How long do you have once they are down?

[tmike]

Norse do you offer just packing and at what cost? PM me if you want. I'm in the same boat with the same tag and plan on getting back in there a ways. I always take large coolers with ice and leave them in the truck. I put the ice in plastic bags and layer the quarters on top of each other to keep the water off the meat. The first time I did that i didn't bag the ice and the meat sat in ice water. The taste was fine but the color was gone, the meat looked grey. I also use the gutless method and get the quarters cooling as fast as I can. I will slice the hinds to the bone to help aid in cooling them out quicker. Great post lots of good advice.

[TeacherMan]

all the advice in this post is great, I thank everyone that has contributed. 

[GreenHunter]

I have looked at game bags several times and I have always thought they seemed pretty expensive.

So my first question is are they one-time-use or do you reuse them?

And second has anyone tried to make their own game bags? I used a bedsheet I got at goodwill for $2 on a doe last year that didn't work as well as I had hoped. It was hard to keep it wrapped around the carcass as I was carrying it out. Also I think I need something with less threadcount like cheese cloth to help with ventilation.

[MagKarl]

Good bags are re-usable, just wash them like any other piece of laundry.

[Skyvalhunter]

I purchased the Alaskan game bags for my moose hunt(they also come in different sizes for the animal taken)and they are probably the best ones out there. Love the fact they are reusable and dont tear like the others do. 

[Da stump]

Made up game bags a few years back and they worked great. Spent about 45 dollars and got 6 nice big bags.  Now all I have to do is figure which box their in.  Move to much lately.
    Another thing that we used to do when it was going to take awhile to get the meat out was saturate it with pepper doen't help with the cooling but helps with yellow jackets and flies.  Peppered venison isn't bad either.

[GoPlayOutside]

I like using white pillow cases.  They tend to hold together better than game bags...and they are easier to haul.

[HoofsandWings]

On the cheap, go to a feed store and get those burlap sacks that are used for sand bags, etc. I paid less than a buck a piece. Good air circulation.

[Bob33]

Three years ago a hunting partner and I each killed a cow elk in early August in Eastern Washington.  It was approximately 90 degrees.  We gutted and skinned the elk, and backpacked them to the truck.  We then drove home to the Seattle area before they were put in a refrigerator and later butchered. I fully expected the meat to spoil, but it was perfectly fine.

The funny part is that we dumped the two heads in a mini-mart dumpster on the way home.  We got a good laugh thinking about the poor soul that would find them after being in the hot dumpster for a few days.

[Austrian Hunter]

I don't see anyone using dry ice in the coolers  is that a bad idea? 

[buckhorn2]

If you go to google and type in alaska game bags there is a good write up that says care of alaska game meat in the field. It tells how to fix the bags to help keep yellow jackets and mosquitoes away from the meat. Looks like just the information some of you are looking for.

[gasman]

I don't see anyone using dry ice in the coolers  is that a bad idea? 

I believe if you use dry ice, you do not want the meat touching the dry ice. Use a piece of foam between the dry ice and the meat. the meat can get "freezer burn" if it sets on the dry ice to long. (the piece of meat that is touching at least.

This is what i was recmended to do when i asked the same question, but I have no first hand experiance.

[Elkpiss]

I dont know if someone mentioned this but you dont only want to get it quartered out but you want to get it hanging and also off the bone, it will bone spoil.. learned that first hand.. So in that september heat even if it is in the cooler for awhile you still want to get it off the bone.. Trust me on that one!! Bone it out!!

[Al Bundy]

Threads like this are why I love this site. A lot of good info for us noobs.

Thanks everyone!

[Austrian Hunter]

I don't see anyone using dry ice in the coolers  is that a bad idea? 

I believe if you use dry ice, you do not want the meat touching the dry ice. Use a piece of foam between the dry ice and the meat. the meat can get "freezer burn" if it sets on the dry ice to long. (the piece of meat that is touching at least.

This is what i was recmended to do when i asked the same question, but I have no first hand experiance.

 I agree Gasman!
I thought of using butcher paper or wax paper to wrap the dry ice.  But I think regular ice will do the job also.  I am paranoid thinking I can lose my harvest.
Austrian