Ok.. Ideas for Stone Sheep meat/cape care in the field..

[Scance]

Hello all, i am an avid reader of the threads of HBC and there is a ton of quality information here, for that I'm thankful there is nothing like the real experience to shed light on some of these topics.

Am looking for some ideas on taking care of meat/cape on a 10 day sheep hunt in the alpine.. say for example my hunting partner and I are blessed enough to take one part way in to the hunt but are staying to try to find the second one for the last half of the hunt.. I'm talking more about protecting it from predators more so than cleaning and cooling but all tips very appreciated. Backpack tenting in September hunt fly in.

thanks in advance,
Cheers

[Bear Brawler]

Some salt, and quality game bags. I'm about a 7hr hike from lake to hunting area, always thought I'd pin it back to the lake, where I have a rubber maid tote, meat goes in there, some holes in the lid, a rock or two on the lid and then in the lake. The hide if possible hang it or roll it after salting it, eat well, have a beer or five, sleep well and go back up in the morning and continue. Just the way I dream of our trip happening at least once. If you have a real good game bags and a water bottle with salt in it, you should be good for a couple days right where you are.

[mod7rem]

Keeping the meat and cape from spoiling is the easy part, keeping it from predators is a lot tougher. In my opinion its mostly about luck, meaning if there are no "meat stealers" around then you won't have a problem no matter what technique you use. But, if they are around and not overly cautious or concerned about your presence, then it will be tough. I had Stone sheep meat sealed in plastic bags and stashed in a creek up in a high basin for 5 days while we were hunting and camped in other areas a long ways away. When we picked it up, there were 3 wolverines a couple hundred yards away that hadn't found it yet but birds had found it and started picking at it. Once it gets picked at by birds, the smell will probably carry easier and if there are preds in the area they will find it quicker. Lots of times we've had sheep meat and salted capes hung in trees near our camp and sometimes just stashed in the rocks if there are no trees without having any problems. But again I think its mostly luck. Had a Stone sheep hung at approx 15-20 feet in a tree one time with the cape and horns hung in different tree. Left it there for 3 or 4 days while we went and got a second ram, when we got back, the meat bags were strewn all over the ground, meat gone, the cape laying on the ground chewed on a bit but no serious damage. The horns still up in the tree untouched. The trees were all scratched up with some braches broken and some long brown hairs. I assume it was a grizzly but I guess it could have been wolverines or a brown black bear. Not sure if that would've happened if we were camped near by. The best method for actually hiding it is probably good plastic bags then buried under rocks in a creek or in the snow or under deep moss next to the ice cold dirt..

[Scance]

thanks... i appreciate you sharing that, sounds like there's a few options depending on where "camp" is.. luck will play a big part by the sounds of it. that's freaky that something got your sheep hanging 20 feet up.