Cooler for bone-in mule deer that will keep ice

skunk

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I'm hunting mule deer in New Mexico this year during the rifle season (Nov 10-14). I'll be driving down a couple of days early from Wisconsin, hunting for up to 5 days, and then driving all the way back home.

I want to keep my deer bone-in so I will clearly need a cooler (or coolers) big enough to hold a bone-in quartered mule deer and also keep my ice the whole time I'm hunting.

From some other posts I've read, some folks say a 110 quart cooler will work. However, based on the inside dimensions of some 110 and 125 quart coolers, it seems pretty unlikely you can actually fit a whole quartered deer in one of those with enough ice to keep it cool for the return trip. Am I wrong on that?

I'd like to go with an American made cooler if I'm going to be forking out that much money and it seems the Bison 125 Quart would be a decent fit for my truck. However, I want to make sure one of these will really fit a whole deer or do I need to buy two...

Also, are there other US made coolers that I'm missing that have a large enough model for a whole deer?
 
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Pretty sure a 125 Igloo would do just fine and cost a third of the price. Fill it partially with loose ice and then throw several 20lb bags on top of that(leave the ice in the bags) and then add a few lbs of dry ice. Keep the cooler in the shade, and you'll have plenty of ice. Put the deer in game bags on top of the loose ice, then dump the ice in the bags on top of it and leave the drain plug open.

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S

skunk

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Madison, WI
Pretty sure a 125 Igloo would do just fine and cost a third of the price. Fill it partially with loose ice and then throw several 20lb bags on top of that(leave the ice in the bags) and then add a few lbs of dry ice. Keep the cooler in the shade, and you'll have plenty of ice. Put the deer in game bags on top of the loose ice, then dump the ice in the bags on top of it and leave the drain plug open.

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I'm skeptical of a thin walled cooler like that keeping ice for 7 days. Also, we'll be backpacking in for our hunt and the cooler(s) will need to stay in my truck bed which will be covered by a cap. I will probably leave the sliding windows open in the cap so it doesn't turn into a greenhouse but I won't exactly be able to keep the coolers in the shade as I don't want to leave them outside of my truck while we're away from it in the backcountry.
 
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What part of the state will you be hunting?

I wouldn't worry too much about someone stealing your coolers. I've never had a problem with anything walking away from my camp. And 5-10 lbs of dry ice will keep your cooler full for a week, especially with the lid staying closed the whole time.

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Joined
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I've kept several boned out whitetails in those igloo coolers with ice above and below the meat(drain plug opened), in the shade in Las Cruces(in November) for over a week and barely lost any ice. And I didn't use any dry ice.

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Jmock97

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Last year for elk season I took a 120qt Coleman extreme last week of sept in Colorado filled it with frozen 1 gallon jugs threw a old sleeping bag inside to take up dead space closed the lid duck taped shut opened it 8 days later and the jugs were still 3/4 frozen solid. Sitting inside my suv the whole time.
 
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skunk

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Last year for elk season I took a 120qt Coleman extreme last week of sept in Colorado filled it with frozen 1 gallon jugs threw a old sleeping bag inside to take up dead space closed the lid duck taped shut opened it 8 days later and the jugs were still 3/4 frozen solid. Sitting inside my suv the whole time.
Hmm good to know! What were the temperatures like during that week?
 
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skunk

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Good point. I will look into that.
My home state of Wisconsin allows bringing a head from out of state as long as you take it to a licensed taxidermist within 72 hours. New Mexico itself also restricts movement of game but only in CWD confirmed areas and my GMU is not on that list. The other states I'm crossing on the way home seem to be ok.
 
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I have an igloo 165. I can hold two whitetails quartered. Even with a large mulie I think there would be room for several blocks of ice or gallon jugs. It's no rotomold but it will keep stuff cold. Guess it depends where you are at - but that time of year I think you'd be fine.
 

TauPhi111

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As far as space, I think you'll be OK with a 100 or so qt cooler. I've fit a large whitetail buck in a 65 qt Coleman Xtreme cooler with ice, and the only thing I couldn't fit in there were the rib slabs. I just got a Cabelas Polar Cap 100 qt and I can't imagine not fitting a large deer in there. with plenty of ice. Any of the top end rotomolded coolers will hold ice for 7 days if they're full. I was really impressed last year with my friend's 65 qt Rtic cooler. 7 day hunt and the jugs we had in there barely melted, and the cooler sat in my bed the whole time.
 
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Don't go too small, you will want the room when you have to rotate the meat around, other wise it sort of becomes a pain to pull it all out and put I back in...not a huge deal, just something I that a bigger cooler makes easier.

I just looked and my big cooler is a 120qt Colman Extreme. It will fit a large bone in mule deer + 4-5 bags of ice easy.

I want to say I got mine at Walmart or Dicks Sporting for about $75-80, and I have had it for 5+ years and its still going strong. Not a Yeti, but if it gets stolen I won't lose sleep over it.
 
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skunk

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Madison, WI
Don't go too small, you will want the room when you have to rotate the meat around, other wise it sort of becomes a pain to pull it all out and put I back in...not a huge deal, just something I that a bigger cooler makes easier.

I just looked and my big cooler is a 120qt Colman Extreme. It will fit a large bone in mule deer + 4-5 bags of ice easy.

I want to say I got mine at Walmart or Dicks Sporting for about $75-80, and I have had it for 5+ years and its still going strong. Not a Yeti, but if it gets stolen I won't lose sleep over it.
If I do go with the cheaper versions, I could just buy two just in case and still be cheaper than a rotomolded. I have time so I'll think it over thoroughly. Thanks for the info folks!
 
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If I do go with the cheaper versions, I could just buy two just in case and still be cheaper than a rotomolded. I have time so I'll think it over thoroughly. Thanks for the info folks!

Just pay attention to the measurements. I don't know the dimensions for bone in quarters with the leg trimmed off, but some smaller coolers maybe be deeper and not wide enough...just don't look at the volume, look at how its measured out with interior measurements.

Another thing to think about is if its really hot out and you have to get the meat cooled down, you'll want some surface area of the meat on the ice, a smaller cooler you might have a harder time getting ice to the meat without just pouring the ice loosely out over the top of the meat. (Which some say is ok and some don't like to do it.)
 

dmoto

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Last year for elk season I took a 120qt Coleman extreme last week of sept in Colorado filled it with frozen 1 gallon jugs threw a old sleeping bag inside to take up dead space closed the lid duck taped shut opened it 8 days later and the jugs were still 3/4 frozen solid. Sitting inside my suv the whole time.

This ^^^^

I used this same method for my cow elk in 5A last October. I used a large Igloo marine cooler with frozen 1 gallon bottles and worked great for 6 days. I didn't need to go any longer than that, but I can say, I'll hope to be using the same method for deer hunting this year.
 

pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

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I have a pair of 120qt coleman extremes that serve me very well (both come out for elk, one for deer or antelope) esp. for the price. The melt time difference between these and the expensive coolers is minimal and for back of the truck duty where burly latches and the utmost ice efficiency doesn't matter I can't imagine a scenario it would appeal to me to spend hundreds over a $50-70 cooler (add an extra block of ice to the empty cooler and just toss the excess when the meat gets added if you're low on space). In Oct temps in CO I've had zero issue with loading 40-50lb of 10lb bags of block ice in, hunting, loading with meat, and having ice remaining a week later. I've put a mulie bone in quarters into one that was 100lb of meat/leg bones (fairly big one).
 
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I went anther way and bought a 6 CF chest freezer at COSTCO for less than $200. I already have a Honda 2000 genset, I run the generator on a small platform I built on a piece of square tubing that goes in my receiver hitch. A couple of ratchet straps secures it to the hitch platform. I brought home a Dall ram from the NWT in mid-August last year and it was sure nice to have the 4 quarters, loins and cape all secured in a dry freezer. I ran the freezer about 4 hrs a day to keep the meat lightly frozen on the 3 day trip home. Seemed a lot more practical than trying to keep ice for two weeks while you hunt and are a days drive away from ice once you are dropped off at your truck at the remote airstrip.

For moose hunting I take my old 12 CF chest freezer that came with a house I once bought. You could probably buy one like it for $50. Anyway, I sure like having a freezer and generator along on any trips where the weather will be above freezing at night and above the mid-40s during the day. Good luck on your hunt!
 

rayporter

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dont forget that dry ice is available during hunting season in most towns. a 5 lb piece will refreeze your ice jugs and darned near freeze the meat.
 
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