SnakeEater

Thanks guys. That's very true that driving will give me much more freedom than flying. I'm not a fan of long road trips, but I guess CO isn't too bad from IL...around 15 hrs? I'd love to get more meat back home, and I guess I didn't think about the fact that a tag can be filled at the very last minute.

Alsatian

The ice in jugs sounds like a good idea. It, like dry ice, prevents the meat from getting wet from melting ice. Ice in jugs may have a benefit that dry ice does not -- because ice is pretty much 32 degrees, it isn't likely to really freeze the meat. If you have packaged the meat, freezing is OK. If you haven't packaged the meat -- I do not package my meat in camp because I just don't have the kind of facilities I would have at home in my kitchen -- freezing isn't desirable (though it is not the end of the world either, particulary if the meat isn't entirely frozen).

How do you keep your jugs of ice frozen on the hunt? Do you take a deep freeze on a trailor and plug into a generator in camp? I ask because I have heard of people doing that. They don't have to run the generator all the time, either, just enough to keep a good chill on the freezer. When the outside temp doesn't get above 55 degrees during the day, you can imagine this would work pretty well. I don't have such a freezer or generator however.

Alsatian

I believe Denver is 1000 miles from Illinois. That is about 15 hours. But you may hunt on the far side of the mountains from Denver, adding maybe another 4 hours to the trip. If you are with buddies, you will switch off the driving. Some people don't like being cooped up in a car. I personally think of a long road trip as an adventure, and I always like it. I like it more when I'm with people to chit-chat with. My wife, by contrast, hates long road trips.

Champlain Islander

I should have explained I usually stay and hunt with a friend who bought a cabin in Colorado. A couple of years ago we bought a freezer for the cabin because getting a processor to do our elk was a long ways away and presented problems when an elk was shot late in the hunt. Both of us are good with doing our own butchering and the freezer allows us to have a ready supply of frozen jugs of water as well as being able to totally freeze the butchered and packaged meat. Several years ago we tried the dry ice and I was shocked at what that cost. We had large 2 coolers full of elk and figured we needed a lot of ice to keep it frozen. Since then we have discovered that we need little if any ice to keep a cooler filled with frozen packaged meat good for the 3 day drive home. Chilled and deboned meat put into the coolers with 3 or 4 quart sized jugs of ice will stay refrigerator cold for 3 days too. The secret to both scenarios is to not open the coolers until you get it home.

Alsatian

I have always butchered my own meat. I get a lot of satisfaction from this, and I am confident I do as good if not better job than a processor does. I keep my elk cold but not frozen on the way home and butcher at home. Possibly there is some aging benefit to the meat in this situation. I'm not saying there is. I myself would prefer to butcher in Colorado, package, freeze, and drive home with the meat ready to stack in the freezer. It just doesn't work out that way.

No disrespect to processors, but I know I'm getting my own meat, and I get precisely the cuts and sizes of cuts that I want.

Nitro.Bass

David, I'm from Gretna, so if you're from Elkhorn you know the area. I might be interested in some more details re: the lease, but MT non-resident tags are pretty steep. Shoot me a PM and we can get some details.

I found out over the weekend that my primary hunting partner needs knee surgery in January so depending on rehab we might be iffy for 2013...

I appreciate all the good information guys, I really do. I realize that reading up and asking on an internet board is no substitute for boots on the ground experience, which is what we're ready to get. There is so much to learn about it and we can prep all we want, but it won't come together until we're there and doing it.

Champlain Islander

I believe that and with my wild game always age them over time before butchering. My personal minimum from harvest to butcher is 4 days when the weather and storage temperatures are Ok.

Exactly. Cutting meat requires a few steps and skills but anyone can learn how to do it through being shown or even a tutorial on the internet. I have been hunting for 50 years and can count on my fingers the number of times I have had a game animal processed.

SnakeEater

Ouch. I looked at a map of CO and didn't realize that the hunting areas are all on the west side of the state. Oh well, it's not like I'll be elk hunting every year, so what the heck. I might as well enjoy the scenery. I see most of the outfitters will quarter and pack the meat out, so I won't necessarily be needing a processor, especially if I'll be driving. Thanks for the tips.

Bob H in NH

Be careful! Outfitters typically handle the in field care, skin, quarter and pack. They will DELIVER to a processor, but the butcher fee is on you. If you are comfortable (and have the time on a trip) to take elk quarters, or a whole elk, and turn it into steaks, go for it, but typcially with outfitters the actual proceesing it into steaks/roasts is on your dime.

the other thing to remember, especially for folks like me from a TINY state like NH, is western states are BIG. I can cross through 3-4 states in a couple hours from my house. Out west, crossing one state can take days.

Champlain Islander

Lots of good elk country on the eastern and Central part of the state especially in southern colorado.