fritz1

Like others have said, quater it out, put it in breathable game bags and hang what ever you cant imediately pack out in a tree, I have seen elk spoil from laying on the ground, get it off the ground where the air can circulate arround it and help it cool off.

skinnnner

yup you have to let the heat out first before u put it in something that wont let it breath.

jerry d

Man, you Elk hunters work too hard!! LOL!

Alsatian

Partly it would depend how far from your camp/car you would expect to down your elk. I carry a bunch of stuff with me too, but I think that is inefficient and unnecessary. In the future I would like to go in with my Bull-Pacs (excuse my spelling if I have mispelled this brand) with my heavy cotton cloth game bags lashed to the frame, my tools (two knives and a Wyoming saw), and my other necessaries (bottled water, clothes, extra cartridges). I would like to be able to make my first walk back to camp carrying a load of elk meat.

With reference to the plastic bags. If you put your elk in a cotton game bag, and then put this cotton game bag inside a plastic bag to keep blood from leaking over you and your pack, I don't see that the elk in the plastic bag would cool any slower than the elk in the cotton bag alone. Heat conducts across a thin layer of plastic. What is of concern is keeping the elk meat wet -- from blood contained by the plastic bag -- which is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. I would think that if you did not leave the elk in the plastic bag for long -- say for 90 minutes while packing out that portion -- that this should not be a problem.

One thing to remember about bacteria is that it is always present, you aren't going to entirely avoid it. What you want to do, however, is to discourage the rapid reproduction of bacteria -- warm wet conditions. If you can control the bacteria long enough to get your meat frozen, then your meat will be in good condition. No one's meat, however, is truly bacteria free.

flatlander88

If I have to hang the meat for a few days, even if the weather is cool, should I "mix" or "rotate" the meat inside the bag or will it be fine? Also how much meat do you leave in one bag to cool?
Thanks
Flatlander88

npaden

I got a Just One pack last year and am very happy with it. I thought it carried so well that I didn't even bother swapping out for an external pack frame on the 2nd trip, just used my J34 on the 2nd trip as well.

Here's my elk cut up and ready to pack out.



I posted this on another site and someone pointed out that it would probably be better to use clear garbage sacks for the loose meat because some of the colored sacks have anti-fungal stuff in the plastic. Seems like a good tip and I'll probably be switching to some clear sacks for next year.

Here's the first trip out. I had one front shoulder in the pack, plus what I started with and of course the head.


Here's the 2nd trip out. I had one deboned hind quarter in there and a front shoulder. I had emptied my pack out of everything but the neccessities for this trip.


Here's my New Mexico elk quartered up and hanging in the tree. We packed out the head and cape and the loose meat (backstraps, tenderloins, neck meat) on the first trip and actually paid some guys on horses to pack the quaters out the next day.

I'm going to add a pulley to my pack for the future so I can get the quarters higher up in the tree next time. It worked this time, but a big bear could have gotten to them as they were only 8' or so off the ground.



Here's the head and cape going out on my back.


I personally use the Alaskan game bags and think they do a great job. I've even reused them a few times with no issues. After using them 3 times this year they were pretty worn though so I bought new ones. Don't get the deer sized ones, those aren't very sturdy, get the ones specifically for the quarters.

I really like my Eberlestock J34 pack. Really nice carrying your rifle in on your back when you are bushwhacking in several miles in the dark every morning.

flatlander88

Thanks for the pics npaden. I've been all over the internet looking at packs. I think the guy I am going with likes to keep the meat on the bone in quarters. Would the J34 hold a quarter with the bone? Are there any packs that would?

SILVERTIP-CO

npaden's excellent advice above and this should help http://elkhunter2.tripod.com/

npaden

The J34 would hold a quarter with the bone, but I don't see why you would want to haul out that extra weight on your back.

You probably couldn't get 2 quarters in there without boning and skinning them like I did with 1 front quarter and 1 hind quarter in the same load.

AK Jeff

Don't ever put your game meat in plastic bags unless it's well below freezing. Plastic doesn't allow the meat to breathe and will promote bacterial growth. If you want light weight game bags these are the bomb...

http://www.pristineventures.com/products/game-bags.html

They're light, take up very little pack space, and they're washable so you can reuse them. I've used them for five or six years now and I won't go back to the old cloth type.