How long is hanging meat good for?

[grfox92]

I searched for similar threads but didn't find what I was looking for. I thought there was a chart out there with a sliding scale, like hanging quarters good for 3 days with highs of 70, lows of 40 at night, and it progresses up and down based on temperature. But I'm not seeing that info anywhere.

Situation is, I have a rad archery elk tag. Complications are we are on foot in horse country, and the Unit is infested with grizzly bears. I mean infested.

Hunting point is for us, an easy hike in, about 4 miles. We have 2 tags to fill and will pack in for 4 days Sept 1 - Sept 4. I can see forecast until the 30th of Aug and it's calling for high of 70 low of 45. Let's say hypothetically it stays that course.

Because we are constantly dealing with g bears we are pretty fast at getting animals quartered out and in game bags. We have done it with muleys and antelope but never a big bull.

Our plan if we kill is to get the animal quartered and portage meat back to one of the meadows on the main trail we take in. From there, we will make trips until the animal is out. Probably 4 trips with 2 guys. The head can wait and is not an emergency, nothing to spoil there.

Is there a rule of thumb for how long the meat can hang in 70 degrees with lows in the 40s? Is it hours or days? We have talked of de boning, but with the bear situation, I'm not sure we have time for that, unless we do it after we portage the meat away from the carcass. Even then, I'd like to get back to the meat, load up and get out of the area that the meat has been hanging.

What I haven't mentioned, because im planning for contingencies, is there is a good chance we will be able to get horses once we shoot something. However that is more like calling buddies who say they will do it, but have jobs, or might not be able to drop everything exactly when we need them so we are planning for the worst.

Looking for some outside perspective or ideas.

Thanks dudes,

Gary.

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[dtrkyman]

Obviously keep it in the shade, if possible get it close to the water over a creek would really help. Can not really give you a specific time frame but meat holds up better than we think.

With that many bears I am not packing meat after dark!

 

[Wrench]

Publications | UW Extension | College of Agriculture and Natural Resources | University of Wyoming

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[doverpack12]

As long as it keeps cooling and doesn’t start to heat back up internally you are good.

Shade with a breeze helps a lot, or a creek running under a stick or log bridge.

Even on a hot day in the sun that meat is likely loosing heat as soon as you remove it from the carcas

 

[Lou (Louis)]

Dunno. We hang deer 10-14 days at just above freezing (34). Tender is an understatement. Oh, the people that tell you to trim out the "rind" are mistaken. Major good eats.
Obviously this holds true for properly handled venison. (Flies buzzing around in the game bag=yuck.)

 

[grfox92]

Obviously keep it in the shade, if possible get it close to the water over a creek would really help. Can not really give you a specific time frame but meat holds up better than we think.

With that many bears I am not packing meat after dark!

Yea that's another reason I didn't mention in my OP. We obviously won't be packing out in the dark, but if it's 45 degrees at night I wouldn't be worried about the meat I guess. Depending on the time if day, some of the meat might have to sit out over night.

3 years ago a in the area, a guide had to shoot a bear that was trying to take meat out of the panniers hanging off the side of a horse. In the middle of a pack string with multiple guys screaming at it. Pretty wild.

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[HiMtnHntr]

A good cold night and keeping the meat in the shade during the heat of the day, the meat should last awhile. Say you kill a bull in the morning one day, spend the day quartering and packing and hang overnight, pack out the next day. You’re fine…

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Keep the meat on the bone, it’ll cool better and form a protective rind. If you can hang it in the bottom of a draw, like close to a creek as mentioned, in the shade. A breeze and airflow will help, try to get each bag free hanging where it isn’t resting on the tree or each other. Keep it as clean as you can while butchering. Should easily last 4-5 days if not getting hit by sun.

 

[grfox92]

A good cold night and keeping the meat in the shade during the heat of the day, the meat should last awhile. Say you kill a bull in the morning one day, spend the day quartering and packing and hang overnight, pack out the next day. You’re fine…

That's what I was thinking. And the kind of response I was looking for. We haven't hiked into the area yet, but will next weekend. I suspect it will be under a 3 hour hike, so like you said if we kill one day by the end of the second day that bull will be out and in a cooler.

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[5MilesBack]

I'd be more concerned with the bears getting it than spoilage. With two guys and two loads each it shouldn't take more than two consecutive days to get it out.

 

[Laramie]

Our plan if we kill is to get the animal quartered and portage meat back to one of the meadows on the main trail we take in. From there, we will make trips until the animal is out. Probably 4 trips with 2 guys. The head can wait and is not an emergency, nothing to spoil there.

4 trips with 2 guys is crazy. 4 total trips, including the head is very doable, even in rough country, for most people. Debone it completely and pack it correctly and it can be done in 3 packs, including the head if you have 3 guys with strong backs.

As far as hanging time, just depends on temps. Getting it cooled completely that first night is paramount.

 

[wyosteve]

Don't have an answer on hanging time, but unless you can hang it high and away from a tree trunk, you likely won't have much to pack out. A few years back in the grizzly area, 3 of 8 quarters we hung were gone overnight!

 

[grfox92]

Don't have an answer on hanging time, but unless you can hang it high and away from a tree trunk, you likely won't have much to pack out. A few years back in the grizzly area, 3 of 8 quarters we hung were gone overnight!

When I say hung, I mean 15 feet off the ground with 550 cord, not ground level.

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[grfox92]

4 trips with 2 guys is crazy. 4 total trips, including the head is very doable, even in rough country, for most people. Debone it completely and pack it correctly and it can be done in 3 packs, including the head if you have 3 guys with strong backs.

As far as hanging time, just depends on temps. Getting it cooled completely that first night is paramount.

4 trips is crazy? How would you set it up to do it in 3? A shoulder and a quarter in one trip? I'm a big guy, strong, and in good shape, I have little interest in packing a quarter and a shoulder from a big bull in one trip. Maybe I'm missing something.

Also I've never de boned I'm the field, guys who have hunted here their whole lives insist you don't have time due to bears. I think that's kind of bs, buy they've been doing it here their whole lives and I'm just a new guy.

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[Turkeygetpwnd38]

4 trips is crazy? How would you set it up to do it in 3? A shoulder and a quarter in one trip? I'm a big guy, strong, and in good shape, I have little interest in packing a quarter and a shoulder from a big bull in one trip. Maybe I'm missing something.

Also I've never de boned I'm the field, guys who have hunted here their whole lives insist you don't have time due to bears. I think that's kind of bs, buy they've been doing it here their whole lives and I'm just a new guy.

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2 guys right? 1st trip, rear quarter a piece, 2nd trip, front shoulder a piece, one guy have back straps, one guy have skinned out skull/trim, 3rd trip camp

 

[Laramie]

4 trips is crazy? How would you set it up to do it in 3? A shoulder and a quarter in one trip? I'm a big guy, strong, and in good shape, I have little interest in packing a quarter and a shoulder from a big bull in one trip. Maybe I'm missing something.

Also I've never de boned I'm the field, guys who have hunted here their whole lives insist you don't have time due to bears. I think that's kind of bs, buy they've been doing it here their whole lives and I'm just a new guy.

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4 trips with 2 guys = 8 packs. Maybe you mean 2 tips with 2 guys (4 packs) which would be plenty to get everything. 1st trip each of you has a boned out rear quarter, a tender and backstrap each. 2nd trip one guy has both boned out shoulders and 1/2 the trim. The other guy takes 1/2 the trim and the cape and antlers.

No reason to pack out bones 4 miles. An elk can be deboned very quickly using the gutless method. Watch a few videos- seriously it isn't hard.

Even if you do whole quarters, it wouldn't take 4 trips.

 

[Michael Rankin]

To bone out a hind 1/4 takes 2-3minutes if that’s something you want to do. The front shoulder takes maybe double that.

If night time temps are a concern, at least boning out the hind 1/4 is a pretty good idea, since you can literally do it in 2-3 minutes max. Then you can tie some of your paracord around a chunk of the boned out hind 1/4, and sinch that to the top of your game bag. That way all that hind 1/4 meat is all hanging inside the game bag,spread out instead of a huge 60-80 pound blob all in the bottom. Hopefully that makes sense. The meat is suspended inside the bag since in is tied off to the top of the bag.

I do the same with back strap & shoulder meat. Keep all that meat suspended and spread out inside the game bag.

I always bone all my elk out, but my areas are all pretty much 5+miles out

If I’m concerned about night time temps, I’m splitting the meat up between 6 game bags usually. These are roughly pillow case sized bags. I really want ALL the meat to get as cool as possible that first night

We have killed a couple bulls when I swear it stayed in the 60’s overnight. Could barley lay inside the sleeping bag with boxers and a tshirt

We have always had it out to the truck in about 36 hours from the time of kill. On these extremely hot instances we immediately run to get ice as soon as the last load is out to the truck. Ice goes in bottom of cooler, game bags go in a trash bag, then the ice over the trash bag with game bag inside. You will need two large coolers for one elk and all the ice

Haven’t had an issue doing this, and these were a couple extreme heat situations.

 

[CCooper]

I don't believe it's been mentioned yet, but venting the quarters through the thickest part to the bone will help get heat out and prolong bone sour if high temps are expected.

 

[grfox92]

Sorry boys I'm an idiot. I was thinking hike in hike out, hike in hike out, 4 one way trips= 2 round trips.

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[grfox92]

4 trips with 2 guys = 8 packs. Maybe you mean 2 tips with 2 guys (4 packs) which would be plenty to get everything. 1st trip each of you has a boned out rear quarter, a tender and backstrap each. 2nd trip one guy has both boned out shoulders and 1/2 the trim. The other guy takes 1/2 the trim and the cape and antlers.

No reason to pack out bones 4 miles. An elk can be deboned very quickly using the gutless method. Watch a few videos- seriously it isn't hard.

Even if you do whole quarters, it wouldn't take 4 trips.

Yea my bad I worded it wrong. You are correct it's 2 round trips.

I know how to do gutless it's all we do and are pretty quick with it.

I'll watch some videos on deboning tonite.

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