Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

I'm heading out of state to hunt here on the 18-21st anyhow, its a good 3 hour drive one way, and Im not going to be able to take the deer back to my house that I kill, its supposted to be warm the entire time, but i dont know for sure, anyhow, I need to know what I should do with the meat incase i do happen to wack some does while i'm there. Im thinking about taking some knifes with me and just deboning the entire thing there and doing it that way I dont know for suer if im going to be able to take enough coolers for all of us however.

Any tips are greatly appreciated...

Ryan.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Honestly man, buy more coolers.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

There must be a way to salt the meat, or hang it up.....or do what what jimmy said...big coolers and lots of ice for 4 days(sounds like a lot of fun) :)

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

i was just in WalMart and they have GI-NORMOUScoolers for $48

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

I've stuffed the cavity with a bag of ice and kept in the back of the truck for up to 4 days in warm weather with no problems. It's important to gut it quickly and ice it soon. You'd be amazed at how long the ice lasts. Meats cold when it's butchered. Truck bed is covered and I make sure it stays in the shade. Keep checking the ice.

I guess the fat on the deer also keeps the cold in as well as out. It is it's own cooler.:D

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

get a chest freezer and lots of dry ice, that is the way some guys I know do their week long trips out west.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Great ? Ryan i was wondering the same thing i am also going on a 4 day on the second week in Oct. I have already talked to the people where im goin and they said that we could debone the meat there so thats what im doin and puttin it in coolers. Unless one of us gets one on the last night if that is the case we will just stuff the cavity of the deer with bags of ice for the ride home only about 3 and a half hrs should b alright.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

More than alright. One week I hunted and stuffed was warm everyday 60-70's. My brother shot a deer the day before the last and recovered it the next morning. Took all day to get it out. The meat was ruined. Mine shot on the first day, was good. Never lost one yet. No one I know that does it has and I hunt one area with several people that's always on the warm side. We all do it.

Packing it's the ticket if you can. I've built a large cooler (boardslined withblue board about 2'x2'x4') for times when I can pack. It will hold several deer. Besides it cuts down on butchering it all at the same time.:D

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

I hunt in the Texas heat. I have killed a deer in 90 degree weather. kill it dress it, quarter it and ice it down. Drain melted ice and add more ice as needed. Your deer will be just fine.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Agreed, and mesh anti fly/insect game bags.

When we went elk hunting we didn't take any coolers. Once successful on two bulls we ran to a local Walmart and bought the very cheap Styrofoam coolers and packed our elk in them for the transport home. On the mountain, we used the anti insect game bags. The flies could lay their eggs on the mesh and not on the meat.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Keep ice in the Cavity until you can quarter the deer out. After its quartered or completely butchered keep the ice on the meat in a cooler. the ice in the chest cavity will allow you some time (like a few hours on a hot day) as long as the deer isnt left in the sun.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Yep get as many coolers as you can, and find a place that sells dry ice. It's pretty cheap and last for quit a while. Hey goodluck also man.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

He's right. A chest cavity full of ice will may any animal last much longer than normal conditions. The body has it's own insulation, which helps keep the ice cold. If it's as hot as you think it's going to be, don't forget to just add more ice, but it most likely won't melt too much for a 3 hour drive. Three to four bags will be plenty.

I'm also not opposed to putting ice on the outside of the deer, but inside the cavity is a must! Save the money, don't buy coolers. Just fill it with ice.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

I drove 16 and 1/2 hours to hunt in the Ozarks of Missouri...

I packed 2 deer in my cooler and put regular ice on it..AFTER I froze the deer first..It was fine when i got home in 1 1/2 days.

For the last 2 years a friend of mine has sent me a white tailed deer my UPS..it arrived frozen ...it took nearly 2 days to arrive.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

What he said....We do it all the time, been doing it that way for 20 years....

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Exactly. I drive further than 3 hours to hunt in state quite often. It is rare for a deer to go home with me whole, and it is often that we bring 2, 3, or more deer home at a time. No need to mess with quartering or dry ice. Just bone it, throw the meat in the cooler, and ice. We ditch the skins and bones in a field before heading home. The water helps get rid of the hair, and I sort the cuts as I finish the butchering at home later. I age mine in the cooler just like that, draining once a day. My wife much prefers the taste of those that get aged on ice versus hanging.

Stuffing a body cavity is better than nothing, but it doesn't do much for the hams, which make up the bulk of the meat. Two does will normally fit in one cooler, while a mature buck will take a cooler and a half due to bigger cuts and all the extra meat from the neck.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

You may also want to check and see if there's any place around your huntin' that you can get dry ice. When I killed my bear the outfitter froze it in dry ice. I killed it on the first day of a 7 day hunt and had a 19 hour drive home. We put it in a cooler and covered it in ice and it was still frozen solid when we got home.

RE: Time to give me your Best Suggestions.
 

Their idea sounds pretty good but i would be concerned with road grime and dirt flying in the back of the truck and getting all in the chest and on the meat. Either way, good luck