk of transmitting CWD. As of Sept. 2019, there are 25 states and three Canadian provinces from which high-risk cervid parts cannot be imported into Pennsylvania. Regulations prohibit the importation of any high-risk parts or materials from cervids harvested, taken, or killed within areas where CWD has been detected. The Chronic Wasting Disease AllianceOpens In A New Window is also a reliable online resource. Hunters who are successful in those states and provinces from which the importation of high-risk parts into Pennsylvania is banned are allowed to import meat from any deer, elk, moose, mule deer or caribou, so long as the backbone is not present. Successful hunters also are allowed to bring back cleaned skull plates with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; tanned hide or raw hide with no visible brain or spinal cord tissue present; capes, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft tissue is present; and finished taxidermy mounts. Hunters who harvest cervids in a state or province where CWD is known to exist also should follow instructions from that state's wildlife agency on how and where to submit the appropriate samples to have their animal tested. If, after returning to Pennsylvania, a hunter is notified that his or her harvest tested positive for CWD, the hunter is encouraged to immediately contact the Game Commission region office that serves the county in which they reside for disposal recommendations and assistance.

Best of luck on your hunt! I'm headed to Colorado myself in another 32 days!

 

[Super 91]

When we have been lucky enough to bring a bull back to camp, we will clean it up like this.

First thing we do is get a HD black industrial trash bag and wrap the skull in this very tight and tie it up good. Then we take an air nozzle, the one in the shape of a pistol with a 6-8" needle for blowing air into tight spaces. Cram that down through the back of the skull and make sure you got a full tank of air, turn your head and squeeze quickly a couple times. First blast tends to blow the whole brain right out another hole, thus the heavy duty trash bag. Once that is done, I move to stage two.

I had a guy in a welding shop build me a oval pot with a skirt around the base. It's deep enough to drop the whole skull in, but not wide enough to allow the antlers to get into the water. The skirt goes over the turkey fryer base and keeps more heat in under the pot. I take a 20 pound propane tank anyways for the little Webber grill, so I have plenty of propane to boil out several skulls.

I add some Borax to the mix and monitor the water level from time to time and basically cook all the rest of the meat off until the skull is fairly clean. Then I pull it out and let it cool just a little, and take a fillet knife and scrape off all the loose pieces. When I'm done with this, the skull is very clean with no brains inside or flesh outside.

For the hide, we generally will clean as much flesh as we can off, then fold it up and put it into a trash bag and drop it in the deep freezer in the back of the camper. We have salted the hides before, but I have found most taxidermists don't like them salted but prefer them frozen.

 

[rayporter]

Arkansas will defiantly get you if they can. you boil it to get the brains out.