Opinions on remote hunt meat storage

[JWCalgary]

OK, feeling almost confident in my proposed methods but looking for insight from others on storing meat for this year's remote moose hunt.

We will be flying in to a remote lake N of Ft Mac for 5 solid days of hunting and camping in tents.

My plan is this

Average temps early sept are from 4 to 16 (Celcius)
Down moose (bang flop)
Take off hide completely
cut off all meat possible, either gutless or old school
leave quarters whole (should we do this?) sex and species for sure
Chop off trophy head : )
Store in game bags
Spray with citric acid or rub black pepper on bags (bugs)
Hang Game bags from tree in shade

How long do you think we'll have in terms of days for storing meat? I've read lots of info that the meat will form a crust and will be ok as long as it's cool and dry . . . but for how long? I would hate to go in with nothing and come out with nothing.

Would you store less meat in more bags or vice versa
Should we de-bone all the quarters / everything?

Much appreciated. thanks all

[Dean2]

Leave quarters whole, peppered and in GOOD cheese cloth bags. Hang in shade above bear height. Larger meat ages better and you don't end up with a whole bunch of dry outer wastage. Hang a thermometer on the same pole in the shade. If the temps are too high, above 5 C in the shade you may have to dig a hole in the shade down 2 or three feet, line bottom and cover meat with a tarp, put the soil back on top for insulation and store the meat underground. North of Fort Mac you often find soil in the shade still frozen or nearly so 2 feet down.

[huntinstuff]

Ive guided that area. Richardson River/Marguerite area

I always store meat hanging on the south end of a lake

I cut a large chunk of meat from out of the back quarter to help cool the bone so it doesnt go bad from the inside out

A few times I have, as stated above, dug into the ground about 2 ft and found the ground very cold. Again, dig on the south side of the lake....

Mostly tho, we have been outta there within 2 days of getting the moose.

I think its best to agree that if a moose goes down, regardless on what day, you agree with your partners that 2 days max and youre outta there. Otherwise, youll be digging..... a lot. Takes hours. No hunting. Just digging.

[catnthehat]

I hunted and trapped the area back when I was younger - before the bridge went in) what Huntnstuff says applies , we also used to bone out and in the shade lay the meat on a bed of poplar bows then cover it with more bows if we were in warmer temps . Hanging in the shade also works .
Biggest issue is bears and other predators no matter how you are taking care of it.
Best bet is to get the animal down, bond if out and call for extraction- unless you are in for s month , then it's dry meat time
Cat

[dave99]

I agree with all the above. Also x2 on deboning so that the hind quarters do not go bone sour. It is amazing how long it takes for those to cool, and so airing them out is your friend.

Also, even if it is 16 degrees outside, that is still much cooler than body temperature. So get it airing out with good air flow ASAP. Do not dig and bury or cover meat until it is at least air cooled and hung. Covering too early will insulate the warmth in!


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[JWCalgary]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

Ive guided that area. Richardson River/Marguerite area

I always store meat hanging on the south end of a lake

I cut a large chunk of meat from out of the back quarter to help cool the bone so it doesnt go bad from the inside out

A few times I have, as stated above, dug into the ground about 2 ft and found the ground very cold. Again, dig on the south side of the lake....

Mostly tho, we have been outta there within 2 days of getting the moose.

I think its best to agree that if a moose goes down, regardless on what day, you agree with your partners that 2 days max and youre outta there. Otherwise, youll be digging..... a lot. Takes hours. No hunting. Just digging.

Thanks for the info!

Really looking forward to this trip. Got it dialed in pretty good i think and excited, even in Jan : )

What kind of bulls have you taken out of marguerite? In my mind it would seem to be a great place to take a nice size bull but i could be totally wrong.

[JWCalgary]

Originally Posted by dave99

I agree with all the above. Also x2 on deboning so that the hind quarters do not go bone sour. It is amazing how long it takes for those to cool, and so airing them out is your friend.

Also, even if it is 16 degrees outside, that is still much cooler than body temperature. So get it airing out with good air flow ASAP. Do not dig and bury or cover meat until it is at least air cooled and hung. Covering too early will insulate the warmth in!


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Thanks. Sounds like solid advice!

[JWCalgary]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I hunted and trapped the area back when I was younger - before the bridge went in) what Huntnstuff says applies , we also used to bone out and in the shade lay the meat on a bed of poplar bows then cover it with more bows if we were in warmer temps . Hanging in the shade also works .
Biggest issue is bears and other predators no matter how you are taking care of it.
Best bet is to get the animal down, bond if out and call for extraction- unless you are in for s month , then it's dry meat time
Cat

Thanks.

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by JWCalgary

Thanks for the info!

Really looking forward to this trip. Got it dialed in pretty good i think and excited, even in Jan : )

What kind of bulls have you taken out of marguerite? In my mind it would seem to be a great place to take a nice size bull but i could be totally wrong.

Flying in usually means very low hunting pressure. I have taken one 61" bull out of there but mostly it was 45-55". Depends on the hunter and what hes after. The 61" was taken by a 16 yr old from Utah at 19 yds. His father was THE WORST guy ive ever had in a camp. The boy was the kinda kid youd be blessed to have as a hunter/client.

A fire went through around 2007? It destroyed everything I left up there. Its probably a very good spot now tho

[buckman]

I know some of you will slam me for this...but.

I have on several early Elk hunts put the quarters HIDE on in a COLD creek.

Leave until a meat thermometer reads its cool say 5 to 7 C.

Hang in shade until mostly dry then cover with cheesecloth bags.

Once the meat is cold the hair on the hide will insulate it from the heat.

Like I said you need a cold creek or in your case a lake.

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by buckman

I know some of you will slam me for this...but.

I have on several early Elk hunts put the quarters HIDE on in a COLD creek.

Leave until a meat thermometer reads its cool say 5 to 7 C.

Hang in shade until mostly dry then cover with cheesecloth bags.

Once the meat is cold the hair on the hide will insulate it from the heat.

Like I said you need a cold creek or in your case a lake.

Ive done that. A creek. Id prefer moving water like a creek or river

When we butcher any game, my boys wash each piece well in cold water, let it rack dry, then they wrap it. Zero issues

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by buckman

I know some of you will slam me for this...but.

I have on several early Elk hunts put the quarters HIDE on in a COLD creek.

Leave until a meat thermometer reads its cool say 5 to 7 C.

Hang in shade until mostly dry then cover with cheesecloth bags.

Once the meat is cold the hair on the hide will insulate it from the heat.

Like I said you need a cold creek or in your case a lake.

I have kept fruit and vegetables for extended periods of time when on the trap line, by sealing them in heavy garbage bags and keeping them in milk crates suspended under the ice.
There is no reason that meat could not be kept the same way if there was a way too get it under the water if there was no ice
Cat

[dave99]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I have kept fruit and vegetables for extended periods of time when on the trap line, by sealing them in heavy garbage bags and keeping them in milk crates suspended under the ice.

There is no reason that meat could not be kept the same way if there was a way too get it under the water if there was no ice

Cat

On successful backpack sheep hunts in August we bag (very large ziplocks) the deboned meat after cooling in open air, and then place it in a creek at night. The next morning it goes back into the pack for a day of hiking, then back into a creek at night as we make our way back to the staging area.

It’s amazing how cool the meat still is after spending all day in the pack. I have gone up to 72 hours before refrigerating or freezing the meat, and quality of meat has always been great.


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[Drewski Canuck]

I have seen the boys from Canmore build an "evaporation cooler" by digging somewhat deep, lining the bottom of the hole with peat moss, putting down a canvas tarp top and bottom, and then more peat moss, and making sure that the peat moss is wet and sporadically dampening the peat moss.

The ground is already 55 F at depth to start with.

I do not know how much evaporation acts as a cooling effect, though it is used in larger buildings for the air intakes in summer.

Worth looking into, but a hold for a moose even de boned is big.


Drewski

[straight]

Hi JWC. You've already got lots of good advises how to save your meat.
My experience - Ibex hunt in Kyrgyzstan in September (0 to +20C), meat stored for 10 days:
- Keep it dry
- Debone or just open meat around big bones
- Sprinkle it with black or red pepper
- Cover it with cheese cloth bag
- Hang it to cool down overnight
- Put it on ground (on canvas or pine branches) and cover it with blanket during day.
My Ibex meat after 10 days of aging was sooo good.

[Coiloil37]

From my experience the advice given is unnecessarily ambitious.

Knock him down, get him gutted, skinned and cooled ASAP. Keep him hanging in the shade and as long as it’s not 20+ during the day and staying warm at night you won’t have a problem. If you get him cooled down and you’ve got cool temps at night you won’t have any spoilage. Don’t cut the meat any more then necessary, keep him covered so you don’t have the flys laying eggs and you’ll be surprised how little he warms up during the day.
An animal going bone sour is from not getting him cooled off shortly after death. I’ve been involved with about 30 elk and perhaps a doz moose shot in September and hung outside in west central Alberta for 10-14 days without any of them having any lost meat from spoilage. It was very rare that we took it to the butcher to hang because it was to warm.
I once threw one in the Clearwater river with the hide on to drop the temp because it wasn’t cooling down very much during the day. I then took the hide off him and hung him as per usual. I can’t say if it was smart or not but he tasted just as good as every other elk I’ve eaten. If it was warm and I had cold water handy I would do it again.

Good luck on the hunt.

[Dubious]

Pepper won’t keep the Flys away it just makes it so you can’t see the fly poop. Also use the synthetic bags Flys can still lay there eggs through the cheese cloth type bags. Vinegar wash also won’t keep the Flys away they don’t mind it at all.

[heretohunt]

Has anyone put your meat in garbage bags in cold water
? I usually hang it in a shady area and then get out as fast as possible but sometimes it takes more than a day.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by heretohunt

Has anyone put your meat in garbage bags in cold water
? I usually hang it in a shady area and then get out as fast as possible but sometimes it takes more than a day.

Meat doesn't need garbage backs. The water won't hurt the meat a bit and not having plastic on it allows it to cool better. I have cooled meat in water many times but I have never tried to keep meat longer term by keeping in water. I can't imagine why that would create any kind of an issue.

[Smoky buck]

I grew up doing hunts where we camped 5-21days out in the bush as a group. One thing I have learned over the years is when it comes to a hunter keeping meat in the bush there is a ton of opinions and methods

Personally it comes down to simply keeping it cool, dry, and bugs/animals off it. It’s really that simple and lots of ways to do this. If you really want to learn do your research on what bacteria needs to thrive and DONT DO IT. There is advice here I agree with and some I don’t but not going to debate

In most cases if you break the animal down into smaller portions, clean off any blood, put it in game bags and hang it you will be good. Picking where you hang it makes a difference. Keep it out of the sun and keep it dry. Shady areas with a breeze are good and hanging near cool water is a plus. We have also put meat in rubber made containers partially submerged in water to cool. Keep the top off the rubber made so heat can escape. In the mountains we have put the meat in garbage bags and buried it in the snow

It all depends on the temps you’re dealing with and the options the area offers

Two things that most commonly taint people’s meat is bone sour from big portions not cooling fast enough. The other is spoiled blood tainting the meat because blood spoils faster than meat. So clean your meat and break down your portions so it cools accordingly. Breaking it down depends on temperature and varies from simple quartering to deboned then into game bags in small portions

Good luck on your hunt and as long as you put in the effort to keep things cool and clean you will be fine

[JWCalgary]

Thank you to everyone for the comments. Really appreciate it. Will post up when the trip happens.

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[Big Grey Wolf]

JW, you have lots of good advice on keeping meat cool in September hunt. I know a few trappers in that north country and wolves eating all the moose may be a bigger problem for you than cooling the meat. Hunt hard!

[tracker]

Originally Posted by heretohunt

Has anyone put your meat in garbage bags in cold water
? I usually hang it in a shady area and then get out as fast as possible but sometimes it takes more than a day.

If you put your meat in garbage bags you'll end up with green meat from the dye in the bags.

Not to introduce another topic but meat care is one thing, if you have a trophy how do you prepare the head other than salting the heck out of it?

[35 whelen]

Originally Posted by tracker

If you put your meat in garbage bags you'll end up with green meat from the dye in the bags.



Not to introduce another topic but meat care is one thing, if you have a trophy how do you prepare the head other than salting the heck out of it?

Never liked garbage bags always use some kind of game bag, I put Caribou in the lake overnight till we got back to them the next day. As long as you got a couple pounds of salt cape and skin out the head

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[Big Bull]

I've hunted moose up in 532 for 20 years. We always quarter(6 pieces actually) our moose and hang high off the ground, in a shaded area, with good breeze. If you expect rain, make sure to have a tarp above the meat to keep it dry. I like to let the skinned quarters dry a bit before putting good quality game bags on, but, depending on the flies, you may have to bag it right away. We always went for 2 weeks, and on occasion, we've had our moose flown out a few days before departure because of high temps.
We use an electric fence around our entire camp to keep the bears at bay.
We've also figured out to leave a sacrificial piece of moose near the quarters to keep the Whiskey Jacks distracted. Game bags must completely cover the quarters, or else those "camp robbers" will be all over them. At night, we leave flashing white LED lights around the meat pole to persuade the marten to leave them alone.
Of course there is always the chance that you won't see a moose. Hopefully, you will be on a lake with good fishing - we've caught pike up to 40 pounds at our old spot.


Meat pole in the background.