How to preserve game meat in the field?

[Arctic Lake]

There has been some good tips posted above . Get that hide off ASAP . If your going to gut it , GUT IT ! There is a lot of heat trapped in there with all the internal organs and no place for it to dissipate .
Arctic Lake

[warnniklz]

A lot of this advice sounds like it’s coming from guys who have never shot a moose or elk.

After reading this and thinking back. I guess the big critters I've been on are usually November.

[high and to the right]

I used to only hunt during the rut in the cooler weather but over the last decade I started to hunt in mid August. I can handle heat better than cold. lol I have been using the gutless method for many years now and find that it makes the best sense to get the meat off quickly and efficiently . With 2 people working, in the time it takes to gut an animal with all its mess, you can have the quarters removed. Then completely debone the rest of the meat and lay it out on a tarp to keep cool and clean. I am fortunate to be able to use a trailer when I hunt and take a freezer with me, and as has been mentioned, use a fan and tarp over the top. This year I am doing it differently and am taking a fridge (gutted) and will hang the quarters in the bottom and freeze the deboned meat in the top freezer. When we get our second moose we will head home (17hrs) so there will be no problem with worry about the second moose. In the years before a trailer and freezer or fridge I have had success hanging my meat in meat sacks for up to 3 days, even in extreme heat. Put in the shade and hung high it will skin over and get very hard on the outside. If I know I'll be staying longer than 3 days with the meat I will drive to a town where I can hang it in a commercial cooler and then go back to camp, even if it's a 6 hour drive. When I get home I re-trim the quarters. I don't plan to be in an area where I have to leave the meat hanging for over 3 days in the heat.
In my 50 years of hunting I've never lost an animal to spoilage but I haven't been so fortunate with the bears.

[swampthing]

I hunt the august moose season pretty much exclusively and have never lost meat. Its usually backpacked out so it all boned at the time of the kill. I have one camp I use where I build a platform low over a creek in the shade of the willows. In the rockies it usually drops to freezing at least one night by the end of august. I put a tarp over the meat during the day and take it off at night. Flies can be an issue. I use those new antibacterial game bags these days and I always carry vinegar in a spray bottle to soak down the bags. This keeps the bugs at bay. When you travel home pack all the meat tight together and away from the heat of the truck.

[hawk-i]

I hunt the august moose season pretty much exclusively and have never lost meat. Its usually backpacked out so it all boned at the time of the kill. I have one camp I use where I build a platform low over a creek in the shade of the willows. In the rockies it usually drops to freezing at least one night by the end of august. I put a tarp over the meat during the day and take it off at night. Flies can be an issue. I use those new antibacterial game bags these days and I always carry vinegar in a spray bottle to soak down the bags. This keeps the bugs at bay. When you travel home pack all the meat tight together and away from the heat of the truck.

I'm just going to say...there is a huge difference between "have never lost meat" and "prime meat for the table"...JMHO though

[Huntingtyler123]

70% vinegar 30% water and then rub your meat down before putting in the cooler. Was taught this by Srupp this year. Adds 3-5 days to the meat I believe. Worked great for my bear

[Mark-R]

Brian Call gives all sorts of tips for meat care in the field.
Key takeaway: if you can cool the meat to 40 degrees F or 4.44 degrees C it can last 2 weeks outside a cooler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eroU...outu.be&t=2210

[mpotzold]

My take on taking care of moose, deer right after harvested.
Been hunting big game since '65 & never had meat spoilage.

Steps taken
-try to hunt in weather conditions when the night temp. is 5C or less
-if considerably warmer be prepared to take game home or to the nearest butcher ASAP
-the game is gutted ASAP & opened up totally to cool it. If warm,soak (after skinning it & covered in plastic bags) in creek water if available, until cool to the touch.
-hang it in shady area
-if blowflies present take extra precaution with cheesecloth. Double the covering in spots or use game bags. Read that they are capable of laying eggs through the cheesecloth.

About 20 years ago LT shot a huge buck north of Gang on the 1st day of the hunting season. It was mild & considerably warmer than 5C when shot. LT was forced to take the meat home first thing in the morning.The blowflies were everywhere around the hanging deer trying to find an opening in the cheesecloth. None made it through the cloth.

-you could consider getting a portable cooler when mild.

[tadpole]

Buddy of mine uses small 2-3 people dome tent, air condition unit and honda generator. I modified for him air condition unit with extended wiring of thermo couple and placed outside of the tent so air conditioner run all the time.Tent is covered with a combination of movers blankets, tarps and fresh conifers branches and anchored by freshly impacted dirt outside at the bottom. Air conditioner is placed in the entrance and wrapped appropriately to prevent air escape. Quarters are placed ans spaced vertically inside. Achieved temperatures inside tent runs at 10-12 centigrade. This system doesn't take much room when transporting and works very well. Meat cooled properly when zooming home, covered with same blankets to prevent reheating.

[silvertip0260]

The first thing you need to do is get the original body temp out of the animal. Especially when it’s warm. Once that’s out you won’t have it bone souring on you. If there’s a creek nearby we will submerge the animal in it. If it continues warm out get it to a cooler or head for home. We hang our meat under a bridge with a creek flowing below