storing a turkey......

[mauser06]

ok im hunting here from school tomarrow and thursday...and probably a couple days next week...thing is i wont have time or want to waste the gas driving home to put it in the freezer......but i have a mini refridgerator up here at school.......and also brought a big pretty good cooler....ill clean the bird in the woods and take it out in bags....brought salt for the beard and tail ect..and bags to take the meat and feathers ect out so i dont leave a mess in the woods...my question is what would be best to store the bird......if i kill one tomarrow it wont get home till friday....this is the only week ill have to store it really.....next week ill go home if i kill it.....should i pack the cooler with ice and check the ice every day? or would it be alright in my little fridge for a few days? it keeps stuff cold....i can freeze water if i turn it up.....it wont freeze meat but will surely be cold........any suggestions?? thanx guys......as you can see im totally prepared to take a bird lol...got it all....my fan drying board.....salt.....cooler......bags....im ready....all i gota do is get one in lol.......

[9th tine]

What you could do is fillet the breast,Your little fridge should have a small freezer at the top corner,Filleting the breast will allow it to fit in the small freezer.Place in a plastic freezer bag,the thighs can go in another freezer bag.
If anything you can pack it in ice in a big cooler but make sure you use as much ice as you can and make sure to replenish the ice and drain the water out every day.
Good luck on your hunt

[OntElk]

Ya thats what i would do as well. You don't want to put it straight to the freezer when the meat is still warm anyway. Day in the fridge is good anyway and then freeze it. Breast is all I generally eat anyway.

and bags to take the meat and feathers ect out so i dont leave a mess in the woods...

Huh? The critters will love any scraps left behind. Coyotes don't worry about leaving a few feathers blowing around. That's nature man, that's not a mess

[Dr Andy]

Yeah leave the feathers and gut pile, if you don't eat the legs leave them too for the coyotes, then hang out and shoot them too!

[mauser06]

thanx guys.....i did have deep fried turkey breast strips once and they were AWESOME.....maybe ill try that...i do have a small freezer....and could posssssibly sneak some into other peoples! lol....my roomates is a little larger...he would let me im sure......i know girls down the hall that have a fridge thats about half the size of normal fridges...and it got a whole freezer...i could sneak the whole bird in there...but dont know if they will let me.....if worst comes to worse i could put the whole bird in the fridge...then in the cooler iwth ice for wed thursday and friday.....the cooler is good about keeping ice....90 degree days on the boat it never melted....i think thats my best option if i cant find a freezer....a couple big bags of ice the first day...then another bag each day....be cheap and simple.....

about the mess factor....id leave guts and such there...but itll be on state game lands......i know i dont care to pull in the parking lot and see a huge pile of feathers and guts....and a non hunter talks his dog and family for a walk...next thing he knows fido and his kids are rooling in turkey remains some SLOB hunter left there.....just simple enough to throw it all in a bag...like id do at home...and throw it in a dumpster when i get back here.....

cant wait for the morning....havent hunted this spot since i was...15? 4 seasons maybe! lol..been deer and small game hunting and such there...just havent been up here spring gobbler hunting! 2 yrs i killed birds at home before me and dad made it up here...last year i didnt make it up here due to school and work....i think me and dad hunted them birds ALL wrong....every morning we set up in the sammmme general area....the birds NEVER wanted to go that direction...some DID come back later in the morning...but we never killed one there in 4yrs hunting...dad killed on across the woods....im going to sneak around to the back side of where we hunted them from...work from there off the roost....after they fly down ill either 1) have a bird..2)chase after them..or 3) move upto the point they seem to cross through mid mornings....ill see what happens.....if all fails i got thursday and next week....im pumped!