Anyone Ever Have Meat Spoil?
Moose
I'm headed to B.C. in late September to hunt moose. I'm bringing a chest freezer and generator in my pickup to bring the meat home in, but I'm a little concerned about the meat from the time I kill an animal (assuming I'm successful!!!!) to the time I get it out and to my truck. I'll be flying into a remote lake. The guide assures me that it will be cool enough for the meat until we fly out and that there won't be a problem with spoilage, but I'm a little skeptical. Has anyone ever lost meat to spoilage because they couldn't get it out soon enough? Any tips on preventing this from happening? I'm assuming the outfitter knows how to care for the meat after an animal is down, but I've never been on a hunt where I couldn't get the animal taken care of immediately.
Never lost any meat. Break it down fast, good game bags, good air flow and shade.
It is too warm I would think they can fly meat out mid week if you are successful early? Make sure that is an option.
mid week meat runs are normally not an option and are never cheap
Plenty of variables. Ambient daily temp and weather. Wind. Flies. Shade. Transport time.
You've gotten some good advice from Rick. Care for your meat! Use good air-permeable bags. Hang it without delay. Always keep it shaded and cool. Hanging it near water in a shade-all-day spot is best. You can use a piece of white Tyvek to create a reflective shade tarp if needed. Bring citric acid powder and a small trigger spray/mister. Apply it to the outside of the meat bags every couple days. Be sure you understand what the pilot will/won't do for you in terms of meat transportation and placement.
You'll likely be okay with late Sept temps in BC, especially the northern half. Go in with full knowledge of how to protect the meat and do it.
Get it bagged and hanging in a cool spot with airflow like others have said. The temp at night will go way down and really cool the meat well. If it stays in the shade during the day the temp of the meat will not warm up enough to worry about spoiled meat. What causes most spoilage is not getting them gutted or skinned out in a timely manner. The skin will hold that temp in longer than anything. I've hung elk in the mountains here in NM for 7 days with no problems. Also, I would never put warm or hot meat directly into a cooler with ice or a freezer with a generator. Once you close the lid then that heat has no where to escape to. It stays right there and melts that ice into lukewarm water. I have thrown away plenty of animals over the years from customers who have done this. They mean well but could have saved more meat if they would have just asked for some advice before their hunt. It's always better to cool the meat first then put it into coolers with ice and drain the water off often.
The biggest issue is getting the body heat out of them as quickly as possible. if you are getting it gutted and skinned quickly, the nights in BC should be cool enough to get the temps down. Once it is cooled, the microbes that are naturally in the body that cause it to sour (not technically spoil) will die. Then, as long as you keep it clean, you have a LONG time before actual spoilage or rotting begins. NEVER put it in a plastic bag; you want air permeable game bags and keep it in the shade with good air circulation.
And keep meat away from other meat. Meat sitting touching other meat is a no-no. Learned that one the hard way...
It should not be a problem. I was in northen BC last fall at the end of Sept early oct. I got my moose on day 5 and was delayed a day getting out. It was always cool enough at night to cool the meat down. We had it quartered and hung about 90 minutes after shooting it and had it hanging within 2 hours. I flew back to Smithers, and loaded eveything into coolers with ice when I got back to Smithers in the late afternoon. I left Smithers in the evening and had a two day drive back. Kept the coolers cooled, closed, and in the dark. It was excellent when I got back. Hung it in the well house for another 7 days when I got back and then cut it all up. Excellent meat. Not quite as tender as my elk, but the Moose was a lot older. Cooling it down good early is the most impoertant thing. Night temps are down near the 30's. The meat will be fine.
Thanks everyone.... I'll take all of your suggestions and use them!!!
On the OR coast one year we killed a small buck. We skinned it and hunt it in a large meat bag in the shade. Once it was cool we did the following. At night we would unwrap the old sleeping bags that we put on the deer at dawn. Each morning we rewrapped the deer.
We kept it that way for 7 days and the temps hit the mid 70's in the day. It was fine.
Hey tat, we hunt mid September in Ontario. We have shot them and had weather turn to summer like conditions. Two key things that work for us. Step one, don't waste precious time gutting. Use the gutless method which is quicker, cleaner and cools the meat immediately. Gutting does nothing to cool the meat. Step two, remove the meat from the bones. That is where the most heat is. Check out the pics. PM me for more info if you like. We have taken 14 moose in 22 years of hunting and never lost meat. Best regards from Canada,
Step 4 set up a game cam at kill site. Check out the size of this bear!!! He is standing behind a bull moose carcass.
Step 5, stay 5 more days and hunt grouse (with the bow of course, 3/4 inch fender washer under a field point.
The first commandment of moose butchering: Thou shalt not gut a dead moose.
Waste of time. Encourages predators/scavengers. Increases fecal contamination risk. Learn the gutless method and never turn back.
I will second or third, don't gut it. As Kevin pointed out it is messy and does very little to cool the meat.
I don't care if it takes me all night to break down a moose or elk, it gets done gutless as soon as the picture taking is over:)
I have never killed a moose, but our plan for this fall if we are successful is for sure the gutless method, but we won't be deboning. If you are camping at the truck that is fine but for backcountry hunts you have to hang the meat and leaving bone in makes that much easier to do, and evenly distributes air to the meat vs a pillow sack full of boneless chunks.
Doesn't hurt that Alaskan law in this area requires bone in as well. haha
We also plan on calling for a back haul of the meat out of the field as soon as we kill the first. But mainly because this will be a 15 day trip.
Im sorry Canuk but that sure looks like you leave way too much meat to waste on that moose if that picture is the finish product. I have been on seventeen moose hunts with friends and family in Maine and don't buy the gutless method at all for that reason. Tried it and don't like it. If I cant gut out a moose in 15 minutes with a helper then spank me on the ass and send me home.We are talking just a few minutes here and prop the ribcage open with a stick. IMO this allows more air circulation and cool down of the meat. BTW the hardest part to cool is the underside of the front shoulders anyways.
rellik, in Maine, are you dragging the moose out within a day of killing it? If you can drag, skin and hang quickly then you are correct.
On a remote fly in or mountain hike in hunt where you are carrying it out in pieces, the gutless method is the only way to go. If done correctly there should be nothing left but bones, skin and guts.
You are correct rick M n usually out in a day. Just really commenting on the picture and other pis I have seen using the gutless method lots of meet left there. On some moose we like the ribs bone in and that didn't work for me when I tried it.
I stacked mine using spruce boughs inbetween for airflow. If any flies, beware!
Using the gutless method does not change how much meat you can get off of the neck and ribs unless you just decide to leave it.
After taking the 4 quarters, neck meat, backstraps, and tenderloins, you can just saw off the ribs or cut the meat off of them. Yeah, you get into the abdomen/chest cavity then, but at that point it doesn't matter and you still don't have 2 open digestive organs.
I don't even gut deer now. I do the gutless method as above, then demeat the ribs and go in with my hand for the heart. The gut never gets punctured.
Don't forget to rib roll!
The last moose we butchered: This image shows how effective the gutless method is, and also demonstrates what you leave behind when you do a correct rib-roll.
I was going to ask if the Elk carcass was clean enough to satisfy wanten-waste laws also, but others beat me to it.
The Moose carcass looks a whole lot better.
These pictures are making me real hungry!
