Do I need to bring ice?

[brewer12345]

My season starts Saturday and the weather will be up to 60 degrees. If I do bag a doe, I will be around an hour from home once I get it back to the truck. Is that quick enough that I won't have to bring ice with me?

[LUCKYDAWG13]

It wouldn't be a bad thing but if you're that close to home it would not make me stress out about it

[Geezer in NH]

We always have a couple of frozen milk jugs of Ice in a cooler in the back of the truck when we hunt or fish. Great insurance.

[Omega]

Ice is cheap, but for an hour at 60deg I wouldn't be too concerned. Didn't it just snow in Denver?

[Rcmaveric]

Here in Florida I take ice. We have the ice vending machines and it only takes 5 dollars to fill my monsterous cooler half way.

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[MostlyLeverGuns]

If you skin her in the field it will not be a problem, otherwise ice in the body cavity. The quicker the hide comes off, the quicker the meat can cool, quicker cooling, better meat.

[white eagle]

An hour isn't alot of time especially if your gut her out after killed
I would probably not worry about it IF you get to butchering it as soon as you
arrive home should be fine

[brewer12345]

It was in the teens this morning, but will be 60s in a couple days. That is the way it is here.

If I drop a doe, I plan to gut in the field, drag her to the truck, make a beeline for the house, and immediately skin her. After that, she will go into a fridge to finish cooling down. If I cannot easily fit the whole carcass in, I will quarter it first.

[St. Hogustine]

If 60-ish is the high that day, I wouldn't worry about ice for the first hour, but I wouldn't go two.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Brewer,

While ice won't hurt, with your temps you will do OK as long as your get the critter dressed out ASAP and then make sure the body cavity and wound site is well cleaned. Trim away any mangled meat and open the wound channel to drain then wash out the inside of the body cavity.

For the last number of years I have hunted an EARLY cow elk season starting the first of Aug. when the day time temps get into the 80s and 90s.

I hunt early, and am done by 8am or before, the 4 cows taken all about 7 - 7:30am. I have a friend close by that helps with the critter, and even then it is at least a couple of hours + from the time the critter hits the ground until it is dressed, skinned, washed and quartered at which time we put it in his big walk in cooler.

At 60 degree daytime temps, look at it this way, the live body temp of the critter is something close to 100 degrees, so getting the deer opened up and skinned as soon as possible makes it possible for the meat to begin that 40 degree cool down. Then with it really continuing the cool down during the cooler night time temps, the critter can hang for several days without damage.

However, the longer it hangs, the more the meat dries out and the more you need to trim so getting to the cutting and wrapping within a couple days or less is a good thing.

When compared to beef, there is little to NOTHING to be gained by extended "aging". The Meat is different then the beef, so cutting as soon as the meat is firmed up is just fine.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Chad5005]

why chance it,carry ice

[country gent]

A couple 3 bags of ice in the body cavity is cheap insurance. While 60* isn't as big a problem a Sunny day with the carcass in the bed of a pick up may warm the carcass more than the air temp. A few bags of ice with the carcass wrapped in a sheet would go a long ways.

[brass410]

ICE my friend will be your cheapest insurance to ensure a quality piece of meat in the end. Remember weather is a lot like politicians undependable and unreliable and certain to mess you up if you depend on them.

[rking22]

I would just stop at the first gas station on the drive home. Spend 5 bucks for two bags of ice to avoid the worry and get started on the cooling. Throw them in the cavity and keep it out of the sun.

[Boyscout]

In hot weather I stop immediately for ice. I also carry old sleeping bag and wrap the deer up. Additionally, I also carry milk jugs with frozen water in them.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Hey there guys, I'm all for saving and preserving good game meat, but in the conditions first posted by the original poster, your way over thinking this situation.

Back maybe 15 years, I took my "once in a life time" Idaho bull moose and while this is the smallest of the three sub species My bull with feet off at the knees and gutted still weighed 800lbs according to the local grain elevator scales.

The critter was loaded into the back of my short box pickup with a backhoe and dumped on my concrete garage floor.

If you haven't had the opportunity to deal with a critter of this size, let me just say it is a big job for one person.

Well, there I am trying to get this thing skinned so I can break it down and get it hung for cooling. Critter was taken on Sept. 29th, 1995.

I recall when I finally skinned down to the big shoulder hump that the tissue was still warmer then my body temp. Critter down at about 6:30 am and this was some hours later.

While I'm not saying this is good or optimum conditions, that meat was prime in taste. Both my bull and that of my wife's taken in November the next year were, while chewy, about as good as it gets for taste.

So, while it is always best to get game meat cooled as soon as possible - not frozen, cooled -, under the conditions spoken of in the original post, Brewer has NO Problem.

Our current day time temps where I live are in the mid 60s. Night time temps now getting into the high 30s. My likelihood of taking a critter within 15min 4 wheeler run from home is quite good, and I'll simply gut where it drops, head home to skin, clean and wash and trim as listed earlier and then hang for a day or two before cutting and wrapping. Then get ready for some good eating.

Please understand me here, I'm not saying that a person should not take care of their critter as soon as possible, but I am saying that under the conditions first listed, there is nothing to worry about as far as preserving meat quality.

Take care of your critter in a timely manner, but no need to obsess in the conditions listed.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Wayne R. Scott]

If you do not have ice your beverages will get warm.

[villagelightsmith]

Yes. A few milk jugs of ice are cheap insurance. As for getting home quickly, things never go as planned. Years of journeying have taught me that, like the sailors, I never know for certain when I will arrive. (Or for that matter, where I will arrive!) The best laid plans o' mice and men, gang aft agley. (go oft astray!) Uncertainties surround us. I hate it when a guest asks "When will we be home? I have a very important meeting at 5:45 and can't be late." And as for a scheduled flat-rate for the time involved in skinning and humping any meat back to your truck, there is no such thing. There is always the engine that overheats, the bearing that goes out, the other hunter who needs someone to yank his truck back onto the road, medical events, plans somebody forgot about. That's why we carry a spare tire, a heavy come-along, rope, tow and tire chains, cell phone, sat-phone, Handyman farm jack, a spare game bag, first-aid (and the skills to use it) a couple gallons spare gasoline, enough tools to build a small civilization, a file for the axe, spare food, water, tarp, light, maps, compass, yadda-yadda-woof-woof. I leave with every intention of getting where I'm going, but I make every provision to get back home. Allow for that unexpected wash-out or the tree in the road that can postpone my return. There's always one more S.O.B. than you counted on. Take extra ice. Lots of it. Empty (clean) milk jugs are cheap, but ruined meat will be a bad taste in your mouth for a long, long time.

[OnHoPr]

I have basically the similar opinion with the guy from Ideeeeeho. If you are going to be having 60 degree peak days with mid 30s nights you do not need the ice really. If you get a good double lunger through the ribs, just field dress then get it to the vehicle and drive home. Then hang in the garage. It will cool overnight and if the doors are kept closed the garage won't heat up to 60 degrees the next day, or especially for very long, what 3 to 7 maybe if you have black shingles. Leaving the hide on will insulate the meat after the first colder night. I'd say you would have 2 to 4 days in those temps before skinning and butchering. Stick a stick in the ribs, so it can cool and air dry a bit.

[brewer12345]

Yeah, I hear you on the difficulty of knowing how long it will take to get home. The drive is pretty certain. Otoh, if the dead doe ends up on the wrong side of the ridge, it will be less than speedy getting to the truck.

[OFFSHORE]

Six in one hand and a half dozen in the other. . .either way I think you'll be fine. I would definitely pull the guts though! Good luck.

[Minerat]

Snowed Sunday about 6 inches in Denver, this weekend projected 65 deg on Sunday. I always take ice if it more then 30 min from house or butcher. I like to get the meat cooling as soon as possible.

Was in Burns on Sunday and it took us 4.5 hrs to make a 3 hr drive, The tunnel was a 80 min nightmare (Silverthorn to Georgetown).

[dk17hmr]

Quarter and deboned in the field with a doe you are going to be packing out maybe 50 pounds. Put it in the cooler in the truck with frozen milk jugs, stop at the gas station before you get home throw a couple bags of ice on the meat. Leave it a couple days drain the blood water replace with more ice. I don't drag and I don't gut anymore.

I killed an elk on Monday and had it broke apart in game bags in just under an hour.

[megasupermagnum]

Quarter and deboned in the field with a doe you are going to be packing out maybe 50 pounds. Put it in the cooler in the truck with frozen milk jugs, stop at the gas station before you get home throw a couple bags of ice on the meat. Leave it a couple days drain the blood water replace with more ice. I don't drag and I don't gut anymore.

I killed an elk on Monday and had it broke apart in game bags in just under an hour.

How do you remove the tenderloins?

[dk17hmr]

Here’s a couple short videos of how I access the tenderloins, I also took the heart and liver out of this deer through this hole.

#1 t-handle saw to cut the two floating ribs and backbone.....if you get the saw deep and pull it like your yanking a chainsaw started you can get both ribs in one stroke on a deer or antelope. 50% of the time I can get elk with one yank.

https://youtu.be/Zhf_xy5dvtY

#2 knife used to cut connective tissue and top of abdominal wall.

https://youtu.be/xV9-Y_i6g5s

3 to 4 minutes total to extract them on a deer and antelope maybe 5 to 8 minutes on an elk.

[10x]

If you skin her in the field it will not be a problem, otherwise ice in the body cavity. The quicker the hide comes off, the quicker the meat can cool, quicker cooling, better meat.

This ^^^^^.
In warm weather - Gut,skin, and hang it head down to drain the blood out as soon as possible.

Brian Hammond and some Mule deer we harvested in our youth. -15 C so we didn't skin so the blood would drain before the meat froze.



http://www3.telus.net/gamegetter/

[brewer12345]

I ended up shooting the doe just after sunset, so between a rapidly dropping air temp and the two milk jugs of ice I stuffed in the cavity, I think she cooled down quick. Was home and skinning about 3 hours after I pulled the trigger.

[Soundguy]

An hour isn't alot of time especially if your gut her out after killed
I would probably not worry about it IF you get to butchering it as soon as you
arrive home should be fine

Agreed.. If you work in the restaurant industry, you know you have a magical 4 hours from safe to not safe food.

An hour I would not sweat over at all.. not even 2 hours.. at 3, I'd want to have some frozen milk jugs.. in the cavity.. and / or ice over the skinned carcass.