Backpack turkey hunt ?
New Mexico
I am planning my first backpack turkey hunt this spring. I want to hunt turkey in the morning and try a little fly fishing during the day. I've been fishing in the area before and know it takes about an hour and a half to get to the spot.
My question is this... If I kill a turkey, do I have to pack camp and get it back to the truck/ice chest ASAP? If I killed a deer or elk, I would have no problem hanging it for a day or two in the temps I expect to encounter, but I have no clue about turkey. I know at home I don't even let chicken or turkey defrost at room temp. It seems like the answer would be yes get it back ASAP, but I really don't know if would turkey is different from domestic poultry.
I have heard of people doing these types of turkey hunts but never thought about what happens when they kill. Please excuse my question if it's a dumb one. Happy hunting.
I've packed in and killed a turkey, I used a Sea to Summit waterproof bag. I plucked and cleaned the turkey (kept it as dry as possible) after it cooled completely I put it in the bag and then the river and covered it with branches, at night I pulled it out and hung it, I did this for 3 days then packed out
Sounds like fun! Best of luck!
Great. Thanks for the reply. It's good to know that I can keep on hunting fishing if I'm lucky early on and not worry about the meat spoiling. I've been wanting to do one for a while and this year is the year. Good luck in the draw gentlemen see you all on the mountain.
Alternatively pack some spice and instant mashed potatoes...if you kill early you'll have lunch & dinner for the next several days.
I'll be sure to bring some extra spice... I usually bring lemon pepper and olive oil for the fish. Anyone have any other ideas or suggestions? Any tips for someone on their first backpack turkey trip?
I went to the Gila wilderness for my back pack turkey hunt and you wouldn't think it but the temps dropped to the mid teens for a few nights. For a few days prior to the cold snap I had crossed back and forth across the river so many times my boots were soaked. I could barely put my boots on in the morning they were so frozen and I had to go walk across the river so I could lace them up, be ready for weather! I wanted to make hot water to pour on them but all my water was frozen.
Also you may want a game bag to hang the bird in if the flies are in full force, the last 2 years there was a bunch of them!
Mr. Elite got cold feet! Sorry, it rhymes lol. Access to a cool river to submerge a plucked/cleaned bird IMHO should be fine, back country elk hunters do it all the time. Basically it acts as a refrigerator if kept dry and in a bag, keep the bacteria growth down and all that.
Feel free to come up to ABQ after you have it and we can test!
Lol spices is a 200iq move. If you eat it you don't have to carry it.
Thanks a lot for the help gentleman. Im counting down the days.
