dealing with big game in the heat solo/meat cutting in region 7-03 area questions

[adamgarbett]

i am heading up sept 9th for a little hunt/ scouting trip for my moose draw in 7-03. me and my grandpa and wife got a group draw for any bull sept 10th- nov 5th. me and the wife are heading up for a week in early october but i figure i might as well go for a little scout and hunt for opening day. With the warmer temps in sept im wondering what im going to do if we luck out and see a bull lol. my grandpa is in his mid 80's with bad asthma so im going to be doing 99% of the work solo if we have success.... whats the best way handle this work load solo and most of all whats the best way to get this beast cooled off asap......are there any good meat cutters in the area that could de bone for me or should i just get'er done myself with grandpa on bear watch.......what size of cooler/coolers am i going to need to hold a deboned moose for the ride back to okanagan that will keep him from spoiling


thanx as always fellas


Adam

[Gateholio]

Getting it cooled down initially is important. Get it into smaller pieces as fast as you can. One thing you can do is put the meat in a rubbermaid or similar container and immerse the container in a creek. Leave the lid off and make sure you don't get water inside the rubbermaid! :)

Even hanging over a creek in the shade will help as the air will be cooler.

[25tikka]

Get ahold of Gerald Craig in Valemount. He has a cooler. He should be in the ph. book. He has a full meat cutting shop there as well.

[adamgarbett]

Nice thanx tikka.

[25tikka]

I will be in the area on the 9th as well. Wife has draw for 7-04. Love the early season in that area. Cant wait

[moosey]

If you have the choice of shooting your bull in the evening, the heat is not quite so critical, just be prepared to work well into the night and have everything in place to transport by morning. When I'm Guiding in the Yukon, a lot of my client hunters are on in years so I don't expect them to do any heavy work; it is possible to do about 90% by yourself. For the remaining 10% the other person needs to help with simple but essential tasks, holding a quarter while you cut underneath, pulling on the hide etc. The best way to go about it is to take the animal apart rather than gutting it. Skin the top and remove the two quarters, backstraps, ribs and neck on that side. You can now cut the exposed innards and drag them away from, turn the bottom half over onto a tarp (this is the one operation that is hard for one person alone, try to leverage the thing by the shanks). Now repeat exactly the same procedure on that side. The rest should be a piece of cake by comparison. Remember to bring a good lantern and a thermos full of coffee, you're going to need it.

[jml11]

Probably won't have to worry about extreme heat at that time, we are already in a cooling trend up here with highs below 20 and periodic rain forecasted all week...setting up well for hunting season!

Of course all could change again and we could get hot weather in September but things are looking good right now.

[adamgarbett]

Where ru staying tikka? Do u have a camp in mind....

[25tikka]

I usually stay on the Mcleanon river. I grew up in the area so I know it quite well. In the Tete Jaune area. There is a lot of places to camp near water. PM me a phone # if you like. I could show u around a bit if you don't know the area