Tips for Transporting Meat

[BKHunter]

Hi All,

I am new to out west hunting and wanted to make sure I am prepared for the day I harvest an animal and have to pack it out and transport it. Can anyone lend any tips for once and animal is broken down and packed out on how to transport it home? Note I am an out of state hunter so most likely will need to ship it or fly it home. I am looking for tips on what people do to freeze it since I won't know anyone out there and either getting it on the plane or shipping it home. Thanks in advance.

BK

 

[Wyoming Hart]

Biggest thing is getting it cooled as quickly as possible. I would suggest getting dry ice and layering the meat with something in between the meat and ice that will let the chill hit it but not touching it. Dry ice should last a while with a good cooler.

 

[Laddy]

Your best bet, truthfully, is to get the animal processed locally and have them ship it for you. A good processor will wrap, and/or vacuum seal, then deep freeze the meat before they ship it in dry ice Fed Ex overnight.

If you're going to be a few thousand miles from home, why add one more layer of risk and aggravation?

 

[mallardsx2]

your best bet, truthfully, is to get the animal processed locally and have them ship it for you. A good processor will wrap, and/or vacuum seal, then deep freeze the meat before they ship it in dry ice fed ex overnight.

If you're going to be a few thousand miles from home, why add one more layer of risk and aggravation?

best advice i have seen on this forum in a long time.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

best advice i have seen on this forum in a long time.

I can add one thing to this....check out the processors in advance and have one picked out. I have found some that I wouldn't let process dog food!

 

[Tim McCoy]

Your best bet, truthfully, is to get the animal processed locally and have them ship it for you. A good processor will wrap, and/or vacuum seal, then deep freeze the meat before they ship it in dry ice Fed Ex overnight.

If you're going to be a few thousand miles from home, why add one more layer of risk and aggravation?

If you ship meat, be ready to pay...generally not cheap. There was a comment about layering meat with dry ice, if you attempt that, just know dry ice can freeze meat. For warm weather hunts, I've always preferred dry ice or blue ice to keep block ice frozen for days in a cooler while hunting, then use actual ice to cool meat I do not want to freeze. Depending on when and where you hunt, it may be very well cool enough to not need ice at all, just hang your meat up until ready to take to a processor.

 

[TimberJunkie]

Great idea on the local butcher/processer. I shipped meat home from Alaska and it cost a lot. It was processed there. It was a caribou and I believe the final shipping weight was 180lbs. Of meat. Cost me $150 to ship it. Antlers cost $250 to ship. Lol. Good luck.

 

[tim]

I have heard of guys putting a chest freezer in the back of the truck with a generator.

 

[Roamer]

I have heard of guys putting a chest freezer in the back of the truck with a generator.

A friend does that , said it works great

 

[WY ME]

I've done most of the above but prefer getting the meat cut, wrapped and frozen before the trip home. If you're driving use dry ice. If you're going to put it in an airplane check on the airline's rules first as they may not allow dry ice.

 

[wisconsin_guy]

I have heard of guys putting a chest freezer in the back of the truck with a generator.

That's what we been doing for the last few years, works great.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Dry ice works great. You can go for a ton of miles with a few small blocks of it in a ice chest. Another thing we used to do when we where a few states away from getting home on warm hunts is get the dry ice in the bottom of a big ice chest like the Colman ones with the big dome lid. Put a layer of thermal underwear over the dry ice to keep the meat from burning, load up your meat then put a light weight sleeping bag over the top of the meat. The dome usually gives plenty of room for a mummy bag. We have had to debone the meat before to make it fit but it sure seems to help have the bag on top to insulate the frozen meat.

Good luck!

 

[BossBrott]

I put 5-7 blocks of ice in my 100qt Coleman and put lattice over the blocks so the meat doesn't contact the ice. Keep the picket cracked, and not open/off completely. Put paper grocery bags over meat and keep closed. Two deer or one elk should last a week easy.

 

[Rory]

I concur w/CC. Have your butcher and all of your logistics contacts selected, contacted and desired services confirmed well in advance of your hunt. I have them freeze (16-24hrs), pick up my dry ice and head home my 1200 miles. Works good in the U.S. However, on my last hunt, (1400 mi drive to BC, Can) I had to go to a big box store, 150 miles toward home and buy simple un-insulated plastic tubs to supplement the my coolers I had for my elk quarters and back straps. Couldn't find any dry ice on that trip so I bought a lot of run-of-the mill walmart cubed ice bags, ensured the lids were tight, and changed / emptied out about every 7hours. I had an enclosed trailer that made things easier.

 

[gonhunting247]

I've been using the freezer and generator method for the last 6 or 7 years now, for any early hunt that I'm driving to. It works excellent and is about as easy as it gets. I'm lucky when I'm in AK I cut and wrap the meat there, at one of my sisters houses. Once it's frozen solid we put it in cheap coolers and send it home with us as extra luggage. I've always had good luck with this method too!

 

[FlaFlatlander]

Last time I looked into this it was cheaper to check the meat as luggage on the airplane (assuming you are flying). When I looked at FedEx I was being told it was like just south of $1000 to fly the processed meat from Colorado to Florida. But like other said becarful of the dry ice. Most airlines have rules that limit or won't allow it.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Last time I looked into this it was cheaper to check the meat as luggage on the airplane (assuming you are flying). When I looked at FedEx I was being told it was like just south of $1000 to fly the processed meat from Colorado to Florida. But like other said becarful of the dry ice. Most airlines have rules that limit or won't allow it.

Yes, do your homework before having it shipped. I hunted NM in 2001 (killed my bull the day after 9/11). I had originally planned to fly from the hunt to Chicago on business, but due to airline grounding I ended up driving my rental car back to Oregon. I had the processor ship the meat to me. I was shocked to pay $700 for shipping, and that was 15 years ago. The meat was delivered in a semi with a freezer trailer.

We almost always have the animal processed and frozen (typically takes 36-48 hours) when hunting the mountain states and bring it back in coolers with dry ice or a small freezer with a generator.

 

[IDELKFVR]

Tim I have done that with fish. Taken a small freezer and plugged it in in the motel room then when ready to go just unplug and put the whole thing in the back of the truck fish was froze solid still after a eight hour drive home. I would think it would work ok with a generator but you would have to cut and wrap your meat prior to freezing.

 

[JimP]

If you are flying I would suggest to forget bringing the meat home and just get it ground into burger and donate it. If you would like some of the better cuts of meat have a processor cut, wrap and freeze the meat and then either ship it next day air with FedEx or get a good cooler to pack it in for the plane ride. If you use the cooler for the plane get some ductape and seal the cooler real good, and if you use this method you might want to plan on shipping your clothes home by UPS or FedEx where you only have your rifle and cooler to take care of on the plane. You will also need to check with your airline to see what they require for frozen meat. They are not happy with bloody leaking packages.

Also as has been mentioned if you are driving then you have a few more options. Processed and frozen meat will keep for a long ways just inside a good cooler as long as it isn't opened every stop. But remember what you have and that you need to get home, so no sight seeing trips or overnight stays in motels. On the freezers in the back of trucks or on trailers, you wouldn't believe the number of hunters that are coming into Colorado now days that are doing this. They also have a portable generator to run for the freezer every few hours on the trip home and if you stay in a motel you can run a extension cord out to it.

 

[Sully54]

If I have an elk processed, vacuumed packed and frozen how may coolers will I need for 1 elk? We will be travelling 2-3 days, we plan on using dry ice.