I currently have 2 100 quart ice chests and that has been enough for a cow elk or small bull. I know for sure I am going to need either a few more big ice chests or a large chest freezer.
If I go the chest freezer route, what size would I need if I was putting boned out meat in it that was not cut and packaged yet? Figure I will be using game bags and some sort of method to keep them separated somewhat. Would a 10 cubic foot freezer do it or should I step it up to something like a 15 cubic foot freezer? I little extra room is fine but I don't want something twice as big as what I will need.
Any thoughts from those of you guys who deal with large quantities of frozen meat or who might have messed with a cow bison before?
Good Luck
I didn't weigh my meat, and since my hunt was in December I ended up bringing the quarters home bone in and didn't need to close the coolers. You will have more to worry about in July of course, and my experience won't be much help.
Another consideration though would be the skull and hide. If sure save at least the skull. Not sure if the house is good in July, but the sure make a beautiful rug later in the year. Even if you just had it takes with hair off it would be worth saving.
Having space for meat, hide and skull is one thing, but also remember to factor in room for ice/ dry ice. You can't just pack the coolers tight with meat - leave room for air to circulate and cool. Go with more capacity than you think you might need.
Most of all, good luck! That is a hunt of a lifetime!
The problem that has been stated on this forum before when talking about elk is evenly cooling the meat, especially when dealing with high temperatures like you will have in AZ in July. Simply stating that four coolers will hold the meat doesn't mean that the coolers will have adequate room as to properly cool the meat to prevent it from spoiling.
It's great that you are planning this far in advance... it may take that long to figure out what should work best for you, and then to get the logistics for the hunt in place.
Good Luck with your hunt!
Jeremy
A mature cow (whole) will weigh 800-1000lbs and will yield about 50-60%. So your yield will be in the neighborhood of 500 lbs.
A big bull elk is 700-800 and will yield about 30% so your yield is in the neighborhood of 250 lbs.
Now for the real math: meat weighs about the same as water: 8 lbs/gallon (2 lbs/quart)
A cubic foot is equal to 7.5 gallons. A cubic foot of meat weighs about 60 lbs (7.5*8).
So a 10 cu ft freezer should hold 600 lbs of meat but the problem will be that there will ber almost no room for air circulation or bones if you left any in. The 15 cu ft freezer would allow you to separate the meat better so that it all cools down.
Heat - feel free to PM me.
I know you have been there, done that Elkstabber and your info is much appreciated. I also spoke to Russ yesterday about this and his advice was spot on with yours. With all the meat, hide, head a 15 cu ft chest freezer makes a lot of sense.
Not sure of a 150 gallon cooler exists BDA? That must be one big bison to need 600 gallons of cooler space! That would equal 80 cubic feet!
I didn't think they existed either, but when I asked at a Grand Junction, CO Wal*mart they told me that they had sold out. So, I guess they are out there. If you do the calculations, it is a 600 QUART cooler. That's big!
My initial thought was to transport the bone-in meat from the ranch to a local butcher in order to save the cost of shipping the butchered meat and get back to work on time. Needless to say, I poorly calculated how much cooler space I would need, and I didn't have the time or facilities to de-bone a bison.
The lesson I learned was that I should have used this forum to get some better information before I headed out!!!
No chance at 500# of meat off a WILD cow bison, see old info/posts, 35% MAX - boned out no fat added. I am calling BS on this one!
Also plains bison weighing 1000#, maybe but that is the top end.
This is like the 200# dressed whitetail doe threads...
Go to this link. Folks in the business of selling bison have plenty of data on this Don. They state 56% yield. But maybe they are able to use more of it than a typical hunter/butcher does. If a cow goes 1000 lbs it's close ...as the chart shows.
Small sized wrapped packages (burger) take a great deal of room and this makes better use of the space.
I'd caution on going in July though. They're BIG animals and handling that much meat, in the heat, is difficult at best.
Good Luck
Most guys forget they have bones in and/or fat added to burger.
Lots more realistic weights now that I can believe. Also plains bison are no where near the size of woodland.
My cow bison was extremely good. I would easily eat 200# of it!
Congrat's on the tag heat have fun!!!!!
A few more details about what I'm going to have to deal with for those that might be interested. My hunt will take place on the Kaibab Plateau in Northern Arizona, which is approximately 9 hours from home if I'm hauling ass. Recent history has shown that during the summer months the bison herd is using area in elevation of 8500-9000 feet ASL mostly within the Grand Canyon National Park, where of course there is no hunting allowed. For food, water, and salt the bison move into the National Forest part of the Plateau occasionally. I want to be there when they do and that time of year is when they tend to come off the Park the most, if they do, so it's a good thing, bad thing kind of deal to be hunting in July. Normally a guy who lives in Arizona would be praying for rain but I'm kinda hoping for the opposite for selfish reasons. The drier it is on the Kaibab Plateau, the more likely the bison are to move into the National Forest for better grass, water and salt. There is no salt on the Park and the Park Service restricts the bison herds from many of the water sources and the grass can only take so much grazing so at some point they come over for short periods of time. This movement is very weather and hunting pressure dependent. There will be 30 hunters trying to kill a bull from January through the end of June. Due to deep snow and very little practical access by typical vehicles there have been no bison killed yet this year according to one of the guys really in the know. Many of the hunters will not get their animal probably until May or June. There is then a two week break from the hunting and then my hunt starts on July 15th and will go for 14 days total. There will be 2 hunters pursuing any bison and 8 of us pursuing a mature cow only. I fully expect to be working with the others hunters as a team so that we are not running over one another trying to hunt the same sites. If/when someone gets one down it will be best for all of us to be helping with the processing so that the favor can be returned when we get one down.
Temperatures on the Kaibab Plateau that time of year should be in the 80's during the day, and maybe in the 50's at night, possibly low 60's maybe if really warm and dry. So I have to make sure the meat cools quickly while I am processing it. Same with a hide and to a lesser extent, the head. That is only part of the deal. I expect weather around 100 for most of the drive from Jacob Lake across the Navajo Reservation to Flagstaff where I can get the meat to a game meat processing outfit. From there I have to get the hide and head to my taxidermist in N. Scottsdale expecting higher temps yet maybe approaching 110-115 daytime temps. Figure 3 hours to Flagstaff making good time. Another 2 to 3 depending on traffic to Scottsdale. Will be coming home to Yuma light so not worried about the last 3 hours home. I will have to make a separate trip to Flagstaff to collect my meat when it is done so then I will have to make a six hour drive through triple digit temps to get the meat home. So really two different trips with the meat. One in game meat bags probably some bone in, some boneless and another with meat all cut, wrapped, and frozen.
At this point I don't own many of the things I'm going to need so I will be borrowing or buying a few items between now and then. For sure I will need a chest freezer at home when I kill. Until now I have been getting by stashing meat at my mother's house in her Upright Fridge Type Freezer. Going to have to upgrade or add freezer space when I kill one no matter what. I only have a half ton pickup truck and no trailer so probably will need to borrow something like that to haul all the ice chests or freezer needed to do this plus all my camping and hunting gear. If I go the freezer route I will also have to acquire or borrow a generator to run the freezer. Thank goodness I bought my canvas wall tent a few years ago so the camping part of it is one thing I am not worried about. I am set to be comfortable for a couple of weeks in that respect!
I am really excited about this opportunity but want to prepare now since there are so many variables outside my control from the hunting aspect. I have no excuse to not be prepared for these logistics. Thank you all for your assistance with this!
P.S. Don... FYI practically all Canadian bison ranched for meat are plains bison not wood bison. Not that it matters.
Tough hunt, give it heck and enjoy!
I am starting to realize that bison have a higher percentage of meat vs. live weight then elk/deer. I can buy 30-35% but not 50%.
Wish I knew my cows weight, I wild guessed 600# but tough.
Lets here your guesses.
I am just 'wild'?? guessed----
Maybe Wick--a--pedia-- fact check---haha
Good luck, Robb