Meat in a creek

[FigureItOutdoors]

Usually when I down an animal if its hot I will use contractor bags and store them in a creek while Im packing out each quarter. Ive seen several guys on here and elsewhere that just put the meat bag with no waterproofing or watertight bag in the creek and I always wonder if they are losing meat from that and if so how much? There must be issues doing it that way with bacteria and such. Thoughts?

 

[ACC]

I would not put meat in a creek without some protection from the water.

Lots of silt and debris in the water and the possibility of bacteria.

I've never put my meat in water even in a contractors bag always just a game bag and hang in the shade, the outside will dry and skin over to protect the meat from flies and dirt.

I guess if the area you hunt is very hot the contractors bag and creek would be great to cool down the meat but I would still want it hanging after it cooled.

 

[rayporter]

i have known guys to lose meat because they had no creek or would not use the lake that was available because they insisted on not getting the meat wet.

around here lots [and i mean lots] of deer are soaked in coolers of water and ice for days and in some cases weeks. is there any real difference?

i would bet most southerners would not hesitate to submerge,

 

[HunterHawk]

we left some elk quarters in a fast moving mountain stream for a few hours once because it was about 80 degrees..while we went to get the rest of the meat didn't seem to hurt it any

 

[Hunt'nFish]

Not a fan of putting meat in creeks, unless it's a last resort.
Better to just hang the meat in the cool shade near the creek.
Hunt'nFish

 

[Travis Bertrand]

I've done it, meat turned out great.

 

[Usmcvet]

i have known guys to lose meat because they had no creek or would not use the lake that was available because they insisted on not getting the meat wet.

around here lots [and i mean lots] of deer are soaked in coolers of water and ice for days and in some cases weeks. is there any real difference?

i would bet most southerners would not hesitate to submerge,

I would have to say water & ice in a cooler is much different than water from a creek or pond unless the water came from a creek or pond that you used in the cooler. Personally, if I have a choice between the two options I would not submerge unprotected meat. There are lots of little nasty things hiding in water that are bodies can no longer tolerate

 

[weaver]

I always double bag with contractor bags.

 

[duchntr]

I've done it, meat turned out great.

Same

 

[cowboy]

Have hunted in warm/hot weather in back country many times. What I do when I get a critter down is bone it out, put into meat sacks, cut some logs or prefer lodge pole and lay them across a creek just barely above the running water, lay your meat sacks on the lodge pole (preferable in the shade) and that temp just inches above the water line will be within a few degrees of the actual water. If I can do this in the shade I never move the meat until pack out time.
For extra cooling insulation, fly or bird protection as well as shade I'll cut pine boughs and totally cover the meat sacks.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Water by itself is NOT harmful to fresh meat. It may be helpful in that it washes out excess blood and maybe a small amount of dirt. Cool or cold water can be a huge aid to getting meat cooled down and preserving it. Putting a meat-loaded game bag directly into clean cold water is a great technique in warm weather.

Meat tends to decompose and / or spoil because of ideal conditions for bacteria growth. Those conditions include warm temps, bloody meat and lots of contamination when butchering. Cool it down. Wash out or drain the blood. Keep it clean. You'll have gourmet quality wild game meat.

 

[Poser]

Water by itself is NOT harmful to fresh meat. It may be helpful in that it washes out excess blood and maybe a small amount of dirt. Cool or cold water can be a huge aid to getting meat cooled down and preserving it. Putting a meat-loaded game bag directly into clean cold water is a great technique in warm weather.

Meat tends to decompose and / or spoil because of ideal conditions for bacteria growth. Those conditions include warm temps, bloody meat and lots of contamination when butchering. Cool it down. Wash out or drain the blood. Keep it clean. You'll have gourmet quality wild game meat.

Those ideal conditions for bacterial growth also includes a wet/moist environment.

 

[Mark]

To stop bacterial growth, meat has to be under 40 degrees. That's not always practical in the field on an early season hunt. Water alone isn't your enemy, but I personally try to keep meat dry.

Click >this link< for a pretty good article on field care. It may not be the best, and it's obviously not the only article, but it's good information.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Those ideal conditions for bacterial growth also includes a wet/moist environment.

Very true, the assumption being that the meat stays wet and / or moist over a long (enough) period for bacteria to flourish. The intent in putting meat in cold water is to cool it down (beneficial) and wash it out (beneficial). Once that is accomplished there is no further benefit to submerging it long-term unless air temps are extremely warm. Cool and wash it if you want; then hang or position the bags of meat so they drain and dry. The additional period of moisture is far outweighed by the benefits of having properly cooled and clean meat. None of this really matters if air temps are cool enough to stop spoilage, or if meat is getting transported out of the field rapidly.

 

[ColoradoBackpackHunter]

It would be nice to hear from those that have actually done it. Not some he said she said info. Most of the guys who say its bad have heard from a guy who heard that from a guy. I haven't needed to but I wouldn't hesitate to submerge it if it was going to be an extended period of time from between pack outs.

 

[Poser]

It would be nice to hear from those that have actually done it. Not some he said she said info. Most of the guys who say its bad have heard from a guy who heard that from a guy. I haven't needed to but I wouldn't hesitate to submerge it if it was going to be an extended period of time from between pack outs.

I have submerged meat in a creek when It was hot but only in dry bags and contractor bags. I would not put the meat directly in the water unless I had to. If the meat is wet and then You have a long, hot pack out, you could have some problems.

I did have a contractor bag get punctured once and the meat got a good soaking with river water. The meat had a real "fishy" smell to it. I was able to get rid of that smell by further rinsing the meat and allowing it to hang for about a week in a refrigerator with a mounted fan for air flow. Again, I would never do that intentionally unless I had to. I don't like slimy, wet meat so I never introduce water unless the meat is dirty and needs rinsing. Rinsing meat with water can actually amplify bacterial growth.

 

[orionsbrother]

I've done it. Crazy hot day. Two elk down in sunny, exposed areas. Truck and bigger coolers were in town. Camp was an exposed area almost two miles away. We didn't have enough contractor bags and had to set a couple quarters on some "cleaned" rocks in a stream with nothing but some para cord to tie them off.

It wasn't an ideal situation, but we submerged two hinds, leaving as much silver skin membrane on as we could while we broke down the carcasses. We used water from our bladders to rinse meat bags and contractor bags as best as we could as we reused them to put the broken down meat in. They were tied off and went back in the creek overnight because the truck was coming back the next morning.

We realized that one of the contractor bags had a hole when we arrived to pack out the meat that next morning and I was concerned.

When we got off the mountain, we worked to clean and dry any of that meat before we put it in the chest freezer for the trip home. Other than some of that meat being a little pale, we experienced no problems with it.

Since I know people who've experienced the joys of giardiasis, I don't know that I'm looking to creeks for my first choice of meat handling methods. If I'm not looking to drink it unfiltered, why would I be excited to soak my steak in it? Who knows what else could be bubbling by and whether freezing and cooking will kill it all? But we didn't want to lose the meat to the heat and we got away with it. Even with direct exposure to the water for longer than we wanted.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Never have had a problem submerging meat, but I can't remember a time when I did it without the meat covered.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I have actually never had a need to use water to cool meat. Every situation has worked out for me to butcher, bag and hang the meat without fear of heat-related spoilage.

My good friend and part-time hunting partner has used direct meat submersion in very cold water (Alaska in Sept) to clean and chill the meat from two different bull moose. In both cases he left the meat in water for several hours and then simply hung the bags (cotton) of meat in the shade to drain and dry. His moose meat was as good as mine after the fact.

 

[wyo_gasman]

Never have had a problem submerging meat, but I can't remember a time when I did it without the meat covered.

Not even touching this one.