Field to Freezer Timeline

[Giggles]

Maybe I'm thinking too much, but if I would kill and elk on a day that has a high temp of say 60 - 70 degrees, about how long do I have to get it from the field to the freezer before it may start to spoil. I figure this answer may help me determine
how far off the beaten path I should venture. 

[Wild Bill]

Man,
Every dude on here will sing a different tune.
ASAP is the best answer IMHO.
Some days thats 3 hrs, some days thats 24.
If you can get to him, peel the hide off and the guts out in a short time from the shot,
 60-70 degrees is not much to worry about. Anything higher is bad juju.
My wife shot a bull at noon. Temp was 84. Shot was a bit far back. We ended up jumping him after waiting until 5 pm to pursue.
Called it, found him at 9AM the next day. Did our thing took him to a butcher, and only lost 30#. All from the side he was lying on. Of course God knows when he expired.
Not a guide line, but a personal experience to reference. 
WB's

[Sliverslinger]

You can do some searching on here as there are quite a few threads on this and they provide some very useful information. There are several things you can do to give yourself extra time. Get the skin off, get the guts out, get the meat airing out and in the shade off the ground- preferably near a creek. Some will say get the meat off the bone. In ideal situations and with proper care you can have far more time than you need to get the meat to a locker... But you should still do it as quickly as you are able.

[kentrek]

you are on the right trak and im glad you think of the meat.i have never had meat spoil so i may not be of much help. but if you bone out a criter and keep it in crik bottoms and insulate it with your sleeping bag i have heard you can keep meat as long as a week. im not a big fan of boning meat tho so we try and get it out asap.just be sure an get the guts an hide off super fast..another problem is gone be keeping flies/bees off in the hotter temps..they love boned out meat to wiggle in an out of..

last year my cow was shot at 8 am on a 90 degree day and it didnt get to our cooler till ten at night and was still real good.the year befor my bull was shot around tenish am on a 80 degree day and it prolly didnt get home till mid night,still good.the two bulls prior to that was on a simular day and it was right at 16 hours to get them home,still perfect.about 12 idaho bulls have spent a good week in the woods but thats with lower temps from 60 all the way down to 0..this is all bone in

if the temps are in the 40s at night i wouldnt even wory about keeping it out in the woods.

crik bottoms can tend to be 20 degrees colder at times so even if its 60 at night those crik bottoms will work great for prolly up to days if a guy wanted to push it.

there is also a product out that is saposed to help kill bacteria that spoils meat.(its the only new thing going in my pack)

if your more than a days distance from the truck it would def be a boned out show in hot temps.

[Wild Bill]

.i have never had meat spoil so i may not be of much help. but if you bone out a criter and keep it in crik bottoms and insulate it with your sleeping bag i have heard you can keep meat as long as a week.




Very curious about this.
Not talking any smack, but this would be after several hours?
only reason I ask is a sleeping bag will  insulate heat, cold etc...
Eager to learn a new trick
We usually kill our bulls mid day, so i am very curious.



++++1 on the creek bottoms. Happens to my crew almost yearly. Great God given asset.

[huntnnw]

If u get it quarted and hide off and hang it in the shade it would be fine all day.. just get it on ice after that

[Johnb317]

It's been suggested to me not to bone it, but to make a cut to the bone and spread the meat out.  The idea is to create more surface area for the meat to cool. If you bone the meat and just throw it in the game bag you have a dense mass.   
If back country you're not going to be carrying out the ribs so you can quarter and pull the tenderloins without gutting.   

[kentrek]

.i have never had meat spoil so i may not be of much help. but if you bone out a criter and keep it in crik bottoms and insulate it with your sleeping bag i have heard you can keep meat as long as a week.




Very curious about this.
Not talking any smack, but this would be after several hours?
only reason I ask is a sleeping bag will  insulate heat, cold etc...
Eager to learn a new trick
We usually kill our bulls mid day, so i am very curious.



++++1 on the creek bottoms. Happens to my crew almost yearly. Great God given asset.

i have never done this first hand but yeah you would wait until the meat was chilled over night and then use your sleepingbag/clothes to keep the cold in.

when ev we bone something out(mostly just the front half if ever) we get the meat cold befor storing it into sacks,then we make small size balls of meat into the game sack by twisting or tieng them into sections,this gets rid of the big glob effect and makes more surface area

[BULLBLASTER]

One of my elk last year hung in my garage for 2 days when it was 80 outside. It cooled off at night and I opened the garage door at night to allow cool fresh air in. Didn't open the door at all during.the day. That was about the longest I would have wanted in those conditions. It was only that long because we were hunting more and packing huntnnws bull and butchered both the same afternoon.

Hanging quarters by a creek or in a shady area with breeze will help buy time.

[shanevg]

Like everyone said. Gut, skin, bone out are all good plans. We try to compartmentalize game bags with boned out meat. Throw one chunk in and then tie a knot to spread the meat out. We always take advantage of creek bottoms or snow fields. I've buried meat in snow and filled the body cavity up with snow depending on the situation. As long as you get to the animal quickly and get the guts out. The meat can last a long time. I've even shot a bear on a 100 degree day with no spoilage at all.  (about 5 hours to freezer)

[Bean Counter]

You are wise, not anal retentive, to think this over.

If I get something skinned, boned out, and hung in breathable bags in the shade, I will leave it for up to five days outside as long as the temperature isn't too high into the 60s and it still gets into the 30s at night. The night temps are critical--they make the meat so cold overnight that the daytime warmth--even though in the 'danger zone' doesnt bring them to spoilage.

[h20hunter]

I agree with Bean.....very smart to know ahead of time what your options are for retrieval, haul out, and storage. I'm sure some folks have experienced a total animal loss due to spoilage for various reasons. Probably broke their heart to have a wasted animal. Obviously you can't control everything but by thinking ahead you could already have a plan B to save the day. Good luck out there.

[Chesapeake]

Google university of Wyoming Elk Carcass.

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf

Its a very good read about meat cooling times ect.

You can build a bridge with logs or limbs just above the surface of a creek and place the meat on the bridge to help cool it. Temps close to the surface of the cold water will be much cooler.

The first spoilage I see is from blood shot, right around the bones (bone sour), and right around the large viens in the leg muscles and shoulders. So when I bone out meat I try to remove those areas.

Cool and dry is key. Also key will be butchering quickly if things werent cooled quickly. Its all about time and temp. The timer slows the colder and dryer things are, but it doesnt back up, and it doesnt stop till meat is frozen solid.